2019 Oscar Predictions

Feb 3, 2019 Victoria Leese 0 Comments

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WRITTEN BY: Andrew Kent

Could controversy be underway again in February? Anything is possible when the 2019 Oscars premiere in less than a month on ABC. Last year, we were treated to a variety of movies covering multiple genres such as action, drama, horror, comedy, and a multitude of biography films. Hollywood even delivered a foreign film released on Netflix that was met with overwhelming positive reviews. Which nominations will leave with an Oscar in hand and who will take home biggest prize of them all? Today, I will do my absolute best to predict five winners at the 2019 Academy Awards.

ANIMATED FEATURE

The nominees are:

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Pixar dominates this category every year, making the award for Best Animated Feature an easy choice. Or so we thought! The consensus pick for the greatest animated movie in 2018 felt like Incredibles 2…until another movie took away the spotlight from Pixar. What film might that be? Sony Pictures Animation presents – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The web slingers new movie was praised for its unique style and relished an incredible Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%. Initially, my first impression was that Incredibles 2 would have no problem ruling this category. However, my feelings have changed since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse came to theaters.

Prediction: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

DIRECTOR

The nominees are:

Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman

Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War

Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite

Alfonso Cuarón – Roma

Adam McKay – Vice

If any category were deemed as wide open on this list, it would be Best Director. You can’t go wrong when choosing one of the five men nominated here. Out of the five directors, who impressed the Academy the most? This award comes down to Spike Lee and Alfonso Cuarón. Both directors created historical films that impacted critics on all levels. The main difference? Roma is ultra-serious while BlacKkKlansman offers comedic tones here and there. I can’t fathom the Academy choosing a director like Spike Lee who takes an unusual route with his dialogue compared to Cuarón, who poured his heart and soul into every ounce of Roma.

Prediction: Alfonso Cuarón

LEAD ACTOR

The nominees are:

Christian Bale – Dick Cheney in Vice

Bradley Cooper – Jackson Maine in A Star Is Born

Willem Dafoe – Vincent Van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek – Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen – Tony Lip in Green Book

I would absolutely love to see Christian Bale win for his performance as Dick Cheney in Vice. Bale did wonders playing Cheney and transformed entirely for that role. Talk about astonishing, the man will lose and gain however many pounds just to play certain parts. For Best Lead Actor, I’ll place Bale as my upset pick. Though, I have someone else in mind to win this award. The amount of praise Rami Malek has received is rare. Most actors nominated for this category are usually called great, BUT Malek is a different story. The belief is that Malek carried Bohemian Rhapsody every step of the way. When an actor can achieve a feat like that, they deserve to win what they are nominated for.

Prediction: Rami Malek

LEAD ACTRESS

The nominees are:

Yalitza Aparicio – Cleo in Roma

Glenn Close – Joan Castleman in The Wife

Olivia Colman – Queen Anne in The Favourite

Lady Gaga – Ally in A Star Is Born

Melissa McCarthy – Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Easily the most interesting aspect about these nominees is how most of them were severely overlooked by audiences. Members of the Academy clearly recognized these five women as tremendous actresses based on being nominated for this category. The only woman who stands out from the other four is Lady Gaga. Looking at the user ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for A Star Is Born, the number of general audience members who rated that film is much higher in relation to other four actresses films. Lady Gaga is the popular early choice to win her first Oscar. Although, the Golden Globes had something else to say on this subject matter. Glenn Close took home the award most similar to Best Actress at the Golden Globes, beating Lady Gaga in the process. I can’t resist picking Close for Best Actress, especially when history tends to repeat itself at the Oscars.

Prediction: Glenn Close

BEST PICTURE

The nominees are:

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Roma

A Star Is Born

Vice

Nothing would shock my eyes more than if Bohemian Rhapsody somehow came away as the winner of this category. I understand Bohemian Rhapsody won the Golden Globe most similar to Best Picture, but its Rotten Tomatoes score begs to differ. I’m assuming the Academy is in serious talks of making either Roma, BlacKkKlansman, or Green Book the 2019 Best Picture winner. The three of these films go directly up the alley way for what the Academy likes. Sure, BlacKkKlansman defies your basic Academy Awards dialogue spoken in cinema, but its themes are culturally relevant. And Green Book is right behind BlacKkKlansman in that regard. Now, I hate being cliché, in fact there is nothing I hate more than being cliché. That will not stop me from choosing the film that I’m almost positive will come away with the award for Best Picture. While BlacKkKlansman and Green Book are special films, you can’t beat a personal story that comes from the heart of Alfonso Cuarón. The 96% on Rotten Tomatoes makes this selection an easier one for me as well.