(thanks to Paddy @screenonscreen)
Best Film
Gone Girl
Best Director
Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
Best Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Best Actress
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Best Supporting Actor
J. K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
Best Screenplay
Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
Best Cinematography
Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar)
Best Production Design
Adam Stockhausen (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Best Visual Effects
Interstellar
Best Ensemble Cast
Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Animated Movie
Big Hero 6
Best Documentary
Citizenfour
Best Youth Performance
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Nightcrawler seems like a satire to modern television news about how they choose their leads or often seek for more ratings by entertaining their viewers rather than aim straightly to the facts. But there is a much interesting story beneath here and that is the main character, Louis Bloom. The guy that easily manipulates people with his sinister tricks of persuasion. Everything else may just be the natural world of crime and accidents, but in the eyes of this character, the experience is made far stranger and oddly fascinating. This provides a compellingly menacing and provoking piece of commentary which results to such engrossing film.
What the plot mostly does is to fully absorb the viewers into the character of Bloom by studying his sociopathic behavior and the words coming out from his mouth. He is a charming young man with a dark intention hidden behind his grins. He pushes the limits of the law and his own safety, only to accomplish on what he must do in the job, even if it risks many people’s lives. The actions of this antihero is ought to feel terrifying on how it affects to both the business he’s working on and the society he is watching. The media’s side however is more of a picture of cynicism on how they broadcast the scariest stories of the city, giving the people fear so they could earn more viewers out of the concern. It just breaks down on how the evil of their success is disguised as their own ethics.
The filmmaking perfectly captures their night’s work. You couldn’t clearly see the scenario they shoot unless you watch them on a video footage. The violence and peril they witness are shown without any hint of sympathy, since they only use them for the news show. The horror of these gritty scenes once again belongs to the nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the biggest highlights here. His character obviously has the personality of a psychotic villain; he is mostly bluffing, and by the dashing enthusiasm he shows to the people around him, you probably may not know when his inner total madness will burst out from his frightening eyeballs, and that provides more tension than you expect. This is one of the Gyllenhaal performances that will be remembered for his career.
Out of common sense, this story may lead its main character to a moral about how much he is taking this job too far, probably destroying his humanity. But no, this guy is relentless, almost inhumane, and his style in fact helps his career grow bigger, which turns out we are actually rooting for a villain. And that probably pictures to some oppressive ambitious beings out there behind some system. This is where things go in the end, bringing an outcome to a social satire. You can spot a lot of relevance even when some of the situations get a little out of hand. Nightcrawler is something else than a sentiment, what we must focus here is Lou Bloom: a new, possibly iconic, movie vigilante, except the only skin he is purposely saving is himself and his career.
Jake.
Julianne.
And I’ll be a thankful man… 🙂
I really love Julianne Moore, and I think she is one of the best actresses I have ever seen…that being said…I really do not understand all the “due” talk that she is getting (or anyone ever gets really)…Look at who she lost to the years that she lost:
-Kim Basinger – L.A Confidential…L.A Confidential was a fantastic movie and Basinger was a revelation in it (the fact that she never came close to that role again doesn’t diminish what she did
-Hillary Swank – Boys Don’t Cry – The only person who stood a chance against her was Benning, and does anyone really think that Moore could have beaten both Swank and Benning that Year
Double 02 – Zeta-Jones (supporting, against Moore for the Hours) – Here is the first one you can argue, however, if you remember that year, Chicago was a juggernaut (Queen Latifa was nominated as well) and Jones was the only person in the cast who could win that year…Yes Moore was better, though Zeta-Jones was fantastic.
Nicole Kidman – (Hours, again Far From Heaven) – This is actually where I think she should have won, but Kidman won as many if not more critics awards, was universally loved for her “fearless” performance and was riding the (deserved) Moulin Rouge love (though that does go against my argument).
The point being, there isn’t an egregious, ridiculous win that Moore was robbed over…is she a fantastic actress…yes…could she and will she probably win an oscar, if not this year then soon? Yes…however if anyone is that bent out of shape about Pike winning (or as of now sight-unseen, Aniston, if she is truly great, which can happen) I think they’re doing the winning actress and Moore a disservice..there is nothing worse than a make-up win…I would rather Pacino have never won then win a complete makeup award for Scent of a Woman
My two cents, for whatever they’re worth
Talking about the wonderful Julianne Moore guys, she has just won another critics group: Women film critics hail ‘Still Alice,’ ‘Selma,’ ‘Homesman’ as 2014’s best
She was awarded Best Actress by Women Film Critics Circle
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2014/12/14/Women-film-critics-hail-Still-Alice-Selma-Homesman-as-2014s-best/6431418593285/#ixzz3MZjsbrGs
If it’s not Keaton, whose performance has been my favorite of the year, it HAS to be Gyllenhall. Any other choice, among the performances I’ve seen so far, would disappoint me.
^This.
George, don’t be naive. If playing “overdue” didn’t work, Kate Winslet would still be Oscarless. So would Jeff Bridges. And if they cared about performance quality that much, newcomers Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe wouldn’t have been beaten by Sandra Bullock. It still seems to me that Rosamund is the critical favorite this year (although with slight advantage), but I don’t see the major awards embracing her. Chiwetel Ejiofor was the critical favorite last year for Best Actor (winning a lot more awards than his competition) but most always knew Matthew McConaughey would win the Oscar regardless, and they were right. Personally I see Jennifer Aniston as more of a threat than Pike.
The oscars is about awarding the best performances of the year and it is not about awarding the person that is overdue .Rosamund Pike was mindblowingly good in Gone Girl.Come on guys see it for what is .It doesnt matter where she is from,she was a revelation in Gone Girl.I was totally blown away by Rosamunds performance.The academy voters are not fools and they can see an oscar worthy performance when they see one .Rosamund Pike should not be underestimated at all because if the oscars is about performance she should win.
my home state picks, well any group that doesn’t pick interstellar for bp gets a thumbs down, ha ha
i was sure godzilla won’t win coz the vegas strip got trampled in the movie
yet another win for rosamund, i’m telling you guys julianne moore is competing for the wrong film
just saw wild & my town the biggest little city made a brief appearance, hopefully reese did actually come here & she wasn’t just standing in front of a green screen, anyway the film was nice, reese was great & i know how some people complain that even after seeing the film they still don’t know why she made that thousand mile hike, well in one brief scene during the 1st half of the film she explicitly said why, but then again the entire film was committed to explaining why she’s doing it, all one needs to do is watch & listen
Jessica Chastain is a major threat for Patrica Arquette. She’s been nominated two times before, the academy admires her work, and they probably feel really bad about not giving her an oscar for Zero Dark Thirty. She did four movies in 2014 and did a great job in all of them, especially in A Most Violent Year. Patricia’s performance in Boyhood is a simple performance, she deserves to be nominated but i don’t think it is a winning performance. If she wins is going to be more for the 12 year commitment than her performance.
Nightcrawler is getting really good raves from critics. We could except it to get a nomination for best picture and best director. And Gone Girl. Could Rosamund Pike beat Julianne Moore in the best actress races and finally some love for Interstellar in cinematography and visual effects. But still I think it’s going to be a four way horse race between Boyhood, Birdman, Selma, and The Imitation Game for best picture. JK Simmons is still the frontrunner for best supporting actor, but Edward Norton could squeeze in that category as well. I hope Life Itself wins best documentary over Citizen Four
Nightcrawler winning Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor but loosing Best Picture. No sense.
Julianne Moore is one of those rare actors that the academy knows will win eventually, so they’ve never felt in a rush to award her. Same with Amy Adams, in my opinion.
Contrast with someone like J Law or Marion Cotillard – they both benefited from being the hot commodity that year, and luckily continue to thrive.
Then you have your Zeta-Jones, Witherspoons… the ladies the Academy knows it’s likely a “now or never” sort of career milestone.
But anyway, Moore looks like the frontrunner now, but who’s to say Pike doesn’t become this year’s “hot commodity” or Aniston doesn’t pull a Sandra Bullock and charm her way to a “you’ve loved me for two decades why not give me an Oscar?” Oscar.
No prize for foreign film?
Always a pleasure babe
If it’s not Keaton, whose performance has been my favorite of the year, it HAS to be Gyllenhall. Any other choice, among the performances I’ve seen so far, would disappoint me.
Rosamund Pike’s performance was absolutely mesmerizing and absolutely worthy of a Best Actress Oscar win. Julianne Moore is going to win and deservedly, but I’d be fine with a Rosamund win.
Guys, as Damiansport1 said, Jake is starting to like 2014’s McConaughey. We need to stop treating him as a possible nominee, but as a bonafide contender for the Oscar. Dude is starting to look like a juggernaut.
If we consider this Angie (popularity and the other points for exemple), Julie can really get this! She has three big films this year (one a blockbuster everybody saw – I can see J Law voting for Moore). For the first time she seems to be canpainging – she wants it – . And even considered she is over 50, Julianne is beautiful, sexy, and looks younger . I don’t imagine members of the academy who have worked with Moore for exemple – Paul Thomas Anderson, Meryl Streep, Annette Bening and others voting against her. And we have to consider that Pike is british and can be canceled by the ‘Felicity Jones factor”. I don’t see an almost entire American Branch (like the Academy is) denying it to Moore now and giving it to Pike, even we knowing they really enjoy british actresses. I see Julianne winning the BFCA, the Globes, and the SAG, with a great possibility of winning the BAFTA. If she gets it, she nails the Oscar.
Totally agree with Carlos. But I think the academy isn’t about fairness or giving it to the people who actually deserve it. Many great actresses don’t have an Oscar (Glenn Close, Annette Bening, etc.) It’s more about popularity, who campaigns well, and who is really cute. Based on that, Julianne might not win. Sad but true. Oscars have really fallen in status anyways.
I really hope Julianne Moore finally wins her very well deserved and overdue Oscar. Pike is getting some love from some small critics groups, but I see her as Michelle Williams in the Year when Streep won her second Oscar: Michelle won most of critics groups, but when the Guilds and Globes started, It was Viola Davis Vs Meryl Streep. It’s Julianne Moore’s time. It’s unbelievable for me that Moore doesn’t have an Oscar yet, and other low profile and non so much talented actresses have. I think the Academy knows it’s Julie’s time, and also knows she wants it too much. How can a person who have worked with this wonderful actress through the years could vote against her? It’s nice to see Pike’s work recognized, but Moore has an entire body of work and “Still Alice” is one of her brillant performances for sure (I haven’t seen the film yet). It’s weird to think that Paltrow has an Oscar, but Moore doesn’t. Julianne’s time is now!
More love for Hoyte van Hoytema! Now that’s what I’m talking about!
Jake Gyllenhaal might be McConaughey of 2014 (late surge).