Well, there were no real big surprises in this 90th Oscar ceremony. Although, you could say that a full on fantasy film isn’t the usual taste for the Academy to be selected to win the Best Picture Oscar. However, it was one of the favourites and everyone who has seen it was singing it’s praises.

I know there was ‘Birdman’ (2014) which could be argued that the film was perceived to be fantasy and was leading the audience to make up their own mind on its status on reality. And then again the only Oscar winning film you can class as fantasy would be ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.’

It was nice to see us Brit’s well represented once again at an Oscar night.

We achieved British Winners:

Best Actor in Gary Oldman’s outstanding performance as Winston Churchill in ‘Darkest Hour’.  Chris Overton (Director) and ex-Hollyoaks star Rachel Shenton (Actress and writer of the film) for the Best Live Action Short with ‘The Silent Child’ and Roger Deakins, Cinematography for ‘Blade Runner 2049’

British Nominees:

Best Director – Christopher Nolan for ‘Dunkirk’, Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis for ‘Phantom Thread’ and Daniel Kaluuya for ‘Get Out’. Best Actress Sally Hawkins for ‘The Shape of Water’ and Saoirse Ronan, for ‘Lady Bird’. Best Supporting Actress, Leslie Manville for ‘Phantom Thread’. Londoner Martin McDonagh (Director & Writer) for ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’.

Frances McDormand was always going to win Best Actress for ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’. She is undoubtedly one of the cinemas most outstanding actors, winning her first Best Actress Oscar for the Coen Brothers crime drama ‘Fargo’ (1996). I can also recommend ‘Almost Famous’ (2000) and ‘Wonder Boys’ (2000).

I was really pleased to see Gary Oldman win his first and way overdue Oscar for ‘Darkest Hour’. It really seemed to mean a lot to him and his family. Oldman will be 60 in March this year and I’m sure we can expect more stunning performances from this extremely versatile actor.

Also, I must say well done to Sam Rockwell for his first Oscar with Best Supporting Actor, which will know doubt be the other bookend for his recent BAFTA also for Best Supporting Actor. I have been a fan of Rockwell for many years. So well done Sam!

Here are the results…

Best Picture

Your Local Guardian:

The Shape of Water (WINNER)

Call Me by Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

Lady Bird

Phantom Thread

The Post

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Director

Your Local Guardian:

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“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro (WINNER)

“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan

“Get Out,” Jordan Peele

“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig

“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson

Best Actor
Your Local Guardian:

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Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” (WINNER)

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”

Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”

Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”

Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

Best Actress

Your Local Guardian:

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Frances McDormand, “ Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)

Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”

Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”

Meryl Streep, “The Post”

Best Supporting Actor

Your Local Guardian:

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Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”

Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”

Best Supporting Actress

Your Local Guardian:

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Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” (WINNER)

Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”

Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”

Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”

Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”

Original Screenplay

Your Local Guardian:

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“Get Out,” Jordan Peele (WINNER)

“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani

“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig

“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh

Adapted Screenplay

“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory (WINNER)

“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green

“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin

“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Best Live Action Short Film

“The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton (WINNER)

“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk

“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson

“My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr.

“Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen

Original Score

“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer (WINNER)

“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood

“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell

Original Song

“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez (WINNER)

“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige

“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens

“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common

“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

Cinematography

Your Local Guardian:

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“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins (WINNER)

“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel

“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema

“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison

“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen

Costume Design

“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges (WINNER)

“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran

“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran

“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira

“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

Visual Effects

“Blade Runner 2049,” John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer (WINNER)

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick

“Kong: Skull Island,” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlan

“War for the Planet of the Apes,” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

Film Editing

“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith (WINNER)

“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss

“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel

“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory

Not many dud's amonst the 2017 Movie line up. So a lot of of great films to go and see. Enjoy the cinema experience!