Thursday 15 January 2015

Oscars 2015: The Nominations



You know why we're here - to talk about the Oscar nominations, or more specifically, which films weren't nominated and really should've been. Which film(s) do you think missed out on some lovin'? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below!


The Snubs


Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
First off, let's talk about some of the most glaring omissions - the one that springs immediately to mind is Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in Nightcrawler for Best Actor. Just...how?! How did this one slip through the net? I mean, the guy has been getting rave reviews from every corner of the globe and somehow still didn't register on the Academy's radar.

I'm not going to throw up my arms and declare the whole thing a sham and that I'm going to boycott them blah blah blah - no, that's silly. Sure, Gyllenhaal deserved to be nominated. Heck, he deserved to win (well, maybe 2nd behind Keaton). I guess the role was just a bit too edgy for the Oscars. At the end of the day, I loved the film and many others did too - it left a lasting impact on me, and that's all that matters.

Before I move on though - what about Rene Russo? Her omission from one of the Best Actress categories is almost as heinous as Gyllenhaal's if you ask me.

Whilst I haven't seen every film that was nominated for Best Picture (surprisingly few actually - dammit Australia!), I do reckon that Interstellar is missing off of that list. That, or Gone Girl. Or Nightcrawler. C'mon, whose idea was it to pick American Sniper over any of those? Other than that, it's a pretty solid collection. Boyhood, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel - I reckon those are the front-runners.

Emily Blunt and James Corden in Into The Woods
The decision to nominate Meryl Streep is a bit silly given that Emily Blunt was recognised at the Golden Globes don'tcha think? Isn't nominating Meryl this much kind of ridiculous now? I mean, c'mon - give Blunt a chance. If not for Into the Woods then for Edge of Tomorrow - now that is an Oscar nomination I could get behind!

I don't know why Duvall was nominated for The Judge - I seem to remember the general verdict on that film being a resounding 'meh'. There are plenty of people who could've stepped into that slot - Tyler Perry for Gone Girl may be the most ridiculous sounding thing ever, but I'd be fully behind it!

Another big snub that everyone is raving about is The LEGO Movie missing out on a Best Animated Feature nod. Yeah, that's a bit of a big one. I mean, The Boxtrolls? Really? Chris Miller and Phil Lord delivered an amazingly original film last year and that deserves to be recognised. The prize will probably go to How To Train Your Dragon 2 (which wouldn't be undeserved) but the category feels incomplete without The LEGO Movie.


The Positives


Looking down the list it becomes immediately obvious that The Grand Budapest Hotel has come outta nowhere to dominate this season. Wow is all I can say. Industry logic would dictate a film can't win awards if it's released the April prior, but you know what? Screw that. Wes Anderson's latest film has maintained momentum across the last eight months to finish with 9 nominations, equal top with Birdman. That's more than Boyhood. More than Whiplash. More than The Imitation Game. You know, the crop of so-called 'front-runners' everyone is talking about.

I really, really like that this is the case. I couldn't be happier that a fun and colourful film that doesn't immediately scream 'Oscar bait' is notching up the nominations. Could it be an outside contender for Best Picture? It's a stretch, but weirder things have happened - it was only two short years ago that Argo snatched Best Picture away from Lincoln, Amour and Zero Dark Thirty.

The Brits are out in force at the Oscars this year
Moving swiftly onward - Birdman. Again, lots of deserved nominations and that all important Best Actor slot for Michael Keaton. It seems really odd to me that everyone is already declaring him the winner like its actually happened. I mean, calm down. It's likely, but it's still a really strong category. I'd be happy if anyone other than Cooper took home the prize to be honest.

Best Actress is most likely heading Julianne Moore's way but I'd love to see it handed to Rosamund Pike. If it was a popularity contest, she'd win in a heartbeat. Still, at least she was nominated. It's a really strong year in general for British actors what with Pike, Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne all nominated for stuff.

Lastly, it's great to see JK Simmons following up his Golden Globe win with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. I'd love to see him win it.

All in all, it was a pretty bland round of nominations - some of my favourite films from 2014 missed out big time but the films we all expected to be there were there. What do you guys think? What do you think the worst snub of the morning was?

8 comments:

  1. I cannot believe Gyllenhaal didn't get nominated. Well, I can, but when is the academy going to start going for edgy? How long do we have to wait for all these old white dudes to retire from voting?

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    1. Yeah, it's a criminal omission to be honest. In my opinion, the best actor from last year now won't win the Best Actor award. But hey, that shouldn't take anything away from how great the film or Gyllenhaal is :) Thanks for commenting Brittani!

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  2. Keaton won that Oscar the second he delivered his Globes speech.

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    1. Great point Sati, the Academy love a very gracious and humble winner - that Keaton is making a career revival makes it that much more fitting :)

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  3. Keaton has everything going for him and nothing against him. Sadly, if he does lose (which he won't), it'll probably be to Cooper.

    But really, I've been declaring Keaton the winner since HFA, and I'm not wavering. It just feels right.

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    1. Completely agree - from those nominated, Keaton does have the credentials to win and the Academy obviously love the fact he's making a career comeback :)

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  4. I was surprised and disappointed the Lego Movie didn't get a nomination! What were they thinking? Maybe I'm biased as the film awoke my inner Lego nerd but it had so much going for it :(

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    1. Yeah, it was such an awesome film - it didn't have to win, but a nomination felt like a sure-fire thing :( Thanks for commenting Julien! :)

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