Check out our picks for this year's Oscars.
For fans of Hollywood, the Academy Awards is a big deal. The event — commonly known as the Oscars — is probably the most prestigious film awards ceremony of the year. People from all around the world tune in to cheer their favourite movies and actors. And with the so many great films over the last year, it’s hard to predict who will win.
Will it be Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy-romance The Shape of Water? What about Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a hard-hitting small-town drama with a fantastic performance from Frances McDormand? And don’t forget Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird or Christopher Nolan’s World War II drama Dunkirk.
If you still haven’t watched all these films, or can’t decide who to cheer this year, S Weekly asked Thailand’s top film critic Kong Rithdee to share his favourites ahead of the 90th Oscars ceremony.
Best Picture:
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
“Call Me by Your Name, Get Out and Lady Bird are all great, but they’re small indie films. I know that an indie film, Moonlight, won Best Picture last year, but I don’t think it will happen again. So the Oscar in the most important category will probably go to either The Shape of Water or Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. But I can’t guess which one it will be.”
Best Actor:
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
“My personal favourites are Timothée Chalamet and Daniel Day-Lewis because they both played complex characters and gave deeply emotional performances. Daniel Kaluuya was really good in Get Out, but I don’t think he should win. Normally horror films don’t get Oscar nods. I think Hollywood nominated Kaluuya due to the protests over a lack of diversity a few years ago. Gary Oldman is the most likely winner because Hollywood seems to like portrayals of historical figures.”
Best Actress:
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
“I like Frances McDormand and I think her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri should win. She’s an amazing actress who previously won an Oscar for her role in Fargo in 1996. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, McDormand is outstanding as a devastated mother whose daughter was raped and murdered. It’s a very emotional role to play. Other great performances are Magot Robbie in I, Tonya and Saoirse Ronan, who recently won the Golden Globe for Lady Bird. But I don’t think either can compete with McDormand’s performance.”
Director:
Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan
Get Out, Jordan Peele
Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig
Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson
The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro
“My personal favourite is Paul Thomas Anderson, but Guillermo del Toro is the most likely to win. He won Best Director at the BAFTAs and the movie has picked up a few other prizes. At the end of the day, the Oscars is more about popularity than art, so Phantom Thread is probably too dark to win. Dunkirk is also great, but again, too abstract. It might win in another category like Best Cinematography. I think del Toro has the right formula for success — a love story, fantasy, a monster and a Cold War setting.”
Animated Feature:
The Boss Baby, Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
The Breadwinner, Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
Coco, Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
Ferdinand, Carlos Saldanha
Loving Vincent, Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart
“Honestly, I haven’t watched all of these titles yet, but I think the likeliest winner is Coco, because it’s one of last year’s best-known animations. Like other Pixar films, Coco is a heart-warming experience, filled with imagination. It’s also a beautiful depiction of Mexican culture. Loving Vincent is a very well-made animation and claims to be first fully-painted animated feature film. But Coco was a hit at the box office and that’s what Hollywood is aiming for.”
