The awards never go to the right person. Why? Because there is no right person. This is important to remember as we approach the 89th Academy Awards, airing tomorrow. There is no mathematical equation to determine the winners. Voters vote based on their own personal opinion. So why bother predicting the winners? You’re just guessing whose opinion is going to win out. Instead, I’ve teamed up with two other close friends and cinephiles — aspiring actor Ian Goldsmith and former Warner Bros. Studio tour guide Matt Bauerly — to name winners of our own.

We’re back!

Welcome to the third annual Matt, Ian, and Blake (or MIB) Awards! Not be confused with the secret organization dedicated to monitoring extraterrestrial activity on Earth.

Best Popcorn Film

Blake: Star Trek Beyond. I loved Star Trek, but the flaws of Star Trek Into Darkness became more obvious upon repeat viewings, so I was hoping Star Trek Beyond would be a return to form for the rebooted franchise, even without director J.J. Abrams behind the camera. Fortunately, Star Trek Beyond was exactly that, offering the franchise a second wind by tapping into what made the original series so fun and compelling. And while Kirk and Spock are front and center, the rest of the crew are each afforded a moment in the spotlight in the latest interstellar adventure of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.

Ian: Deadpool. I ate very little popcorn this year. Even though my girlfriend loves popcorn, my consumption remained limited because I saw very few “popcorn films.” I wanted to, or at least I thought as much: getting hyped at the release of a trailer but “never get around to it” by the time it hit big screens. Honestly, I think my Marvel/DC/Harry Potter/Star Wars tank finally ran dry this year. You know what movie I did get around to seeing? Deadpool. And THANK GOD, because I had more unbridled fun watching that movie than any movie in recent memory.  

Matt: Arrival. Whispering to your neighbor at the movies to clarify you are following along with the plot is a great sign you are going to enjoy the film. Arrival provides a knockout performance from Amy Adams as you follow along her journey. It is your stereotypical “thinker” but checks off everything you would want from a great movie.

Best Sequel

Blake: Captain America – Civil War. While Batman and Superman were squabbling over who was more of a man, the real heavyweight showdown last year was between Captain America and Iron Man, who differed on the concept of government oversight when it comes to the unchecked vigilantism of the Avengers. Whereas Batman v Superman attempted to establish and then resolve a conflict between two iconic characters in the span of a few hours, Civil War is the end of a fuse that has been burning since The Avengers. It’s also a rousing final chapter in arguably the best trilogy the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer thus far.

Ian: 10 Cloverfield Lane. This film is barely a sequel to Cloverfield outside of a mutual shared concept: The audience tries to decipher what’s going on while some unseen ominous antagonist awaits the characters. *cue the haters* “Ian, isn’t that the concept to several horror and thriller films?” Yes, but not the way the Cloverfield franchise does it. 10 Cloverfield Lane burns with tension of all paces from start to finish, leaving me constantly re-evaluating my understanding of the premise. P.S. Shoutout to John Goodman for stealing the show in an uncharacteristic turn for the scary.

Matt: Ghostbusters – Answer the Call. Admittedly, no other choices for me in this category. I did enjoy this female reboot of Ghostbusters. Kate McKinnon is quickly becoming an A-List actress and think she is really funny. I thought the storyline was decent and the movie was worth going out to the theaters. Probably won’t watch it again until it’s on Netflix or something though.

Best Under-The-Radar Film

Blake: Hell or High Water. This is the kind of film you don’t see much anymore. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are a pair of brothers who embark on a brief career as blue collar bank robbers in a desperate bid to save their family ranch from foreclosure. Jeff Bridges is a Texas Ranger on the brink of forced retirement as he and his partner attempt to put the brakes on the brothers’ spree. From the writer of Sicario, Hell or High Water is another brilliant but understated film about the institutions that are trampling the people who look to them for safety and security.

Ian: Don’t Think Twice. Every year I have that one movie that hits me hard in just the right time, place, and way. This movie couldn’t have hit me at a better (or worse?) time. Don’t Think Twice follows six members of an improv troupe, which already hits embarrassingly close to home. What I didn’t anticipate is how depressingly real it takes on the life of comedians, tackling the question, “How do friendships survive through inevitably contrasting levels of success?” Though presented through the lens of improv comedians, this is a question people of any field can find true to reality.

Matt: The Accountant. Well, Ben Affleck had an interesting year to say the least and thought he was an interesting choice for this film. Going in with very low expectations, I was really impressed with how this film held up and kept my interest from beginning to end. Also, Anna Kendrick… Yeah, big fan. It’s a solid thriller with Ben Affleck’s character being very interesting. It’s definitely worth a RedBox.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Blake: Deadpool. There is a reason the opening credits refer to the film’s screenwriters Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick as “the real heroes here.” Deadpool isn’t your standard comic book superhero, and thus warranted a film that was much different from your standard issue superhero film. Aside from the lead performance — in a role that Ryan Reynolds was born to play — what makes Deadpool stand apart is the obvious affection the writers have for the character and the fact that they were allowed the freedom to create a worthy adaptation.

Ian: Deadpool. Blake won’t admit it, but I had this picked as the winner of this category a month before he did. (Editor’s Note: He did. Suck it, Ian.) It’s easy to forget now how much anticipation preceded this movie among the comic nerds and Redditors of the world. The comic book character with the strongest cult following, many fans doubted anyone could properly bring the “Merc with a Mouth” to the big screen. He’s too witty. He’s too meta. He’s too crass. He’s too violent. He’s too unconventional. Yet against all odds, Rhees and Wernick wrote one of the most witty, meta, crass, violent, unconventional films I’ve ever seen.

Matt: Lion. Seeing ‘Based On A True Story’ is a favorite of mine before I watch a movie. This incredible story with make you laugh and cry. Guaranteed. Just a fascinating film to observe a man determined to find his mother and brother after becoming separated at a young age. Dev Patel does a brilliant job of making you feel the agony as he longs to fill the void in his heart. It’s a must see and a big reminder… Bring your tissues.

Best Original Screenplay

Blake: Manchester By The Sea. For a somber, heartbreaking film about how we cope when faced with unimaginable tragedy, you’ll be surprised how much you’ll laugh throughout, and I’m not talking about unintentional laughter. I’m talking about those awkward moments of morbid humor that have a habit of penetrating moments of deep loss and vulnerability in real life. Details like that are what separate Manchester By The Sea from lesser films that are more concerned with eliciting tears than capturing the authentic emotions of their characters.

Ian: Zootopia. I’m no stranger to children’s movies; I’ve been watching them my entire life. Upon growing up, you realize the best “children’s” movies have always found a way to cater towards adults, even if it’s just a subtle sex joke that goes over young heads. However, in recent history we have seen an unprecedented surge in the most poignant issues of society disguising themselves as movies for the whole family. Last year, my pick for Best Picture was an animated film that helped de-stigmatize depression. This year, the best animated film unflinchingly calls out society’s ingrained stereotypes, while creating a laugh-out-loud animal tale. (or tail. GET IT!?)

Matt: La La Land. This is why you go to the movies. Your typical romance story that takes you away from reality and see two people that seem perfect for each other in Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. I thoroughly enjoyed Gosling’s character as he reminded me a lot of myself. It does have your typical musical moments but there is a reason why everyone will be talking about this film come Oscar Sunday. It’s a treat to watch and will be joining my blu-ray collection. Oh, and did I mention I used to work at Warner Bros. Studios, where a lot of this film took place…

Best Supporting Actress

Blake: Angourie Rice for The Nice Guys. How many sixteen-year-olds do you know that can effortlessly master the crafty wordplay of a Shane Black script and also go toe to toe with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe? As the clever and capable daughter of Gosling’s emotionally unstable gumshoe Holland March, Rice shows a maturity well beyond her years, and I can only hope this is the breakout performance that spurs her young acting career.

Ian: All four of the following acting categories were difficult for me, because few performances this year really stuck with me. This has everything to do with my disgraceful lack of movie viewing in 2016. I feel particularly short in this category… I can only assume Viola Davis is breathtaking in Fences, or that the ladies of Hidden Figures are superb… but until viewing, I’m left assuming. In the meantime, my pick goes to Molly Shannon for Other People. The quirky Superstar star plays a mother dying from advanced stages of cancer. While devastating, she hits every note as the patient who still knows how to crack a joke, offer motherly advice, and put on a smile to hold the family together.

Matt: Michelle Williams for Manchester by the Sea. I just think she’s great in everything she does. I couldn’t really find another choice. In a film solely dictated by powerful performances, she steals the screen and provides gut wrenching moments under horrible circumstances. The film is extremely grey and depressing but it’s nominated for all these awards because of excellent acting performances.

Best Supporting Actor

Blake: John Goodman for 10 Cloverfield Lane. Goodman is utterly mesmerizing as the unbalanced owner of a doomsday bunker who brings a car accident survivor down into his shelter, where he assures her that the outside world has been decimated by some sort of nuclear attack. It’s a testament to his layered performance that you’re never quite certain of his true intentions until late in the film. The casting of Goodman — whom some still remember as the lovable husband Dan Conner from TV’s Roseanne — was a stroke of genius here.

Ian: Hugo Weaving for Hacksaw Ridge. Though I originally had Goodman here, I ultimately decided to give this award to Weaving for his role of the drunk, abusive father and World War I vet with PTSD. I am a sucker for characters that are shades of grey. For every moment that I was genuinely terrified of Weaving, I found him equally sympathetic and heartbreaking.

Matt: Lucas Hedges for Manchester by the Sea. The best part of this film is the relationship between Lucas Hedges’ character and Casey Affleck’s character. The two misfits join together in unfortunate circumstance but the real life scenarios they go through are both heartwarming and hilarious. Lucas Hedges is your typical boy from Boston and provides some great color in an overall depressing movie.

Best Actress

Blake: Emma Stone for La La Land. She’s a come a long way since Superbad. Admittedly, it’s not exactly a performance that stretches her acting range, but for me the dealbreaker was the last 30 minutes of the film. Her character Mia Dolan is a dreamer, and the pain that comes from pursuing that dream and allowing yourself to be vulnerable is all too real as Mia considers turning her back on the career she’s always dreamed of having. And although she isn’t the best singer, that audition number is the perfect crescendo to her performance.

Ian: Emma Stone for La La Land. Shhhh… I know. Believe me, I agree with you. Could they have picked a better singer for the role? Yes. A better dancer? Sure. Someone who has actually had to audition for a role in the last decade? Fair. Someone not white? Of course. All of that to say, it is hard to deny that she swimmingly embodies the starry-eyed dreamer looking for a big break. Her performance goes from good to great in her subtleties, best marked by moments such as her break-up over homemade dinner that walked the fine line of being powerful but not over-animated.

Matt: Viola Davis for Fences. She steals the show in a Denzel Washington movie. Fences is a very basic film that is just about living the hard life in the 1950s for an African-American family. Viola Davis provides a great performance and will no doubt take home the ‘Supporting Actress’ Oscar even though she was the best actress in 2016.

Best Actor

Blake: I’ll make the unconventional choice and split this award between Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes for Moonlight. Moonlight is essentially three chapters in the life of an African American male who struggles with his sexuality while growing up in an environment that wants to eat him alive for who he is, and each actor assumes the role of Chiron at a different point in his life. If their performances aren’t seamless across the board, the film doesn’t pack the same punch. Fortunately, all three performances work in concert to create a tortured soul who often says more with one facial expression than he does with words.

Ian: In the many, many years (three) we’ve handed out MIB Awards, this is the first time I didn’t have an obvious choice for Best Actor. Like every acting category for me this year, no performance truly blew me away. I never got to see academy favorites such as Denzel Washington, Casey Affleck, or Mahershala Ali. Don’t get me wrong, I did see good lead actor performances… Ryan Reynolds was flawlessly sarcastic as Deadpool, Ryan Gosling did his best moody pianist impression in La La Land, and Andrew Garfield was convincingly miserable on top of Hacksaw Ridge. In a frustrating and humbling move, I’ve decided to follow Blake’s newfound precedent and just give the award to all three. *cue the haters*

Matt: Ryan Gosling for La La Land. He almost always plays the heartthrob that always gets the girl. Well, I am giving Gosling the nod here because I really think this film is going to win Best Picture because of his performance. His character doesn’t have everything figured out and I thought it comes off as very refreshing. You don’t really know if everything is going to work out. Like I mentioned earlier, I related to his character in this film and thought it was giant step forward for Mr. Gosling.

Best Director

Blake: Denis Villeneuve for Arrival. Initially, I had planned on awarding this to Damien Chazelle for La La Land — that opening number on the Los Angeles highway, among other scenes, was breathtaking — but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to recognize Villeneuve. I’ve actually read the script for Arrival, and it is such a challenging film to visualize, but Villeneuve renders it beautifully. Just watch the scene where the lead characters make their first foray into the spacecraft, and you’ll know exactly what I mean. Villeneuve is a visual artist.

Ian: Mike Birbiglia for Don’t Think Twice. My favorite discovery of the past year that isn’t musical (looking at you Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, and Hamilton) was Mike Birbiglia. He quickly became my new favorite stand-up comedian. He has a way of sharing compelling, vulnerable, and self-reflecting stories while still being brilliantly gut-busting hilarious. This year, he found a way to tell a hilarious, compelling, self-reflecting story through a new medium: writing and directing a feature film. His transition to the big screen was so flawless you’d have no idea it was his directorial debut. Achievements in directing nowadays are marked by “big things” like well-crafted tracking shots and immersive universes. It’s easy to forget that sometimes it’s the “small things” that make a director shine: things like the moments that are laced throughout Don’t Think Twice that feel so real you’d think it was a documentary. I can’t wait to see what Birbiglia does next!

Matt: Denzel Washington for Fences. A movie based on conversations in the back yard. Sounds boring, doesn’t it? Well, Fences is far from it and I believe it has Denzel’s touch all over it. Just a great family-oriented film that will test your emotions big time.

Best Picture

Blake: Arrival. Arrival is about so much more than aliens. The drama comes not from a conflict with interstellar travels, but from the conflict we create amongst ourselves when confronted with the terror of the unknown — when we allow fear and paranoia to give way to our worst instincts. At a critical point in history when mankind has never been more divided, Arrival offers a glimmer of hope for humanity, as long as people are willing to open their minds and their hearts.

Ian: La La Land. I am a dreamer. Many of my friends are dreamers, too. To those who don’t self-identify as “dreamers,” it may be easy to write off this film as being too full of sunshine, literally and metaphorically. On the contrary, La La Land provides a window into two fears that us dreamers know all too well: 1) the fear of the uncertainty of the future, and 2) the fear of what could have been. A treat to the senses both visually and audibly, this film modernizes the nostalgia of the Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds era, begging us to appreciate traditional movie musicals the way Gosling’s character begs others to appreciate jazz. To quote my girlfriend, “There are two types of people in the world: Those who like La La Land, and those who don’t have magic in their soul.”

Matt: La La Land. I am admittedly writing this under a tight deadline and the audience for this blog post will understand. (Blake’s ungodly pressure…) (Editor’s Note: He had two months. Two months!) But anyway, when I ask myself, “What was my favorite film I watched this past year?” The answer is La La Land. It’s just a lot of fun to watch and something I plan on re-watching in the near future. I don’t think I can say that about many other films from 2016.