This is just something quick that I threw together to wrap up Awards season.

The winners are in bold.
The runners up are in italics.

Wait, before we get to the awards, we have an update! I’m a huge fan of the blog ‘A Fistful Of Films’, and I knew I’d have to see Mommy once he started calling it his all-time favorite film and that director Xavier Dolan “conquered cinema”. Now having seen the film, while I wouldn’t go that far, I was very impressed with the film. I personally found it very hard to watch due to the subject matter, and it left a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. But don’t get me wrong, it is a very well crafted film. You can read some of the stuff on his blog for more information.

I ultimately decided to give the film four nominations – Director (over Matt Reeves), Actress (over Marion Cotillard), Sup. Actress (over Meryl Streep), and Cinematography (over The Grand Budapest Hotel).

Thanks for the recommendation, Drew!

BEST PICTURE

Begin Again
Birdman
Gone Girl
Interstellar
The Lego Movie

(Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes just barely missed. Overall, I am happy with these nominees.)

BEST DIRECTOR

Xavier Dolan – Mommy
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman
Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
James Rolfe – Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie

(I’m not gonna lie, I am EXTREMELY biased when it comes to the AVGN Movie. I’ve been following the project for a while. But you know what? What this guy did with such a small budget was insane. I support the guy 100%. And I thought he deserved at least one mention in the Best Director race this awards season.)

BEST ACTOR

Ben Affleck – Gone Girl
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Matthew McConaughey – Interstellar
Bill Murray – St. Vincent
Andy Serkis – Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

(Honestly, I could have given the Oscar to any of these men, and they would have been deserving. This category is PACKED.)

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams – Big Eyes
Anne Dorval – Mommy
Keira Knightley – Begin Again
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamond Pike – Gone Girl

(I think Rosamond Pike’s Oscar clip should have been when we find out… wait, some people STILL haven’t seen Gone Girl. And by some people, I mean my dad.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Robert Duvall – The Judge
Edward Norton – Birdman
Joaquin Phoenix – The Immigrant
J. K. Simmons – Whiplash
Christolph Waltz – Big Eyes

(Yeah, I have the same top two as everybody else. I think this category was pretty weak this year.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – Interstellar
Suzanne Clément – Mommy
Carrie Coon – Gone Girl
Emma Stone – Birdman

(It’s a real shame that Jessica Chastain never got any serious recognition for this performance.)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Begin Again
Birdman
Interstellar
The Lego Movie
Whiplash

(I put Whiplash here because what the Academy did was blatant category fraud. Also, this was one of the hardest categories to narrow down. I almost want to have six nominees just so I can include St. Vincent.)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Still Alice
Wild

(This category is starting to look pretty weak next to Original Screenplay.)

BEST FILM EDITING

Gone Girl
Interstellar
The Lego Movie
Life Itself
Whiplash

(This was a tight three-way race between Gone Girl, Interstellar, and Whiplash.)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Birdman
Ida
Mommy
The Imitation Game
Interstellar

While Birdman won the Oscar, I think Ida and Interstellar have better composition in their still images.)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Snowpiercer

(All very impressive sets, but the train in Snowpiercer impressed me the most.)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Big Eyes
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians Of The Galaxy
The Immigrant
Into The Woods

(Not a terrific year for costumes, but you make do with what you have.)

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Into The Woods
Snowpiercer

(I decided to include five nominees here. I think The Film Experience said it best, “Every live-action film needs some degree of Makeup & Hairstyling, which is more than can be said for Visual Effects or Original Song.”)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Interstellar
Snowpiercer

(Another nomination for the AVGN crew. You deserve it man. The effects may not be the most realistic, but there was a lot of heart and soul put into them.)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Interstellar

(I’ve got to give it to Zimmer on this one.)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“A Step You Can’t Take Back” from Begin Again
“Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie
“Immortals” from Big Hero 6
“Lost Stars” from Begin Again
“Something So Right” from Muppets: Most Wanted

(Keep in mind that I would have included ‘Opportunity’ from Annie but my rule is I have to see the film for it to be eligible.)

BEST SOUND EDITING

Big Hero 6
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Interstellar
Snowpiercer

(This was a great year for sound design. Only one film matched in the editing and mixing categories!)

BEST SOUND MIXING

American Sniper
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Whiplash

(A lot of people complained about the sound design in Interstellar. I don’t get it. I saw it in IMAX and was completely immersed by the experience.)

I’m not gonna do any other categories. I saw one documentary, and one foreign language film. And technically I saw four animated films, but the winner is so far ahead of the other three that there’s no point in making it a category.