This Sunday sees Hollywood come together for the 88th Annual Academy Awards with plenty of questions to be answered.
Can Leo finally end his Oscar voodoo? Will his Titanic co-star Kate Winslet be joining him on the podium? Is it to be a lovely day for Mad Max: Fury Road? Will Sylvester Stallone and his beloved Rocky Balboa land Oscar glory on the 40th anniversary of their big-screen debut? Is there going to be controversy from host Chris Rock regarding the #OscarsSoWhite scandal?
We will all know soon enough by Monday morning.
In the meantime, here are the Cinematique’s final predictions for the 2016 Oscars….
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BEST PICTURE
THE BIG SHORT
BRIDGE OF SPIES
BROOKLYN
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
THE REVENANT
ROOM
SPOTLIGHT
WILL WIN? – THE REVENANT – Despite missing out on a PGA win, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s brutal thriller has secured key victories at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. However don’t be surprised if The Big Short or Spotlight pull off a possible upset.
SHOULD WIN? – SPOTLIGHT – Between this, Bridge of Spies and The Martian, I’ve just given the nod here to the brilliant journalism drama. Whilst it has struggled to land key awards, the film deserves to be recognised for its powerful message about the unfortunate victims of child abuse.
IGNORED? – STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS – JJ Abrams took us back to a galaxy far, far away and delighted billions of us with his excellent installment of one of cinema’s greatest franchises.
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BEST DIRECTOR
Lenny Abrahamson – ROOM
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – THE REVENANT
Tom McCarthy – SPOTLIGHT
Adam McKay – THE BIG SHORT
George Miller – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
WILL WIN? – ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU – The Mexican director is looking certain to clinch back-to-back successes here having won this award last year for Birdman.
SHOULD WIN? – TOM MCCARTHY – Whilst he should win the Original Screenplay gong, McCarthy deserved more recognition for directing a film with a difficult theme.
IGNORED? – RIDLEY SCOTT– Despite The Martian’s major success with both critics and audiences, the veteran British filmmaker missed out on a nod (even after being mentioned elsewhere!).
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BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston – TRUMBO
Matt Damon – THE MARTIAN
Leonardo Di-Caprio – THE REVENANT
Michael Fassbender – STEVE JOBS
Eddie Redmayne – THE DANISH GIRL
WILL WIN? – LEONARDO DI-CAPRIO – After missing out on various occasions in the past, Leo is all set to finally land his Oscar for a physically-powerful performance that is worthy of the honour.
SHOULD WIN?– LEONARDO DI-CAPRIO – Unless he commits a full scale massacre in the next few days, Leo should have his speech ready.
IGNORED? – WILL SMITH – His mesmerising performance (complete with a top notch Nigerian accent) was overlooked by the Academy which unfortunately led to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
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BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – CAROL
Brie Larson – ROOM
Jennifer Lawrence – JOY
Charlotte Rampling – 45 YEARS
Saoirse Ronan – BROOKLYN
WILL WIN? – BRIE LARSON – With Room being well-received by many audiences, this emotionally-powerful portrayal has helped her sweep the key Best Actress awards so far. Not bad for a first time nominee!
SHOULD WIN? – BRIE LARSON – Like Leo, she too should be getting her speech prepared.
IGNORED? – CAREY MULLIGAN – Suffragette’s lack of attention anywhere is one of the biggest disappointments of this awards season which is a shame given that Mulligan delivered a traumatising performance!
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale – THE BIG SHORT
Tom Hardy – THE REVENANT
Mark Ruffalo – SPOTLIGHT
Mark Rylance – BRIDGE OF SPIES
Sylvester Stallone – CREED
WILL WIN? – SYLVESTER STALLONE – After all those Razzie wins, it looks certain that Sly will finally be rewarded for his effective work as his iconic character Rocky Balboa. However late pressure from Mark Rylance could lead to a split decision!
SHOULD WIN? – SYLVESTER STALLONE – Sentimentality will play a key factor here especially as it would awesome to see the big guy receive the award forty years after Rocky’s initial success. All those round of applause’s say it all!
IGNORED? – JACOB TREMBLAY – The talented youngster almost stole Room from his older co-star but the ‘young’ factor played a part in him missing out.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh – THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Rooney Mara – CAROL
Rachel McAdams – SPOTLIGHT
Alicia Vikander – THE DANISH GIRL
Kate Winslet – STEVE JOBS
WILL WIN? – ALICIA VIKANDER – Despite late pressure from Kate Winslet, the Swedish beauty enjoyed an incredible 2015/16 which should be enough to help her land Oscar glory.
SHOULD WIN? – ROONEY MARA – While her role was arguably lead, Mara delivered a wonderful performance that didn’t garner more success for her during the season.
IGNORED? – ELIZABETH BANKS – Her subtle turn in the Beach Boys biopic Love & Mercy deserved a bit more attention as did the film itself.
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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BRIDGE OF SPIES, Matt Charman, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
EX MACHINA, Alex Garland
INSIDE OUT, Josh Cooley, Pete Docter & Meg LeFauve
SPOTLIGHT, Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman, S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus
WILL WIN? – SPOTLIGHT – Recent wins at BAFTA and the WGA have pretty much allowed this film to take the award here.
SHOULD WIN? – SPOTLIGHT – It’s just a shame that this will probably be the only accolade it will win on the night itself.
IGNORED? – THE HATEFUL EIGHT –Tarantino’s mastery continue to flourish here despite the film’s use of racist language.
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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SHORT, Adam McKay & Charles Randolph
BROOKLYN, Nick Hornby
CAROL, Phyllis Nagy
THE MARTIAN, Drew Goddard
ROOM, Emma Donoghue
WILL WIN? – THE BIG SHORT – The economic crisis flick had an electric screenplay that gained a boost from its recent BAFTA victory. Just a shame the film itself was a bit overrated!
SHOULD WIN? – THE MARTIAN – Drew Goddard’s terrific adaption did well in making farming and science sound fascinating.
IGNORED? – STEVE JOBS – Aaron Sorkin was celebrating Golden Globe success with the film last month yet he didn’t make the cut here.
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BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BRIDGE OF SPIES
THE DANISH GIRL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
THE REVENANT
WILL WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
SHOULD WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
IGNORED? – CINDERELLA – Like Maleficent last year, it’s clear that Disney just aren’t popular in this category!
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BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
CAROL
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
SICARIO
WILL WIN? – THE REVENANT
SHOULD WIN? – THE REVENANT
IGNORED? – BRIDGE OF SPIES – The Cold War drama had some majestic cinematography but ended up being overlooked.
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BEST COSTUME DESIGN
CAROL
CINDERELLA
THE DANISH GIRL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
WILL WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
SHOULD WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
IGNORED? – CRIMSON PEAK – The Gothic costumes were expertly made yet Guillermo Del Toro’s horror failed to garner a single nod.
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BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIR
THE 100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED THROUGH THE WINDOW
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
WILL WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
SHOULD WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
IGNORED? – BLACK MASS – The work done on Johnny Depp was top notch yet it wasn’t evough to get the film nominated.
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BEST EDITING
THE BIG SHORT
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
SPOTLIGHT
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
WILL WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
SHOULD WIN? – THE REVENANT
IGNORED? – THE MARTIAN – The sci-fi blockbuster could have done with a nomination here to strengthen its Oscar chances.
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BEST SOUND EDITING
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
THE REVENANT
SICARIO
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
WILL WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
SHOULD WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
IGNORED? – JURASSIC WORLD – Hearing the iconic T-Rex roar gave us plenty of goosebumps yet the film didn’t make the cut.
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BEST SOUND MIXING
BRIDGE OF SPIES
THE MARTIAN
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
WILL WIN? – THE REVENANT
SHOULD WIN? – MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
IGNORED? – THE HATEFUL EIGHT – The gunfire sound effects were exceptional but not enough to get a mention here.
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BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
EX MACHINA
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
THE REVENANT
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
WILL WIN? – STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
SHOULD WIN? – STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
IGNORED? – THE WALK – The special effects used to recreate the walk between the twin towers deserved to be recognised despite reports of some audiences suffering from nausea and vomiting.
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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Carter Burwell – CAROL
Johann Johnasson – SICARIO
Ennio Morricone – THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Thomas Newman – BRIDGE OF SPIES
John Williams – STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
WILL WIN? – THE HATEFUL EIGHT
SHOULD WIN? – STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
IGNORED? – THE 33 – It’s a bitter shame that the late James Horner couldn’t have received one more nomination after such a remarkable career.
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BEST ORIGINAL SONG
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, “Earned It”
THE HUNTING GROUND, “Till It Happens To You”
RACING EXTINCTION, “Manta Ray”
SPECTRE, “Writing’s on the Wall”
YOUTH, “Simple Song #3”
WILL WIN? – THE HUNTING GROUND
SHOULD WIN? – THE HUNTING GROUND
IGNORED? – LOVE & MERCY – “One Kind of Love” – Brian Wilson’s soulful song didn’t even make the eligibility list having been an early favourite for this award.
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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
ANOMALISA
BOY & THE WORLD
INSIDE OUT
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE
WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE
WILL WIN? – INSIDE OUT – Pixar look all but set to clinch yet another win in this category having swept the circuit throughout this season.
SHOULD WIN? – SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE – As brilliant as Inside Out was, I actually found myself enjoying this delightful film which wasn’t too baaaaaaaaaad.
IGNORED? – MINIONS – Despite being a massive box-office success, the Despicable Me spinoff was ignored by the Academy.
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