2019 Oscar Predictions!

2019 Oscar Predictions!

After a seemingly endless awards season, the Oscars are finally here! I have to admit this has not been my favorite season of movies so it makes the build-up to the Oscars a little less exciting.  But nevertheless, I still have some HOT TAKES about what I think should and will win the six main categories at this year’s Oscars! Last year, I did pretty, pretty good with my predictions for the 2018 Oscars, but this year I’m determined to do even better! I will go through each major category and explain who I think should win and who will win.  Here are my very unauthorized, somewhat informed 91st Academy Award predictions!

 

Best Picture Nominees:

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star Is Born

Vice

 

Should Win: A Star is Born was not only my favorite movie of the year, but I also think it was the best movie of the year.  It’s a timeless love story that brings out incomparable performances out of its two leads Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.  The music intergrates into the plot naturally rather than abruptly showing up without any real context as is the case in another Best Picture contender (cough, cough: Bohemian Rhapsody).  A Star Is Born is a film that exceeded audiences’ and critics’ expectations once it was released and became a massive hit. Therefore, I think it should be rewarded with the Best Picture prize at the Oscars.

Will Win: I wish I could be happy about this, but alas I cannot: Roma will win Best Picture this year.  Earlier this year when Roma debuted on Netflix, I was intrigued.  The film had so much great buzz coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival with many critics calling the film a bonafide masterpiece.  When I finally sat down to watch Roma, I was literally asleep within the first fifteen minutes.  I will admit the film is beautifully shot, but the story is almost nonexistent and none of the characters are memorable.  So why, you may ask, do I still think Roma will win Best Picture?  Because it has won almost all of the precursor awards thus far and from what I’ve read many Academy voters do view it as a technical achievement.  Roma is not my ideal Best Picture winner, but it is not the worst outcome.

 

Best Director Nominees:

Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Paweł Pawlikowski, Cold War

Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Adam McKay, Vice

 

Should Win: Ugh, can I say no one? I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of the directing abilities of this year’s crop of Best Director nominees.  Truthfully, I would’ve voted for Bradley Cooper, but he was undoubtedly snubbed. But if I have to choose who I think should win, I guess I would have to say Adam McKay.  Vice is my favorite movie (out of the five in this category) and I do think McKay did a good job at making a story that could be perceived as uninteresting, a very intriguing one.

Will Win: To round out the self-described Three Amigos (which includes last year’s winner Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu), Alfonso Cuarón will win Best Director.  In recent memory, the Best Directing Oscar has seemed to award technical achievement more than the direction of the film as a whole.  By those standards, Cuarón surpasses all the other nominees.  Although I did not particularly enjoy Roma, I acknowledge the good work that Cuarón did on the film.

 

Best Actor Nominees:

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born

Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

 

Should Win: I’ve been going back and forth about who I think should win because I think there are three strong contenders (Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Viggo Mortensen) in the category.  Ultimately, I would have to give the Oscar to Bradley Cooper.  He seamlessly transformed into drunken rockstar Jackson Maine and gave the best performance of his career to date.  He was able to gain empathy from the audience throughout all of his trials and tribulations. I’m sure Bradley Cooper will win an Oscar someday, but I wish it would be for his unforgettable performance in A Star Is Born

Will Win: This pains me to write, but unfortunately Rami Malek will win his first Academy Award.  He has won all the necessary awards up to this point and the writing’s on the wall for him to win.  What I can also predict is that Rami will let this win go to his head (it might’ve already and he hasn’t even won yet!) and his career may suffer for it.

 

Best Actress Nominees:

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Glenn Close, The Wife

Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

 

Should Win: Obviously Lady Gaga! I’m a Gaga stan and I can’t imagine the joy I would feel if she won!  Gaga also gave a knockout performance in her first feature film role. Lady Gaga puts 100% heart and soul into everything she does and that really shows (in a good way) in A Star Is Born.  If Gaga won, her speech would be so heartfelt, she definitely would call Bradley Cooper “the love of her life” just like she did in her Critics Choice Awards speech, and her win would become an instant viral moment.  Give Gaga her Academy Award!

Will Win: One of the most renowned actresses of this generation, Glenn Close, will finally win her first Oscar.  Close holds the record for the most Oscar nominations with no wins with a total of seven nominations.  Although many (including Academy voters themselves) admit that this is far from Close’s best performance, it’s sort of a career-achievement Oscar much like Julianne Moore’s win a few years ago.  Close clearly wasn’t the best actress of the year, but I can’t deny that I’m excited to see her win after such a long career in Hollywood.

 

Best Supporting Actor Nominees:

Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell, Vice

 

Should Win and Will Win: This is a such an easy one to predict!  Mahershala Ali should and will win for Green Book!  I have always been a Mahershala Ali fan since his House of Cards days and thought he was criminally underrated, even though this will be his second Academy Award.  His performance in the film outshines all of the other nominees who all pale in comparison. Perhaps in a stronger year, he might not win, but nevertheless I am very happy that he will win!

 

Best Supporting Actress Nominees:

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

 

Should Win: This is kind of a toss-up, but I’m going to have to with Rachel Weisz.  I was deciding between her and Emma Stone because they both did a fantastic job in a subpar film, but I ultimately went with Weisz.  She commands the screen but isn’t as evil as Stone so it’s not off-putting. Weisz also have not won since her first nomination and win at the 2006 for The Constant Gardener so it would be nice to acknowledge all the good work she has done since then.

Will Win: I’m not super confident in this, but I think Regina King will win.  I know she wasn’t nominated for a SAG Award or a BAFTA, but she won everything else she was nominated for which has to say something. There also seems to be a lot of goodwill behind her from various figures in Hollywood.  I’m not sure if Regina will win, but good luck to her and all the other nominees!

Well, there you have it!  Here are my final predictions for the 91st Academy Awards.  Watch the show and see if I’m right!  Happy Oscars!