Out on a Limb: Oscar picks & Predictions

Once again, here are how I think things will go Sunday night at the 97th Academy Awards. This is one of the least predictable Oscar races in recent memory, with multiple categories too close to call. And I do love surprises and upsets! A couple of my notes here are risky, but here we are...

PICTURE
Will win: Conclave
Serious contender: Anora
Should win: A Complete Unknown

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Will/should win: I'm Still Here
Dark horse: Emilia Perez

ANIMATED FEATURE
Will win: Flow
Should win: The Wild Robot

DOCUMENTARY
Will/should win: No Other Land
Dark horse: Porcelain War

DIRECTING
Will win: Sean Baker - Anora
Serious contender: Brady Corbet - The Brutalist
Should win: Coralie Fargeat - The Substance

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Will/should win: A Real Pain - Jesse Eisenberg
Serious contender: Anora - Sean Baker

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Will win: Conclave - Peter Straughan
Should win: Sing Sing - Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Will win: Demi Moore - The Substance
Serious contender: Mikey Madison - Anora
Should win/dark horse: Fernanda Torres - I'm Still Here

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Will win: Timothee Chalamet - A Complete Unknown
Serious contender: Adrien Brody - The Brutalist
Should win: Colman Domingo - Sing Sing

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Will/should win: Zoe Saldaña - Emilia Perez

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Will/should win: Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

FILM EDITING
Will win: Conclave - Nick Emerson
Should win: Anora - Sean Baker

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Will/should win: The Brutalist - Lol Crawley

ORIGINAL SCORE
Will win: The Brutalist - Daniel Blumberg
Should win: The Wild Robot - Kris Bowers
Dark horse: Emilia Perez - Clement Ducol and Camille

ORIGINAL SONG
Will/should win: El Mal - Emilia Perez - Clement Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Will/should win: The Brutalist - Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia
Dark horse: Conclave - Suzie Davies, Cynthia Sleiter
[Winner: Wicked: Part I - Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales]

COSTUME DESIGN
Will win: Wicked: Part I - Paul Tazewell
Should win: A Complete Unknown - Arianne Phillips

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Will/should win: The Substance - Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stephanie Guillon, Marilyne Scarselli

VISUAL EFFECTS
Will/should win: Dune: Part Two - Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer
Dark horse: Wicked - Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk, Paul Corbould

SOUND
Will win: Dune: Part Two - Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill
Should win: The Wild Robot - Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A Rizzo, Leff Lefferts

Critical Week: Holding on...

I've been enjoying hanging out with family in Southern California, not worrying about the rather iffy weather, which turned downright nasty just in time for me to trek across town to see Dune: Part Two on the Warner Bros lot (which was cool - see Insta post below). It was quite surreal to be feeling so wet and soggy while watching such a dry and sandy movie. But of course I loved it; Denis Villeneuve's imagination and attention to detail being this dense story to life in constantly surprising ways. Each shot looks simply spectacular, and the powerhouse acting ensemble gets a lot to do as well.

I also caught Lisa Frankenstein in a cinema, directed by Zelda Williams (daughter of Robin) from a script by Diablo Cody. It's a bit of a messy concoction, but is packed with genuinely hilarious dialog and up-for-it performances from a strong cast that includes Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano and Carla Gugino. Its 1980s setting offers some strong gags as well.

Ethan Coen's Drive-Away Dolls opens this weekend, so I plan to catch that in a local cinema. I am also asking around for contacts for a Kung Fu Panda 4 press screening here, as it opens the week I return to London. There may be some other things that pop up along the way, and I do have some screener links to watch, but am reluctant yo give up family time for that.

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Critical Week: Take my hand

As Venice Film Festival wrapped up and Toronto Film Festival kicked off, things are heating up here in London, with the 65th London Film Festival press screening schedule starting next Monday morning. I'm looking forward to catching up with the big titles from Sundance, Cannes and Venice over the next few weeks - both at in-person screenings and using online links. But more and more screenings are taking place in cinemas now, and the biggest one so far was Dune: Part One on Britain's largest Imax screen. Frankly, movies don't get much more momentous, or jaw-droppingly satisfying, than this. Essential to see on a huge screen.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Duke • Little Girl
Everybody's Talking About Jamie
ALL REVIEWS >

Other movies I watched this week included the filmed version of the hugely engaging, life-affirming stage musical Come From Away, the rather uneven but urgently pointed British drama A Brixton Tale, the remarkably thoughtful horror drama The Djinn, the loose and rather nutty social media comedy-thriller The Influencer. Even further afield, there was Bruce La Bruce's latest provocation, the superbly intriguing Saint-Narcisse; the stylised and remarkably involving Norwegian pregnancy comedy-drama Ninjababy; and the earthy, intensely provocative Hungarian war drama Natural Light.

In the coming week, I already have six screenings in the diary for London Film Festival (which starts on October 6th). In addition, I'll be watching the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, Dev Patel in The Green Knight, Ben Whishaw in Surge, the horror thriller Gaia and the shorts collection Parental Guidance.