2014 wrap-up, part 5 and last: JWD award winners

Best Film
Calvary
Only Lovers Left Alive (tie)
Birdman
Tracks
Whiplash
Nightcrawler
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wild
Night Moves
The Double

Best Popcorn Flick
Snowpiercer
The Babadook
Gone Girl
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Veronica Mars
Interstellar
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Essie Davis (The Babadook)
Mia Wasikowska (Tracks)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Rinko Kikuchi (Kumiko the Treasure Hunter)
Tessa Thompson (Dear White People)

Best Actor
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Tom Hiddleston (Only Lovers Left Alive)
Brendan Gleeson (Calvary)
Ralph Fiennes (Grand Budapest Hotel)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Double, Night Moves)

Best Supporting Actress
Rene Russo (Nightcrawler)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)
Mia Wasikowska (The Double, Only Lovers Left Alive)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Frank)

Best Supporting Actor
Edward Norton (Birdman)
JK Simmons (Whiplash)
Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler)
Michael Fassbender (Frank)
Andrew Scott (Pride)

Best Ensemble
Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Foxcatcher
Into the Woods
Nightcrawler
Pride
Gone Girl
Wild (weird, I know. But I thought all the supporting turns were fantastic.)
Interstellar

Best Director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel)
Jim Jarmush (Only Lovers Left Alive)
Jennifer Kent (The Babadook)
Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)
Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
John Michael McDonagh (Calvary)

Best Screenplay - Original/Adapted
Birdman (Original)
Nightcrawler (Original)
Grand Budapest Hotel (Original)
Dear White People (Original)
Whiplash (Original)
Calvary (Original)
Gone Girl (Adapted)
Wild (Adapted)
Snowpiercer (Adapted)

Best Visual Effects
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Maleficent
Edge of Tomorrow

Best Costumes
Grand Budapest Hotel
Gone Girl
Wild
Maleficent
Foxcatcher

Best Art/Production Design
Grand Budapest Hotel
Snowpiercer
The Babadook
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Interstellar
Foxcatcher
Nightcrawler

Best Makeup
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hunger Games (I have yet to see it but... still.)
Maleficent
The Hobbt (Ditto.)
Grand Budapest Hotel
X-Men

Best Cinematography
Birdman
Wild
Night Moves
The Double
Tracks
Interstellar
Gone Girl
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
Grand Budapest
The Babadook

Best Editing
Whiplash
Wild
Edge of Tomorrow
Night Moves
Nightcrawler
Interstellar
Grand Budapest Hotel
Calvary

Best Song
Agony - Into the Woods
Hate the Sport - We Are the Best
I Love You All - Frank
Bread and Roses - Pride
Hal - Only Lovers Left Alive
Untitled Self Portrait - The Lego Movie

Best Score
Gone Girl
Only Lovers Left Alive
Godzilla
Whiplash
Interstellar
The Double
(As the Playlist pointed out, Cliff Martinez's score for The Knick deserves special recognition.) 

Best Sound Editing & Mixing
Godzilla
Interstellar (I really liked the sound mix! I know it was divisive, but it worked for me.)
Birdman
Maleficent
Edge of Tomorrow
Gone Girl
Into the Woods
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
X-Men
Captain America

Best Animated Short
The Dam Keeper
Me and My Moulton
Sticky
The Hidden Life of the Burrowing Owl
The Jump
Virtuous Virtuell
Une Balade a la Mer
Close the Lid Gently

Best Live Action Short
Numbers and Friends
Projections in the Forest
Phone Call
Boogaloo and Graham
Las Cieni/ The Shadow Forest
Farewell My King
Campandas
A Sign (Belgian, can't find it online)
Sugar Plum Fairy
Intersection
The Activists (can't find it online)

Film I didn't get to that I am most looking forward to:
Enemy
Cold in July
Beyond the Lights
Ida
Inherent Vice
A Most Violent Year

Best Poster
Enemy
Birdman Also this one
Nightcrawler
Gone Girl
Winter Sleep
Foxcatcher
Borgman
White God
The Final Member
Inherent Vice
Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Trailer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Birdman
Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Gone Girl
Maleficent

Best Quote
"There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity." - Grand Budapest Hotel
“In a lesser known epic poem, Dante’s Inferno 2: Hell Freezes Over, ten years after escaping the Nine Circles, Dante returns, you know, for old time’s sake.” – Veronica, Veronica Mars
"What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I'd done something I shouldn't have? What if I was a liar and a cheat and there was no excuse for what I'd done other than because it was what I wanted and needed to do? What if I was sorry, but if I could go back in time I wouldn't do anything differently than I had done? What if I'd actually wanted to fuck every one of those men? What if heroin taught me something? What if yes was the right answer instead of no? What if what made me do all those things everyone thought I shouldn't have done was what also had got me here? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?" -  Wild

2014 wrap-up, part 4: the winners and breakdown

So... I got 21/24. I'm not sure how to feel about doing well after barely following most of the season.  (I think I would've been more disappointed in not being able to obsessively track everything if Nightcrawler had been up for more. I really like Birdman and Whiplash, and I'm glad they got their due, but I really wanted Nightcrawler to get more recognition. Or, you know. Any of my other favorites that were never in contention.)

...

Best Picture
Boyhood
The Imitation Game
Birdman - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
The Theory of Everything
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash
Selma
American Sniper

Boo. Pour one out for Nightcrawler/Gone Girl/Wild/Inherent Vice/Calvary/Only Lovers Left Alive/Snowpiercer. 

Best Actress
Julianne Moore, Still Alice - Will Win/Did Win
Reese Witherspoon, Wild - Should Win (haven't seen Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, Birdman - Should Win
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything - Will Win/Did Win Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh.
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Robert Duvall, The Judge

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood - Will Win/Did Win
Emma Stone, Birdman
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Laura Dern, Wild - Should Win (haven't seen Boyhood)

Best Director
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman - Will Win/Did Win
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

I have a hard time saying Iñárritu *should* win over Linklater, because his feat is pretty monumental. And really, I think we can all agree Miller shouldn't be in here.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game - Will Win/Did Win
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash - Should Win
Jason Hall, American Sniper
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice (I hear this is the favorite amongst critics, but I've yet to see it)

Where the fuck is Wild? THAT SCREENPLAY WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN IMITATION GAME. THAT'S HOW YOU DO FLASHBACKS.

Best Original Screenplay
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, Birdman Did Win First upset! Totally happy - I liked Birdman's script ever so slightly more than Budapest.
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Will Win
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler - Should Win
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, Foxcatcher

Best Foreign Film
Ida (Poland) - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

Best Documentary Feature
Citizenfour - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Last Days in Vietnam
Virunga
Finding Vivian Maier
The Salt of the Earth

Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6 Did Win Second upset! Also okay. Want to see their San Fran/Tokyo mashup.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - Will Win
The Boxtrolls
Song of the Sea - Should Win
The Tale of Princess Kaguya - Should Win

I haven't seen ANY of them, but those two look the best in trailers. 

Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood - Will Win
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash - Should Win Did Win Third upset! Happy because I liked their editing (even if I feel bad that Boyhood was practically shutout!).

Best Song
Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley, and Nick Southwood, "Lost Stars" (Begin Again)
John Legend and Common, "Glory" (Selma) - Will Win/Should Win/Did Win
Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton, and The Lonely Island, "Everything Is Awesome" (The Lego Movie)
Diane Warren, "Grateful" (Beyond the Lights)
Glen Campbell, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (Glen Campbell ... I'll Be Me)

Best Original Score
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel - I am really hoping the swell of technical Oscars for Budapest means that Desplat won't split his own votes and that he wins it here. Otherwise, it's going to the Theory of Everything, I think. Did Win (thank god)
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar - Should Win
Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner

Where the fuck is Gone Girl? And could we not have gone for the Desplat trifecta and included Godzilla?

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Dick Pope, Mr. Turner
Robert D. Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal, Ida
Roger Deakins, Unbroken

I'll be much happier when Emmanuel Lubezki wins for this. I also love that Ida made it in here.

Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Into the Woods - NO.
Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, Maleficent - Should Win
Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Will Win/Did Win
Jacqueline Durran, Mr. Turner
Mark Bridges, Inherent Vice

I'm actually fine with the Grand Budapest costumes, but I think Maleficent gets the edge here for me. I mean, those wings are staggeringly gorgeous.
   

Makeup and Hairstyling
Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, Foxcatcher
Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White, Guardians of the Galaxy

Production Design
Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts, Mr. Turner
Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock, Into the Woods
Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis, and Paul Healy, Interstellar
Maria Djurkovic and Tatiana Macdonald, The Imitation Game

Sound Editing
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman, American Sniper - Will Win/Did Win
Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock, Birdman
Brent Burge and Jason Canovas, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
Richard King, Interstellar - Should Win
Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro, Unbroken

Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Unbroken
Interstellar - Should Win
Whiplash - Will Win/Did Win (I am actually the tiniest bit sad about this one.)

Visual Effects
Interstellar - Should Win/Will Win/Did Win
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
X Men: Days of Future Past
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Short Film, Live Action
Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, Aya (Chasis Films)
Michael Lennox, director, and Ronan Blaney, Boogaloo and Graham (Out of Orbit) - But I'm totally rooting for this one.
Hu Wei and Julien Féret, Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak) (AMA Productions) - Should Win
Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger, Parvaneh (Zurich University of Arts)
Mat Kirkby, director and James Lucas, The Phone Call (RSA Films) - Will Win/Did Win

Short Film, Animated
Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees, The Bigger Picture (National Film and Television School)
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, The Dam Keeper (Tonko House) - Should Win
Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed, Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios) - Will Win/Did Win
Torill Kove, Me and My Moulton (Mikrofilm in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada)
Joris Oprins, A Single Life (Job, Joris & Marieke)

The Oscars tend to go more radical in animated short, so I have hope for the Dam Keeper. But Feast was enjoyable, so I don't have an issue with it winning. 

Documentary Short Subject
Perry Films, Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 - Will Win/Did Win
Wajda Studio, Joanna
Warsaw Film School, Our Curse
Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, The Reaper (La Parka)
Weary Traveler, White Earth

Haven't seen the rest, so no opinion on what should win. 

2014 wrap-up, part 3: The Oscars - Who Should Win and Who Will Win

Y'know. Maybe? Because these predictions are going to be rough.

In addition to barely knowing what is likely to win, I'm just upset all over again at how weak the nominees are this year. Do better next year, Academy.

Best Picture
Boyhood
The Imitation Game
Birdman - Should Win/Will Win
The Theory of Everything
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash
Selma
American Sniper

Boo. Pour one out for Nightcrawler/Gone Girl/Wild/Inherent Vice/Calvary/Only Lovers Left Alive/Snowpiercer. 

Best Actress
Julianne Moore, Still Alice - Will Win
Reese Witherspoon, Wild - Should Win (haven't seen Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night

Best Actor
Michael Keaton, Birdman - Should Win
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything - Will Win Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh.
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash - Should Win/Will Win
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Robert Duvall, The Judge

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood - Will Win
Emma Stone, Birdman
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Laura Dern, Wild - Should Win (haven't seen Boyhood)

Best Director
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman - Will Win
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher

I have a hard time saying Iñárritu *should* win over Linklater, because his feat is pretty monumental. And really, I think we can all agree Miller shouldn't be in here.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game - Will Win
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash - Should Win
Jason Hall, American Sniper
Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice (I hear this is the favorite amongst critics, but I've yet to see it)

Where the fuck is Wild? THAT SCREENPLAY WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN IMITATION GAME. THAT'S HOW YOU DO FLASHBACKS.

Best Original Screenplay
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Will Win
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler - Should Win
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, Foxcatcher

Best Foreign Film
Ida (Poland) - Should Win/Will Win
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

Best Documentary Feature
Citizenfour - Should Win/Will Win
Last Days in Vietnam
Virunga
Finding Vivian Maier
The Salt of the Earth

Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - Will Win
The Boxtrolls
Song of the Sea - Should Win
The Tale of Princess Kaguya - Should Win

I haven't seen ANY of them, but those two look the best in trailers. 

Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood - Will Win
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash - Should Win

Best Song
Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley, and Nick Southwood, "Lost Stars" (Begin Again)
John Legend and Common, "Glory" (Selma) - Will Win/Should Win
Shawn Patterson, Joshua Bartholomew, Lisa Harriton, and The Lonely Island, "Everything Is Awesome" (The Lego Movie)
Diane Warren, "Grateful" (Beyond the Lights)
Glen Campbell, "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (Glen Campbell ... I'll Be Me)

Best Original Score
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel - I am really hoping the swell of technical Oscars for Budapest means that Desplat won't split his own votes and that he wins it here. Otherwise, it's going to the Theory of Everything, I think.
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar - Should Win
Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner

Where the fuck is Gone Girl? And could we not have gone for the Desplat trifecta and included Godzilla?

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman - Should Win/Will Win
Dick Pope, Mr. Turner
Robert D. Yeoman, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ryszard Lenczewski and Łukasz Żal, Ida
Roger Deakins, Unbroken

I'll be much happier when Emmanuel Lubezki wins for this. I also love that Ida made it in here.

Costume Design
Colleen Atwood, Into the Woods - NO.
Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive, Maleficent - Should Win
Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Will Win
Jacqueline Durran, Mr. Turner
Mark Bridges, Inherent Vice

I'm actually fine with the Grand Budapest costumes, but I think Maleficent gets the edge here for me. I mean, those wings are staggeringly gorgeous.
   

Makeup and Hairstyling
Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, Foxcatcher
Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Should Win/Will Win
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White, Guardians of the Galaxy

Production Design
Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock, The Grand Budapest Hotel - Should Win/Will Win
Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts, Mr. Turner
Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock, Into the Woods
Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis, and Paul Healy, Interstellar
Maria Djurkovic and Tatiana Macdonald, The Imitation Game

Sound Editing
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman, American Sniper - Will Win
Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock, Birdman
Brent Burge and Jason Canovas, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
Richard King, Interstellar - Should Win
Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro, Unbroken

Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Unbroken
Interstellar - Should Win
Whiplash - Will Win

Visual Effects
Interstellar - Should Win/Will Win
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
X Men: Days of Future Past
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Short Film, Live Action
Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, Aya (Chasis Films)
Michael Lennox, director, and Ronan Blaney, Boogaloo and Graham (Out of Orbit) - But I'm totally rooting for this one.
Hu Wei and Julien Féret, Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak) (AMA Productions) - Should Win
Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger, Parvaneh (Zurich University of Arts)
Mat Kirkby, director and James Lucas, The Phone Call (RSA Films) - Will Win

Short Film, Animated
Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees, The Bigger Picture (National Film and Television School)
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, The Dam Keeper (Tonko House) - Should Win
Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed, Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios) - Will Win
Torill Kove, Me and My Moulton (Mikrofilm in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada)
Joris Oprins, A Single Life (Job, Joris & Marieke)

The Oscars tend to go more radical in animated short, so I have hope for the Dam Keeper. But Feast was enjoyable, so I don't have an issue with it winning. 

Documentary Short Subject
Perry Films, Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 - Will Win
Wajda Studio, Joanna
Warsaw Film School, Our Curse
Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, The Reaper (La Parka)
Weary Traveler, White Earth

Haven't seen the rest, so no opinion on what should win. 

2014 wrap-up, part 2: The JWD Awards

2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Best Film
Calvary
Only Lovers Left Alive
Birdman
Tracks
Whiplash
Nightcrawler
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wild
Night Moves
The Double

Best Popcorn Flick
Snowpiercer
The Babadook
Gone Girl
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Veronica Mars
Interstellar
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Actress
Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Essie Davis (The Babadook)
Mia Wasikowska (Tracks)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Rinko Kikuchi (Kumiko the Treasure Hunter)
Tessa Thompson (Dear White People)

Notable Omissions: Julianne Moore - Still Alice, Felicity Jones - the Theory of Everything, Alicia Vikander - Testament of Youth, Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Beyond the Lights/Belle, Hilary Swank - The Homesman, Jennifer Lawrence - Hunger Games Mockingjay, Jenny Slate - Obvious Child, Jessica Chastain - The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, Keira Knightley - Laggies/Begin Again, Kristen Wiig - Skeleton Twins, Marion Cotillard - Immigrant/Two Days One Nights, Scarlett Johanson - Under the Skin, Anne Dorval - Mommy. I'd say Juliette Binoche, too, but I think Clouds of Sils Maria comes out here next year?

Best Actor
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Tom Hiddleston (Only Lovers Left Alive)
Brendan Gleeson (Calvary)
Ralph Fiennes (Grand Budapest Hotel)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Double, Night Moves)

Notable Omissions: David Oyelowo - Selma, Joaquin Phoenix - Inherent Vice, Bill Hader - Skeleton Twins, Oscar Isaac - A Most Violent Year, Timothy Spall - Mr. Turner, Jack O'Connell - Starred Up/Unbroken, John Lithgow - Love is Strange, Philip Seymour Hoffman - A Most Wanted Man, Chadwick Boseman - Get On Up, Guy Pearce - Rover. 

Best Supporting Actress
Rene Russo (Nightcrawler)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer)
Mia Wasikowska (The Double, Only Lovers Left Alive)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Frank)

Notable Omissions: Carmen Ejogo - Selma, Dorothy Atkinson/Marion Bailey - Mr. Turner, Jessica Chastain - A Most Violent Year, Julianne Moore - Maps to the Stars, Kristen Stewart - Still Alice, Marissa Tomei - Love is Strange, Patricia Arquette - Boyhood, Robin Wright - A Most Wanted Man, Elisabeth Moss - Listen Up Philip, Minnie Driver - Beyond the Lights,  Katherine Waterston - Inherent Vice

Best Supporting Actor
Edward Norton (Birdman)
JK Simmons (Whiplash)
Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler)
Michael Fassbender (Frank)
Andrew Scott (Pride)

Notable Omissions: Ethan Hawke - Boyhood, Miyavi - Unbroken, Albert Brooks - A Most Violent Year, Alec Baldwin - Still Alice, Jake Lacy - Obvious Child, Luke Wilson - Skeleton Twins, Robert Duvall - the Judge, Josh Brolin/Martin Short - Inherent Vice. Also apparently Archipelago finally got a release, so at least someone was gunning for Tom Hiddleston in that.

Best Ensemble
Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Foxcatcher
Into the Woods
Nightcrawler
Pride
Gone Girl
Wild (weird, I know. But I thought all the supporting turns were fantastic.)
Interstellar

Notable Omissions: Selma, Boyhood, Mr. Turner, Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year, Still Alice, The Homesman, Unbroken, Mommy

Best Director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel)
Jim Jarmush (Only Lovers Left Alive)
Jennifer Kent (The Babadook)
Damien Chazelle - Whiplash
Dan Gilroy - Nightcrawler
John Michael McDonagh - Calvary

Notable Omissions: Ana Lily Amipour - A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Angelina Jolie - Unbroken,  LC Chandor - A Most Violent Year, Richard Linklater - Boyhood, Pawel Pawlikowski - Ida

Best Screenplay - Original/Adapted
Birdman (Original)
Nightcrawler (Original)
Grand Budapest Hotel (Original)
Dear White People (Original)
Whiplash (Original)
Calvary (Original)
Gone Girl (Adapted)
Wild (Adapted)
Snowpiercer (Adapted)

Notable Omissions: Linklater - Boyhood, Chandor - A Most Violent Year, DuVernay/Webb - Selma, Sachs/Zacharias - Love is Strange, Coens/etc. - Unbroken, Anderson - Inherent Vice, Stewart - Rosewater

Wow. No wonder I'm sort of underwhelmed at the year in film. I really can't think of 10 scripts I really loved.

Best Animated
umm.... yeah. Totally behind on animated this year. I hear great things about the Tale of Princess Kaguya!

Notable Omissions: Tale of Princess Kaguya, Big Hero 6, Boxtrolls, Song of the Sea

Best Visual Effects
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Godzilla
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Maleficent
Edge of Tomorrow

Best Costumes
Grand Budapest Hotel
Gone Girl
Wild
Maleficent
Foxcatcher

Notable Omissions: Mr. Turner,  Inherent Vice, Selma, A Most Violent Year, Get On Up

Best Art/Production Design
Grand Budapest Hotel
Snowpiercer
The Babadook
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Interstellar
Foxcatcher
Nightcrawler

Notable Omissions: Mr. Turner, the Hobbit, A Most Violent Year, Inherent Vice

Best Makeup
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hunger Games (I have yet to see it but... still.)
Maleficent
The Hobbt (Ditto.)
Grand Budapest Hotel
X-Men

I find it hilarious that the Makeup guild nominated Captain America. Like, they were really into Bucky's smeared guyliner?

Best Cinematography
Birdman
Wild
Night Moves
The Double
Tracks
Interstellar
Gone Girl
Foxcatcher
Snowpiercer
Grand Budapest
The Babadook

Notable Omissions: Mr. Turner, Unbroken, Ida, Fury, Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year, Locke, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, The Immigrant.

Best Editing
Whiplash
Wild
Edge of Tomorrow
Night Moves
Nightcrawler
Interstellar
Grand Budapest Hotel
Calvary

Notable Omissions: Boyhood,  A Most Violent Year

Best Song
Agony - Into the Woods
Hate the Sport - We Are the Best
I Love You All - Frank
Bread and Roses - Pride
Hal - Only Lovers Left Alive
Untitled Self Portrait - The Lego Movie

Notable Omissions: Get On Up, the Skeleton Twins, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Inherent Vice, The Rover, Mommy

Best Score
Gone Girl
Only Lovers Left Alive
Godzilla
Whiplash
Interstellar
The Double
(As the Playlist pointed out, Cliff Martinez's score for The Knick deserves special recognition. 

Best Sound Editing & Mixing
Godzilla
Interstellar (I really liked the sound mix! I know it was divisive, but it worked for me.)
Birdman
Maleficent
Edge of Tomorrow
Gone Girl
Into the Woods
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
X-Men
Captain America

Notable Omissions: Hobbit,  Get On Up

Best Animated Short
The Dam Keeper
Me and My Mouton
Sticky
The Hidden Life of the Burrowing Owl
The Jump
Virtuous Virtuell
Une Balade a la Mer
Close the Lid Gently

Best Live Action Short
Numbers and Friends
Projections in the Forest
Phone Call
Boogaloo and Graham
Las Cieni/ The Shadow Forest
Farewell My King
Campandas
A Sign (Belgian, can't find it online)
Sugar Plum Fairy
Intersection
The Activists (can't find it online)

Film I didn't get to that I am most looking forward to:
Enemy
Cold in July
Beyond the Lights
Ida
Inherent Vice
A Most Violent Year

Best Poster
Enemy
Birdman Also this one
Nightcrawler
Gone Girl
Winter Sleep
Foxcatcher
Borgman
White God
The Final Member
Inherent Vice
Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Trailer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Birdman
Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Gone Girl
Maleficent

Best Quote
"I'm pretty sure the answer is "I am Groot."" - Peter, Guardians
“Did he just throw my cat out of the window?” - Kovacks, Grand Budapest
"There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity." - Grand Budapest Hotel
“In case it slipped your mind, Piz is the one without the baggage and the drama.” “I will say this for him: he almost never gets charged with murder.” – Wallace & Mac, Veronica Mars
“In a lesser known epic poem, Dante’s Inferno 2: Hell Freezes Over, ten years after escaping the Nine Circles, Dante returns, you know, for old time’s sake.” – Veronica, Veronica Mars
"If you want to win the lottery, you have to make the money to buy a ticket." - Lou, Nightcrawler
"Dear White People, the minimum requirement of black friends needed to not seem racist has been raised to two. Sorry, your weed man Tyrone doesn’t count." - Samantha, Dear White People
"What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I'd done something I shouldn't have? What if I was a liar and a cheat and there was no excuse for what I'd done other than because it was what I wanted and needed to do? What if I was sorry, but if I could go back in time I wouldn't do anything differently than I had done? What if I'd actually wanted to fuck every one of those men? What if heroin taught me something? What if yes was the right answer instead of no? What if what made me do all those things everyone thought I shouldn't have done was what also had got me here? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?" -  Wild
"Where are my lesbians?" - Pride
"I think forgiveness has been highly underrated." - Calvary
And pretty much all of TARS.

Other Superlatives:
Best Foreign Film: We Are the Best! (Runner Up: Harmony Lessons. I think I included the Strange Little Cat in last year's list, but if not, then that.)
Best Documentary: The Overnighters (Runner Up: Island of Lemurs) (I still really want to see Virunga, Citizenfour, Tales of the Grim Sleeper, Mankamana, National Gallery, the Internet's Own Boy, Finding Vivian Maier)
Best Female Action Star: Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
Best Trailer for a 2015 film: Mad Max Fury Road
Best Action Scene: the Tunnel scene - Snowpiercer (Runner Up: the many deaths of Tom Cruise montage - Edge of Tomorrow)
Best destruction of San Francisco: Godzilla (Runner Up: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Movie You Wanted to Love But Just Couldn't: X-Men Days of Future Past (there were so many right elements here, but the final mix just felt so hollow to me.) (Runner Up: Foxcatcher)
Best Scene in an otherwise okay film: the HALO jump in Godzilla (Runner up: Quicksilver, X-Men Days of Future Past)
Most wasted potential of an idea: The Sacrament. A horror film basically recounting Jonestown should have been so much more horrifying.
Most wasted potential (runner up): Into the Woods. Kill Rapunzel, cast a teenage Red, fix the set and CGI. Anna Kendrick and Emily Blunt were good, Chris Pine was great, and a movie adaptation of Sondheim should be sublime. 
Worst Scene in an otherwise sometimes brilliant, sometimes not so great film: Matt Damon's arc in Interstellar
Best Chase: Jeff Goldblum & Willem Dafoe - Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Cameo: Justin Long (Veronica Mars)
Best Breakthrough: Andre Holland (haven't also seen Gugu, Jack O'Connell, Katherine Waterston, etc.)
Best Ending (the McKayla Maroney award): Whiplash (runners up: Calvary, Night Moves)
Worst Ending: Words and Pictures. I swear to god the last scene was left in by accident - it's so bad.
Creepiest Teacher: Alison Pill, Snowpiercer
Best Priest fight: Calvary
Best indication Charlie Day can make me laugh in anything: the Lego Movie
Best Dance: Come and Get Your Love - Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Villain: Fletcher, Whiplash
Most Timid Narrative Choices: The Imitation Game
Best Impressions: The Trip to Italy
Most WTF (bad): Tip Top
Most WTF (good): A Field in England
Best Sidekick: Black Widow, Captain America (Runner Up: Rocket, Guardians of the Galaxy)
Worst Paycheck Performance: Gary Oldman - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Best Sociopath: Lou Bloom - Nightcrawler (Runner Up: Amy Dunne - Gone Girl)
Best Cheekbones: Maleficent
Most Overrated: The Lego movie
Best Taylor Swift shoutout: Dear White People
Best Tree: Cinerella's ghost mother willow - Into the Woods, (Runner Up: Groot)
Best Cat: Gone Girl
Best Fish: Snowpiercer
Best Raven: Sam Riley - Maleficent
Best Guinea Pig: Cashew (House of Cards)
Best Ode to Night: Only Lovers Left Alive
Best TV Show: Hannibal BECAUSE IT CANNOT BE SAID ENOUGH. Seriously, the things Bryan Fuller and his merry band of psychopaths are doing at Hannibal rival anything in theaters. Petition to get it onto IMAX screens, too!

2014 wrap-up, part 1: Top 21 films

Well, I pretty much dropped the ball on film in 2014. Part of that was due to personal circumstance (I worked a metric shit-tonne of overtime), which meant a lot less time at the theater. And part of that was due, I'm sure, to the rapid proliferation of great tv. For example, the hours I spent watching Hannibal or Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries were obviously not ones in which I was catching up on my film wish list.

All of which is to say, there are going to be a lot more "notable omissions" than usual.

In addition, I missed my normal routine of predicting the Oscar nominees. Hell, I barely STARTED my Oscar spreadsheet this year. So my guesses for tomorrow are likely going to be the sorriest predictions I've ever made.

But! To start with. Of the films I DID see, what did I love?

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 here. (*cough* notice how they get posted later and later... *cough*)

Given the late hour, I'm just going to post these without commentary:

1. Calvary

2. Only Lovers Left Alive

3. Tracks 

4. Snowpiercer 

5. The Babadook

(yeah, nope.)

6. Birdman 

7. Nightcrawler 

8. Whiplash

9. The Grand Budapest Hotel 

10. Wild

11. Gone Girl (as Haley Mlotek wrote; "I can’t remember the last time I saw an American movie where an American woman washed off blood in a shower and the blood wasn’t hers.")

100 Desert Island Songs

So my brother came up with a list of his top 100 songs and, naturally, I had to follow suit. So. Given some totally bizarre desert-island anti-modern-technology rules, if I could only keep 100 songs from my iTunes library, what would they be? (This ends up being somewhat more expansive then an album list, which is forthcoming.)

First, a few stats:
Genre break down:
Alternative/Alternative-Rock/Garage Rock/Other Punk/Post-Punk/Punk-Pop/Rock: 24
Grunge/Hard Rock: 10
American Traditional Rock/Classic Rock/Mainstream Rock: 9
Alternative Pop/ Indie Pop/Synth Pop: 8
Classical/Choral: 6
Psychedelic: 6
Original Film&TV Music/Soundtrack: 5
Blues, Boogie & Southern/ Honky Tonk & Outlaw/Nashville Sound/Rockabilly: 4
British Indie Rock/Pop/British Invasion: 4
Stage Musicals: 4
Folk/Contemporary Folk: 3
Classic Pop Vocals: 2 (that would be Patti LuPone & Liza Minelli, which is how you know this list is complete and desert island approved.)
Oldies: 2
Singer-Songwriter: 2
Adult Contemporary: 1
Celtic: 1
Classic Soul/R&B: 1
Dance: 1
Hop Hop/Rap: 1
Jazz Vocals: 1
Latin Pop: 1
New Wave: 1
Surf Rock: 1
Thrash & Speed Metal: 1
World Fusion: 1

Year break down (although some of these are recording years, not composition years. For instance, the 80s includes a recording of a piece from the 12th century.)
2010-2014: 6
2000-2009: 26
1990-1999: 25
1980-1989: 7
1970-1979: 18
1960-1969: 15
1950-1959: 1
1833: 1
1720: 1

And now, the list (also here on youtube). In alpha order (and with the songs that overlap with my brother's list bolded):
#1 Crush - Garbage
All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
American Girl - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Another Day - RENT OBC/ Jonathan Larson
Anything Goes - Patti LuPone/Cole Porter
Ave Maria (arr. David McIntyre) - San Francisco Girls Chorus
Baba O'Reilly - The Who
Born to be Wild - Steppenwolf
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Call Me - Blondie
Carmen: Act 3: Halte! Quelqu'Un Est Là Qui Cherche À Se Cacher! - Agnes Baltsa, José Carreras, Etc.; Herbert Von Karajan: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Paris National Opera Chorus/Georges Bizet
Cold War - Janelle Monae
Criminal - Fiona Apple
Delilah - The Dresden Dolls
(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Down On Me - Big Brother & the Holding Company
Dream On - Aerosmith
Duet - Philip Glass (performed by Sugar Vendil, Trevor Gureckis)
El Tango de Roxanne - Ewan McGregor, Jose Feliciano and Jacek Koman
Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
End Transmission - AFI
Even Flow - Pearl Jam
Fairytale of New York - The Pogues ft. Kristy MacColl
The Foggy Dew - The Chieftains & Sinead O'Connor
Foolish Games - Jewel
Freedom '90 - George Michael
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Glycerine - Bush
Go with the Flow - Queens of the Stone Age
Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley/Leonard Cohen
Happy Home - Garbage
Hey Pretty - Poe
The Highwayman - Loreena McKennitt
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Hysteria - Muse
I Think I'm Paranoid - Garbage
I'd Like - Freshlyground
I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys
In Like the Rose - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Intro/Sweet Jane - Lou Reed
Jai Ho - A.R. Rahman ft. Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah & Mahalaxmi Iyer
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine - The Killers
Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Killer Queen - Queen
The Kiss - Trevor Jones
Knights in white satin - Moody Blues
Lights - Journey
Lonely for a Lifetime - Dana Fuchs
Mack the Knife (live) - Ella Fitzgerald/Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht
The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash
Marat/Sade: Homage To Marat; Marat We're Poor; People's Reaction; Poor Old Marat - Judy Collins/Richard Peaslee
Marry Me a Little - Raul Esparza/Stephen Sondheim
Mein Herr - Liza Minelli/ Kander & Ebb
Midnight Radio - John Cameron Mitchell
Momma Look Sharp -  Scott Jarvis (I think?) / Sherman Edwards
New Fang - Them Crooked Vultures
Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
O Euchari - Emma Kirkby, Gothic Voices / Hildegard von Bingen
Oh What a Circus - Antonio Banderas & Madonna/ Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice
Ojos Asi - Shakira
Piano Man - Billy Joel
Pipeline - The Chantays
Proud Mary - Ike and Tina Turner
Ready to Go - Republica
Reasons to be Beautiful - Hole
Resistance - Muse
Ride - Lana Del Rey
Runaway - Del Shannon
Satellite Mind - Metric
Save Me - Joan Armatrading
Shake it Out - Florence + the Machine
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
The Snow Leopard - Shearwater
Somebody to Love - Jefferson Airplane
The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
Spark - Tori Amos
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Suffragette City - David Bowie
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
Time of the Season - The Zombies
Toccata and Fugue in d minor - J.S. Bach
Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
Touch Me - The Doors
Two Years Before the Mast - Astronautalis
Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
Veni, Veni Emanuel - San Francisco Girls Chorus (French trad. melody)
Waking Up - Elastica
Walk - Foo Fighters
Walkin' After Midnight - Patsy Cline
Whatsername - Green Day
White Room - Cream
Winter (Allegro Non Molto) - A. Vivialdi
The Wolf - Phildel
Wonderwall - Oasis
Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The funny thing is that he and I picked a lot of the same artists, but different songs (Walkin' After Midnight as opposed to Crazy; Sound of Silence vs. Only Living Boy in New York; Down on Me over Me and Bobby McGee; Touch Me vs. Light My Fire; The Man Comes Around over Walk the Line; Smells Like Teen Spirit > Come As You Are, and I picked two AFI songs to his one (Morningstar)) I do like that he managed to get a Cab Calloway in there, along with Moby, Gnarls Barkley, Magnetic Fields, and the Beach Boys (although he excluded classical songs). And already today, I wonder at what point the last Cranberries/Distillers/No Doubt/Adele/Beck song bit the dust, or when I lost the second Green Day/Tori Amos song, or Destroy Everything You Touch by Ladytron or Repatriated by the Handsome Furs...

Mostly the entire exercise makes me really, really glad to live in an era of mp3 players.