Full Circle Forecast: The 95th Academy Awards

It’s awards season, and we here at Full Circle Cinema have a bevy of differing opinions regarding who wins big at this year’s ceremonies. With Full Circle Forecast, we break down the nominees for the biggest categories, as well as give personal predictions for who we think will be taking the coveted statuettes home. As awards season nears its close, we arrive at 2023’s biggest cinematic celebration: The 95th Academy Awards, often affectionately referred to as The Oscars. With many categories featuring some surprising names, as well as some pretty glaring oversights and snubs, here are our picks in the biggest categories.

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

Prediction: Everything Everywhere All at Once

One of the most exciting and emotional films of 2022 has been receiving all the love and admiration it deserves this awards season. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (collectively known as the “Daniels”) truly created something special with this film and found a way to flawlessly blend so many different genres to tell one of the most beloved stories in recent memory. Add in a couple of star-making and career-defining performances from Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, and Ke Huy Quan. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a bona fide classic that will be talked about for decades to come. Look for the Academy Awards to solidify its place in history with the biggest win of the evening.

READ: Full Circle’s Top 15 Movies of 2022

Best Director

Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)
Todd Field (Tár)
Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness)

Prediction: Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

Steven Spielberg is undoubtedly one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The creator has affirmed this notion with victories in this very category twice, thanks to his work on 1993’s Schindler’s List and 1998’s Saving Private Ryan. Moreover, Spielberg is legitimately the most commercially successful director of all time with hits like Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and The Color Purple. With his latest project, Spielberg tells a fictionalized version of his own life story in The Fabelmans. The film is visually stunning and offers a compelling and emotion-driven love letter to cinema and the passion one must have to create it. Following his win at this year’s Golden Globes ceremony, look for Spielberg to reflect on his life and his legacy during his speech at the 95th Oscars.

Best Actor

Austin Butler (Elvis)
Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
Paul Mescal (Aftersun)
Bill Nighy (Living)

Prediction: Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin)

The Best Actor category in this year’s Academy Awards features a list of first-time nominees in a stunning, history-making moment. However, in a year in which he turned in remarkable performances in After Yang and The Batman, Colin Farrell’s performance in The Banshees of Inisherin stands head and shoulders above the competition. In his portrayal of a simple, homely, and friendly Irishman named Pádraic Súilleabháin, Farrell connects with moviegoers in a film about human connection. With his ability to impeccably nail line deliveries of some of the funniest dialogue of the year as well as break the hearts of audiences with his depiction of loss, confusion, anger, and pain, Farrell is a big reason why The Banshees of Inisherin will soon be studied in film classes on college campuses across the world.

READ: The Top Winter 2023 Anime & Where To Watch Them

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (Tár)
Ana de Armas (Blonde)
Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie)
Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Prediction: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

The first Asian woman to be nominated for the award was Merle Oberon, a biracial actress of South Asian origin. She was nominated in 1936 for her role in The Dark Angel. Unfortunately, Oberon hid her birthplace and biracial identity during her life. With that in mind, the history of Michelle Yeoh becoming the second Asian Woman to Be Nominated for Best Actress is no less staggering given that knowledge. Yeoh has been a breath of fresh air in recent years and, even after 40 years in the business. In Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh is allowed to flex every bit of acting chops she has. She can sell a goofy bit one second and then kick an enormous amount of ass the next. Even more than that, are the smaller, more tender moments in the film, where her chemistry with co-star Stephanie Hsu is enough to make movie fans sob in their seats. That’s a powerhouse performer worthy of the brightest stage possible.

READ: ‘Causeway’ Review: “Surrendering to Stillness”

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)
Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)
Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Prediction: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

2002 touts the heroic return of two childhood heroes for most millennials: Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan. However, while Fraser is a bit of a longshot in his category, Ke Huy Quan is a surefire thing in his. The actor has never shied away from explaining why he took a sabbatical from performing in front of the camera and transitioned into a role behind the scenes. He felt unwanted and as if there was no place for him to grow and shine. However, the role of Waymond Wang has given him a new lease on life. Like Yeoh, Key Huy is allowed to wear so many hats in Everything Everywhere All at Once that it’s unreal that he felt forced to keep this high level of sheer talent hidden away for all this time. This prediction is also for the most sincere and emotional acceptance speech of the night.

READ: ’80 for Brady’ Review: “A Charming Last Hurrah”

Best Supporting Actress

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Hong Chau (The Whale)
Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Prediction: Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

The 95th Academy Awards is going to be a history-making event all around, and fans of the ceremony should be thrilled about that. Over the years, the Academy Awards have struggled to remain relevant and gain strong viewership by shining a light on more popular films. However, that concept has been met with mixed reviews. Nonetheless, this year’s Oscars is on track to award the first acting Oscar for a Marvel Studios film, thanks to the powerhouse known as Angela Bassett. There are so many memorable moments in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and almost all of them include Bassett as the mourning Queen Ramonda. Portraying a mother who has lost her oldest child just years after losing her husband amidst the real-life pain, Bassett must have felt after the loss of Chadwick Boseman created the most iconic performance in the nearly 20-year history of the MCU. After 40 years in the business, Bassett remains a true game-changer with the ability to shake things up.

Best Animated Feature Film

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red

Prediction: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

The Best Animated Film category feels like it’s Guillermo del Toro’s to lose this year. After earning victories at the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards, it seems like del Toro’s twist on the classic tale is a shoo-in. And for good reason. While the popularity of films like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Turning Red could hypothetically turn the tide, Pinocchio has momentum on its side for the time being. In his review of the film, Full Circle’s very own Ernesto Valenzuela says, “filled with such imagination and creativity, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio shouldn’t be missed.” Not only can it entertain yonder audiences with its vivid imagery and detail, but it will also keep older audiences just as invested with its complex themes and powerful storytelling that will have you thinking about it long after the credits have rolled.

READ: ‘The Last of Us’ Episode 3 Review: “A Touching Love Story”

Additional Academy Awards Predictions:

• International Feature Film: All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
• Original Score: Babylon
• Original Song: “Naatu Naatu” from RRR (Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose)
• Production Design: Avatar: The Way of Water
• Best Original Screenplay: The Fabelmans – Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Rian Johnson
• Documentary Feature: Fire of Love
• Cinematography: All Quiet on the Western Front

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with these choices? Be sure to let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comments below! – Christian Hubbard

The 94th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023. The broadcast will air live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will host the show for the third time, after having done so for the 89th and 90th editions of the ceremony

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