Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Oscars 2015: Top 10 Upsets I'd Love To See

Hello, Bloggers, as part of my Oscar coverage, I will be discussing the top 10 upsets I would love to see. While some of the favorites to win I won't argue with, here are some surprises to potentially best them that I think would make things interesting.

10. Guardians of the Galaxy or X-Men over Interstellar for Best Visual Effects: Interstellar looks to be the heavy favorite to win Best Visual Effects. Its effects were very stunning, but it would be something if either of the aforementioned superhero films took it. Especially X-Men: Days of Future Past because it is the first film in the franchise to be nominated.

9. Interstellar over The Theory of Everything for Best Original Score: Since The Theory of Everything has a Globe win, and the Globes love to try and predict the Oscars, plenty might see it as the favorite to win at the Oscars. The score in that was wonderful, but Hans Zimmer's score in Interstellar was absolutely harmonious and I would pull for him to win.

8. Edward Norton over J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting Actor: Sure if Simmons loses, plenty will say "Not quite my tempo" and even I am rooting for him. But if I would love to see anybody pull off the surprise win, it would be Edward Norton for his layered and comical turn in Birdman. One partial reason is because I think Norton is due for a win after his two losses for Best Supporting Actor for Primal Fear and Best Actor for American History X. But if Norton doesn't pull off the surprise, then hey, there's always next time.

7. Emma Stone over Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress: This is very much Arquette's to lose and after seeing Boyhood twice, I find it hard to argue with the acclaim she has received for her authentic portrayal of a struggling mother. However, if there is anyone that could pull off a surprise, I would love for it to be Emma Stone for her comically acidic yet vulnerable performance in Birdman. But like Edward Norton, if Stone doesn't upset, I am positive she'll have other opportunities in the future to win.

6. Inherent Vice over The Imitation Game or Whiplash for Best Adapted Screenplay: With Gone Girl getting snubbed for Best Adapted Screenplay, that means the category looks to be a battle between The Imitation Game and Whiplash, which may be a slight victim of category fraud as it received Original Screenplay nominations everywhere else. Both are great scripts, but it would be something if Inherent Vice stunned the world. That way, Paul Thomas Anderson can put an Oscar on his mantle.

5. Birdman over The Grand Budapest Hotel for Best Original Screenplay: Something tells me that The Grand Budapest Hotel is a slight favorite to win Best Original Screenplay. If that is the case, then I would pull for Birdman to pull off the upset. I did think Grand Budapest Hotel had a great and colorful script and it would be a wonderful winner, but I would love to see Birdman take it.

4. Bradley Cooper over Eddie Redmayne or Michael Keaton for Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne now has plenty of momentum with a Globe and SAG win and Keaton has a Globe win along with his comeback narrative making this a battle between the two. Between those two, I would go with Keaton but for the upset, I'd go with Bradley Cooper. Like Keaton, Cooper gives a career-best performance and it would be awesome to see him recognized for his transformative work.

3. "Everything Is Awesome" over "Glory" for Best Original Song: If "Everything Is Awesome" wasn't so catchy and if The Lego Movie wasn't so wonderful and snubbed, I'd probably be pulling for "Glory". But with all due to respect to Common and John Legend, I'm crossing my fingers for "Everything Is Awesome".

2. Rosamund Pike over Julianne Moore for Best Actress: Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses and thankfully this looks to be her year to finally win after losing 4 previous times. Another bonus to this potential win is that the performance is great. However, I would also root for Rosamund Pike to pull off the upset for her haunting turn as the titular Gone Girl. Looks to be a longshot, but if Adrien Brody's win taught us something, it is that anything is possible.

1. Whiplash over Birdman or Boyhood for Best Picture: So far in the Best Picture race, we have critical darling Boyhood vs. guild darling Birdman. Either one of those two looks primed to win the big prize, which is wonderful because they are my top 2 favorite movies of last year. But if there is any film I wouldn't mind seeing pull off the upset, it'd be my third favorite movie of last year: Whiplash. It would be an absolute stunner, but a great one.

So, those are the Top 10 Upsets I'd Love To See on Oscar night. If there are any surprises you'd love to see happen, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and I will continue my Oscar coverage with possibly another Top 10 list. Until then, thanks for reading!

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