For all the glitz, glamour, pomp and ceremony of awards season it’s nice to let your hair down after it all. With the Oscars now a distant memory – Leo got his gong, most of us have now watched Spotlight – it’s time to celebrate the other end of the spectrum. Big shoutout to MTV for a few picks, including Star Wars, Deadpool, He Named Me Malala, Focus and Straight Outta Compton.
Here’s the noms, along with a few words on each. Note that MTV has the right to choose the winner based on whoever turns up to their event, so it may not be reflective of the ‘true’ winner.
Movie of the Year
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Creed
Deadpool
Jurassic World
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Straight Outta Compton
Deadpool‘s getting a lot of buzz but it will come down to Star Wars and Straight Outta Compton. I’ll say Star Wars for cynical marketing reasons, as it will endear MTV to Disney/ Lucasfilm and give them a great montage of clips for the following year(s). And Straight Outta Compton will be rewarded elsewhere.
True Story
Concussion
Joy
Steve Jobs
Straight Outta Compton
The Big Short
The Revenant
Speaking of, Straight Outta Compton has it in the bag. A slight upset might come from The Revenant, but they’ve won enough and it’s unlikely. Plus, there’s a long history of people saying a big ‘screw you’ to the industry. They might not have an Oscar but the film has millions of dollars, fan support and an MTV.
Documentary
Amy
Cartel Land
He Named Me Malala
The Hunting Ground
The Wolfpack
What Happened, Miss Simone?
He Named Me Malala, surely. A generational touchstone that could educate millions about a complex issue in the Middle East. Bonus points if Emma Watson is around to further her female bromance with Malala. Failing that, Amy, with some sweets words from Mark Ronson. But Malala has this.
Best Female Performance
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Anna Kendrick, Pitch Perfect 2
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road
Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Morena Baccarin, Deadpool
Wow. Process of elimination? Vikander just won an Oscar and Ex Machina is a film a bit pretentious for the MTV audience. Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic but Joy didn’t get the buzz her previous David O. Russel collaborations have enjoyed. Morena Baccarin and Anna Kendrick were both charming in Deadpool and Pitch Perfect 2 and would win in a different year. The competition is too tough. Daisy Ridley or Charlize Theron? Any excuse to see Daisy Ridley smile is good enough, but the powerful women angle might get Theron over the line. Mad Max is revered for its feminism (which takes nothing away from Ridley or a very inclusive Star Wars) so it could go either way. Theron wins, probably.
Best Male Performance
Chris Pratt, Jurassic World
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Matt Damon, The Martian
Michael B. Jordan, Creed
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool
Will Smith, Concussion
A lot of serious movies crept into the male nominations this year. Over half. While everyone loves some @prattprattpratt (best username ever) it’s likely to come down to Michael B Jordan and Ryan Reynolds. Fantastic Four is still in the back of everyone’s mind. Jordan’s comeback film Creed might fly over a few heads. And Deadpool needs a big shiny award to reflect its awesomeness. Who better than the man that championed the film into existence?
Breakthrough Performance
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Brie Larson, Room
Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Dakota Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey
John Boyega, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
O’Shea Jackson Jr., Straight Outta Compton
Ooooo, interesting. It’s anyone’s game. Perhaps Daisy Ridley, as she was snubbed earlier. Or Amy Schumer, as she’s fantastic. After consultation with the octopus that predicts the Olympics the verdict is Ridley.
Best Comedic Performance
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Kevin Hart, Ride Along 2
Melissa McCarthy, Spy
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect 2
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool
Will Ferrell, Get Hard
Some of the funniest people in Hollywood are on this list, though their movies don’t reflect it. Get Hard? Come on Will. There’s no room for Ryan Reynolds either, though it’s nice he was nominated. Same for McCarthy, who has a better chance next year with Ghostbusters. Kevin Hart and Amy Schumer could plausably share the award if the pair could stop squabbling at one another. Schumer is now a bone fide celebrity but her star is on low-power until the next big project, so Kevin Hart gets it this year.
Chris Pratt, Jurassic World
Dwayne Johnson, San Andreas
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
John Boyega, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool
Vin Diesel, Furious 7
Best Hero
Charlize Theron, Mad Max: Fury Road
Chris Evans, Avengers: Age of Ultron
Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Dwayne Johnson, San Andreas
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
Paul Rudd, Ant-Man
Well it’s not Ant-Man, despite his probable evolution in years to come. The Rock will back another year, and Chris Evans will collect it for Captain America: Civil War rather than Avengers. A final salute to the Hunger Games sounds great on paper but Daisy Ridley and Charlize Theron are both better options. Hmmmmm, it’s the same dilemma as Best Female Performance. Whichever wins this will not win the other. Ridley for this, with her badass lightsaber skills and everyday heroics.
Best Villain
Adam Driver, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ed Skrein, Deadpool
Hugh Keays-Byrne, Mad Max: Fury Road
James Spader, Avengers: Age of Ultron
Samuel L. Jackson, Kingsman: The Secret Service
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Villians need an upgrade. James Spader’s Ultron was cool enough and Tom Hardy was certainly menacing for an Oscar film. Something’s not working with the regular villian trope and it should be addressed. As such Samuel L Jackson’s awesome, merciless parody sweeps the category with ease.
Best Virtual Performance
Amy Poehler, Inside Out
Andy Serkis, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Jack Black, Kung Fu Panda 3
James Spader, Avengers: Age of Ultron
Lupita Nyong’o, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Seth MacFarlane, Ted 2
James Spader is the frontrunner, despite Serkis’ lengthy history with the artform. Lupita Nyong’o is so amazing it’s still difficult to have a bias opinion on her character, though I suspect it is not the same level as Ultron. Amy Poehler may dive in for the steal but ultimately it’s Spader’s to lose.
Ensemble Cast
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Furious 7
Pitch Perfect 2
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2
Trainwreck
Battle of the franchises. How did Trainwreck even get in this category? Pitch Perfect 2 and Furious 7 lose to bigger franchises on this one. Avengers didn’t have a strong enough film to compete with the nostalgia of Hunger Games and Star Wars. And while Star Wars was clearly fantastic someone at MTV wants a final Hunger Games salute and this looks to be it.
Best Kiss
Amy Schumer & Bill Hader, Trainwreck
Dakota Johnson & Jamie Dornan, Fifty Shades of Grey
Leslie Mann & Chris Hemsworth, Vacation
Margot Robbie & Will Smith, Focus
Morena Baccarin & Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool
Rebel Wilson & Adam DeVine, Pitch Perfect 2
Deadpool nabs another. Second place to Margot Robbie and whoever her costar was in Focus. Last place to Fifty Shades of Grey.
Best Fight
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) vs. Ajax (Ed Skrein), Deadpool
Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) vs. The Bear, The Revenant
Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) vs. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), Mad Max: Fury Road
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) vs. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Avengers: Age of Ultron
Rey (Daisy Ridley) vs. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) vs. Lia (Nargis Fakhri), Spy
Disney owns this one: Star Wars or Avengers. And as brutal as the final fight between Rey and Kylo Ren was it has been pulled apart too much by the internet. It’s a more emotional fight, whereas Hulkbuster V Hulk felt a little Transformers-y by the end of it. They’re two very different beasts, but The Avengers needs a gong and this is it.