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The Oscar Nominations If Decided By Me, A Large And Smart Boy

Oscars

Instead of saying what I think was snubbed this year and what got an undeserved place, I decided to make my own Oscar nominations with blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget the blackjack. As a note, I didn’t include categories where I didn’t have enough exposure/experience/interest.

Best PictureAcademy Picks: “Black Panther”, “BlacKkKlansman”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “The Favourite”, “Green Book”, “Roma”, “A Star Is Born”, and “Vice”

1. A Star is Born

2. ROMA – It was a beautifully shot movie that told a dramatic, but authentic feeling family story. Alfonso Cuarón is the GOAT cinematographer.

3. Annihilation

4. Leave No Trace

5. Eighth Grade

6. If Beale Street Could Talk – If you follow my trailer blogs, I noted how the trailer alone was enough to get me up in my feelings. Barry Jenkins is one of the best minds in Hollywood, and ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ was a masterclass in patiently weaving a dramatic story. Also the best original score of the year in my opinion.

7. First Reformed – This movie was brutally underrated and under-appreciated thisaward season. One of the most intriguing plot lines of the year with maybe the best ending as well.

8. The Favourite – One my actual favorite movies of the year, ‘The Favourite’ was smart, dark and effortlessly funny while featuring a trio of oscar worthy performances from Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman and Emma Stone. I usually don’t like victorian period dramas, but this broke the mold in a huge way.

Lead ActorAcademy Picks: Christian Bale, “Vice”, Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”, Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”, Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

1. Christian Bale (Vice) – Regardless of some technical issues with Vice, Bale had the performance of the year in my opinion. He was completely lost in the role, capturing all of Dick Cheneys idiosyncrasies, his voice and his demeanor.

2. Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) – In a weaker year, I think Cooper would probably win. Like I noted in my blog of the movie, it struck super close to home how accurately he managed to portray the love/hate relationship of addiction.

3. Willem Dafoe (At Eternities Gate) – Similar to ‘Vice’, I didn’t love the movie but Dafoe’s performance was very impressive. If only he actually cut his ear off.

4. Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) – While the movie itself is marred in some controversy between the Shirley family not being consulted for the film and screenwriter Nick Vallelonga tweeting that muslims were cheering the 9/11 attacks in Jersey City, Viggo’s performance as Tony ‘Lip’ Vallelonga was a pretty amazing transformation. Viggo doesn’t do a ton a projects, but the ones he picks are almost all hits.

5. Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)- Like I mentioned earlier, ‘First Reformed’ got fucked over this season. Ethan Hawke’s portrayal of the complicated and dark Reverend Ernst Toller was incredible and totally unexpected for me, and well deserving of being nominated.

lead actressAcademy Picks: Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”, Glenn Close, “The Wife”, Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”, Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born” and Melissa McCarthy and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

1. Olivia Colman (The Favourite) – Like I mentioned earlier, ‘The Favourite’ was such a pleasant surprise and a lot of that had to do with Colman’s performance and dynamic with her co-stars.

2. Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me) – Considering her last 2 movies, ‘The Happytime Murders’ & ‘Life of the Party’, were slapstick comedy flops, I was very suprised when she put on a powerhouse performance in this film. It was layered, measured, and expertly acted.

3. Toni Collette (Hereditary) – I think almost anyone who has seen the movie would agree with me that it’s deserving. She made that movie as horrifying and suspenseful as it was. The problem is that horror movies will never get recognition here.

4. Yalitza Aparicio (ROMA) – The drama of ‘ROMA’ is made real by Aparicio’s authentic touch to her character, Cleo.

5. Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) – I really can’t rave enough about how excellent this kid was. She put veteran actresses and actors to shame with how expertly she portrayed Kayla, pulling off one of the best coming-of-age dramas in years.

supporting actorAcademy Picks: Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”, Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”, Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”, Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

1. Mahershala Ali (Green Book) – Like I mentioned before, while the movie has it’s issues, the performances were still great. Ali brought his character, Dr. Shirley, through a pretty riveting emotional journey with ease.

2. Adam Driver (Blackkklansman) – The tag team of Driver and John David Washington had some of the best chemistry out of any cast this year.

3. Sam Elliot (A Star Is Born) – Similar to how Cooper potrayed the addict, Elliot did a great job showing how people suffer secondhand effects of their loved ones addiction. The scene where he is pulling out of Jacksons driveway, no words.

4. Richard E. Grant (Can Your Ever Forgive Me?)MY BEST FRIEND! I actually told him when we met that I would bet the bank on him getting nominated for best supporting.

5. Ben Foster (Leave No Trace) – Playing a veteran with PTSD has to be hard, and doing it with the added element of being an isolationist has to make it even harder. Foster did both with ease while adding in the drama of being a concerned parent.

supporting actressAcademy Picks:  Amy Adams, “Vice”, Marina de Tavira, “Roma”, Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”, Emma Stone, “The Favourite” and Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

1. & 2. – Rachel Weisz & Emma Stone (The Favourite) – Both of them had perfectly complimentary performances. I know this genre isn’t everyones cup of tea, but you should definitely give this movie a chance.

3. Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) – King brought a real emotional punch to this movie portraying a mother that is fighting against a political machine for the sake of her daughter, son-in-law and grandson and the desperation that came with that for an African-American in the middle 20th century.

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4. Cynthia Erivo (Bad Times at the El Royale) – The actual movie may have been too long and convoluted, but Erivo’s performance made it more than worth watching. She acted and sang her way right into my god damn heart.

5. Blake Lively (A Simple Favor) – This is my one pick that is a bit of a wildcard, but I truly do think she made that movie with her effortless swagger and demeanor. Also had increeeeeeeedible drip.

directorAcademy Picks: Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman”, Pawel Pawlikowski, “Cold War”, Yorgos Lanthimos, “The Favourite”, Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” and Adam McKay, “Vice”

Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA) – ‘ROMA’ was one of the most beautifully shot movies of the year and a total masterclass in directing. He is my personal mortal lock for the win since he was actually nominated.

Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) – The movie was a delight and Lanthimos used a bunch of unorthodox and fun techniques to bring a modern and witty twist to this period comedy/drama.

Steve McQueen (Widows) – While the movie itself didn’t hit all the marks, it features some stunning cinematic achievements. The emotional climax and twists in the movie were very well done as well as the establishment of the primary characters. There is also 2 long-cut sequences, one featuring Daniel Kaluuya and one with Colin Farrell, that warrant his nomination alone.

Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) – The way Cooper was able to remake a twice-done property while making it feel so unique was a huge accomplishment in my eyes. Also,  like I mentioned before, the way he portrays the tangled web of addiction is so very real, and not like I’ve ever seen it done in a movie before.

Christopher McQuarrie (Mission Impossible: Fallout) – Action blockbusters will never make their way into the awards, but god damn was Fallout a treat. McQuarrie managed to make the 6th installment of an action/espionage franchise easily the best, and had featured some great dialogue and camera work to really capture how incredible the stunt work by Tom Cruise.

animatedI actually think all 5 picks by the Academy (Isle of Dogs, Mirai, Incredibles 2, Wreck It Ralph 2, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse) here were perfect. Spider-Verse better win, though.

adapted screenplayAcademy Picks: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Joel Coen , Ethan Coen, “BlacKkKlansman,” Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins and “A Star Is Born,” Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters

1. ‘Blackkklansman’ – It was already an incredible story and Spike Lee & co. brought it to life with some witty dialogue and great pacing.

2. ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ – While Blackkklansman was an inherently interesting story, screenwriter Nicole Holofcener did a great job at making the forgery of literary figures personal correspondence into a captivating movie.

3. ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ – Adapting the work of James Baldwin, one of the greatest literary minds in modern American history, is no easy task. Cinematic genius Barry Jenkins is maybe one of the only people I would have trusted with the job, and god damn did he translate the words to screen with ease.

4. ‘A Star is Born’ – Like I mentioned before, making a 3rd remake of a movie interesting is not an easy task. Bradley Cooper and his group of writers brought the story into the modern age with ease, and told an extremely compelling story.

5. ‘Leave No Trace’ – One of the most underappreciated movies from this cycle, this movie was expertly written and well deserving of a nomination.

original screenplayAcademy Picks: “The Favourite,” Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara, “First Reformed,” Paul Schrader, “Green Book,” Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón and “Vice,” Adam McKay

1. ‘The Favourite’ – In addition to directing the fuck out of this movie, Yorgos Lanthimos also did a hell of a job writing a fast paced yet well fleshed out plot for his characters.

2. ‘First Reformed’ –  Just like Lanthimos, director Paul Schrader both wrote and directed his masterpiece that explored a number of different themes in depth.

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3. ‘ROMA’ – Am I maybe a sucker for writer/directors? It looks like it, but I had to give props to Alfonso Cuarón for painting a dramatic and complicated family portrait.

4. ‘Vice’ – Ok, so I definitly am a sucker for writer/directors. In my defense, Vice was wondefully scripted to show the depths of Dick Cheney while also remaining funny and entertaining.

5. ‘Eighth Grade’ – ALRIGHT YES I DEFINITELY AM. Bo Burnham was fantastic in his directorial debut and wrote the shit out of this natural, authentic feeling coming-of-age film and is well deserving of a nomination.

CinematographyAcademy Picks: “Cold War,” Lukasz Zal, “The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan, “Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel, “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón, and “A Star Is Born,” Matthew Libatique

1. ‘ROMA’ – This is a stone cold lock for an Oscar unless something goes drastically wrong. Alfonso Cuarón is the master of the long-cut and this was no exception.

2. ‘Widows’ – Like I mentioned in the best director nom, there is some serious cinematic achievement in this film and it deserves the recognition of the academy.

3. ‘A Star is Born’ – The film managed to do equally well in the grand open space of a sold out stage as it did in the small and intimate one of a bathroom. That is no easy thing for a film to capture, but they did and it’s worthy of praise for that.

4. ‘The Favourite’ – I feel like a broken record, but this movie really was awesome in number of different areas, with cinematography being no exception. The use of fisheye lenses and roving cameras could usually induce nausea, but in this case added to the weird vibe of the film.

5. ‘First Man’ – The movie itself wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, but the cinematic acheivments were insane. The moon landing sequence alone is breath-taking.

Original Score

Academy Picks: “BlacKkKlansman,” Terence Blanchard, “Black Panther,” Ludwig Goransson, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Nicholas Britell, “Isle of Dogs,” Alexandre Desplat and “Mary Poppins Returns,” Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

1. ‘Black Panther’ – Composer Ludwig Göransson had a tough task in combining the comic book and African themes, but he did a fantastic job. Killmongers theme specifically stands out as very memorable.

2. ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ – Nicholas Britell, who also did the scores in a lot of Adam McKay movies and Barry Jenkins other hit project, ‘Moonlight’, really outdid himself with this score. It’s extremely emotional and gets the tears welling at the perfect moments.

3. ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout’ – This movie seamlessly combined the classic Mission Impossible theme with some newer tones, which added so much nostalgia and suspense to some pivotal scenes.

4. ‘Creed II’ – Another Ludwig Göransson joint, he repeated his same success from the ‘Creed’ soundtrack in giving it a unique feel while still using the original riff from the Rocky franchise.

5. ‘First Man’ – Justin Hurwitz really can’t miss. Between ‘La La Land’, ‘Whiplash’ and now ‘First Man’, he has acheived total success in 3 very different types of movies. The booming sounds from this score really made some of the edge-of-your-seat moments such as the Gemini launch and the Moon landing.

original songAcademy Picks: “All The Stars” from “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar, SZA, “I’ll Fight” from “RBG” by Diane Warren, Jennifer Hudson, “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns” by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt and Benjamin Rice and “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

1. All of the Stars (‘Black Panther’) – A very legitimate banger, this SZA/Kendrick Lamar collab was awesome and a perfect compliment to the film.

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2. Shallow (‘A Star is Born’) – This is a morrrrrrrtal lock to win. What an incredible performance by Lady Gaga.

3. The Place Where The Lost Things Go (‘Mary Poppins Returns’) – While I didn’t love the movie itself, one of the highlights was Emily Blunts performance both as an actress and and a singer.

4. ‘Revelation (‘Boy Erased’) – They used this song perfectly to capture some emotional moments both in the trailer and the film.

5. Treasure (‘Beautiful Boy’) – While the film was a a bit of a let down, the song stood out more than most from this year as being a quality one.

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Academy Picks: “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Christopher Robin”, “First Man”, “Ready Player One” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story

1. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ – The quality of the CGI in this movie, especially considering the quantity that was used, impressed me quite a bit. Between the landscapes and the creatures and most importantly Thanos himself looked much better than anyone anticipated.

2. ‘Christopher Robin’ – It’s a slightly above average movie with some incredible effects. Pooh and gang looks so real that you feel like you can reach out and touch them.

3. ‘Paddington 2′ – God damn it I loved that bear. More importantly, he looked very realistic and was integrated seamlessly alongside his human counterparts.

4. ‘Ready Player One’ – I didn’t really like the movie much, but similarly to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ they were able to create authentic feeling VFX on a massive scale.

5. ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ – I liked this movie much more than most, and a big part of that is how real the effects felt. They gave you a really Star Wars-ey feel while also looking much more realistic.

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