my 2021 Oscar picks!

Alright, ladies and gents. Here’s my picks for this Sunday’s Oscars! If you’re trying to win your Oscar pool, I’m your friend! (But if you lose, can we still be friends?) I was able to watch 43 of the 56 nominated films so yay me! If you want to watch them, they’re mostly available on streaming services - that’s one tiny bright spot of this year’s race!

Key:
italics for movies I haven’t seen
[brackets] for movies I want to win
BOLD for movies I think will win (aka what you should put on your ballot!)

Best Picture

THE FATHER
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MANK
[MINARI]
NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
SOUND OF METAL
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Best Director

ANOTHER ROUND - Thomas Vinterberg
MANK - David Fincher
MINARI - Lee Isaac Chung
[NOMADLAND - Chloé Zhao]
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN - Emerald Fennell

Best Actress

Viola Davis in MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
Andra Day in THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY
Vanessa Kirby in PIECES OF A WOMAN
Frances McDormand in NOMADLAND
[Carey Mulligan in PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN]

Best Actor

Riz Ahmed in SOUND OF METAL
[Chadwick Boseman in MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM]
Anthony Hopkins in THE FATHER
Gary Oldman in MANK
Steven Yeun in MINARI

Best Supporting Actress

Maria Bakalova in BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
Glenn Close in HILLBILLY ELEGY
Olivia Colman in THE FATHER
Amanda Seyfried in MANK
[Yuh-Jung Youn in MINARI]

Best Supporting Actor

Sacha Baron Cohen in THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
[Daniel Kaluuya in JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH]
Leslie Odom, Jr. in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...
Paul Raci in SOUND OF METAL
Lakeith Stanfield in JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Best International Feature Film

ANOTHER ROUND
BETTER DAYS
[COLLECTIVE]
THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN
QUO VADIS, AIDA?

Best Animated Feature Film

ONWARD
OVER THE MOON
A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON
SOUL
[WOLFWALKERS]

Best Adapted Screenplay

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
[THE FATHER]
NOMADLAND
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...
THE WHITE TIGER

Best Original Screenplay

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
[MINARI]
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
SOUND OF METAL
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Best Cinematography

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MANK
NEWS OF THE WORLD
[NOMADLAND]
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Best Costume Design

[EMMA]
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
MANK
MULAN
PINOCCHIO

Best Film Editing

THE FATHER
NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
[SOUND OF METAL]
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

Best Production Design

THE FATHER
[MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM]
MANK
NEWS OF THE WORLD
TENET

Best Original Song

"Fight For You" from JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
"Hear My Voice" from THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
[“Husavik" from EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA]
"Io Sì (Seen)" from THE LIFE AHEAD (LA VITA DAVANTI A SE)
"Speak Now" from ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI...

Best Original Score

DA 5 BLOODS - Terence Blanchard
MANK - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
[MINARI - Emile Mosseri]
NEWS OF THE WORLD - James Newton Howard
SOUL - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste

Best Sound

GREYHOUND
MANK
NEWS OF THE WORLD
SOUL
[SOUND OF METAL]

Best Visual Effects

LOVE AND MONSTERS
THE MIDNIGHT SKY
MULAN
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
[TENET]

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

[EMMA]
HILLBILLY ELEGY
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM
MANK
PINOCCHIO

Best Documentary - Feature

[COLLECTIVE]
CRIP CAMP
THE MOLE AGENT
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
TIME

Best Documentary - Short Subject

[COLETTE]
A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION
DO NOT SPLIT
HUNGER WARD
A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA

Best Animated Short Film

BURROW
GENIUS LOCI
[IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU]
OPERA
YES-PEOPLE

Best Live Action Short Film

FEELING THROUGH
THE LETTER ROOM
THE PRESENT
TWO DISTANT STRANGERS
[WHITE EYE]