In case you’re not ready for February 22nd’s 87th Oscar ceremony, our film expert breaks it down for you.
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Maybe it’s because we had never seen anything like it, or because the combination of a brilliant scenario, gripping performances and striking visuals constituted a film that was difficult to find fault in, or simply because it was perfectly of our time.
Actor in a Leading Role
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
It is through the eyes trapped in a withering body that Eddie Redmayne’s exceptional portrayal of Dr. Steven Hawking came alive. Rarely have I seen such emotion through a simple – yet extraordinarily lively – look.
Actress in a Leading Role
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild
As Moore portrays a woman hit by premature Alzheimer’s announcing her disease to her family, I felt like one of her own children sitting in her living room, on the edge of my seat. Useless to say: she was pretty convincing.
Actor in Supporting Role
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash
Who doesn’t still have nightmares after watching J.K. Simmons terrifying portrayal of a ruthless jazz teacher? We know we do.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Maybe it’s because even behind the looks of a lost ex-addict, we’ve rarely seen her so honest and bare. Michael Keaton and her made quite the pair.
Animated Feature Film
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Dreamworks really blew our minds with this one. From a new processing method to getting President Obama to test their brand new cameras, the studio company have really given their everything for this movie, creating an insanely cool fantasy which will surely make your inner child resurface.
Cinematography
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr.Turner
Unbroken
Birdman has it all: exceptional lighting, incredible transitions, you name it. Everything is flawless cinematographically speaking. Oh yeah, and it was shot in one take.
Costume Design 
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
The hotel’s purple uniforms became instant classics, and perfectly completed the dashing sets as well as matching the characters personalities. Chapeau!
Directing
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Richard Linklater directed the same film for twelve years and managed to make a coherent two and a half hours story; we’ll give him that.
Documentary Feature
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
It was only a matter of time before the events surrounding Edward Snowden were projected on the big screen. CitizenFour is as risky as it is great, tackling a touchy subject matter of which, in the end, the protagonist isn’t Snowden, or the NSA, but you.
Documentary Short Subject
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth
HBO have showed us the truths of life after war in this incredible, gripping documentary.
Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
When a casual jazz band performance doubles your heartbeat, you know there’s some editing magic behind it all.
Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
An extraordinary portrayal of Russian corruption, faith, family value, trust and religion, this wowing picture will really take over you and drown you in a sea of overwhelming feelings, which will make you love it, just as we did.
Makeup and hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
I mean, did you even recognize Steve Carell?
Music
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplats
The Imitation Game – Alexandre Desplats
Interstellar – Hans Zimmer
Mr.Turner – Gary Yershon
The Theory of Everything – Johann Johannson
The accompaniment to Nolan’s majestic images is precisely more that an accompaniment. Zimmer has brought a new dimension to the film (what’s new), but this time off the beaten tracks: his organ tracks have literally taken us out of this world.
Music – Original Song
“Everything is Awesome” – The Lego Movie
“Glory” – Selma
“Grateful” – Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
“Lost Stars” – Begin Again
Common and John Legend’s “Glory” sums up African American History like no other song. Lyrically and melodically, it incorporates a whole variety of African American cultural trademarks such as soul, R&B, gospel and hip-hop, evolving into an incredible composition which can only inspire… well… glory.
Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr.Turner
The world they’ve built was so enchanting we can’t say we didn’t wish we could book our next trip to The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Short Film – Animated
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
We really loved those paper people, their paper houses, their paper curtains and every papery thing in this great short film.
Short film – Live Action
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Who wouldn’t fall in love with the two brothers and their beloved chickens in this touching funny Irish short?
Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit
Interstellar
Unbroken
The wind, the flame, that flat tire, the rocket’s takeoff, we could go on for ages… As Nicolas Jaar would say, “space is only noise”, but in this case, it’s music to our ears.
Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
We could all still hear the entrancing drums days after we’d seen the film.
Visual Effects
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
We have to say those monkeys really do look real.
Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
How many World War Two movies are there out there, right? Soldiers fighting and dying, governments negotiating peace, etc. Sometimes, it can be boring to watch the same story over and over again, even though it’s told in a different way. The Imitation Game however, is nothing like what you’ve already seen. It tells the real life story of Alan Turing who led the allies to victory from behind his desk, by inventing a certain machine, which would later be the basis of what we know today as “computers”. A moving adaptation which will amaze anyone. All you have to do, is listen very carefully.
Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
It was time Hollywood came up with something other than a remake, an adaptation, a prequel, or a sequel, and Birdman‘s different and modern story filled with topical references was the fresh wave we were waiting for.