As a movie buff since the age of 5, and someone who is not a sports fan, The Oscars are my only live tv event that is equivalent to the Superbowl. I have great respect for everyone that is nominated , but l do get frustrated at some of the Academy’s picks, nominating the same people over and over again , I am looking at you Meryl Streep and Bradley Cooper, and not giving Leonardio DiCaprio an award yet. He definitely deserved one for  Wolf of Wall Street. He wasn’t just playing himself! ( at least, I hope not ) There are always Oscar snubs every year , this year most notably the movie Selma having the director and lead actoor not nominated although the picture was. And the Lego Movie was one of the best 3 animated movies I have ever  seen in my lifetime!

So for the main categories I will point out what  will win , according to  awards already won, and what I  would vote for if I was a member of the Academy. The median age of Academy members is 62, and there are 77 % males and 23% females/ That needs to be changed to fit in with the 21st century , if you ask me.  This is probably why Crash won over Brokeback Mountain, and why The King’s Speech won over The Social Network, which is a far superior film.

Best Picture:  Boyhood, as people are impressed by the 12 year long dedication of the cast and Richard Linklater , highly original concept. I would have voted for the Imitation Game , as I love true stories and it was the only movie that I would like to own and watch again.

Supporting Actor: JK Simmons because of his extraordinary turn as an verbally abusive teacher! This is a choice I agree with,

Best Actress : Julianne Moore gives a very nuanced performance as an early onset Alzheimers patient, and has already won an award. I would vote for Rosamund Pike as her performance made the movie Gone Girl what it is. I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie and she was the character I hated most all year

Best Actor::This is the only category that is not clear cut as all the nominees are equally strong. At first Michael Keaton got most of the buzz, then it was Eddie Redmayne  playing real life genius Stephen Hawking. The Academy loves to reward actors who can play real people effectively, and I do too that is I why I would vote for Benedict Cumberbatch

He excels at playing arrogant geniuses, but unlike in Sherlock, and the Fifth estate, he shows true vulnerability here and his performance was the only one that moved me to tears!

Supporting Actress :Patricia Arquette is the sure thing. I like her and Reese Witherspoon ,but would vote for Patricia as Reese has already won an Oscar for Walk the Line.

Best Animated Movie: Big Hero 6 and I agree,nothing else comes close except The Lego Movie which wasn’t even nominated

Best Documentary : Citizenfour ( about Edward Snowden) and I agree

Best Director : Richard Linklater, which would be my second choice after Morten Tyldum ( The Imitation Game

This movie is powerful,brilliant, and heartbreaking! I don’t often wish movies went on for longer but I did here! If I had actually seen this in 2014  it would have been my Number 1 pick for the year! At least the Academy got something right by nominating this movie , it is miles better than Boyhood and Birdman , and very similar to Foxcatcher with its  bleak look at unhappy and lonely people ! Alan Turing is a genius and  has never been a people person as he was so different from the other kids in school he was bullied. He had only 1 great friend named Christopher which he remembers so fondly he calls the  code breaking machine Christopher in memory.

He and Keira Knightley are fast friends immediately, connected by their ability to do crosswords in 6 minutes  ( impressed! takes me 10 minutes)  and both being outcasts in their field , she being a woman in a mans job. When she says why are you helping me? He says  a quote  Christopher once said to him  “Sometimes its the people nobody imagines of that can do the things no one can imagine!”

Turing  has a secret that can’t get out as his  superior  is always looking for any reason to get fired , When it does, the injustice of how this  war hero/code breaker  was treated  made me cry for 10 minutes! Only 2 movies a year have the power to do that these days. When I was a kid I would cry at anything!

I really hope Benedict Cumberbatch wins Best Actor for this , as you forget that he also plays Sherlock Holmes, he lives and breathes the tortured, vulnerable, brilliant  Alan Turing.

I am glad he  got a posthumous  pardoning from Queen Elizabeth in 2013 , but he should have been respected when he was alive

Verdict 5/5 This movie is definitely worth owning on DVD