So here we are again, reflecting on another batch of Oscar Nominations and of course grumbles and gripes about who got shortchanged or what got overlooked are not only expected but almost necessary. Second guessing the Academy seems almost pointless; after all; Time is always the best judge of quality. In ten years we'll see if some or any of this year's nominees retain their glow of artistic success. And time will also tell if the glaring omissions prove to have been better than what got nominated, which happens often. This year had its share of short-shrifting, which we'll get to shortly.
I don't take umbrage with a lot of what did get nominated; many of the picks sit just fine with me, but then there are others...
Please feel free to leave your own thoughts and comments. I will soon post my Favorite Films of 2014 list so keep your eyes glued (if you care) for that forthcoming submission.
As most Oscar critics are wont to do, I thought I'd focus mainly on the major categories so as not to sorely try your patience.
So without further delay...
BEST PICTURE
Nominees: American Sniper, Boyhood, Birdman, Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash.
Academy members, do you really think The Theory of Everything belongs on this list and do you think it superior to Foxcatcher, Interstellar and A Most Violent Year; three films I thought might be nominee shoo-ins? You got to be kidding me with that cowardly, uninspired choice. The film was T.V. material with big screen pretensions. Please.
What may incur reader's wrath is my disdain for The Great Budapest Hotel's nomination. Somehow Wes Anderson has deceived critics into believing his mannered, tiresome flights of whimsy are great art. It seems as if everyone is afraid to criticize his films lest they appear un-hip. Grand Budapest Hotel was beautiful to behold but as empty as the cold vacuum of space. And not very funny either.
I'm not surprised to see Whiplash on this list but as days and weeks and a couple of months passed after I first viewed the film, its quality shrunk considerably in my estimation. It has its moments and I like the performances but the film as a whole couldn't shoulder its clumsy psychology. But its presence here doesn't bother me much. It has more of a right than The Theory of Everything.
I don't have a problem with the remaining nominees; they were all exceptional in their own way.
Films I felt should have gotten a nod: Interstellar, Foxcatcher, A Most Violent Year, The Homesman, and Calvary.
Am very pleased Girl Gone, Big Eyes, Inherent Vice and Unbroken didn't make the cut, given the attention each received. All were very flawed films the Academy might have been duped into nominating.
Am very surprised Wild didn't make the list. Not that I thought it a great film but it seemed like the kind of subject that might charm the Academy.
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees: Wes Anderson, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Richard Linklater, Bennett Miller, and Morten Tyldum.
Save for Wes Anderson, I don't have any quibbles about this group. I'm glad the Academy at least had the good sense to include Bennett Miller. I hope Inarritu, Linklater or Miller get the statue. The director's hand was quite strong in each film.
Directors I felt should have gotten a nod: I think Christopher Nolan (Interstellar), Clint Eastwood (American Sniper), John Michael McDonagh (Calvary) and J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year) could have made the party but oh well.
Am very pleased Anjelina Jolie (Unbroken), David Fincher (Gone Girl), Paul Haggis (Third Person) and James Marsh (The Theory of Everything) were denied nominations.
Am very surprised Jean Marc Vallee (Wild) and Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) didn't earn the Academy's attention.
BEST ACTOR
The Nominees: Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Again, other than Eddie Redmayne, I have little to grouse about. Redmayne isn't a bad actor but his Stephen Hawking is the kind performance the academy goes into paroxysms of ecstasy over. So he can contort his body...anything else? No? I thought so. The only thing more insulting than Redmayne's nomination would be his Oscar win. I hope that outrage isn't visited upon us.
Actors I felt should have been given a nod: David Oyelowo (Selma), Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up), Brendan Gleeson (Calvary), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year) and Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar)--all very deserving and certainly more interesting than Redmayne.
Am very pleased Domnhall Gleeson (Broken) didn't get nominated. His performance was Oscar bait incarnate.
BEST ACTRESS
The Nominees: Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
I have yet to see Julianne Moore's performance so an assessment of the nominees should be premature but I'll comment on those I have seen. My two objections in this category are Felicity Jones and Rosamund Pike. Felicity Jones' performance demanded little of her. Any actress in any acting guild in the film industry could have played this part. In fact, any man in drag might have managed this role credibly. I can't emphasize the film's fierce mediocrity enough.
Gone Girl seems like a tawdry joke now, as does Pike's performance. She is a talented actress but this role seemed beneath her. Cotillard and Witherspoon gave fine performances, so an Oscar win by either will not insult me.
Actresses I felt should have been given a nod: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year), Anne Hathaway (Interstellar), Essie Davis (The Babadook), Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), and (Emmanuelle Devos (Violette)
Am very pleased Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts weren't considered for Oscars, given St. Vincent's substantial box office.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The Nominees: Robert Duvall (The Judge), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Edward Norton (Birdman), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher) and J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
The nominations seem solid, until you see Robert Duvall's name. This nomination is of the variety that pays homage to an aging actor rather than recognizing an exceptional performance. Duvall is an outstanding actor but his performance in the hackneyed, formulaic drama The Judge is adequate and only that. It's not his fault; some excellent actors can't save a terrible movie.
Actors I felt should have been given a nod: Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher) and Miles Teller (Whiplash).
Am very pleased the Academy didn't compound their Robert Duvall error by nominating Robert Downey Jr. for the same film.
Am very surprised noone from Selma earned a best supporting Oscar.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The Nominees: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Laura Dern (Wild), Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game), Emma Stone (Birdman) and Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)
I have yet to see Meryl Streep in Into the Woods. I may have to pay to see a film I worked hard to avoid. But to be fair, I can't offer an objective assessment until I see her performance, but if you've read my blog-post on the Pantheon of the Overrated, you know I have little respect for her Hammy Highness. As for the other nominees, I think it's a excellent bunch. I'll even extend that value judgement to Keira Knightley, who has made a career of being annoying. She was actually quite good in The Imitation Game and deserves her nomination. Laura Dern's performance doesn't hold up to the best performances I've seen in this category but it isn't insulting either. That dishonor may be reserved for Streep. We'll see.
Actress that should have been given a nod: Carmen Ejogo (Selma)
Am very pleased none of the female cast of Pride snuck into this category.
The Academy should feel ashamed for overlooking black actors and actresses as nominees. How can you justify nominating Selma for Best Picture but not nominate any of the African-American cast? The Academy's short-sightedness with Selma reminds us that the struggle for equal rights didn't end in 1965. Hollywood's phony, liberal bent has always been a great hypocrisy. No-one in Get on Up earned a nod either though terrific performances abounded there as well. I guess it's too much to ask that Asians and Hispanics be recognized but I can't remember any film from 2014 that featured any actor from either culture. Maybe that's an issue for another post.
So there you have my opinionated burblings. I'll post another piece on the Oscar telecast at the end of February. I'm sorry I limited my thoughts to the major categories because really, who would want my perspective on the Sound Editing nominees?
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