Oscar Nominations: The Good, The Bad, and The Snubbed

The Good 

- Another year of me struggling to come to terms with what the Academy deems award-worthy. I don't think this year is as bad as last year, but I am still having trouble finding the "good". The biggest (and most predictable) "good" nomination is for Joaquin Phoenix (my thoughts on Joker will be up soon...). Undoubtedly one of the best working actors today - this is his fourth nomination and he will deserve the win.

- There was a lot I liked about Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood - the acting, in particular. I'm also happy to see Quentin getting the screenwriting and directing nod.

- Charlize Theron is incredible in Bombshell (more thoughts to come...).

- I haven't seen Little Women - and to be honest, I don't want to see Little Women (*groans* do I have to?), but Saoirse Ronan is a favorite of mine, so I was happy to see her name on the list of nominees.

The Bad

- The love for The Irishman. I understand the acting nominations (because duh...) and Martin Scorsese (again duh...), but all of the technical nominations blow my mind. Like, how does it get Production Design and Costume Design over a film like Rocketman? It doesn't make a bit of sense. And the Visual Effects were the worst and most distracting part of the movie.

- The love for Marriage Story. It's a good movie with good performances. That's it. It's hard to believe that I live in a world where Scarlett Johansson earned two Academy Award nominations in the same year.

- The lack of representation. Usually, I don't go there for award shows. I don't think it's their fault that most of the nominees are white males. It all comes down to opportunity - and while it's getting better, it's not something that's going to happen overnight. The saying "two steps forward, one step back" exists for a reason. However, I do think it's odd that Little Women is so highly regarded and reviewed - earning Best Picture, screenplay, and acting nominations without nominating the director. It's happened before though (remember Argo? It won Best Picture without a directing nomination). Actually - it happened this year with Gerwig's own husband, Noah Baumbach. Marriage Story received a screenplay, acting nominations, and a Best Picture without getting Director. I think it comes down to people just being fed up with the industry and the consistent lack of representation, but it's not going to be fixed on an awards show level.

The Snubbed 

- Well, you probably already know what I'm going to say, but it still has to be said. Taron Egerton put his heart and soul into Rocketman and it's baffling that he didn't get a nomination. The last time I was burned this bad by the Academy was when Leo didn't get nominated for Titanic. I truly believe that this was the toughest category this year - and it sucks that a performance can be overlooked simply because of timing. If the release dates for this and Bohemian Rhapsody were flipped, surely Taron would have been the front-runner, and I don't think Rami would be in the conversation this year (I feel bad that people are trashing him now, but I trashed him as soon as I saw the movie. It's not a good performance. I do however think he's incredible on Mr. Robot and I'm hopeful that it's not just a fluke). Also, Rocketman was released in the beginning half of the year, which usually solidifies being ignored. Taron worked hard to keep it in the conversation and he should be proud of himself (and being nominated for a SAG, BAFTA, and winning the Golden Globe ain't too shabby).

- The rest of the nominations for Rocketman. I watched one of the Rocketman screening interviews (actually I watched many), but an interviewer asked Taron if he was tired of being asked all the same questions and talking about the movie for literally 6 months and he said that he felt a responsibility to do it because of all of the talent behind the camera that he didn't want to be forgotten. He's the face of the movie, but he wanted Rocketman to stay in the conversation for them (and duh..for himself, too, obviously). The costume design is probably the most egregious snub - the fact that they didn't just copy Elton John's wardrobe (which would have been the easier route) and instead were "inspired" by them, really made it all the more interesting.

- The song "Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" from Wild Rose is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard all year. I mean, I would even nominate that over "I'm Gonna Love Me Again" from Rocketman (they literally nominated the only thing I didn't like from the movie. LOL. I listen to the soundtrack pretty regularly and it's the only song I skip).

- It was obviously a long-shot, but it's a damn shame that James McAvoy hasn't been in ANY of the conversations. Glass is not a good movie, but his performance is incredible. I'm sorry, but Adam Driver could never do that.

- My two favorite female performances this year are Lupita Nyong'o and Sienna Miller (someone else who was completely ignored). It's pretty guaranteed that Renee Zellweger is winning and I just...don't understand. I haven't seen Judy yet, but from the trailer, it doesn't look good and it seems like she is just doing a really bad impersonation.