The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 6 Golden Reel Awards Edition)

Alrighty, folks. The nominees have just been announced for the 6th Golden Reel Awards, which will be my first as a regular contributor (and employee) of the Last Resort Films blog. For this first awards-centric edition of The Roundup, I will go through each category and tell you who I think should win the award, who I think actually will win the award, who I think has no chance to win, and who I think could be considered a snub - followed by a brief thought on the category this season.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Who Should Win: Scion
Who Will Win: Scion
No Chance: The Grind
Biggest Snub: Triangle

Thought(s): Most seasons appear to have a couple of front runners in this category. This season does not. Honestly, I'm only assuming Scion will win based on the scale of the project and the poster's reflection of it. While The Grind getting a nomination is nice and all, it doesn't have a chance.

BEST SOUNDTRACK
Who Should Win: Life on Mars
Who Will Win: Life on Mars
No Chance: Be More Chill
Biggest Snub: Swim Through the Darkness

Thought(s): I mean, come on. Life on Mars has a soundtrack full of Bowie and the Rolling Stones. What's not to like? Be More Chill getting more votes than Swim Through the Darkness is an absolute travesty. The soundtrack from STTD is downright haunting, whereas the songs in BMC are mildly annoying at best.

MOST WANTED SEQUEL
Who Should Win: Uncharted
Who Will Win: Scion
No Chance: Grand Theft Auto
Biggest Snub: Doppelganger

Thought(s): This is quite possibly the strongest, most competitive category this season. While this season lacked entries from the studio's usual franchises, it may have seen the start of a couple new ones.

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Who Should Win: Bad Education
Who Will Win: Heavy Rain
No Chance: Shake Hands with the Devil
Biggest Snub: Grand Theft Auto

Thought(s): The nominees of this one sure appear to prove James Morgan wrong about how critics are viewing all-star casts as this category this season lacks the huge A-List casts (aside from Heavy Rain). I maintain that the best, most interesting ensemble of the season is the eclectic cast of Bad Education, but it's such a small movie (with only one big name) that it's unlikely to win.

BEST STARRING COUPLE
Who Should Win: Brie Larson & Ryan Reynolds - Uncharted
Who Will Win: Ryan Gosling & Rooney Mara - Survivor
No Chance: Emily Blunt & Andrew Garfield - Standing Back
Biggest Snub: Casey Affleck & Tye Sheridan - Deprogramming

Thought(s): Larson and Reynolds had tremendous chemistry in Uncharted, and isn't that what this category is about? 

BEST VILLAIN
Who Should Win: Alden Ehrenreich - Death Dream
Who Will Win: Matthew McConaughey - Bad Education
No Chance: Gary Oldman - La Resistance
Biggest Snub: Kevin Costner - Uncharted

Thought(s): I think Alden Ehrenreich gave the best performance of the season in Death Dream, but he's still a young actor on the rise - not exactly the type voters tend to vote for (unless they are named Jennifer Lawrence). Odds are, Ehrenreich and McConaughey will split Best Villain/Best Actor, but the order is anyone's guess.

BEST ADAPTATION
Who Should Win: Death Dream
Who Will Win: Death Dream
No Chance: Grand Theft Auto
Biggest Snub: Shōgun

Thought(s): This is definitely John Malone's award to lose. Grand Theft Auto was an impressive adaptation, especially since the bulk of the gameplay consists of slaughtering innocent people and stealing cars, but Malone really knocked Death Dream out of the park.

BEST ORIGINAL STORY
Who Should Win: Scion
Who Will Win: Bad Education
No Chance: Doppelganger
Biggest Snub: Shake Hands with the Devil

Thought(s): Doppelganger's nomination was a surprise (especially with strong works that seem awards friendly like Shake Hands with the Devil missing out on nominations), but really this one is Lon Charles (take a pick between Bad Education and Deprogramming) vs. Scion. 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Who Should Win: Diane Lane - Death Dream
Who Will Win: Diane Lane - Death Dream
No Chance: Allison Tolman - Bad Education
Biggest Snub: Katherine Waterston - Life on Mars

Thought(s): If Diane Lane doesn't win here, I'll be completely shocked. She not only gives a great performance, but she has also put in her time over the years and deserves major award recognition.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Who Should Win: Kyle Chandler - Death Dream
Who Will Win: Kyle Chandler - Death Dream
No Chance: Michael Shannon - Heavy Rain
Biggest Snub: David Morse - Death Dream

Thought(s): Kyle Chandler has to be the most underrated actor working today. He just keeps getting better each year and each season. While Alden Ehrenreich has the flashier role in Death Dream, I would say that Chandler has the most difficult.

BEST ACTRESS
Who Should Win: Elle Fanning - Perfect Blue
Who Will Win: Elle Fanning - Perfect Blue
No Chance: Jennifer Lawrence - Triangle
Biggest Snub: Natalie Portman - Doppelganger

Thought(s): Fanning appears to have the momentum here. Jennifer Lawrence continues her reign as the most overrated actress in Hollywood. It seems like they'll nominate her for a strong bowl movement if she campaigns for it.

BEST ACTOR
Who Should Win: Alden Ehrenreich - Death Dream
Who Will Win: Alden Ehrenreich - Death Dream
No Chance: Andrew Garfield - Standing Back
Biggest Snub: Russell Crowe - Scion

Thought(s): Garfield's nomination was definitely a surprise. I have to think that Standing Back's late season release slot has helped give it some extra momentum going into the voting. Alden Ehrenreich is absolutely due to win this season. In Season 2 he was snubbed out of a nomination for his stellar work in Flicker, then last season he lost out on the award after finally earning a nomination for To the White Sea. I'd hate to see him end up like Leonardo DiCaprio, getting screwed time and time again out of Oscars (he absolutely should have won for The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street and Django Unchained) before finally winning for a movie that doesn't even belong in the top half of his performances.

BEST DIRECTOR
Who Should Win: David Robert Mitchell - Death Dream
Who Will Win: Steven Soderbergh - Carmilla
No Chance: Antonio Campos - Deprogramming
Biggest Snub: Jeff Nichols - Scion

Thought(s): It's pretty odd that two of the nominees here directed films not nominated for Best Picture (Fincher and Soderbergh). Even though Carmilla isn't nominated for anything else, I have to think he is one of the favorites going into the voting due to him, well, being Steven goddamn Soderbergh.

BEST PICTURE
Who Should Win: Death Dream
Who Will Win: Death Dream
No Chance: Deprogramming
Biggest Snub: Shake Hands with the Devil

Thought(s): And now for the grand-daddy of them all, Best Picture. Death Dream is the best film of the year if you ask me, and based on the number of nominations the film received, I can't be the only one who thinks so. The film has strong competition though, so I won't be surprised if Scion or Bad Education (or really even Deprogramming, although the plot isn't so Best Picture friendly) pulls an upset.