[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The awards never go to the right person. Why? Because there is no right person. This is important to remember as we approach the 87th Academy Awards, airing on Sunday. 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.
Welcome to the first annual Matt, Ian, and Blake (or MIB) Awards! Not be confused with the secret organization dedicated to monitoring extraterrestrial activity on Earth.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”346″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow”][vc_column_text]
Best Adapted Screenplay
Blake: Few films from last year surprised me more than Whiplash. Just when you think the script is about to take a familiar turn for the sentimental, it takes a hard left turn in the other direction. It all builds toward a stirring conclusion that caps the film with a crescendo.
Ian: I’m going to give this one to Guardians of the Galaxy. Hands down the funniest action movie I’ve ever seen. I was literally crying from laughing (and also crying from crying at moments, too).
Matt: This is where I will give Whiplash its due. Short and sweet with powerful performances. I’ll take that over buildings blowing up any day.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”343″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow”][vc_column_text]
Best Original Screenplay
Blake: Birdman and Nightcrawler both merited consideration here, but Snowpiercer ultimately brings home the hardware. This post-apocalyptic actioner packages issues of class inequality and global warming in an exhilarating and violent thrill ride that never hits the brakes.
Ian: The Grand Budapest Hotel. It hasn’t been until recently that I learned to appreciate the genius ofWes Anderson, but I’m quickly learning that few other people in Hollywood match his ability to tell delightly hilarious, enticing, absurd stories.
Matt: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson. It’s a film I would want to write and direct. Wes’s originality is only matched by Tim Getting.
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Best Supporting Actress
Blake: Some will argue that Emily Blunt is the female lead of Edge of Tomorrow, but I don’t care. I’ve been a Blunt fan for a while now, and this is like nothing she has done before. She makes for a badass action hero and manages to upstage even Tom Cruise.
Ian: All three of us picked at least one unorthodox choice in the acting categories (spoiler alert?), so this category will be mine with Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Let’s be real, J-Law rocks pretty much every role she ever does, and the badass yet heartbreaking Mystique is no exception. AND she does it all with not much more than green screens and a blue jump-suit.
Matt: Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game — I’m all in. Imitation Game fanboy.
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Best Supporting Actor
Blake: The Academy will get this one right. I’ve been a fan of J.K. Simmons’ work for a long time now, and he delivered the best performance of his career in Whiplash. Psychologically abusing impressionable music students has never been more gripping or compelling.
Ian: Unfortunately I have yet to see Whiplash… I have heard and read nothing but admiration for J.K Simmons’ performance. With that said, I need to give this to Edward Norton in Birdman. He played the pretentious actor stereotype to perfection; yet no matter how heinously annoying he became, I still felt almost sympathetic. My favorite performance in a film full of great performances.
Matt: Godzilla for Godzilla. That growl though… I will admit Blake gave me this idea. It’s the right choice for me in this category.
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Best Actress
Blake: Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl, please. For the sake of spoiler-phobes, I won’t go into great detail, but Pike is sensational as “Amazing” Amy Dunne. As ridiculous as the plot’s twists and turns became, I never once doubted what her character was capable of.
Ian: I’m really anxious to see Julianne Moore’s performance in Still Alice, as I’ve heard she is awe-inspiring (which is not surprising, considering she has swept all of the awards this season). But alas, I can’t deny that Rosamund Pike was great in Gone Girl.
Matt: Rosamund Pike for Gone Girl. She was the best part of the movie I was most excited to see in 2014.
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Best Actor
Blake: I could give this to Michael Keaton, Jake Gyllenhaal or David Oyelowo and feel I made a good choice. But instead, I’m going to go with the underappreciated Andy Serkis. His motion capture performance as Caesar in Dawn of The Planet of The Apes was truly remarkable.
Ian: In a year dominated by powerful portrayals of real-world men (Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking, Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, David Oyelowo as MLK, Steve Carell as John DuPont, Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle), I gotta give my love to Michael Keaton for his portrayal of fictional Riggan Thompson in Birdman. Ironically, Riggan nearly mirrors Michael’s real-life career; but more than that, Keaton’s performance flawlessly walks the line of ruthless yet sympathetic, boisterous yet subtle, painfully dramatic yet laugh-out-loud comedic.
Matt: Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game. He killed it. Loved his confidence and his name.
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Best Director
Blake: How can I award this to anyone but Phil Lord and Christopher Miller for The LEGO Movie? What could’ve been a feature-length advertisement for LEGOs was instead a clever spoof of the “chosen one” narrative that proved entertaining to both kids and adults alike.
Ian: Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman. (I’m glad I could Google how to spell his name, otherwise this award may have gone to someone else.) I hate to keep giving all my love to the same film, but Inarritu’s single, unbroken, tracking-shot style was visually astonishing. However, its purpose was more than just cinematic wizardry; the style gave me a sense of intimacy and immersion I don’t feel with most films, almost like I was watching a stage play. Plus, those long shots must have required hella amounts of meticulous coordination.
Matt: Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel. I have a great respect for his films. This one was probably my favorite.
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Best Picture
Blake: I’m tempted to go with The Interview here, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t dole out top honors to Whiplash. I know I’m bordering on excessive hype, but this is as close to a perfect movie as I’ve ever seen — and it more than held up on a second viewing.
Ian: This will come as no surprise based on my other answers, but the best film I saw this year was Birdman. It may have been a case of “right person, right time” for me… but when I left the theatre on that chilly November night, I knew I had just seen something unlike any movie I had ever seen before.
Matt: I’ll pull a Blake and say “I’m tempted to go with The Grand Budapest Hotel” because I really like Wes Anderson and want to give him his due. But I can’t forget how much I loved The Imitation Game.
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Custom Categories
Why let the Academy dictate what categories we can use for our own awards? We decided to cook up some custom categories of our own to recognize a few of our favorite films that might’ve been otherwise ignored during awards season.
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Most Fun Movie
Blake: Comic book movies can rule the box office and win awards, too. Guardians of The Galaxywas the most impressive effort thus far from Marvel Studios, with a recipe for success that included a gun-toting raccoon, a tree that walks and talks, and a Walkman.
Ian: The LEGO Movie. This is one of the best animated movies ever made. With an endless cast of lovable careers, any person of any age has a blast watching this side-splittingly funny thrill ride.
Matt: Watching the Kansas City Royals make it to the World Series was some serious fun for me. In the cinematic world, I guess I will have to go with The Grand Budapest Hotel. Admittedly, a lame choice for this category. Special mention: Edge of Tomorrow. I really enjoyed it.
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Best Sequel
Blake: This is a tough one. But I think I have to go with X-Men – Days of Future Past. It was the most ambitious sequel of the year, with a huge risk of failure. But the return of director Bryan Singer to the franchise helped repair the damage from less-than-stellar previous installments.
Ian: 22 Jump Street. I rarely go out of my way to watch modern comedies. The first Jump Street well-exceeded my low expectations, but the abundantly self-referential sequel puts its predecessor to shame.
Matt: Not a lot of good choices. I feel like I’m stretching here but I will go with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Always been a fan of the franchise and really enjoyed this year’s installment.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”340″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow”][vc_column_text]
Most Disappointing Movie
Blake, Ian, and Matt: Foxcatcher.
Special mention from Matt: I really disliked the ending of Gone Girl. Like big time, because I wanted more from David Fincher.
Special mention from Ian: In addition to Foxcatcher, I was relatively disappointed by Interstellar. Good movie, but definitely not great. Chris Nolan’s worst movie in my opinion (but hey, if that’s his worst movie, he’s had a damn fine career).
Special mention from Blake: I felt like I needed to contribute a special mention also, since all the cool kids were doing it. Kevin Smith’s Tusk was not as good as I had hoped.
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