I say this pretty much every year lately but I really don’t care about the Oscar nominees & winners anymore. The Academy is so out of touch with the general public’s opinion. Okay – I admit to being a film snob so, when I say “general public”, I mean us crazy fans of cinema. I mean people like you guys, my fellow movie bloggers. We should be the Oscar voters! 😉 If we left it up to only the general public & box office take, Oscars would go to shit like Fifty Shades. But that would still almost be better than going to undeserving movies that usually win because of behind the scenes Hollywood politics.
I’ll still watch the show, though, like I have for many many years now. I even continued watching it after moving to the UK, even though it means I have to stay up all night since it’s on in the middle of the night here. Why do I do it?! I dunno. Tradition, I guess.
I also do this post every year although, once again, I’ve seen hardly any of the nominees. Only two of the Best Picture nominees! Out of eight?? That’s pathetic, I know. To be fair, we were once again a bit screwed over in the UK. Hidden Figures & Moonlight have only been out for a week here and I’ve not had a chance to go to them. I badly wanted to see Manchester By The Sea & wanted to see Portman in Jackie but they had limited showings at a time I was too busy. As always, these Oscar-worthy films get pretty quickly replaced by more mainstream films so, if you don’t get to them right away, you’re out of luck. I like the sound of Lion so will watch it eventually and I’m kind of kicking myself for not watching Hell Or High Water after the hubby went to it & said it was really good. I may have the evening to myself so am tempted to rent it tonight…
I’ll give a quick list of links to my reviews of all the nominated movies that I’ve actually seen. Haha! Looking at it now, it’s a funny list. How obvious is it that, if you have kids, they rule your life?? And I wouldn’t change that for the world! 🙂 It just means that I’ve seen pretty much every kids’ film nomininated for anything. Including that stupid Trolls movie. Yeah. Trolls is up for an Oscar but Amy Adams isn’t. Screw you, Academy!
After that, I’ll list all the nominees for each category and what I WANT to win each Oscar and what I think WILL win each Oscar. And I’m certainly making no bets this year – I’m completely clueless and uninformed. Again, though, I just do this out of tradition I guess. And, as always, I pick my favorite sounding title from things like the documentaries & shorts because I know NOTHING about any of them. 😉 Especially this year. Yep – I fully admit it. If the Oscar clips make them look good, though, I’ll then look into them.
Here we go! And I’m happy to hear opinions from those of you who watched more than just kids’ films last year. 😉 And if Arrival wins EVERYTHING like it should, I may take back all my bitchy comments about The Academy. (It won’t)
All The Nominees I’ve Seen:
Arrival
La La Land
Nocturnal Animals
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Zootopia
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
Trolls
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
Piper
NOMINEES:
Best Picture:
Arrival (WANT!!!!!)
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land (WILL)
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
Best Director:
Damien Chazelle, La La Land (WILL)
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival (WANT!!!)
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Best Actor:
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (WANT & WILL)
Denzel Washington, Fences
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Best Actress:
Emma Stone, La La Land
Natalie Portman, Jackie (WANT & hopefully WILL)
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Best Supporting Actor:
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Dev Patel, Lion (WILL)
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals (WANT)
Best Supporting Actress:
Viola Davis, Fences (WILL)
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea (WANT)
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Moonlight
Arrival (WANT & hopefully WILL)
Fences
Lion
Hidden Figures
Best Original Screenplay:
Manchester by the Sea (WILL)
La La Land
Hell or High Water (WANT)
The Lobster
20th Century Women
Best Foreign Language Film:
Toni Erdmann (WANT & WILL)
The Salesman
Land of Mine
Tanna
A Man Called Ove
Best Documentary Feature:
O.J.: Made in America
13th
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life Animated (WANT & WILL. Why? I like the name the most. I don’t know what any of these are about. Although I assume the first one is about O.J. Simpson??)
Best Animated Feature:
Zootopia (If this wins, I’m gonna throw something at the TV)
Kubo and the Two Strings (WANT)
The Red Turtle
My Life As a Zucchini
Moana (WILL)
Best Film Editing:
La La Land (WILL)
Moonlight
Arrival (WANT)
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Best Original Song:
“City of Stars,” La La Land (WILL)
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls (WANT, although the movie sucks ass)
“The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story
Best Original Score:
La La Land (WILL)
Lion
Jackie
Moonlight
Passengers (WANT. Not seen it but Thomas Newman deserves an Oscar.)
Best Cinematography:
La La Land
Moonlight
Arrival (WANT & hopefully WILL)
Silence
Lion
Best Costume Design:
Florence Foster Jenkins
La La Land
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Allied
Jackie (WANT & WILL)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Star Trek Beyond
A Man Called Ove
Suicide Squad (WANT & WILL)
Best Production Design:
La La Land (WILL)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
Arrival (WANT)
Passengers
Best Sound Editing:
Hacksaw Ridge
Arrival (WANT & WILL)
Deepwater Horizon
La La Land
Sully
Best Sound Mixing:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Arrival (WANT & WILL)
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Best Visual Effects:
The Jungle Book (WILL)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (WANT)
Kubo and the Two Strings (Also Want)
Doctor Strange
Deepwater Horizon
Best Short Film, Live Action:
Timecode (WANT & WILL. Yeah, I’ve just chosen the most interesting sounding title again.)
Silent Nights
La Femme et le TGV
Ennemis Interieurs
Sing
Best Short Film, Animated:
Piper (WANT & WILL) (Very unlikely it will but it’s the only one I’ve seen & it’s adorable.)
Pearl
Borrowed Time
Blind Vaysha
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Best Documentary, Short Subject:
Joe’s Violin
The White Helmets
Extremis (WANT & WILL. And, again, I’ve just chosen a title I like…)
Watani: My Homeland
4.1 Miles
Cinema Parrot Disco 
Yeah I hear you there. It would be much better if we were the voters. I hope Arrival does get some love this year. It’s a damn shame that Amy Adams was not nominated in that. Sound mixing and editing has always gone to musicals, but who knows maybe things will be different… PS. Dont break anything when Zootopia aka Zootropolis wins
Amy Adams was robbed of a nomination for sure. I think Arrival won one or two but I kind of lost interest while watching. And, no, I didn’t break anything when Zootopia annoyingly won!!! Lol ; )
Loads I’ve not seen either, so… I kind of hope La La Land doesn’t sweep everything. Maybe I’ll feel differently after I finally see it, but right now it doesn’t feel like it should. Besides, Arrival deserves some love — Amy Adams shouldn’t just be nominated for Best Actress, she should win it! (Though I’ve not seen any of the actual nominees, so…)
Hell or High Water is really good, I’d definitely recommend it also, but it’s not Best-Picture-nominee-level good. It kind of baffles me how it got nominated, to be honest.
I’d love if Kubo won Best Visual Effects, but it won’t because Oscar voters are stupid (seriously — I’ve read anonymous stories about how some of them pick their votes and, honestly, it’s terrifyingly random).
Coincidentally, both of the documentaries you mention (the O.J. one and Life Animated) have come onto BBC iPlayer this week. Not watched them myself (the O.J. one is 8 hours!), but I do intend to.
Glad I’m not the only one who hasn’t seen many nominees! Well, La La Land didn’t sweep everything. ALMOST got Best Picture. Lol! Hilarious. Ugh – no damn way am I watching that O.J. one, then… Too long! That’s a big commitment! Life Animated looks interesting, though. And I’ll watch Hell Or High Water but no rush now. ; ) Arrival & Kubo definitely deserved more love. Stupid Oscars.
Oh, and nothing from Sing Street being up for Original Song is a feckin’ crime!
Okay, those are all my thoughts :p
Yep!!!! Totally agree. Liked the Sing Street songs better than anything nominated. And Your Name should’ve been up for Best Animated Film. Stupid Oscars.
I’m starting to think Denzel will upset Affleck for best actor, which I wouldn’t be entirely upset with. While I think Portman gave a better performance than Stone, I think Stone is the guaranteed favorite. Meh. Maybe Huppert will be the surprise win??? I want some surprises!!!
Well, damn – looks like Denzel didn’t win. Not that I’ve seen either of those movies! But I plan to (it’s so annoying waiting for most nominees to be released in the UK). Yeah, I figured Stone might win and she WAS good but I don’t know if the win was deserved. Of course, I can’t really comment until I’ve seen more nominees. But at least we all got ONE surprise at the end of that boring, predictable ceremony! Lol! Hilarious. What the Hell??? : )
Some solid shouts. I haven’t seen Manchester by the Sea but Viola Davis is amazing in Fences. Not a big fan of the film but her and Denzel are amazing.
I still have to see the majority of nominees but at least there’s no rush now! I do like Denzel so will definitely watch Fences at some point. And Manchester to see if it’s as depressing as it sounds. Happy days! : )
I’ll be very curious what you think of Fences.
Will let you know! Though will have to wait for Netflix or something now… : )
It was very interesting to read your thoughts. I also want Michael Shannon to win his first Oscar, that guy is so talented! I also think Kubo has a very big chance of winning the award since clearly it is a better animation that Moana. Btw, 13th is like THE documentary of the decade, so it is as sure a win as La La Land in many categories.
Shannon will get his Oscar someday, I suppose. : ) I wish Kubo had won but the Academy is SO pro-Disney. Damn. Did 13th win?? Lol. Don’t think so. But I’m not sure we can trust that ANY of the winners were correct! ; )
I think like myself you will be very disappointed tonight.
Lol! Indeed I was. Boring show, hated the host, predictable winners, wanted it to end… And then something interesting FINALLY happened at the end! Lol. So, at least that mix-up was amusing… ; )
The show was too over the top.
I never much cared about the Academy’s choices in the past, but this was the first year I got to see all the Best Picture nominees in the theater (except Moonlight, and of course that’s what won). I absolutely agree that Arrival should have won more, cinematography and editing at least, and Amy Adams was ROBBED of at least a nomination.
But I also bought into the general consensus that La La Land would be overrated, and I was very pleasantly surprised. It also deserved everything it was nominated for, and I was heartbroken it lost Best Picture the way it did. Your WILLs and WANTs don’t seem all that interested in Fences or Hacksaw Ridge either, but I’d highly recommend checking them out as well. Hell or High Water totally deserved Best Screenplay too. You’re right, what does the Academy know about great movies?
Agreed! Arrival deserved way more recognition. But, yeah… I’ve not seen many nominees so suppose I can’t really comment. ; ) La La Land had some negativity surrounding it. I thought it was a bit overrated compared to the hype but it’s still a good film overall. I did feel sorry for the way those Oscars were literally ripped out of their hands! ; ) I’m interested in Fences and will watch it but not Hacksaw Ridge so much (I’m rarely interested in war films but then end up liking them when I force myself to watch them!). The Academy knows nothing about anything, though. : )