I've also included a little poll here so you vote on who your personal picks for the winner would have been for this year!

OSCARS 2015
BEST DIRECTOR

http://i.imgur.com/Sxa5QF5.png

The nominees were:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu "Birdman"
Richard Linklater "Boyhood"
Bennett Miller "Foxcatcher"
Wes Anderson "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Morten Tyldum "The Imitation Game"

What were your favourites? What was unfairly snubbed? Who shouldn't have even been here in the first place?

Here are some of the other nominees from major awards from the same year:
Golden Globes
Richard Linklater "Boyhood"
Alejandro G. Iñárritu "Birdman"
David Fincher "Gone Girl"
Wes Anderson "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Ava DuVernay "Selma"

BAFTAS
Richard Linklater "Boyhood"
Alejandro G. Iñárritu "Birdman"
James Marsh "The Theory of Everything"
Wes Anderson "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Damien Chazelle "Whiplash"

OSCARS REVIEWS
2016 Best Picture
2016 Best Leading Actress
2016 Best Leading Actor
2016 Best Supporting Actress
2016 Best Supporting Actor
2016 Best Director

2015 Best Picture
2015 Best Leading Actress
2015 Best Leading Actor
2015 Best Supporting Actress
2015 Best Supporting Actor

This would be my ranking:

1 Alejandro G. Iñárritu "Birdman"

2 Richard Linklater "Boyhood"

3 Wes Anderson "The Grand Budapest Hotel"

4 Morten Tyldum "The Imitation Game"

5 Bennett Miller "Foxcatcher"

 

Easy win for Birdman/Inarritu this year for me, the only film here that I actually enjoyed and thought was unique and benefited from having that particular director as the visionary behind it all. I've said before that I didn't enjoy then but at least Boyhood and TGBH were unique. TIG was competently directed and an enjoyable movie so a decent nominee really even thought the direction wasn't particularly different. Foxcatcher was just thoroughly dull and the direction was nothing special, not a great nominee really imo. If it was up to me Damien Chazelle would've been in this line-up for Whiplash and preferably won!

 

After looking back at the Oscars from 2015, these would be my winners:

Best Picture: Whiplash

Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

Best Actress: Julianne Moore – Still Alice

Best Supporting Actor: J. K. Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress: Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Best Original Screenplay: Birdman

Best Adapted Screenplay: Whiplash

Best Animated Feature Film: Big Hero 6

Best Original Score: Interstellar

Best Original Song: "Glory" from Selma

Best Production Design: Into the Woods

Best Cinematography: Birdman

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Costume Design: Maleficent

Best Film Editing: Whiplash

Best Visual Effects: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

 

Whiplash - 4

Birdman - 3

The Theory of Everything - 1

Still Alice - 1

The Imitation Game - 1

Big Hero 6 - 1

Interstellar - 1

Selma - 1

Into the Woods - 1

Guardians of the Galaxy - 1

Maleficent - 1

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - 1

 

Whiplash was EASILY my favourite awards-y film this year though and deserved more nominations, it would've got a bigger tally in my winners if it was nominated like in this category for example!