THE OSCARS 2016

cate-blanchett-lucille-ball
brie larson
I though 2015 was a strong year for movies. Of course one of my favorite movies of 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road, won’t get the respect it deserves. I liked Sylvester Stallone’s performance in CREED, but Michael B. Jordan should have gotten a nomination, too. That might have negated some of the controversy about the lack of diversity in the nomination process. Here are my guesses who will win tonight. Who do you think will win?
Best Picture: The Revenant

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Best Actress: Brie Larson, Room

Best Supporting Actor: Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Animated Feature Film: Inside Out

28 thoughts on “THE OSCARS 2016

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    I cannot think of a single year that I had less interest in the Academy Awards, and this is coming from a guy who started begging his mother to let him stay up to watch it back in the late 1950s. I am anticipating yet another bad, boring show with a bunch of presenters who don’t belong there. Chris Rock did a mediocre job as host before and I don’t expect better tonight. In addition, as George’s list above indicates, there is virtually NO suspense in who will win the major awards.

    Add it up and all I have to say is, keep off my lawn.

    What do I want to see? Sophia Loren, Sidney Poitier, Julie Andrews, Julie Christie, Barbra Streisand, Maggie Smith.

    What do they have in common? They are the surviving Best Actor and Actress winners from the 1960s. Let’s not even mention Olivia de Havilland.

    I’d rather see over/under odds on staying awake to the end. I’m not confident on that.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, don’t hold back on your Oscar feelings! I agree: the 3+ hours of speeches is too long and boring. And, let’s face it, we have no STARS like Sophia Loren, Sidney Poitier, Julie Andrews, Julie Christie, Barbra Streisand, Maggie Smith, and Olivia de Haviland on that Academy Awards stage tonight.

      Reply
  2. Deb

    It’s going to be an uncomfortable show with the lack of diversity among the nominees and Chris Rock having to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds, as it were. But, as always, our family members have completed our ballots and are looking forward to the glitz and glamour of the red carpet plus seeing which one of us will have bragging rights for guessing the most winners this year. I agree with all of your choices except best picture, I’m going with THE MARTIAN.

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    1. george Post author

      Deb, I really liked THE MARTIAN but when is the last time a science fiction movie won BEST PICTURE? The Academy isn’t giving MAD MAX: FURY ROAD enough love in my humble opinion.

      Reply
  3. Bill Crider

    Like Jeff, I used to care about the Oscars. When I was a kid, I listened to the presentations on radio. When I was a freshman in college, a group of us rented a TV set for the night so we could watch. Now I don’t pay much attention and haven’t watched more than a few minutes of a presentation in years.

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    1. george Post author

      Bill, I’m not sure I can hang in there until midnight to see the awarding of the “Big” Academy Awards. Diane and Katie love the Red Carpet stuff.

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      1. Richard R.

        Not on the west coast, George, here it’s live in our time zone. If I watched every minute, I could still be in bed by 9:30 if I wanted to, which I don’t.

  4. Jeff Meyerson

    Here’s a surprise – even Jackie is ready to blow it off. At least we’ll skip the red carpet and the opening to catch up on the episodes we missed of THE WALKING DEAD.

    Bill, I miss the old days too. Bob Hope was the perfect host. Johnny Carson was good too.

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  5. Wolf Böhrendt

    George, Brie Larson really is good lookin’ – is she as good as an actress?
    Then she deserves the “Oscar” – our German magazine SPIEGEL thinks so too.

    What you didn’t mention is the category best foreign movie – here a Hungarian film might win:
    Son of Saul – which reminds us about the horrors of Auschwitz.

    I’ll be asleep when the whole thing starts but I’ll read up on it tomorrow.
    Everybody have fun watching the ceremony!

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  6. Richard R.

    I won’t watch, since I watch few films and don’t care much, but also because no Native American Eskimos were nominated for major roles so it’s obvious the whole thing is rigged, **JOKE** but not funny because I think the “controversy” over “lack of color” among nominees is baloney – – it’s supposed to be about acting, not race, culture or creed. Barbara will watch for the clothes, or something. I’ll take this last day of February to read a few more short stories.

    Reply
    1. Wolf Böhrendt

      Richard, shouldn’t we men watch not for the clothing, but for some clothing malfunction? 🙂

      I’ve seen pictures from the last years’ celebration with “sparse clothing” – sometimes the ladies looked as if there were a shortage of materials …

      Reply
  7. Jeff Meyerson

    Wolf, the Hungarian film did indeed win. Congratulations to them.

    What we did was watch the first three episodes of THE WALKING DEAD and turn on the Oscars at 10, watching the last two hours. I was very pleased to see Mark Rylance’s upset win for Best Supporting Actor. His remarkably subtle performance was wonderful. And I was happy that SPOTLIGHT won Best Picture.

    Reply
  8. Wolf Böhrendt

    Thanks, Jeff and George!

    This win by the Jewish Hungarian film upsets a few Hungarians because they don’t want to hear about their responsibility for helping the Germans deport so many of their countrymen.
    So it’s a very good thing that they have to think about this.
    In a way I’m proud that we Germans somehow made our peace with those horrible times – yes our fathers did this and we do not want anything similar to happen again!

    Spotlight of course is also a “problem movie” – some years ago it would have been inconceivable to make this kind …
    But the times they are a’changing …

    Reply
  9. Richard R.

    While reading in another room, I got up to stretch and wandered into the living room to catch a minute of the Oscars. I saw Chris Rock bring out his (he said) daughters to sell Girl Scout cookies while he called out stars names and “salaries”. What an idiot. So I left the room. Is that what the Oscars has devolved to? SO inappropriate! WTF. I heard this morning he did a long “Hollywood is racist” rant to open. Nice, pour a little gas on the flames. Phooey.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Meyerson

      It reminded me of Ellen collecting money for a pizza delivery. This is not the Hollywood we knew.

      How many past Oscar winners did you see, other than the ones from last year or two? Morgan Freeman and Lou Gossett and Whoopi Goldberg? And that went with the theme of half the presenters seemingly black. Jack Nicholson doesn’t even show up any more. Unless you are nominated or presenting you no longer seem to bother coming.

      Bah, humbug.

      Keep off my lawn.

      Reply

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