- The Best Actress category. My two favorite performances, Jessica Chastain & Olivia Colman, made it through. I knew Colman was a lock, but I didn't see many people rooting for Chastain. I think Chastain deserves the win, but I would be perfectly satisfied if Colman has another Oscar. I haven't seen Parallel Mothers, but Cruz has given Oscar worthy performances in Almodovar films before, so I feel confident she deserves this. I wasn't the biggest fan of Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Princess Diana but I'm not mad at her nomination. She sure tried hard, and that has to count for something (and a lot of people seem to love it, so maybe I'm wrong). The only stinker is Kidman. And I love her so much, and usually would never root against her, but I hated the performances in Being the Ricardos.
- Jessie Buckley! That's probably the only nomination that shocked me. I hadn't seen her on many predictions.
- Andrew Garfield is adorable and he's great in tick, tick...BOOM! I was a little nervous he was going to get snubbed. Also super glad that Denzel got in (and he should win, in my opinion).
- The Tragedy of Macbeth is visually so stunning - I'm delighted that it received a lot of technical awards (Cinematography, Production Design)
- Cruella should get all the awards for Costume Design! I was so happy to see that. Definitely the most memorable and creative designs.
- The Mitchells vs. The Machine!!! My favorite animation in quite some time (although I think Flee is going to take the win. Nominated in Animation, Documentary AND International Film. Is that a first? I think it must be. I haven't see it yet.).
- I think it's pretty crazy that Lady Gaga was considered a front-runner. I haven't see House of Gucci yet, but I've seen the trailer and every performance in that movie looks horrendous. I'm glad all of the performances were ignored. But also, it's refreshing to see some surprises - since Gaga had been nominated for ALL other major awards, it was assumed she would get this. I'm glad the Academy aren't just following the herd. It's definitely a step forward.
- Thank God they didn't nominate Being the Ricardos for Picture or anything other than the terrible acting. That would have put me over the edge
The Bad
- Out of the 10 Best Picture nominations, I've only seen 6 films. And out of those 6, I didn't rate ANY of them above 3 stars. They are perfectly "good" films. But Oscar-worthy used to mean something. I think Power of the Dog is probably going to sweep a lot, including Best Picture, which is...fine. I guess. I think it will also win Best Director, just so they can say that they gave it to a woman two years in a row (and the Oscar discourse is always painful, but I legitimately saw shock when it was announced that Jane Campion is the only female director to get nominated twice. Um...how is that shocking? And even worse someone actually said "but Scorsese has 9", as if one has anything to do with the other. This is Campion's first film in...12 years and her first (debatably) good one in almost 30 YEARS. What was the academy supposed to do? Nominate her for nothing??).
- Some of the nominated performances are downright terrible - I already mentioned Being the Ricardos, but I'm stunned that people liked Kidman and Bardem's performances. STUNNED. Also, Will Smith. Especially because they show the actual "King" Richard at the end, speaking. Like actual proof that Smith did not only fail at the accent but his mannerisms, too! It's baffling. I think Smith has been "snubbed" so many times, they felt they had to give him this one?
- Nightmare Alley getting 4 nominations is...something. I did not like it - but also found it really ugly for the most part. Also, it's weird that it got in Best Picture over The Lost Daughter (which had acting and writing nominations, how is that stronger than getting a few technical nominations?)
The Snubbed
- While Passing didn't completely work for me, it did for A LOT of critics. It feels weird to completely shut it out, especially with the talent involved. It's certainly better than a lot that did get in.
- I would have loved to see Maggie Gyllenhaal sneak in a Best Director nod, but I am glad to see her in Adapted Screenplay (I just bought the novel, and I'm excited to read it and see how she translated it to the screen).
- I didn't love Dune (again, solid 3 stars from me), but to give it 10 nominations, and not nominate the director is a bit mad, right? Denis Villeneuve definitely deserved a nod for his ambition alone.
- I also didn't love Last Night in Soho, but how on Earth did it not get an editing nomination? How did King Richard and Don't Look Up get nominated over this???
- My favorite film of the year, The Harder They Fall, received absolutely nothing, as expected. I can't wrap my head around the complete silence for this film. It's so stylish, has a strong central story, wonderful performances, unexpected production design. It just makes me so sad.
- I was kind of hoping for a surprise nomination for Jodie Comer for The Last Duel. Also, The Last Duel is better than all 6 movies I've seen that are nominated for Best Picture.
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