- May 6, 2024
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Expect fireworks at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony — and not the type that light up the sky. This year’s nominees all meet the caliber of what constitutes great filmmaking. And honoring those who inspire us deserves applause. The 2017 Academy Awards ceremony airs at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 26, on ABC. Red-carpet coverage kicks off at 7 p.m.
Our pick: Michelle Williams’ screen time amounts to cameo status, but it’s a performance so tragically powerful that it defines desperation as no other has.
Most likely: Viola Davis reprises her Tony Award-winning role on the big screen as a stand-by-your-man wife whose life suddenly falls apart at the seams. She once again plays in a supporting role, yet she steals every scene she inhabits.
Our pick: Michael Shannon always delivers intensity. As a tough Texas cop, he reveals a heart of gold helping a deeply wounded man obtain justice. This guy deserves an award just based on his incredible gift for acting.
Most likely: Mahershala Ali manages to make a drug dealer come across as compassionate. It’s a skillful balancing act to lend unexpected plausibility between good and evil. And he pulls it off brilliantly.
Our pick: Isabelle Huppert’s multilayered, multifaceted performance as a victim/avenger catches you off guard at every turn. She elevates dark comedy to a whole new level and finally deserves an Oscar, given all of the exquisite work she has created throughout her career.
Most likely: Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy immediately after the assassination of her beloved husband is quietly devastating. Her ability to channel the first lady’s internal grief is astounding, because it’s Portman’s own interpretation.
Our pick: Casey Affleck’s portrayal of a man who harbors an unfathomable secret is riveting. Buried for so long, it has eaten away at his soul to the point where he merely exists. It’s Affleck’s greatest performance and one of the best in filmmaking history.
Most likely: Denzel Washington also reprises his Tony Award-winning role, alongside Viola Davis, as the husband who selfishly destroys his marriage. Washington nails the agony and ecstasy of a troubled man who’s riddled with regret.
Our pick: Mel Gibson, known for his missteps but also for passionate filmmaking, makes a monumental comeback. Never has a film depicted the horrors of war with such alarm. The true story of Desmond Doss, who received the Medal of Honor without firing a shot, stands as a testament to the power of conviction in the darkest of hours. Take heed.
Most likely: Damien Chazelle takes audiences back to the studio era of making whimsical musicals — a seemingly lost genre. It’s colorful, well choreographed and snappily scored. But it can’t hold a candle to those of yore.
Our pick: “Manchester by the Sea” is a film that will tug at your heart until it breaks. But it also has wicked sense of humor. It has a great deal to say about how people get on with their lives and the manner in which they cope when faced with unbearable tragedy. It also demonstrates that there is always hope if one is willing to seek out its hiding place.
Most likely: “La La Land” (aka Blah Blah Land) because for 128 minutes, it made us forget at a time when we needed to escape reality. But the hoopla surrounding the film got out of hand considering the mediocre singing, dancing and acting.
