The Oscars 2015

The+Oscars+2015

The 86th Academy Awards was a night to remember. From an exciting musical opening number, to Patricia Arquette’s inspiring wage equality speech and some unexpected winners, we’ll be talking about this year in films for a long time. The Awards also featured breathtaking performances by Lady Gaga and John Legend. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the victors, it cannot be denied that this year was not an excellent one for films.  For Best Picture, the nominees were American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Selma, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash. Once more, an excellent year for films. Nomination is a high honor in itself but before we go into the final, biggest award, let’s focus on the rest.

For Best Animated Feature Film, Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya were all nominated. All excellent movies in their own rights, however, there could only be one winner. Big Hero 6, an emotionally captivating exciting film from Disney, took home the award. A deserved award, I believe. The nominees for Best Actress in a Supporting Role were Patricia Arquette of Boyhood, Laura Dern of Wild, Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game, Emma Stone in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and Meryl Streep of Into the Woods. Patricia Arquette won for her role in Boyhood, a film that was created over twelve years, beating favorites such as Meryl Streep. The nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role were Robert Duvall in The Judge, Ethan Hawke in Boyhood, Edward Norton in Birdman, Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher, J.K. Simmons in Whiplash. The winner was J.K. Simmons as he portrayed an unrelenting drumming instructor in Whiplash; however, I believe the award should have gone to Edward Norton, who delivered a masterful performance in Birdman.

For Best Actress in a Leading Role, Marion Cotillard of Two Days, One Night, Felicity Jones of The Theory of Everything, Julianne Moore of Still Alice, Rosamund Pike of Gone Girl, and Reese Witherspoon of Wild were all nominated, with Julianne Moore being the winner for an extraordinary performance. For Best Actor in a Leading Role, the nominees were Steve Carell in The Foxcatcher, Bradley Cooper in American Sniper, Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, Michael Keaton in Birdman, and Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything. The winner was Eddie Redmayne, for a brilliant performance as the scientist, Stephen Hawkings. Finally, the award everybody was waiting for, Best Picture. Despite the incredible films, Birdman took home the great award, a film depicting a washed-up actor as he battles his ego while he tries to recover his family and save his dwindling career. The film’s director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, is the first Mexican director to win an Oscar. With groundbreaking achievements and an excellent year for films, we now will begin to look forward to what this year has in store for us.