Oscar noms as bland and predictable (and white) as ever
Remember Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close? No? Me neither.
What an interesting fate for a film that was rush-released in 2011 to secure its eligibility for that year's Oscar race.
I predict the same end for at least one of the movies nominated for the 2015 Academy Awards, which were announced this morning (January 15). Feel free to guess which one.
A few other thoughts: of the movies nominated for best film, notwithstanding that I haven't seen Selma, only one is equal to or better than Foxcatcher, which was ignored.
Another two are best described as tricked-out but soulless exercises in technical virtuosity.
Two more are dreary BBC-grade period pieces that fail to rise above their doggedly religious adherence to middlebrow commercial filmmaking.
Yet another is an impressively written and performed pas-de-deux with a remarkably faulty moral centre.
But most egregious of all is the absence from any major categories of Inherent Vice, in which an American filmmaker and the most talented male screen actor on the planet collaborate on their second masterpiece together. But neither Paul Thomas Anderson nor Joaquin Phoenix were recognized by "the Academy".
As with the bizarre contradiction of nominating Foxcatcher director Bennett Miller while snubbing the film itself, expect to see justifiable outrage over the absence of Selma's Ava DuVernay from the best director category—echoing the controversy that followed this week's DGA nominations. In fact, there isn't a single African American name in any major category.
Other notable exclusions: Jennifer Aniston for Cake—"Maybe because she's currently celebrating a decade of complaining about talking about her split with Brad Pitt," in the not unwise words of my colleague, Mr. Craig Takeuchi—and The Lego Movie for best animated feature. Mind you, The Lego Movie game me a fucking migraine.
Finally, I like Keira Knightley, but she stunk the place up in The Imitation Game.
Best film:
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best director:
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Alejandro G Inarritu (Birdman)
Morten Tyldum (The Theory of Everything)
Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
Best actor:
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Best actress:
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Best Supporting Actor:
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Edward Norton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
JK Simmons (Whiplash)
Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Emma Stone (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
Cinematography:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr Turner
Unbroken
Original Screenplay:
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Documentary Feature:
Foreign Language Film:
Adapted Screenplay:
Film Editing:
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Animated Feature Film:
Original Song:
"Glory" (Selma)
"Grateful" (Beyond the Lights)
"I'm Not Going to Miss You" (Glen Campbell... I'll Be Me)
"Lost Stars" (Begin Again)
Original Score:
Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)
Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)
Gary Yershon (Mr Turner)
Jóhann Jóhannsson (The Theory of Everything)
Costume Design:
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr Turner
Comments
7 Comments
Clowny Clown
Jan 15, 2015 at 10:44am
"Inherent Vice" was fun (kind of a slightly surreal stoner comedy, B-movie homage), but no masterpiece.
Adrian Mack
Jan 15, 2015 at 10:53am
Okay, but it still shits from a great height on at least six of the nominees for best film.
shoegazer
Jan 15, 2015 at 1:50pm
@Adrian Mack...I think some of it landed in my popcorn at Grand Budapest Hotel.
Adrian Mack
Jan 15, 2015 at 2:12pm
HA!
Brian
Jan 15, 2015 at 5:39pm
Too Hollywood, yes (None of these movies were on the Best Movies of the Year lists).
Racism, I doubt it (Remember, 12 Years a Slave? A horribly made, boring movie, which no-one really enjoyed, and contain absolutely zero new information about that period).
As always, it comes down to who you know....
out at night
Jan 15, 2015 at 8:28pm
American Sniper, right? Another mediocre Clint Eastwood movie that no one really asked for.
Adrian Mack
Jan 16, 2015 at 6:42am
@out at night, yeah, that one.