Good morning! Its Oscar season baby. Usually on this day I’ll wake up at the butt crack of dawn and watch the Oscar nomination announcement live, through sleepy eyes of course. Its like a little tradition for me. This year, though, I am sick so I slept in and watched the recording of the live announcement a little bit later. You know what? I think a new tradition has started. I liked it just as much at 10am.
This year Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross (How come it took me almost 25 years to realize her mom is Diana Ross?) rocked the announcement. They were hilarious and effortless! I am going to start a petition for them to be this years Oscar hosts. It needs to happen. Especially, since they have not found a replacement for Kevyn Hart, yet and it is one month away. I have a feeling they are going to try something new this year and not have a host at all, which would be a total hot mess.
Anywhooooo… This years nominations were not too surprising. Roma and The Favourite lead the nominations with ten each. A Star is Born and Vice trail with 8 nominations. Black Panther, which is surprising but totally deserving, has 7 nominations.
There were a couple of things that did surprised me a bit. First Man was only nominated for 4 awards and they were all technical: Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Production Design. I have not seen it yet, but the way Damien Chazelle films have been going I expected it to do really well. I guess the Academy had just seen one too many films with him and Ryan Gosling together or maybe he peaked with La La Land. I was also shocked by the rise of Foreign Films this year. Of course, anything directed by the three great Mexican directors, Inarritu, Cuaron or Del Toro, are going to dominate the award season. This year, though, other foreign films are making a name for themselves. Cold War, other than being nominated for best foreign film, was also nominated for best director and best cinematography. Another foreign language nominee, Never Look Away, received a nomination for best cinematography, as well.
Okay lets talk about the six main categories of nominations this year. Supporting Actor nominees this year are Mahershala Ali, Adam Driver, Sam Elliott, Richard E. Grant and Sam Rockwell. Anyone who knows me knows I am absolutely in love with Adam Driver. I literally squealed when I heard his name announced. Do I think he's a strong enough actor to beat the others in his category? Probably not, but I am still super excited he was recognized. Sam Rockwell is always a good choice. He owned this category last year for his performance in Three Billboards. This year, though, Mahershala Ali seems to be the front runner.
Best Supporting Actress this year does not seem to have any frontrunners. The nominees are Amy Adams, Marina de Tavira, Regina King, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. Golden Globes gave it to Regina King. I am guessing its between her and Emma Stone for this award.
Okay, now onto the bigger ones. The men up for Best Actor are Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Rami Malek and Viggo Mortensen. I love this category this year. I would be stoked if any of them won. This year, though, the race is defiantly between Bale and Malek. They both took if for the Golden Globes and are both very strong contenders. I have seen Bohemian Rhapsody and Rami Malek transformed into Freddie Mercury. He did such a great job, but can his acting stand against the great Christian Bale? I cannot wait to watch Vice and find out.
The nominated ladies for Best Actress are Yalitza Aparicio, Glen Close, Olivia Coleman, Lady Gaga and shockingly, Melissa McCarthy. The last one really surprised me. I like the lady, but she seems to play the exact same character in every movie. I’m eager to watch Can You Ever Forgive Me? to see how she does. I love that Lady Gage is recognized. She was so great in A Star is Born. Unfortunately, for her though, this category seems to be between Close and Coleman.
I really feel like there is not a point in discussing Best Director. Anytime Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu or Guillermo Del Toro are nominated for the award, they win. In the last five years, with the exception of 2016, one of those men have won the award. I would love a year where all three of them are nominated. I’ll mention the other directors, even though Cuaron will definitely win. Spike Lee is also nominated, along side Pawel Palikowski and Adam McKay.
Best Picture this year is a complete toss up. I could see it going many different ways. The list was shorter this year than it has been for awhile. The eight nominated films are Black Panther, BlackkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Greenbook, Roma, A Star is Born and Vice. I have seen three out of the eight movies. Even though they were fantastic, none of the screamed Best Picture winner. Let’s hope the other five knock my socks off.
Well I have seen three out of the forty-seven nominated films. (I do not add visual effects to the list. It’s always random blockbusters that are not nominated for anything else, so I don’t waste my time.) So for the next 4 weeks I will spending all of my extra time watching the rest of the list. Wish me luck!
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