Best Picture: “The Revenant”
The Best Picture nominees this year are “Bridge of Spies,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Revenant,” “Spotlight,” “The Martian,” “The Big Short,” “Room,” and “Brooklyn.” “The Revenant” is most likely to win best picture this year. Alejandro Inarritu’s directing style and the film’s high level of cinematographic quality aside, the film itself captivated audiences and critics in its retelling of a relatively unknown chapter in American history. The academy likes true stories, such as “The King’s Speech,” “12 Years A Slave,” and “The Hurt Locker,” but they also like true stories of passion. The passions of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character as contrasted by the rest in the film make the movie a powerful rendition of reality, especially a reality few have experienced.
Best Actor: Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”
Of the best actor nominees, Bryan Cranston for “Trumbo,” Matt Damon for “The Martian,” and Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Revenant” have the best chance of winning. Unfortunately, this will not be DiCaprio’s year, even though his acting was superb in director Alejandro Inarritu’s most recent film. Though either Cranston or Damon could take the Oscar, the latter for good acting and the former because “Trumbo” celebrates Hollywood leftism, Cranston will most likely win.
Best Actress: Brie Larson, “Room”
Nominees Brie Larson for “Room” and Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn” are the top contenders in their category. Ronan’s representation of a lost lover in “Brooklyn” could play out well for her during the awards, but Larson took home the Golden Globe for “Room” and will probably win the Oscar as well.
Best Director: Alejandro Inarritu, “The Revenant
Directors Adam McKay for “The Big Short” and Alejandro Inarritu for “The Revenant” are the most likely winners for their category. Inarritu is an academy favorite, and his film captivates a style the voters have favored in the past. The wide, sweeping shots of nature and close, intimate scenes of faces and actions are reminiscent of “American Beauty,” “Life of Pi,” and “Gravity,” all movies directed by previous winners. McKay’s merit comes from the same place as Cranston’s; McKay injected his own brand of Sanders-Hollywoodesque liberalism into Michael Lewis’ story, leaving the voters with an easy way to prove their political beliefs. That being said, they’ll probably respect the tradition and merit of Inarritu and grant him the award.