Winners List for The 88th Academy Awards (The Oscars).

Many social networking sites are now overwhelmed with news of Leo finally taking his first Oscar! Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar for best actor in a leading role after having been nominated many times in the past. The world is very happy and excited for him right now and we all agreed that he should have win it much earlier as he is a one great Hollywood actor who excelled in all the film roles given to him.

Yes, the 88th Academy Awards (or famously known as the Oscars) was held successfully few hours ago to honour the best of films in year 2015. Here below is the full list of nominees with the winner in bold in each categories alongside my brief opinion:

Best Picture
“Spotlight”
“The Big Short”
“Bridge of Spies”
“Brooklyn”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Room”

Opinion: My personal choice is ‘Room’ but the movie didn’t get enough buzz to fight with ‘Spotlight’, ‘The Big Short’ and ‘The Revenant’ for the top three spots that are only seen as the potential to grab this prestigious honour. ‘Spotlight’ won multiple best movie prizes before the Oscars and I’m not surprised that the movie win Best Picture here. However, I don’t really enjoy the movie unlike most others.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, “Trumbo”
Matt Damon, “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant”
Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Danish Girl”

Opinion: As I said earlier, finally Leo is taking home his first ever Oscar which is long overdue for this talented actor. In my personal opinion, I think it is a three-way-tie for best performance by a leading actor this year; they are Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne. Eddie had just won this award last year. So, it’s between Michael and Leo. Leo had more nominations with zero win in the past and so this is his year and I agreed.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, “Carol”
Brie Larson, “Room”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Joy”
Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years”
Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”

Opinion: Another expected result as Brie Larson is extremely wonderful in ‘Room’. She and his son in the movie portrayed by Jacob Tremblay drive the movie to its critical success. It’s her first nomination and she won it straight away.

Best Director
Lenny Abrahamson, “Room”
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, “The Revenant”
George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight”
Adam McKay, “The Big Short”

Opinion: Alejandro G. Inarritu is brilliant in his job as a director. We saw that excellence in ‘Birdman’ last year and he did it again this year in ‘The Revenant’. He won this award back-to-back and this is the third year in a row Mexicans winning best director in the Oscars.

Best Original Song
“Earned It,” “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Music and Lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray,” “Racing Extinction,” Music by J. Ralph; Lyric by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song 3,” “Youth,” Music and Lyric by David Lang
“Til it Happens to You,” “The Hunting Ground,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s on the Wall,” “Spectre,” Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Opinion: ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ is a good song for the latest James Bond movie titled Spectre but it’s still not as good as Adele’s Skyfall for the previous James Bond movie. Out of the five nominated songs, I have only heard this one and so I’m fine with this song winning in the end.

Best Original Score
“Bridge of Spies,” Thomas Newman
“Carol,” Carter Burwell
“The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone
“Sicario,” Jóhann Jóhannsson
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” John Williams

Opinion: Expected result. This is the only category that ‘The Hateful Eight’ gets to win.

Best Foreign Language Film
“Embrace of the Serpent”
“Mustang”
“Son of Saul”
“Theeb”
“A War”

Best Live Action Short Film
“Ave Maria”
“Day One”
“Everything Will Be Okay”
“Shok”
“Stutterer”

Best Documentary Feature
“Amy”
“Cartel Land”
“The Look of Silence”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“Body Team 12”
“Chau, beyond the Lines”
“Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah”
“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”
“Lasy Day of Freedom”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, “The Big Short”
Tom Hardy, “The Revenant”
Mark Ruffalo, “Spotlight”
Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies”
Sylvester Stallone, “Creed”

Opinion: Many previously predicted Sylvester Stallone to win for his great comeback role in ‘Creed’. I didn’t watch it and so I couldn’t comment further. I have seen Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo and Mark Rylance in their respective nominated performances and Mark Rylance is the best and so he should be rewarded. And yes, he won it.

Best Animated Feature Film
“Anomalisa”
“Boy and the World”
“Inside Out”
“Shaun the Sheep Movie”
“When Marnie Was There”

Opinion: Happy for ‘Inside Out’ to win as it is really the best animated film last year. This is the only category that appeals to the kids and I don’t think ‘Anomalisa’ should win (that movie is adult-themed eventhough it’s technically brilliant). I’m happy that the Academy is making a right decision as previously many hinted that ‘Anomalisa’ may be a spoiler.

Best Animated Short Film
“Bear Story”
“Prologue”
“Sanjay’s Super Team”
“We Can’t Live Without Cosmos”
“World of Tomorrow

Best Visual Effects
“Ex Machina,” Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams
“The Martian,” Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner
“The Revenant,” Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

Opinion: I’m quite surprised that the film with smallest scale and budget win in this category. Anyway, I’m fine with Ex Machina winning it. Well, at least give this wonderful film an award!

Best Sound Mixing
“Bridge of Spies,” Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo
“The Martian,” Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth
“The Revenant,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

Opinion: From here onward, it’s all for Mad Max: Fury Road. The movie literally won almost everything in technical categories which is expected earlier but I didn’t see that coming in such a huge number. Mad Max eventually becomes the biggest winner of the night with 6 awards. I’m fine with the movie going home with four. Six is a bit too much for it.

Best Sound Editing
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Mark Mangini and David White
“The Martian,” Oliver Tarney
“The Revenant,” Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender
“Sicario,” Alan Robert Murray
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Matthew Wood and David Acord

Best Film Editing
“The Big Short,” Hank Corwin
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Margaret Sixel
“The Revenant,” Stephen Mirrione
“Spotlight,” Tom McArdle
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey

Best Cinematography
“Carol,” Ed Lachman
“The Hateful Eight,” Robert Richardson
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” John Seale
“The Revenant,” Emmanuel Lubezki
“Sicario,” Roger Deakins

Opinion: Emmanuel Lubezki overwhelmed us with awesome cinematography in ‘Gravity’, and he won this award for it. He did it again in ‘Birdman’ with unique one continuous shot in ‘Birdman’ last year. Now, he’s back with third consecutive win from his work in ‘The Revenant’. He deserved it again but he should make way for others from now on.

Best Make-Up and Hair-Styling
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin
“The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared,” Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Revenant,” Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini

Best Costume Design
“Carol,” Sandy Powell
“Cinderella,” Sandy Powell
“The Danish Girl,” Paco Delgado
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Jenny Beavan
“The Revenant,” Jacqueline West

Opinion: There isn’t anything exciting for costume design in Mad Max obviously. I would have prefer Cinderella or The Danish Girl to win for their beautiful and wide range of costumes.

Best Production Design
“Bridge of Spies,” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
“The Danish Girl,” Production Design: Eve Stewart ; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
“The Martian,” Production Design: Arthur Max ;Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
“The Revenant,” Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy

Opinion: My personal choice would be Bridge of Spies or even The Danish Girl. This is why I said earlier that Mad Max should be taking home 4 Oscars, and not 6.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Rooney Mara, “Carol”
Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight”
Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl”
Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs”
Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight”

Opinion: I’m glad that Alicia Vikander won for her amazing performance as the supportive wife that went through an emotional roller coaster in ‘The Danish Girl’. She is also incredible as the robot in Ex Machina. She is one big rising star and this is the award right on time to mark her big entry into Hollywood for many years to come. This is the only category that ‘The Danish Girl’ can win as expected.

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Big Short,” Charles Randolph and Adam McKay
“Brooklyn,” Nick Hornby
“Carol,” Phyllis Nagy
“The Martian,” Drew Goddard
“Room,” Emma Donoghue

Opinion: Didn’t watch ‘The Big Short’ and hence couldn’t judge whether its screenplay is really that good or not. My personal choice is actually ‘Room’.

Best Original Screenplay
“Spotlight,” written by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
“Bridge of Spies,” written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
“Ex Machina,” written by Alex Garland
“Inside Out,” screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; original story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
“Straight Outta Compton,” screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; story by S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

Opinion: Didn’t quite like ‘Spotlight’ as my personal picks are ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Ex Machina’ or even ‘Inside Out’.

Mad Max: Fury Road is the biggest winner of the night with 6 Oscars; all in technical achievements. The Revenant took home 3 awards (director, lead actor, cinematography) out of 12 nominations (the movie with most number of nominations). Spotlight won two, including the prestigious Best Picture and also the Best Original Screenplay. ‘Room’, ‘Spectre’, ‘The Danish Girl’, ‘Bridge of Spies’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘The Hateful Eight’, ‘Ex Machina’ and ‘The Big Short’ each won one. These films were at least not ending the night empty handed. Films that were previously tipped to win at least an Oscar like ‘Steve Jobs’, ‘Carol’, ‘The Martian’, ‘Brooklyn’, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ couldn’t manage to do so in the end.

That’s it for the 88th Academy Awards this year.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)