Tag: oscars

Oscars 2021: The Case of Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch is the second Best Actor hopeful covered in my Case Of posts for that category. If you missed the first on Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos, it’s here:

Oscars 2021: The Case of Javier Bardem

The Case for Benedict Cumberbatch:

We might be witnessing a right year and right movie matchup for Cumberbatch to nab his first Oscar. After being previously nominated seven years back for The Imitation Game, he’s starring in the Best Picture frontrunner and garnered career best reviews. He’s been mentioned in all key precursors such as the Globes, SAG, BAFTA and Critics Choice. Furthermore, he had an impressive 2021 beyond Dog with kudos for the title role in The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and appearing as Doctor Strange in box office behemoth Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The Case Against Benedict Cumberbatch:

Only 3 Best Actor recipients in the 21st century came from the BP winner. Yet the most compelling case against comes courtesy of Will Smith, who stands as the favorite for King Richard. This is Smith’s third try and Benedict’s second. Voters may figure Cumberbatch will have other opportunities. The Academy has three other options to bestow gold on the Dog cast (with the best possibility being Kodi Smit-McPhee in supporting actor).

Previous Nominations: 1

The Imitation Game (2014 – Actor)

The Verdict:

I do believe Cumberbatch is a strong second to Smith at the moment.  If Cumberbatch manages to grab the SAG or BAFTA, he could play the spoiler role that Anthony Hopkins (The Father) managed last year over the favored Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

My Case Of posts will continue with Supporting Actress and Ariana DeBose in West Side Story…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Olivia Colman

Olivia Colman’s turn in Netflix’s The Lost Daughter is the second Case Of post for the five women competing for Best Actress. If you missed the first on Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, you can find it here:

Oscars 2021: The Case of Jessica Chastain

The Case for Olivia Colman:

It’s another hailed performance from the Oscar winner who surprisingly took to the podium three years back for The Favourite (upsetting frontrunner Glenn Close in The Wife). Colman gets her third nod in four years. In addition to the victory from 2018, she was nominated last year in supporting for The Father. She nabbed precursor attention at the Globes, SAG, and Critics Choice. Daughter performed decently with the Academy with Jessie Buckley receiving an unexpected spot in Supporting Actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s being recognized for her adapted screenplay. Furthermore, Best Actress looks wide open and anything could happen.

The Case Against Olivia Colman:

Had Daughter managed a Best Picture slot, I might feel more confident in calling for a potential second trophy for Colman. That said, none of the five Actress’s films are in the big dance. Critics liked this better than general audiences judging from Rotten Tomatoes. In an unexpected twist, BAFTA did not include Colman. What gives me the most pause is that Colman is the most recent recipient – Jessica Chastain and Kristen Stewart (Spencer) have never won, Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers) is a supporting winner from 13 years ago, and Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) took Actress 19 years ago.

Previous Nominations: 2

The Favourite (2018 – Actress, WON); The Father (2020 – Supporting Actress)

The Verdict:

This is a tricky one and good luck figuring out Best Actress in 2021. The counterargument to the recency bias is that it didn’t hurt Frances McDormand (Nomadland) last year. However, that was a frontrunner for BP and that narrative doesn’t exist this time around. If Colman can get a win at SAG this weekend or Critics Choice later on, it increases her viability with the Academy. If not, I doubt she gets her second Oscar.

My Case Of posts will continue with Benedict Cumberbatch in The Power of the Dog…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh’s passion project Belfast is next up in my Case Of posts for Best Director. If you missed the first covering Paul Thomas Anderson with Licorice Pizza, it’s here:

Oscars 2021: The Case of Paul Thomas Anderson

The Case for Kenneth Branagh:

The veteran actor/director originally caught the attention of the Academy in 1989 with Henry V and he was nominated for Director and Actor (winning neither). He’s actually been nominated in seven separate races – the other being Picture with this, Adapted Screenplay with Hamlet, Live-Action Short Film for Swan Song, Supporting Actor (My Week with Marilyn), and Original Screenplay here. Despite that impressive feat, he’s 0 for 5 going into the ceremony and voters may feel he’s overdue.

The Case Against Kenneth Branagh:

That overdue feeling should materialize in Original Screenplay and not in this race where Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) is out front. In the former competition, Branagh appears to be neck-and-neck with none other than Paul Thomas Anderson, who could pick up his first hardware after several previous nods.

Previous Nominations: 1 (for directing only)

Henry V (1989)

The Verdict:

It’s a near certainty that Mr. Branagh or Mr. Anderson are headed for their inaugural statue. However, expect that to happen with their writing and not their direction.

My Case Of posts will continue with the second Best Actress write-up: Olivia  Colman in The Lost Daughter…

Oscar Predictions: The Outfit

Graham Moore is an Oscar winner in Adapted Screenplay for 2014’s The Imitation Game. One year later, Mark Rylance scored an upset Supporting Actor victory for Bridge of Spies. Moore makes his directorial debut for the 1950s set crime pic The Outfit in which Rylance stars as a tailor serving dangerous types. The supporting cast includes Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien, and Johnny Flynn.

The pic debuted at the Berlin Film Festival last weekend and is slated for theaters next month. Reviews from Germany are positive if not gushing and it holds a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes. So is The Outfit suited for awards attention?

Probably not. However, Rylance is drawing some raves and there’s kudos for tech aspects such as production design. And I suppose any movie about a tailor (The Outfit‘s running time takes place in one setting) could be a hopeful for costume design. It’s also worth noting that Alexandre Desplat (who’s received 11 nominations and won 2) did the score.

I find it unlikely that voters will recall The Outfit later this year, but perhaps Focus Features will set their sights on a campaign. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Ciaran Hinds

The work of Ciaran Hinds as Pop in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is the first Case Of post for the Supporting Actor contenders.

The Case for Ciaran Hinds:

The Irish thespian nabs his inaugural Oscar nod after a long career of popping up in lots of movies you’ve seen. He won the Belfast nod sweepstakes over his costar Jamie Dornan while wife Granny (Judi Dench) got a mention in Supporting Actress instead of Caitriona Balfe. That could indicate strength for the veteran performers from the coming-of-age drama. He’s scored mentions at the Globes, SAG, and Critic’s Choice.

The Case Against Ciaran Hinds:

The real strength is this race may be with Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Power of the Dog or perhaps an emotional favorite like Troy Kotsur in CODA. Hinds’s inclusion was expected with the precursors, but he’s not forecasted to win any of them (and he already lost to Smit-McPhee at the Globes).

Previous Nominations:

None

The Verdict:

Belfast missing some key categories (including no love for his younger costars) makes Hinds a long shot to make it 1 for 1 at the big show.

My Case Of posts will continue with Kenneth Branagh’s direction for Belfast…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Jessie Buckley

My Case Of posts for the upcoming Oscars brings us to our first contestant in Supporting Actress and that’s Jessie Buckley in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Netflix drama The Lost Daughter.

The Case for Jessie Buckley:

She’s been an actress on the upswing especially since 2019’s Wild Rose earned her a BAFTA nod and some Academy chatter that never materialized.  With recent appearances in other buzzy projects like I’m Thinking of Ending Things, HBO’s Chernobyl, and FX’s Fargo – Buckley could be exactly the kind of rising performer that the voters would honor.

The Case Against Jessie Buckley:

Buckley’s inclusion in the race was definitely a surprise and she got here without precursors like SAG, the Globes, and Critics Choice. Of the four acting derbies, this might be the easiest to predict and that’s for Ariana DeBose in West Side Story. 

Previous Nominations:

None

The Verdict:

The glaring lack of precursors makes Buckley a major outsider with this first nomination. Luckily for her, it might not be her last.

The Case Of posts will continue with our first hopeful in Supporting Actor – Ciaran Hinds in Belfast…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem’s performance as Desi Arnaz in Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos is my first  Case Of post for the five Best Actor candidates.

The Case for Javier Bardem:

Nabbing his fourth nomination (and third in lead), the Supporting Actor winner for No Country for Old Men also picked up Golden Globe and SAG mentions.

The Case Against Javier Bardem:

The only nominations for Ricardos came in the acting races (alongside his costars Nicole Kidman and J.K. Simmons). It’s Kidman who easily stands the best chance after taking the Globe. Bardem’s slot in the competition was generally seen as the fifth one since Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield, Will Smith, and Denzel Washington were seen as strong likelihoods.

Previous Nominations: 3

Before Night Falls (2000 – Actor); No Country for Old Men (2007 – Supporting Actor, WON); Biutiful (2010 – Actor)

The Verdict:

While he’s done well in precursors, Bardem stands little chance at picking up a second statue.

My Case Of posts will continue with the Supporting Actress hopefuls and that begins with Jessie Buckley in The Lost Daughter…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Jessica Chastain

The first hopeful in a very interesting Best Actress competition is up next in my Case Of posts for the 94th Academy Awards and that’s Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. 

The Case for Jessica Chastain:

Of the five nominees in Actress, only Kristen Stewart (Spencer) and Chastain have yet to win an Oscar. Somewhat surprisingly, she’s only been nominated twice and the last time was nine years ago. There could already be a feeling that she’s overdue and Olivia Colman, Penelope Cruz, and Nicole Kidman have already won. Her embodiment of evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker (with its nominated makeup team) drew raves from critics and she received nods at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics Choice Awards.

The Case Against Jessica Chastain:

The film itself did not draw raves with a middling 69% Rotten Tomatoes score. Furthermore, it was a bust at the box office with just over $2 million domestically.

Previous Nominations: 2

The Help (2011 – Supporting Actress); Zero Dark Thirty (2012 – Actress)

The Verdict:

Best Actress is wide open at this juncture. So-so reviews for the picture itself didn’t hurt Renee Zellweger in 2019 with Judy and it may not hurt Chastain. She’s a possibility to win, but then again, so are the others.

My Case of posts will continue with our first Best Actor nominee – Javier Bardem in Being the Ricardos…

Oscars 2021: The Case of Paul Thomas Anderson

Now that I’ve completed by Case Of posts for the 10 Best Picture contenders, I’m moving on to the 25 hopefuls for Best Director, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress, and Supporting Actor. I’ll alternate alphabetically among the categories between them and that means Paul Thomas Anderson’s behind the camera work for Licorice Pizza is first up!

The Case for Paul Thomas Anderson:

Prior to Pizza being delivered in 2021, PTA as he’s called had already received 8 nominations from the Academy between his producing, directing, and writing. He’s 0 for 8. He has three more at bats with his 70s set coming-of-age tale in Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay. In other words, there could be an overdue factor at play.

The Case Against Paul Thomas Anderson:

Licorice Pizza tied CODA with the fewest amount of nods for the BP nominees. Unlike his previous BP contenders There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread, there were no acting nominations for his ensemble. And there’s simply the fact that Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) is the major frontrunner.

Previous Nominations: 2 (for directing only)

There Will Be Blood (2007); Phantom Thread (2017)

The Verdict:

There’s a decent chance that PTA’s zero wins streak will be broken at the ceremony, but it would come in Original Screenplay (where it appears to be down to Pizza or Belfast). It will not be broken here.

My Case Of posts will continue with Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye…

Oscars 2021: The Case of West Side Story

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake is my final Case Of post for the ten Best Picture nominees at the upcoming Oscars. If you missed the nine previous entries, they’re here:

Oscars 2021: The Case of Belfast

Oscars 2021: The Case of CODA

Oscars 2021: The Case of Don’t Look Up

Oscars 2021: The Case of Drive My Car

Oscars 2021: The Case of Dune

Oscars 2021: The Case of King Richard

Oscars 2021: The Case of Licorice Pizza

Oscars 2021: The Case of Nightmare Alley

Oscars 2021: The Case of The Power of the Dog

The Case for West Side Story:

It would be a pretty cool storyline for Spielberg’s remake to win Best Picture 60 years after the 1961 version was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 10 (including BP). The 2021 retelling didn’t match the original with seven nods, but that’s still a decent haul.

The Case Against West Side Story:

Those seven nominations didn’t include some significant ones to nab a BP win – namely Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing. The last BP recipient that missed a writing mention was 1997’s Titanic. The box office for this Story was very disappointing – earning $37 million domestically versus its reported $100 million budget.

The Verdict:

West Side Story is likely to repeat six decades later in one category with Ariana DeBose in Supporting Actress for the same role that Rita Moreno got a statue for. A BP repeat is far more unlikely.

While this concludes my Case Of posts for the BP contenders, we are far from done. I’ll now begin my write-ups for the hopefuls in Director and the four acting races (alternating alphabetically between them). That will start with Paul Thomas Anderson’s direction of Licorice Pizza…