Well, the Oscar nominations for this year have been announced, so now it's time to post my thoughts on them. It's practically an annual tradition at this point, so why not. Before I begin, I want to say that I haven't seen all the movies in the categories that I will be talking about, so I might be back and forth in some parts. I try to see whatever movies I can, but there will be ones that I missed out on.
Best Picture
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Out of all the nominees, I have only seen Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land, and Manchester by the Sea, all of which I really liked. Heck, the former three are in my Top 10 Films of 2016. The rest I have not seen due to lack of opportunity and I doubt I will be able to see them all before the awards come on. What film do I think should win? Honestly, I don't really care this time. If any of the four that I have seen win, I'd be fine with it.
What films did I think got snubbed this time? I'm a little surprised that Zootopia wasn't added in. I thought the theme of prejudice was right up the Academy's alley. I'm guessing they didn't nominate it because it's a cartoon, which is pretty ironic given how they look down on animation. Speaking of animation, of course Kubo and the Two Strings wasn't nominated as well. It's probably too good for them, anyway. I'm also a little let down that Silence wasn't nominated. Yeah, it's a little long and probably not as accessible, but it has an engaging journey and it talks a lot about faith and religion without rubbing it in.
Lastly, is anyone really let down that Deadpool wasn't nominated? I'm only bringing it up because a lot of people have talked about its Oscar possibilities. I'm not surprised that the film did not get any Oscar attention, so I'm nowhere as disappointed as they are. After all, the Academy doesn't care for superhero movies, even if films like Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (all second-parters, oddly enough) are well-regarded.
Best Director
Denis Villeneuve - Arrival
Mel Gibson - Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle - La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins - Moonlight
I've seen all but Moonlight. 4 out of 5 is not bad, right? Personally, all directors have done a great job with their respective films, so I'm going to remain indifferent on this one.
Best Actor
Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
Viggo Mortensen - Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington - Fences
I'm thinking either Casey Affleck or Andrew Garfield should win. Casey Affleck did a great job showing a lot of depth in his character. He keeps all that sadness deep inside, yet you know how he's feeling. I've gushed over Andrew Garfield's performance in Hacksaw Ridge before and you can read all about it in my review. I do think he was a little better in Silence, which I felt was more multi-layered than in Hacksaw Ridge, but I'm not complaining.
Best Actress
Isabelle Huppert - Elle
Ruth Negga - Loving
Natalie Portman - Jackie
Emma Stone - La La Land
Meryl Streep - Florence Foster Jenkins
Meryl Streep being nominated for a Best Actress award? Never heard that before! All right, in all seriousness, I haven't seen Florence Foster Jenkins. Maybe she does deserve the nomination, so I will leave it at that.
I've seen the other films. To be honest, I found Loving to be pretty dull and none of the performances stood out to me. For Jackie, I thought Natalie Portman did a great job in bringing Jackie Kennedy to life on-screen and capturing the torment she went through. Out of all of the nominations, however, I hope either Isabelle Huppert or Emma Stone win. Elle is a little hard for me to talk about, so you'll have to take my word for it. For La La Land, Emma Stone captures the struggles of an aspiring actress trying to make it out there. Personally, I'm leaning more towards the latter.
I'm disappointed that Hailee Steinfeld got no attention in this category for her performance in The Edge of Seventeen. I've talked about how multi-layered and compelling her character was; but, no, let Oscar favorite Meryl Streep get nominated instead. Sorry, I said I'd stop talking about it, but I couldn't help myself.
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Jeff Bridges - Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges - Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel - Lion
Michael Shannon - Nocturnal Animals
I've seen Manchester by the Sea and Nocturnal Animals (no love for Aaron Taylor-Johnson?), but I don't have a lot to say about the category, so I will move on.
Best Supporting Actress
Viola Davis - Fences
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
Nicole Kidman - Lion
Octavia Spencer - Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea
Michelle Williams is not in Manchester by the Sea for that long, but thanks to this one scene, I kind of almost teared up from her performance. Maybe she should win, but since I haven't seen the rest of the nominees, I can't exactly jump to that conclusion.
Best Original Score
Mica Levi - Jackie
Justin Hurwitz - La La Land
Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka - Lion
Nicholas Brittell - Moonlight
Thomas Newman - Passengers
I'm glad that Jackie and La La Land were nominated. I'm not crazy about Jackie, but the score, from what I got after seeing it, is beautiful yet haunting, capturing Jackie Kennedy's torment. In a way, it kind of reminds me of the score for Under the Skin, which she also composed. I liked the score for La La Land because it's a throwback to classic movie musicals and it has some cool jazz music. Out of all the nominees, La La Land should win.
I'm let down knowing that Finding Dory (also composed by Thomas Newman) and Arrival weren't nominated for the category. Both scores have a great sense of ambiance, the former being more mysterious and melancholic and the latter being more creepy and haunting. They should have taken the place of the other scores that I didn't talk about.
Best Original Song
"Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" - La La Land
"Can't Stop the Feeling!" - Trolls
"City of Stars" - La La Land
"How Far I'll Go" - Moana
"The Empty Chair" - Jim: The James Foley Story
With La La Land being musical and all, of course some songs will be nominated for this category. I liked just about all of them, but the Academy can only nominate two songs from one movie. I guess "Audition" was a good pick, especially since Emma Stone gave one heck of a powerful performance in that scene. "City of Stars" is also good, but it doesn't strike me as a favorite of mine. I thought the reprise was a little better.
The songs in Moana are starting to grow on me, and I guess "How Far I'll Go" is a worthy nomination. Not my favorite song in the movie, but it's fine. As mixed as I was with Trolls, I'll admit that "Can't Stop the Feeling!" is a good song, and a catchy one at that.
"The Empty Chair" is about as bland, generic, and forgettable as it can be. You know what song should have taken its place instead? "Drive It Like You Stole It" from Sing Street. It's a great song that talks about taking control of your own life. Not only that, but it plays in arguably the best scene in the movie, which I feel like making a separate post for. If John Carney's previous musical films (Once and Begin Again) were nominated for this category, why didn't this one?
The songs in Moana are starting to grow on me, and I guess "How Far I'll Go" is a worthy nomination. Not my favorite song in the movie, but it's fine. As mixed as I was with Trolls, I'll admit that "Can't Stop the Feeling!" is a good song, and a catchy one at that.
"The Empty Chair" is about as bland, generic, and forgettable as it can be. You know what song should have taken its place instead? "Drive It Like You Stole It" from Sing Street. It's a great song that talks about taking control of your own life. Not only that, but it plays in arguably the best scene in the movie, which I feel like making a separate post for. If John Carney's previous musical films (Once and Begin Again) were nominated for this category, why didn't this one?
Best Visual Effects
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
An animated feature being nominated for Best Visual Effects? Human sacrifice, dogs and cats are living together, mass hysteria! Okay, The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first, but still, this is unheard of. It makes sense, though. Stop-motion animation is, after all, an entire practical effects-driven movie. Kubo is a strong technical achievement in both animation and visual effects, so it's well-deserved.
If Rogue One was nominated because of Tarkin's CGI face, then it's a poor reason to do so. Seriously, his facial animations are just creepy and distracting, bordering on the Uncanny Valley territory. Everything else, though, with the mixture of practical and digital effects are great.
Doctor Strange and The Jungle Book were also deserving of the nomination. After all, the kaleidoscopic visuals in Doctor Strange rival the works of M. C. Escher and The Jungle Book has obvious CGI, yet they look like they blend in with the movie. I do wish Warcraft was nominated, though; the motion capture in that film was commendable.
Doctor Strange and The Jungle Book were also deserving of the nomination. After all, the kaleidoscopic visuals in Doctor Strange rival the works of M. C. Escher and The Jungle Book has obvious CGI, yet they look like they blend in with the movie. I do wish Warcraft was nominated, though; the motion capture in that film was commendable.
Best Animated Feature
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
I'm going to be honest, I'm starting to become more fed up with this category. I see it as nothing but a ghetto; a reason to segregate animated features from live-action and not nominate them for Best Picture. I know that's not completely true, seeing how Up and Toy Story 3 were nominated for both, but I feel that my point still stands. Since I'm talking about nominations, however, the show must go on.
I'm glad that Kubo and the Two Strings and Zootopia were nominated since they were the best animated features to come out last year. I'm fine with either of them winning (but please let Kubo win).
As for My Life as a Zucchini and The Red Turtle, I wish I could say something, but I haven't seen them. Let's be honest, you haven't either. Since they're from abroad, this is probably the only recognition they will ever get and they will be overshadowed by the other nominees. Heck, the voters will probably not have seen those two films.
That concludes my thoughts on the Oscar nominations. I've expressed joy in some nominations and disappointment in some snubs, but I've come to expect them nowadays. You can't please everyone. I will continue to watch the Oscars and I will continue live tweeting about it.
I'm going to be honest, I'm starting to become more fed up with this category. I see it as nothing but a ghetto; a reason to segregate animated features from live-action and not nominate them for Best Picture. I know that's not completely true, seeing how Up and Toy Story 3 were nominated for both, but I feel that my point still stands. Since I'm talking about nominations, however, the show must go on.
I'm glad that Kubo and the Two Strings and Zootopia were nominated since they were the best animated features to come out last year. I'm fine with either of them winning (but please let Kubo win).
As for My Life as a Zucchini and The Red Turtle, I wish I could say something, but I haven't seen them. Let's be honest, you haven't either. Since they're from abroad, this is probably the only recognition they will ever get and they will be overshadowed by the other nominees. Heck, the voters will probably not have seen those two films.
That concludes my thoughts on the Oscar nominations. I've expressed joy in some nominations and disappointment in some snubs, but I've come to expect them nowadays. You can't please everyone. I will continue to watch the Oscars and I will continue live tweeting about it.
And I am not surprised that Zootopia was not nominated for the Best Picture. I mean previously Toy Story 3 was nominated, but such an absolute masterpiece as Inside Out - wasn't...I don't think this is the category to consider animations in general...
ReplyDelete