2. Straight Outta Compton And Ex Machina - Best Original Screenplay
Well, the Best Original Screenplay threw up a few surprises. First of all there was the big shock that The Hateful Eight didn't get a nomination. This is generally regarded as Tarantino's category (3 nominations, 2 wins), and The Hateful Eight is very much his film, dripping with his trademark dialogue and, despite what many critics say, not feeling overlong (compared to Django Unchained, which he won for). Anyway, while I would've had this in the wrongs were this the only surprise, it gets it right by the strength of the other nominations. No one really expected Straight Outta Compton to get shown much love, but it's good to see a different film being included in the conversation (although there'll be more on that later, and it's not so good). Inside Out, meanwhile, is one the greatest films the Pixar team have ever written, so it's more than earned it's Screenplay nod, perfectly blending the stories inside and outside Riley's head. It's the nomination for Alex Garland's Ex Machina that's really great though. It would've been easy for the Academy to forget about it (indeed, this is the film Alicia Vikander should be getting recognised for), but Garland's imaginative, intellectual AI tale is certainly worthy of its nomination.