Breaking Down the Oscars

Oscar oracle Ellis Fontana gives his picks for this year’s Oscars.

I’m sure most people have heard plenty about this year’s Academy Awards nominations. However, despite the controversy I would prefer to see this as a year full of fantastic nominees who truly deserve the recognition. Which surprises me considering that I had very low expectations for 2015 in terms of movies, and it turned out to be a pretty damn good year in my opinion. With this list, I have outlined to the best of my ability my choices and the Academy’s choices. One must keep in mind that I haven’t been able to watch every movie or performance nominated, so a few of these are more educated guesses. Well, technically they’re all guesses. But nevertheless, here are my predictions for who will win on February 28, 2016 at 5:30 PM.

mad maxBEST PICTURE

What Should Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

An absolute powerhouse of a movie that came out of seemingly nowhere. Not only a storytelling masterpiece but also a huge technical achievement. Easily the best action movie in recent memory and it would be nice to see the Academy look to different genres.

What Will Win: Spotlight

Spotlight presents a story that Academy members love to drool over: an underdog tale about members of the media exposing the corruption of those in power. A great movie that looks like it can take the award.

SpotlightBEST ACTRESS

Who Should Win: Brie Larson

The ability to carry a movie along with co-star Jacob Tremblay in a movie that takes place almost entirely in one room is incredibly impressive, and she certainly deserves this award.

What Will Win: Brie Larson

Ever since the award season started picking up, Brie Larson has been the name on everybody’s lips for Best Actress. Plus, she’s already won just about every other notable award in the business for her performance.

danish girl

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Who Should Win: Jennifer Jason Leigh

Starting out as a more comedic character with hints of darkness, Jennifer Jason Leigh soon starts to take control of the film by the end of the third act, showing off her incredible talent to make you fear a bloody, beat-up prisoner.

What Will Win: Alicia Vikander

The Academy likes topical movies, and the Academy likes Tom Hooper, and Tom Hooper likes topical movies. It’s a perfect system, and Alicia Vikander looks to profit from it for her performance in The Danish Girl, a movie about the first gender reassignment surgery.

BEST ACTOR

Who Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

It’s been a long time coming, but Leo has shown his dedication to his craft this time for The Revenant, and he has the fan support. At this point, it might as well be a lifetime achievement award instead.

Who Will Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

It’s been a really long time, and the joke is getting old.

creedBEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Who Should Win: Tom Hardy

While he may not have a bigger legacy, Tom Hardy has already shown that he is one of the better actors in this generation. And this especially shows in The Revenant where he is easily the best performance. While others had pretty good performances, Hardy’s really stood out as an clear winner for an Oscar.

Who Will Win: Sylvester Stallone

While Sly may not have had the best performance, he does have the biggest career. Namely being the brain father behind one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises (Rocky) . And the Academy has been known to award nominees for legacy instead of just one performance, and it looks like this might be one of those awards.