A surprising thought occured yesterday afternoon as I was reading the comments for “Martian Award Buzz Is Almost As Skillful As The Film Itself.” While the Best Picture Oscar will, I believe, almost certainly go to Joy, The Revenant, Spotlight or The Big Short, if (and I say “if“) they were to be elbowed aside for whatever reason and the final either-or was between The Martian and Room, it would be better if the Best Picture Oscar went to Room. As much as I felt imprisoned and almost suffocated by Lenny Abrahamson’s film, at least it’s up to something urgent and “real” as opposed to escapist. At least it’s not a Jerry Bruckheimer-styled popcorn movie. It’s creepy in some ways, but at least it’s about an unusual situation in a striking, strongly personal way. Then again this is sheer fantasy as Spotlight will not be elbowed aside. It’s bullet-proof.