Ex Machina - 2 nominations

Visual Effects, Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett
Original Screenplay, Alex Garland

Ex Machina is a fascinating film in which Caleb, a young and brilliant computer programmer wins a contest to spend the weekend with his reclusive but genius boss at the boss' home in the remote wilderness. The boss is a Steve Jobs type who guards his secrets rigorously, and it is revealed that he created this contest so he could identify someone smart enough to come and test the next version of high level technology he has created - a robot woman who appears to be sentient.

People watching last year's Oscar nominees will remember the name Alan Turing, about which the film The Imitation Game was based.  Turing famously developed a test of a "machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human." (Thank you Wikipedia for that definition.)  In this film, Caleb is brought to devise whether the robot Ava can pass a Turing test.

What a fascinating story and the characters (including the robots) are very well drawn and so sympathetic or interesting that the ending is only satisfying because it is logical, but dissatisfactory because the film is finished.  I am certain that I could have watched film again on a loop immediately after it ended.  There are some slow paced parts, but everything about Ex Machina is thought provoking and engaging in a way that overrides any slow moments.  In addition, the visual effects are stunning and provide a way for us to genuinely believe that the actress playing Ava (Alicia Vikander) is actually a robot.  Without those impressive effects, the movie would lose all authenticity.

I'm a big fan of this film, and I highly encourage you to see it.

The Danish Girl -

Actor in a Lead Role - Eddie Redmayne
Actress in a Supporting Role, Alicia Vikander

Production Design, Eve Stewart (Production Design); Michael Standish (Set Decoration)

Costume Design, Paco Delgado

The thing about The Danish Girl is that it's such a beautifully simple story.  Eddie Redmayne plays artist Einar Wegener who discovers his true self and gender identity while posing for paintings done by his artist wife, Gerda.  As his journey unfolds to becoming a her, Wegener renames herself Lili Elbe and pursues a dangerous gender reassignment surgical procedure, long before the surgery had been perfected.

My first reaction after seeing The Danish Girl was, "looks like Spencer Tracy and Tom Hanks are welcoming a new member to the club of people who won lead actor two years in a row."  He totally transformed himself and even without the makeup and the costumes, his movements and his demeanor changed so dramatically that you still believe him to be a transgender woman, that is to say, a woman.

Alicia Vikander also blew me away.  Struggling herself with her love for her husband combined with wanting to be supportive and wanting to protect him from harm, she finds her voice in the journey, as well, both as a woman and as an artist.

The costumes and the production design are clear nominees, in my mind.  They are all so beautiful and of course, period pieces always do well in these categories.  But when you add the grandeur of Paris in the 1920's and the incredible detail put into the costumes, you've got shoe-ins for these nominations.  You absolutely have to see them for yourself, if just for these elements, but you'll be dazzled by Redmayne and Vikander's performances along the way.