Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Oh!

You didn't predict Mad Max: Fury Road.

Don't I get some kind of special recognition for being the only one whose top 5 predictions match Travers' top 5?

Oh, well, congrats to everyone who played, well done all around.

RESULTS (please correct me if I made a mistake on the calculations):

Big Magilla = 6 points
FilmFan720 = 7 points
Sabin = 8 points
Precious Doll = 9 points

Though technically a tie with Precious Doll with also 9 points, but since he guessed more higher ranking entries so according to the rules posted by Sonic Youth, the winner of this year's Peter Travers contest is...

anonymous1980!!!

*bows* Thank you, thank you!

Man...this shit is hackier than usual!


10 Best Movies of 2015
From simmering same-sex romances to 'Star Wars', Peter Travers' top 10 films of the year

Apologies for the late appearance of my list of the 10 Best Movies of 2015. I had to wait for the last-minute screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens — and I'm glad I did. Apologies to another golden dozen films that I couldn't squeeze in but couldn't admire more: Son of Saul, The Revenant, Room, The Big Short, Mississippi Grind, Ex Machina, Sicario, Love & Mercy, The End of the Tour, Clouds of Sils Maria, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and Amy, a documentary about Amy Winehouse that breaks new ground while passionately breaking your heart.

So here goes 2015's best of the best:

10
'Inside Out'/'Anomalisa' (Tie)

If you still don't think animation is an art form, try Pete Docter's Pixar masterpiece about the emotions that rule us. Or get lost in the radiant sadness of Anomalisa, a stop-motion game-changer from co-directors Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson about a one-night stand between a weary married self-help guru (David Thewlis) and a buoyant woman (Jennifer Jason Leigh). What Leigh does with her voice to create character is some kind of miracle. So's the movie.

9
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

Here's the last movie I saw in 2015. J.J. Abrams' continuation of the Star Wars saga is popcorn-movie nirvana buttered with style and soul. Watching two generations of jedis blend brings an audience close to euphoria.


8
'The Martian'

His space crew abandons astronaut Matt Damon on Mars. The Golden Globes think it's a comedy. I think it's an exuberant take on the science of the unknown and a chance to celebrate the vibrant, virtuoso talent of director Ridley Scott.


7
'Tangerine'

Yeah, Sean Baker's indie sensation is the movie shot on tricked-up iPhones. But the tech stuff is only part of what amazes. Academy prudes might not respond to live-wire performances from transgender actresses Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, as two L.A. hookers working on Christmas Eve. But what's your excuse?

6
'Straight Outta Compton'

Meet N.W.A, the five gangsta rappers who blew out of Compton in the 1980s. O'Shea Jackson Jr. plays his dad, Ice Cube, and Jason Mitchell nails the torment in Eazy-E. And when N.W.A rage in "Fuck Tha Police," director F. Gary Gray hits a nerve for right now.

5
'Brooklyn'

Can a movie romance charm its way to greatness? This one can. Much credit to director John Crowley and screenwriter Nick Hornby for keeping sappy out of this tale of an Irish girl coming to America in 1951. Saoirse Ronan, 21, illuminates every frame. She's an enchantress.

4
'Mad Max: Fury Road'

A hallucinatory milestone from director George Miller, who, at 70, proves himself the most vital action director in movies today. Tom Hardy excels as the futuristic road warrior, but Charlize Theron steals the show as a force of feminist nature. That's Miller for you, making a woman the redeemer in his world of fire and blood.

3
'Carol'

In 1950s Manhattan, glam Cate Blanchett fixes her gaze on naive shopgirl Rooney Mara, and both turn a period piece into a timeless cry from two defiant hearts. Todd Haynes' film is perfect in every way, especially Blanchett, who just may be the best actress on the planet.

2
'Steve Jobs'

This galvanizing take on Apple's contentious genius debuted to raves. Then the tide turned when the film failed to attract crowds. Screw Aaron Sorkin's volcanic script, Danny Boyle's audacious direction and Michael Fassbender's career-best acting in the title role. In an alarming trend, commercial failure again taints artistic success. But it's amazing.

1
'Spotlight'

No 2015 movie left me more choked up or rapt with admiration than Tom McCarthy's ode to old-school investigative reporting. Kudos to the year's best acting ensemble: Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery and Brian d'Arcy James. At The Boston Globe in 2002, the Spotlight team nailed the Catholic Church for its legacy of child abuse and cover-ups. And the movie sets a new gold standard for 21st-century cinema about journalism.

1. Carol
2. Spotlight
3. Steve Jobs
4. Inside Out
5. Beasts of No Nation
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
7. Room
8. Straight Outta Compton
9. The Martian
10. Trainwreck

I've never taken part in the Peter Travers contests. I don't read his reviews. I'll give it a go:

1. Spotlight
2. Room
3. Sicario
4. Steve Jobs
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
6. Carol
7. The Danish Girl
8. The Hateful Eight
9. The Martian
10. Inside Out

End of an era.

1. Spotlight
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
3. Carol
4. Steve Jobs
5. The Hateful Eight
6. The Martian
7. The Revenant
8. Inside Out
9. Joy
10. Sicario

1. Spotlight
2. Carol
3. Steve Jobs
4. Brooklyn
5. Room
6. The Danish Girl
7. James White
8. Beasts of No Nation
9. Love & Mercy
10. Sicario

That's too bad if it's true, Magilla. Surely, Travers can post his reviews/top 10 lists elsewhere. Anyway, let's get the ball rolling:

1. Spotlight
2. Carol
3. Steve Jobs
4. Inside Out
5. The Martian
6. Room
7. The Revenant
8. Mad Max: Fury Road
9. Brooklyn
10. Sicario

The last I heard of Peter Travers he was rumored to be about to be laid off by Rolling Stone in June or July. I'm surprised he's hung on this long. This may be the last chance we get to play in this contest.

I'm gonna post this early. Continuing the tradition started by Sonic Youth, in his own words:

"The Peter Travers contest, which I started here I think 10 years ago, is really a statement disguised as a contest. The statement is, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine is the most unoriginal, unidiosyncratic, yet highly dependable film critic around, both in his writing style - it's not for nothing that he's "the most blurbed film critic", according to Wiki - and in his taste in films. He slightly defies convention by positioning his tastes moderately left-of-center, very much like a white, college-age male just discovering "cool" movies would. That's not a bad starting point, but Travers has never opened his tastes up from there. And what better way to expose his predictibility than to build a contest around it?"

a). One (1) point is awarded for correctly guessing which films will be on his top ten list.

b). One (1) additional point is awarded for accurately guessing precisely where on the list a film will end up. (Total: two (2) points.)

c). One (1) more additional point is awarded for accurately guessing the number one film of the year. (Total: three (3) points)

d). Three (3) bonus points for accurately predicting which movies will result in a tie, if any. Remember, there may or may not be a tie this year. Travers is one of those critics that likes to put ties in his lists, so you may want to take that under consideration. That said, not every yearly list has ties, so predict at your own risk. (Accurately predicting that there will be no tie gets you zero (0) points. Nice try, but no.)

e). One (1) point is docked for every inaccurately predicted tie. This is to discourage contestants from predicting too many ties.

f). The poll is officially closed when his list is released, and it's authenticity has been verified to my satisfaction.

g). Anyone caught revising his or her list after Travers releases his list will be disqualified.

h). In the event of a first place tie, the completely arbitrary solution is: whoever has guessed more higher-ranking movies on the list wins. If there is still a tie, then the winners will agree to share the honor with grace and humility.

i). Sonic Youth and anonymous1980 are not prohibited from winning their own contest. (This rule has never been applied, but probably will be this year!)