by Jeremy Pierce

Jeremy Pierce gives us his predictions of the 88th Academy Awards also known as the Oscars. See who and what films made his list Sunday, February 28th, 2016 at 8pm on ABC.

Best Picture
-The Big Short
-Bridge of Spies
-Brooklyn
-Mad Max: Fury Road
-The Martian
-The Revenant
-Room
-Spotlight

What should win: Mad Max: Fury Road; Mad Max is different from all of the other nominations. It’s an action movie that was well-acted, well-directed, and critically acclaimed. The last film I can think of this caliber that won the award was Lord of the Rings 3.
What will win: The Big Short; This a tough one and a real toss-up. I think the Big Short could win because of how relevant it is, but don’t be surprised if Spotlight wins.
The Snub: Anomalisa, Ex-Machina, Sicario, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Creed, and The Hateful Eight; Anomalisa being nominated for just Best Animated Feature is another cop out for the Academy not nominating an animated film for Best Picture. I can understand The Hateful Eight, but Ex-Machina was close to perfect in every way. Sicario was one of the rare action/thrillers that just had you on the edge of your seat. You invested in the characters, their stories, and the story itself. Star Wars, hmmm, let’s see; over $1 billion worldwide, 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and iconic characters. Yeah, that seems like a nomination to me. Creed was definitely a long shot but dammit, if Coogler, Jordan, and Stallone didn’t make that film feel special.

Best Director
-Lenny Abrahamson, Room
-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant
-Adam McKay, The Big Short
-Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
-George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Who should win: George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road. If you’ve seen Mad Max then you know why George should win. Most of the set pieces are real and authentic. This is an old school director with an old school take on a phenomenal film.
Who will win: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. This may as well be a forgone conclusion that he’ll win.
The Snub: Just two big ones here; Tarantino and Ryan Coogler. Many may not like Tarantino, but you can’t deny that he’s a master of his craft. Coogler took a film in the Rocky franchise and made it an awards contender. That’s hard.

Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Who should win: Does it matter? It’s Leo but I’ll go with Fassbender as he did actual acting in his film.
Who will win: Leo. Leo. Leo. This has been known for around a year. There’s no way he’s not winning this.
The Snub: Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation was terrifying, menacing, and charming. The may have been above average but there’s no denying what he brought to it. Then there’s Samuel L. Jackson who deserves more than what the Academy has given him. He’s in the Hateful Eight from beginning to end and he comes off a brilliant in it which he usually does in Tarantino films. Michael B. Jordan for Creed and Will Smith for Concussion. Both of these men carried their respective movies and after watching them, you’ll see why.

Best Actress
-Cate Blanchett, Carol
-Brie Larson, Room
-Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
-Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
-Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Who should win: Brie Larson in Room was one of the most powerful performances that you’d see all year. She makes you care for her and her son. You want them to survive.
Who will win: This is another category where you wonder why the other nominees show up. The trophy is going to Brie.
The Snub: There’s one of her and that’s to my future wife, Emily Blunt for Sicario. She could have easily been nominated over Jennifer or Charlotte. Emily played that rare character of a tough girl who was vulnerable but not in a sexist way.

Best Supporting Actor
-Christian Bale, The Big Short
-Tom Hardy, The Revenant
-Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
-Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
-Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Who should win: YO, ADRIEN!!!!! I’m going with Stallone for many obvious reasons and he deserves it. He and Bale are the only ones that truly stand out in this field.
Who will win: ROCKY! ROCKY! ROCKY!
The Snubs: The snubs alone change this category tremendously. There’s Oscar Isaac for his turn in Ex-Machina, Demian Bichir in The Hateful Eight, Domhnall Gleeson in a take your pick of films this year (The Revenant, Brooklyn, and Ex-Machina), Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro for Sicario, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell for The Big Short, and James Marsden for The D-Train. See, a whole different field.

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Who should win: Jennifer Jason Leigh. She did a damn fine job as the racist, truly evil leader of her gang. These roles are nothing new for Jennifer as she’s perfected them.
Who will win: See above
The Snub: Rose Byrne, Spy. Rose was hilarious. She was the villain in a spy movie parody that was entertaining at that and that is hard to do. Then there’s a role that has largely gone overlooked and that’s Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. She’s the most memorable character in the entire film.

Best Animated Feature
-Anomalisa
-Boy & the World
-Inside Out
-Shaun the Sheep Movie
-When Marnie Was There

What should win: This is toss-up. I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that it’s between Anomalisa and Inside Out.
What will win: I don’t know. I’ll toss a coin. *tosses coin*. Anomalisa.
The Snub: None

The Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 28th, 2016 at 8pm on ABC.

For more information visit www.oscar.go.com.