Top 20 Films of the 1930s

1. Angels With Dirty Faces

2. Modern Times

3. Gone With the Wind

4. Goodbye, Mr Chips

5. Mr Smith Goes to Washington

6. All Quiet on the Western Front

7. The Wizard of Oz

8. City Lights

9. M

10. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

11. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

 

12. The Lady Vanishes

 

13. Pygmalion

14. The Four Feathers

 

15. It Happened One Night

16. The Thin Man

17. The 39 Steps

18. The Roaring Twenties

19. Bride of Frankenstein

20. The Hound of the Baskervilles

 

Analysis: Best Makeup/Hairstyling 2015

Best Makeup/Hairstyling

Oscar nominees:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road: I'm talking specifically about the Warboys here as each and every one of them, despite all being technically of the same 'status', were so easily identifiable from one another by the subtle little ways in which their makeup distinguishes them from one another. Past that there's just a little bit done for every character in the film that makes them shine all the more.

2. The Revenant: First off it must be said that this film takes the cake for facial hair this year, as DiCaprio, Hardy and Gleeson all sport some spiffing beards (Will Poulter apparently opted to keep his usual boyish clean-cut looks, possible reflection of the untainted, kind-hearted innocence of his character?) Anyway besides that, there's some great work in this respect, especially with the very realistic scalped head of Hardy's Fitzgerald and DiCaprio's increasingly haggard, worn-down appearance.

3. Can't comment on The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared

My nominees:

1. Mad Max: Fury Road

2. The Hateful Eight: Everyone's hairstyles are just like their costumes, so full of character, but in terms of overall impact I'd pick our Michael Madsen's oddly compelling long jet-black hair, Kurt Russell's glorious moustache, and Jennifer Jason Leigh's blood-spattered face as among the highlights in this department.

3. The Revenant

4. Mr Holmes: Subtle work but the excellence of the makeup team in turning McKellen's Holmes into a man in two very distinct periods of his life should not be overlooked. Obviously McKellen's performance contributes a lot to the ageing effect but the makeup only accentuates it all the more.

5. Ex Machina: Flawless work here in making the robots not only seem both robotic and 'human, but the whole peeling/layering of their 'human' exterior just quite compelling to watch.

6. Carol
7. Crimson Peak
8. The Danish Girl
9. Black Mass (controversial I know, but I felt Depp could've given a great performance even without the makeup, which did prove to be a bit distracting after a while, though it did have a strong enough immediate visceral impact)
10. Cinderella

(Not so sure with regards to Bridge of Spies. Mark Rylance was aged really well into Rudolf Abel but there really didn't seem to be any makeup work done in that respect. Same goes for the two Tom Hardys in Legend.)

Top 20 Films of the 1940s

1. It's a Wonderful Life

 

2. Brief Encounter

3. The Third Man

4. The Great Dictator

5. Odd Man Out

6. Pinnochio

7. Double Indemnity

8. Saboteur

9. Casablanca

10. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

11. Miracle on 34th Street

12. The Shop Around the Corner

13. Citizen Kane

14. Rebecca

15. The Heiress

16.  Laura

17. White Heat

18. Shadow of a Doubt

19. The Maltese Falcon

20. Brighton Rock

(Lots of foreign language films to catch up on)

Analysis: Best Costume Design 2015

Best Costume Design

Oscar nominees:

1. Carol: specifically for Blanchett's glam attire, but actually all aspects of costuming in Carol were most immaculately done. The period dress accuracy was very much on point, as was just the whole sense of character it gave to each actor.

 



2. Mad Max: Fury Road: In terms of actual costuming, a bit sparse for some characters, but there were some great examples of it.

 

3. Cinderella: Kind of like Carol and not just because Cate Blanchett stars in it too. Each and every garment, dress, are just so splendidly done, evoking the old Disney style with how finely and beautifully they adorn the actors. Traditional costuming work at its best.

4. The Revenant: I could go higher with this nomination actually, as I thought the costumes were pretty darn impressive in a very understated sort of way. Especially Tom Hardy's and Domnhall Gleeson's.

5. The Danish Girl: mostly good, with the exception of Ben Whishaw's beret.

My nominees:

1. Carol

2. The Hateful Eight: I've repeated myself a lot about this again and again, but each and every costume to Tarantino's cast of miscreants just tells us so much about them without needing the actors to say a word. My particular favourites go to Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Bruce Dern.

3. Mad Max: Fury Road

4. Far From the Madding Crowd: I'm a sucker for these sort of period costumes. So sue me.

 

5. Beasts of No Nation: I absolutely loved each and every unique getup the characters wore here. It's so colourful, add's to the background and mood of the film so well, and really captures the whole feel the film (gritty yet strangely beautiful) is going for.

6. Cinderella
7. Macbeth
8. The Revenant
9. Brooklyn
10. Crimson Peak