Theory Thursday: Alicia Vikander Didn't Deserve an Oscar for "The Danish Girl"

Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Here is the Official List of Every 2016 Oscar Winner

The cast and crew of Spotlight winning Best Picture

There you have it, everyone. Another Academy Awards ceremony is in the books. With a competitive, unpredictable year, it was nice to know that the winners this were just as random as the moments leading up to it. But, who won all of the awards? Who won the most? Spotlight walked away with the Best Picture, but very little else, while Mad Max: Fury Road left with six. If you wish to know who won in every category, click the jump to see the results. Also, I will answer the proverbial question that comes with each post-ceremony recap: how did I do? To say the least, it wasn't my best year even if I'm not mad at who won.

My Official Oscar Predictions for 2015

Scene from Spotlight

This is it, everybody. Tomorrow is the big day when The Academy Awards reveal who is going to come away champion. It has been an exciting, unpredictable season that will hopefully produce some out of the box results. From some bizarre Oscar nominees (Mad Max: Fury Road specifically) to a tough three way battle for Best Picture, this is a year that will be hard to call, especially with the results changing every other week. While you have seen my extensive coverage of this year's season, the following is my personal picks for winners. I'm confident that unlike the past few years, I will not be doing nearly as well (I really don't want The Revenant to win big). So take my picks with a grain of salt, and feel free to place your bets in the comments section. Come back on Monday for full post-ceremony coverage.

Check This Out: FIDM's 24th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit

Scene from Cinderella

If you're anyone who likes film, you are aware of how essential a good outfit is. Every year, the Best Costume Design category features some of the biggest and brightest outfits ranging from period pieces to more contemporary fare. If you're at all interested in seeing the outfits from various films of this past year (as well as all of the Oscar-nominated ones) and you live in the Los Angeles area, then I've got some good news for you. They are currently being shown at The Museum of Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). If that wasn't enough, it's currently free to the public at this very moment.

What "The Danish Girl," Says About the Oscar's Problematic Relationship with LGBT Movies

Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl

Last night, I decided to catch up on the missing links in my Oscar-nominated movies for this year. I decided to tackle director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl: a film that I inevitably had high hopes for, if just because of what 2015 was symbolically in the LGBT community. Beyond America legalizing gay marriage, it was the time when we had multiple noteworthy trans celebrities, cinema was hitting new strides with Tangerine, and Transparent was continuing its yearlong (and arguably still going) success. Transgender culture is probably more accepted than it ever had been, and The Danish Girl could be the period to the sentence. Of course, that is problematic to say, but what became abundantly clear is that it was actually doing the opposite. Despite its romanticism, The Danish Girl featured stereotypes akin to the gay best friend with flamboyancy and a lisp. While it took some reading to fully understand why, it's generally one of the problems with The Academy's recent crop of nominees.

A Look at Oscar 2016 Superlatives and Records

With The Oscars now officially on the books, it's easy to look at who is the biggest film of the year (The Revenant with 12 nominations) and what the biggest surprises are. However, what's harder to notice is the various records and superlatives that were achieved with the Class of 2015. The following is a rundown of the various achievements that could be found in this year's nominees, including potential records if certain films and artists win. So check out the line-up and enjoy witnessing Oscar history in the making. 

How Did I Do?: A Look Back at My August Oscar Predictions

Scene from Carol

Back in August, I wrote my premature, pre-Oscar season predictions for the main categories for this year's nominees. To say the least, it's an interesting list that manages to miss the point, ignoring films like Room, Brooklyn, and The Big Short all together. But, did I really do as bad as I have made it out to be? The following is a rundown of the list that will feature my original picks first followed by the actual results. If there's any embarrassing or profound comment to accompany this, I will also share them. So, step into the time capsule and recognize just how surprising 2015's Academy class ended up being and how rapidly things could change between August and January.

My Predictions for This Year's Top 6 Oscar Category Nominations

This is it, everyone Tomorrow is the day when we finally discover who all of this year's Oscar nominees are. What has made 2015 a very interesting season is that while we've had a front runner (Spotlight), we haven't had as clear of a road map for every other category. With that said, this could either become yet another conventional year, mirroring last year's "Oscars So White" backlash; or we can be seeing a random year where Mad Max: Fury Road and other blockbusters manage to compete for Oscar gold. The following is my predictions for the six big categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. It's a difficult year to predict, and I am likely to be wrong in some ways (as I usually am). However, join in the fun and share the picks that you feel are deserving of nominations, and return to The Oscar Buzz tomorrow morning for in depth reporting and commentary on every high and every low.

Here's a Look at This Year's BAFTAS Nominations

Scene from The Revenant 

Today marked the announcement of this year's BAFTAS nominations. With The Oscars giving this year's line-up next week, Britain gets in on the game with their own prestigious awards show. While 2015 has proven to one of the most sporadic and unpredictable years on record (there's not a lot of front runners yet), there have been a few nominations lately that have given us some clue as to what to expect. With Carol leading the pack, this year's line-up has its own share of eyebrow raisers, including a few noticeable absences. The following is a rundown of every nomination as well as brief commentary on each category.

Check Out the 112 Finalists on the Best Original Score Shortlist

Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs

The short lists keep on coming. While yesterday saw me tackle a variety of categories, I am choosing to focus solely on one for the Best Original Score list. More than the other field, this category is probably too subjective and controversial for me on a year-to-year basis. While there's certain ones that give me problems (the definition of "original"), I do think that sometimes The Academy gets it right, as the music used to emphasize emotional or action sequences are important to the film. This year's shortlist features 112 scores, including the absence of one of this year's biggest contenders (The Revenant, by Ryuichi Sakamoto). The following is a list of every contender, followed by the composer in parenthesis. There will also be opinions following the list for the ones that stand out to me.

Check Out the Nominees for This Year's Golden Globe Awards

Rooney Mara in Carol

Today, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) released the nominees for this year's Golden Globe Awards. Honoring the best in film and TV, the award has often been considered a strong indicator as to what The Oscars will look like. While this isn't entirely true, the one advantage that the ceremony has is that it honors films in both comedy and drama departments, thus allowing less prestigious titles to pick up traction. This year shows no exception, especially with the presence of a few surprising picks, including Mad Max: Fury Road, Concussion, and Trumbo. The following is a look at the movie categories, followed by personal thoughts on each of the categories.

A Look at Transgender Culture at the Oscars

Scene from The Danish Girl

Among the most anticipated films from this year's Oscar season is director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne as the first transgender woman. While the film is likely to rake up attention for its subject matter, it isn't the first LGBT film to tackle such subjects and get some Oscar love for it. It's not even the only trans film of 2015 that has gotten acclaim (just look at Tangerine). With the release of a film that's sure to rack up plenty of attention in the months to come, here's a look back at the films that won and were nominated for their representation of trans characters in the media, including one familiar Best Picture winner.

A Look at the Hits and Misses of TIFF

Scene from Anomalisa

As the annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) wraps up, it's time to take account of the big news that has come out of it. Following the brief but memorable news that came out of Telluride, TIFF marks one of the annual high points in Oscar Season. It is a time when films begin to make a name for themselves, helping to shape the race with a few outsiders that likely weren't considered before. While I will try not to address a lot of films that I discussed in the Telluride piece, I do feel the need to make a few highlights as to what significant film news we have heard, and what we can expect in the months going forward.

Why I Like Eddie Redmayne (Even If You Think He's Oscar Bait-y)

Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl

There is a certain amount of flack that I have received for my opinions on Eddie Redmayne. Mind you, I don't consider him my favorite actor. It mostly came to fruition last year when The Theory of Everything had come out. Most considered it a little too sentimental of a portrait of Stephen Hawking. Meanwhile, I thought that it was perfectly accessible biopic fare that was, at very least, better than The Imitation Game. It was also a moment in which I chose to argue that I was as impressed with his physical transformation as I was watching Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot. I still maintain that. With director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl making rounds at the Venice Film Festival, many are claiming that something unusual will happen. He may get back-to-back Oscars. Without seeing the film, I can honestly say that I hope it works out.

The First Trailer for "The Danish Girl" is a Compelling Look at the First Transgender Woman

Eddie Redmayne

With the start of September, we officially have crossed the threshold into Oscar Season. While this is the dry month where not a lot happens (Black Mass could still surprise us), it is time to gear up and see the season take shape. There's nothing more apropos to do so than to have the debut of the first trailer for director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl. In a year where there is going to be a lot of potential candidates from LGBT films (see also: Freeheld and Carol), this is among the front runners thanks to the presence of last year's Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (Best Actor - The Theory of Everything). From what the trailer holds, it's going to be another promising year for the actor and director.

Happy 600th Article! Here's My Predictions For the Upcoming Oscar Season

Scene from Suffragette

Ladies and gentlemen, I have reached another mini-milestone. I have reached my 600th article for The Oscar Buzz. Okay, maybe there's not a lot of honor as there is for the 1,000th article or even an anniversary entry. However, it feels like a special correlation has just happened where I can celebrate this achievement by talking about something that I do best here: The Oscars. Not just any Oscars, but the upcoming season that will be dominating conversation and filling our time endlessly with speculation (and the return of Failed Oscar Campaigns!). So, I figured that there wouldn't be any better way to celebrate this honor than predict what the line-up will be for the five main categories. 

Can a Positive Gay-Themed Movie Win Best Picture?

Scene from Milk

For people across America, June 26, 2015 is a historical day. It is the moment when all 50 states were unanimous in passing a bill to allow gay marriage. Not just in one or two states, but the whole caboodle. It is a prospect that many have fought bravely to acquire over the past century. Because of this, LGBT representation has become more positive and accepted among mainstream audiences and in the case of The Academy, it has even been recognized in most fields, most recently with 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club in which Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor for playing a transsexual character. But here is the bigger question, and one that is up there with representation of films tackling race and gender equality: with this breakthrough, is it possible that we will ever have a positive gay themed film win Best Picture?