Oscars 2015: Winners and Losers

That's a wrap! The Academy Awards are done for another year and, as usual, there are a whole host of winners and losers to chat about. Here are some of my thoughts on the 87th Oscars...

Film Review: Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending is an entirely original space opera from the Wachowski siblings, the visionary duo behind sci-fi classics such as The Matrix and...er, The Matrix sequels? Hmm...

Anyway, Jupiter Ascending sees Mila Kunis play Jupiter Jones, a toilet-scrubbing nobody who is whisked away on an colourful adventure by the roguish Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) so that she can take her place on an intergalactic throne.

Film Review: Whiplash

"Parker! Get me pictures of Buddy Rich!" (that's a drumming joke - ba dum tish!)

Whiplash is a Best Picture-nominated drama about Andrew (Miles Teller), a gifted drummer who enrols at a prestigious music school in New York. It's here that he encounters Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons), a fearsome conductor who terrorises his students and always strives for the best.

Oscars 2015: My Predictions

It's that time of year again! Awards season culminates this weekend with the Academy Awards, Hollywood's night of nights. 

Boyhood and Birdman are the front-runners, but The Grand Budapest Hotel, Still Alice, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash and The Imitation Game are likely to go away with something in the bag too. So, this can only mean one thing - a frenetic session of wildly stabbing in the dark at who'll win what!

Seriously, I do this every year and never seem to get anything right.

Anyway, highlighted in orange is my prediction for who will win a particular category; those highlighted in purple are who I'd personally like to see win in an ideal world (if applicable). I've also put some comments on who and why below some of the categories. I haven't covered every category because I'm not expert on everything and, let's be honest, who gives a crap about something like Best Makeup and Hairstyling?!

Anyway, let's roll up our sleeves and dive right in...

Film Review: Kingsman - The Secret Service

"Hey bruv - the name's Bond, James Bond - ya get me?"

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a film from director Matthew Vaughan, the man behind X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass.

It sees newcomer Taron Egerton play Eggsy, a troublemaker given the chance of making something of himself by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a smartly-dressed secret agent on a mission to save the world from a maniacal super villain (Samuel L. Jackson).

Film Review: The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything is the story of Stephen Hawking, one of the most celebrated physicists of the 20th Century, and his wife Jane. 

Starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones (both of whom are Oscar-nominated for this film), it sees the duo journey through adversity and hardship as the famed scientist is struck by motor neurone disease at the young age of 21.

Film Review: What If

Valentine's Day means one thing - rom-coms! Earlier in the week I reviewed Playing It Cool, and up next was What If, a cute little film starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan. 

It's about two friends who can't figure out if they want to go further - so, how does it stack up?

Film Review: The Interview

The Interview is a controversial comedy from writer/director duo Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen - it sees James Franco and Rogen himself play two civilians tasked with assassinating the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, after landing an interview with the famed dictator. 

After causing a bit of a ruckus over Christmas, The Interview has now landed in Australian cinemas - so, is the fuss justified or is the whole thing something of a storm in a teacup?