Staff Oscar predictions

And the award goes to …

Staff Oscar predictions

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Sam Boyd, Sports Editor

With the recent Oscar announcements, the staff decided to make its picks for who should win in each of the six main categories. Here are the staff picks:

Her –A very emotional and deeply relatable tale about the quest for love gives this film the edge over big contenders. The best part is that one of the lovers is not even physically present, but rather a distant voice courtesy of Scarlett Johansson. And even for a film with most of its focus on the face of Joaquin Phoenix, the audience is subject to so much depth of emotions. Spike Jonze did a terrific job of making a romantic film that made us laugh, smile, cringe and feel depressed all at the same time.

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) – Could this be the year when DiCaprio finally breaks his winless streak? It seems like a strong possibility after his performance as a completely unlikable stock broker who ruins his and everyone else’s life by attempting to cheat the world of its money. With all of his drug use and sexual conduct in the film, DiCaprio almost ruined DiCaprio for the world. But that is what makes this such a good performance: We forget who he is and only see him as Jordan Belfort, a disgusting display of how money corrupts.

Sandra Bullock (Gravity) – Bullock should take home a golden statue because of the emotional strain her character went through. All while thousands of miles away from Earth in space. Most of the film is Bullock breathing in panic as she attempts to find her way back home and every second of this puts the audience on the edge of its seat. Also, the best actress category is somewhat weak this year so it would only be fitting for Bullock to fly to the moon with the win – sorry for the pun.

Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street) – If Moneyball didn’t convince you, Hill certainly proves his acting chops alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. As Belfort’s big-toothed, obnoxious best friend and business partner, Donnie Azoff, Hill makes all of his scenes memorable. Whether he is doing massive amounts of cocaine or screaming at an employee, Hill makes Azoff come alive as a humorous example of how money can corrupt even the most genuine of people. In all the talks for Wolf, Hill’s name has consistently come up because he deserves recognition for being the man who stole many scenes from DiCaprio. And that’s impressive.

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) – Lawrence may make history to be the youngest female to win two Oscars in two years, and she definitely deserves it after her humorous performance as Rosalyn, the wife of Christian Bale’s Irving Rosenfeld. In her very few scenes, Lawrence makes a presence with her performance as an ill-prepared wife, always blaming others for her problems. She proves to be a problem for Bale’s character by giving away his deepest secrets and becoming a nuisance at home. It is difficult to explain what makes this story stand out, but in a film depicting a realistic con, she seems equal parts down to Earth and completely insane.

Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) – The film is a beautiful masterpiece and an example of how to properly use CGI. That should not go unnoticed to the Academy as they pick best director. Gravity was visually stunning, all in part to Cuarón’s attention to detail and skill of making the audience feel what space is like. In our opinion, any director who can make a 3D film watchable deserves some sort of an award. Gravity may not have had the great storylines of other contenders this year, but this award should fall to the director with the best looking picture as well as the most realistic.