Who do you want to win at the Oscars?
Image: Photo: Black PantherPhoto: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-VersePhoto: RomaGraphic: Allison Corr Film Features AVQ&A
This question is in honor of Sunday’s 91st Academy Awards:
Of the actual nominees, who do you want to see win an Oscar?
William Hughes
Let’s do this one last time, yeah? Nobody needs someone out here aggressively stanning for superhero movies in 2019. But if Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse doesn’t win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, I’m going to lose my goddamn mind—especially if Pixar’s snoozy, predictable Incredibles 2 takes the prize home in its place. Pitch-perfect in its humor, its plotting, and its grasp of Marvel’s beloved web-slinger as a character (or characters), Spider-Verse is the rare comic book origin story that nails every beat of its respective heroes’ journeys. Refusing the playbook of traditional CGI animation, its lifts liberally from comics and hand-drawn cels, creating indelible images like the shot—powerful in the initial trailer, seismic when it finally arrives on the screen—of Miles Morales ascending downward toward a tranquil New York skyline, finally coming into his own. It’s a remarkable juggling act of characters and comedy, one that somehow never loses sight of Miles’ story, or the “do what you can” ethos that powers Spider-Man—regardless of whatever dimension they happen to hail from.
Randall Colburn
I’ll start with who I really, really hope doesn’t win, which is Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody. That’s not because Malek isn’t a wonderful actor—he is!—but because he’s just really not very good as Freddie Mercury, who, as a character, never even comes close to blossoming in the film’s listless, bloodless script. Seriously, give it to anybody else in that category, then honor Malek when he’s actually given material that suits his talents. Okay, as for who needs to win? Paul Schrader! His searing, vital First Reformed
is wildly underrepresented this year, scoring only one nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category. Schrader’s sole nomination brings with it a great story, though: Despite being one of the most influential creative forces of the ’70s and ’80s, this is the writer and director’s first-ever nomination. Fold that into the fact that First Reformed is his best script in 20 years, not to mention something of a full-circle moment for the filmmaker, and you’ve got a helluva narrative.
Caitlin PenzeyMoog
Olivia Colman has been killing it for years, but I feel like she really earned her accolades playing Queen Anne in The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos’ archly absurd period drama. Colman makes the pampered, spoiled, self-centered queen worthy of our pity, and then our empathy, as she deals with matters of court and the two women vying for her affections. Imperious but vulnerable, petulant but regal, Colman’s physicality embodies a raw sort of tragedy. Glenn Close is a goddamn powerhouse, and Yalitza Aparicio is a good choice for the Best Actress Oscar, but I’d like to see the award go to the actress who earned my sympathy through scarfing cake and vomiting it up.
Laura Adamczyk
Let’s go ahead and give The Favourite all of the awards for which it’s eligible, starting with acting. Despite only Olivia Colman earning a Best Actress nomination for her role in the film, with Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz nominated in supporting roles, all three performances are ostensibly leads—essential to the story, electric in their push and pull against each other. Colman is grotesque and wounded, Weisz is icy and conniving, and Stone is wily and scampish in the kind of role Hollywood has not often offered her and probably rarely will in the future—that of a sharp-tongued, physical young woman who will let herself be covered in shit and burned with lye, and who will bash herself in the face to get what she wants. Beyond the acting and mordant screenplay, I even liked the swirling, disorienting fish-eye camera, deliciously extravagant for a film that already elicits dizziness. And because Lanthimos has yet gone unrecognized for his incongruous dance scenes, he should probably win an award for the one he snuck in here too.
A.A. Dowd
I’ve already had my say on what I think should win this Sunday, and there are some realistic and very unrealistic outcomes for which I’m crossing my proverbial fingers. (Realistic: Beale Street wins Best Score! Unrealistic: a successful write-in campaign for Steven Yeun!) But I think the category in which I’m most invested is Best Documentary Feature. Can Minding The Gap please pull a surprise upset and win this one? Though it comes thinly disguised as an exploration of skateboarding culture, Bing Liu’s film is really a highly personal meditation on cycles of violence, the director returning to his hometown of Rockford, Illinois to investigate how the shared trauma of a tumultuous home life has shaped the adulthoods of his childhood friends. It’s not, frankly, the kind of movie that usually wins in this category; unlike some recent recipients, it possesses no explicitly political agenda, no showbiz angle, and no aspirations to lift the spirits of its prospective audience. But dammit, it’s the best of the nominees (and, indeed, the best nonfiction feature I saw in 2018). And it’s frankly ridiculous that Kartemquin, the Chicago-based nonprofit that funded the film, has never won this award, as they’re a leading force in the ongoing support and evolution of documentary cinema. Since the Academy loves to hand out long-overdue mea culpas, maybe they can think of this as a make-up for snubbing Hoop Dreams? Whatever it takes, Oscars!
Sam Barsanti
I know it won’t win, I know it can’t win, and I know that I have a better chance of winning Best Picture on my own than it does, but it would be pretty cool if Black Panther took home that top Oscar. I’m sure it would annoy people who prefer serious cinema to superhero movies, even if Black Panther was a very good superhero movie, but surely we can all agree that it would be a lot less boring than previous winners like Argo or The King’s Speech. Seriously, just imagine all the hot takes! The outrage from old Hollywood elites! Hell, Black Panther winning Best Picture could even give the Academy an excuse to institute that Best Popular Film category for real, ensuring that it would never have to risk letting a comic book movie win a major award again. Besides, as someone who likes superhero movies, giving such a big honor to Black Panther would be a nice way to canonize the superhero genre’s undeniable impact on the world of movies.
Erik Adams
Roma doesn’t need me to root for it—there are millions in Netflix money already doing that job. But I would like Roma to take Best Picture for the completely selfish reason of wanting to see it in 70mm, again and again, for the rest of my life. Can I watch Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical drama on multiple devices, whenever I want, for a monthly subscription fee? Sure. But do any of those devices have giant fucking screens that swaddle you in the black-and-white world of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), that capture the full scale of the New Year’s forest fire, that have speakers big enough to convey the crush of the waves at the end of the film? They do not, and a splashy night at the Oscars will hopefully reserve Roma a permanent spot on the repertory circuit. And with any luck, it’ll also convince Netflix that this arty sort of personal vision is as worthy an investment as data-driven phenomena like Bird Box and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. After a few years of being absolutely buried in Netflix TV shows, I’ve derived a small amount of schadenfreude from its inability to get across the Best Series goal line at the Emmys. But it feels like something bigger’s at stake here, and I don’t just mean the jobs of the people who approved that reported eight-figure FYC campaign.
Nick Wanserski
I don’t think Solo: A Star Wars Story is deserving of too many award-season accolades. It’s a fun but unexceptional addition to everyone’s favorite beleaguered family of space wizards movie franchise. And while the bullet point, greatest-hits rundown of the titular hero’s mythology was the least interesting approach to telling a new Han Solo story, it was also one of the most visually rich and textured entries into the movie series. It leaned all the way into the ’70s “used universe” George Lucas coined to describe the scuzzy, second-hand aesthetic of the original Star Wars movies, and in doing so realized a galaxy of misfits and undesirables being squeezed under the rule of the Empire. It remains a mystery why the film isn’t up for best production design, but absent that, the film most definitely deserves the best special effects award. From the acid-rain drenched shipyards of Corellia to the cosmic dust cloud-shrouded Kessel, the folks at Lucasfilm know how to give vibrant life, whether it’s humble and lived-in or the most outlandish dimensions of a massive galaxy.
Katie Rife
As it has been for several years, the Best Actress race is incredibly strong this year, and there’s no one—at least, no one in this particular category—I’d be annoyed to see walking across the Oscars stage come Sunday night. But if I’m going to be honest, I do have a secret hope, and that’s that Melissa McCarthy gets the ultimate validation of a Best Actress Oscar for her work in Can You Ever Forgive Me?. McCarthy’s portrayal of celebrity biographer-turned-forger Lee Israel in Marielle Heller’s film has that effortless quality that ironically only comes out of sustained, thoughtful effort. She physically inhabits the character so fully, from her strong, no-bullshit stance to the put-upon grimace that flashes across her face in unguarded moments, that it’s easy to forget that she typically specializes in a much broader sort of character work. Similarly, McCarthy’s famous (and highly bankable) likability faces a complicated challenge in this film; in a broad comedy, she can easily make an audience laugh by acting like a selfish jerk, but here she had to make us empathize with her flaws, and love her anyway. McCarthy’s proven many times over that she can be funny, but Can You Ever Forgive Me? finally gave her the chance to be truly complicated. And she was more than up for the challenge, like I and many other critics have long suspected she would be.
86 Comments
I really loved Spider-verse, but if Isle of Dogs won I wouldn’t be mad.
My vote would be for Isle of Dogs, which I thought had more depth than SM:ITSV. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but the emotional stakes were very typical of a superhero movie and it didn’t break any new ground. That being said, if SM:ITSV did win it might mean more Jake Johnson which is also a win (yes, I know he just plays Nick over and over again but I haven’t seen it enough to grow tired of it yet).
Is it too hoity-toity to say that I enjoyed Spiderverse more, but thought Isle of Dogs was the much better movie? Spiderverse is like a nice big cheesesteak, something I love and could eat over and over again. Isle of Dog was like a truffle-filled pasta. Appreciate it and love it, but don’t need it all the time and probably wouldn’t even choose it over the cheesesteak most nights.
I think that’s a fair, if unorthodox, assessment and I feel the same way. What I find greatly entertaining often doesn’t have a perfect correlation with what I consider well-executed or “deep”. Case in point, I loved the hell out of Kong: Skull Island for all its cheesy monster goodness but would never pretend it was an intelligent movie worthy of a Best Picture nomination.
If I could live in a world that had constant moments of Nick Miller, I think I’d be a little happier overall.
“Shoplifters” for Best Foreign Language Film. I wished Sakura Ando’s performance had been nominated specifically, too.
Yes! I want Roma to win best picture so Shoplifters can get foreign film.
I would rather Shoplifters had received the attention Roma has received, including a Best Picture and Best Actress nomination for Sakura Ando. And I’d add in a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Jyo Kairi as Shota.
I am still haunted by the last half hour of that movie.
I agree with literally every single thing you said.
Incredibles 2 wasn’t as bad as some people are making it out to be, but Spider-Verse was superior in many ways, ambition being one of them.
exactly it just pales in comparison (though i also do think it’s kind of bad). the fact that the 9th theatrically released spider-man movie feels so fresh and new is a real testament to how good it is.
Oh I really, really like Incredibles 2 (love Jack Jack against the raccoon and everything with Violet and her crush). Any other year I’d be rooting for it.
The Incredibles 2 needed a worthy villain and it would have been a good movie.
I agree with you, Incrdibles 2 must win the Oscar
I didn’t hate Incredibles 2 despite the fact that it’s just the first movie’s reheated plot:One parental figure is fighting crime (Bob I1, Helen I2), leaving the other to look after the house (Helen I1, Bob I2) while working for employers (Syndrome I1, Evelyn Deavers I2) that are ultimately revealed to be villainous. The villain is revealed to have a complicated history with super heroes (I1/2) and the heroes require the help of an adjacent surrogate (Mirage I1, Winston Deaver I2) in addition to a rescue mission from the rest of the family (I1/2).
Incredibles 2 was entertaining but underwhelming. The villain and larger plot were weak and every major set piece is basically the same (family tries to stop a big object before it crashes into something else). Also this is nitpicking but the final confrontation with the villain in the airplane cabin felt so half-baked. The mom just gets a flare gun (IIRC) and shoots her. That’s it? That’s how your super hero wins? Yawn.
Susan Lucci
Into the Spiderverse for Best Animated FeatureNicholas Britell’s score for If Beale Street Could Talk had better win Best Score because it’s just absolutely beautiful. The only score that I’ve heard exactly once and woken up to realize I had been dreaming about it.
I respect your opinion, but I want Black Panther to win because I love Ludwig Gorranson
“ Nobody needs someone out here aggressively stanning for superhero movies in 2019″ what is this? Why is all writing like this now?
I’d love Black Panther to get all the awards, and failing that, I’d love The Favourite to get all of the awards, but I’ll be happy if Into the Spider-Verse wins for its lone category, as I expect it will.
Another pandering shithead. Why don’t you move to Wakanda, retard?
I want damn well for Toni Collette to at least be nominated for her stunning work in Hereditary, but the Academy hates good choices, so here we are.I don’t see what the hate for Rami Melek is for. Everyone seems to say “he’s a great actor, BUT…”, but what? Dude went through such vigorous training to become Freddy, complete with vocal training in order to blend his voice with Freddy’s. He acted his ass off for this movie; even though it has about a million other problems, I liked it enough to see it twice.
I want a reboot of The David Niven Moment
-c’mon, security can’t be that tight, and I’m placing
my money on Kevin Spacey
I want “Crash” to somehow win Best Picture again.
With Roberto Benigni presenting the award!
I haven’t seen Green Book, but I’ve seen almost everything else and my most deserving picks would be:BP) The Favorite Best Actor) Ethan Hawke/or Bradley Cooper Best Actress) Olivia Coleman Supporting Actor) Adam Driver Supporting Actress) Rachel WeiszDirector) Spike LeeAnimated) Into the Spider-VerseAdapted Screenplay) The Ballad of Buster ScruggsOriginal Screenplay) First ReformedCinematography) RomaDoc) Minding the GapForeign) ShopliftersProduction Design) Black PantherScore) Beale Street
Usually, it’s more of a question of what I DON’T want to win, but this year, the only (feature-length) film I absolutely loathed was Cold War, and I don’t expect that to win anything. Roma is terribly overrated, but it’s superior to Cold War in every category for which it’s nominated, so hopefully it will serve to shut Cold War out. There’s no La La Land up for Best Picture that I can focus my hate on: while I don’t think Green Book or Bohemian Rhapsody or BlacKkKlansman are awards-worthy, I’d only be mildly annoyed if they won.
I’m rooting for Melissa McCarthy. I saw The Wife the other day, and while Glenn Close was extremely good in everything she did, it felt like she only did a few unique things. MM, on the other hand, did very well conveying more emotions, and that’s what draws me in more.
Black Panther winning would not only be a major coup and first, due to race, it’ll really be the first time ever that an action/adventure/comic/sci-fi actually won Best Picture and maybe the Academy has overcome its stigma and subbing of those kinds of movies. Not holding my breath though.
It would also prove that the Academy is a bucnh of pandering shitheads, just like you.
As someone who doesn’t care one whit for the MCU, I LOVED both Spider-verse and Black Panther. I want both to win.
As a KC native and resident, there is a filmmaker named Kevin Wilmott who has taught for years at KU, and making films that were deeply personal and outspoken in their examinations of the history of race in America. He’s a deeply righteous, conscientious filmmaker who has worked on his projects while remaining close to the community from which he originated. He’s up for an adapted screenplay nom for “Blackkklansman,” and all I want to see is him win that award.
I had him as a professor early on in film school, he left a bigger impression on his students than anyone else in the department. So glad he’s getting recognized for his work.
Actually, I was convinced to try KU’s film program after I found out Willmont teaches there!
I’m just going to be happy if Glenn Close wins. I’m sure she will but McCarthy didn’t cut it. It’s a good, but almost uniformly one note performance. I can’t image anyone thinking she gave a better performance than Kathy Bates would have given in that same role.
The answer is obvious: this is the year the academy will finally recognize The Hobbit, and i think it’s finally going to win Oscar
Jeez, another delusional Hobbithead over here.
Roma, because (like Dunkirk in 2017) it was the best film of last year by some distance.
Let’s not have it, and let the public win.
I’ll be really happy if The Favourite wins best picture given that it was my actual favorite movie of the year. I’ll be fairly happy if Roma wins as well since it’s also excellent and totally worthy. I’ll be satisfied if Black Panther or BlackKklansman won as they’re both pretty good. I’ll be really annoyed if any of the other movies win.
I loved The Favourite until the 3rd act…it was on a super strong pace for an Oscar worthy BP win but, to me, it really ended kind of ho hum. I couldn’t look past that, as good as the first 2/3’s of the movie was!
That’s too bad. I liked the third act quite a bit.
It is too bad….it had such promise! I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it, but just not an Oscar winner imho. Nomination is totally deserved.
I don’t quite understand Oscar categories. Why isn’t The Favourite in the best FOREIGN film category? The UK is, after all, a foreign country. If the argument is the ‘foreign’ category is actually ‘Foreign LANGUAGE’ that should have taken ‘the Passion of the Christ’ and ‘Apocalypto’ out of Oscar consideration
It is the Best Foreign Language Film – that’s the official title of the category, with no argument necessary. It also has the additional requirement that movies be produced outside the U.S., which puts the two Gibson films out of contention (since they were produced by American studios, even if they may have been filmed elsewhere).
The category is Best Foreign Language Film, as you said. But also the film does have to be made by a foreign production company, which is why Apocalypto was ineligible.
I have to say – while Black Panther was a very fine movie and I hand it to it for being maybe a tad more morally complex than the standard Marvel movie… Oscar level it ain’t.
Black Panther is much more “Oscar level” than either Green Book or Bohemian Rhapsody.
Also: the MCU is built around a character who used to deal weapons, and who struggles to overcome his ego and megalomania in basically every movie he appears in. That’s a hell of a lot more “morally complex” than your average action movie (or Oscar-bait movie, TBH).
I’d like to see Roma win Picture (and Foreign-Language) and Cuarón for Director and Cinematography, Spider-Man: ITSV for Animated, Minding the Gap for Documentary, Malek, Colman, Grant and King for the acting awards, First Reformed and Can You Ever Forgive Me? for the screenplay awards, The Favourite for Editing, and First Man and/or Roma for the sound awards.
I’ll be happy if Vice, Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody go home empty handed. Which is to say I’m probably going to be disappointed with the winners this year. I wasn’t a fan of Roma either. It’s gonna be a long night.
I really don’t want Green Book to win best picture, or especially Bohemian Rhapsody, and I think Black Panther is ridiculously undeserving, but at least it winning would be a lot better than those two. I’d like the lead from Roma to win, I guess, but she almost definitely won’t, in favor of a totally forgettable Glenn Close film.Unfortunately, all the movies I loved this year are absent from any major categories (Leave no Trace and Eighth Grade being the top 2). I think this is going to be the first Oscars that I skip since I started watching back in the late 90s- it’s the first year I don’t care about one single nominee in any of the major categories except negatively. 🙁 These nominees made me a gloomy gus!
Roma will win. The academy is very concerned about present the correct image on social justice these days, hence the head scratching nomination of Black Panther. But Roma is the only social justice picture nominated that actually did a good job of presenting its case.
I haven’t really cared about who wins, aside from the Saving Private Ryan/Shakespeare in Love bullshit, but by god Spiderverse better win Best Animated Film. It should’ve been up for Picture as well for being unique and ambitious.
Agreed. When that blonde thing won and the stupid old white man writer movie won, the Oscars went full-tilt Milli Vanilli. I haven’t seen the Oscars the same since.For those of you too young to get the reference, here’s this for you. https://gizmodo.com/20-years-ago-today-milli-vanilli-lost-their-grammy-for-5694574
The four best movies of last year were not nominated (Creed 2, Widows, old man and the gun and MI) and the best animated movie was not nominated (Teen Titans Go To the movies). That leaves Blackkklansman as it. But, I am sure instead of finally giving Lee the damn Oscar he deserved for Do the Right Thing or Malcolm X or Jungle Fever or Clockers or He Got Game or 25th Hour they will give it to something shitty like Green Book or neoliberalism the comic book movie.
Up voted for the Teen Titans Go shout-out. It deserved to be up for Beat Song as well, damn it! (Hell, I’d have given it a screenplay nod over some of the others that were picked)
Such opinions
Ethan Hawke because I refuse to accept reality.
Sam elliott
I would love for Spike Lee to win best director. It’s borderline insane this is his first directing nomination
He’s a shitty director, you’re just a pandering shithead.
I’d love it if Ruth E. Carter won for Best Costume Design on Black Panther. I can understand that people may take issue with rolling different African cultures into one fictional nation but it certainly was an educational experience to read about the real-life inspirations behind them.Plus Killmonger in a Dragonball Z-inspired costume. Awesome stuff.
Yes! Ruth E Carter’s costumes were fab! Also the competition is The Favourite which also doesn’t have “accurate” costumes for the setting.
Wait? Wakanda isn’t real??? WHAT THE FUCK?
Eighth Grade. Fuck all that other noise.Of course, I haven’t been the target audience for Best Picture potential winners in years.
For me, this has been one of the most disappointing slate of nominees in Oscar history. Usually at least one of the nominees is in my Top 5 films of the year. This year, only one movie from my Top 20 was nominated for Best Picture (A Star Is Born). This year also has the unfortunate distinction of featuring some of the absolute worst movies ever nominated for Best Picture (Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, and Vice), and those aren’t just movies I disliked or didn’t think were all that great.There are only 1 or 2 nominees per category that I think even deserve to be there, with 3 in Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, and the two Sound categories. The Film Editing category is a complete joke. They should just not hand out the award at all this year. And Original Screenplay’s only nominee that I remotely liked, First Reformed, has its share of problems and isn’t even my 2nd, 3rd, or 10th choice for Best Original Screenplay. (I haven’t seen enough of the nominees in the shorts, Documentary Feature, or Animated Film categories to have an opinion.)The “locks” for Actor and Actress are just not good.Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody? Good fucking christ. Since they didn’t nominate Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really Here), Brady Jandreau (The Rider), Lily Frank (Shoplifters), Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk), Ben Foster (Leave No Trace), Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting), Charlie Plummer (Lean On Pete), Ethan Hawke (First Reformed), Aleksey Rozin (Loveless), or Denis Ménochet (Custody), I hope Bradley Cooper or Willem Dafoe pull off an upset.
Glenn Close for The Wife? Really?! It’s not a good movie and it’s not even up to the caliber of her television work or her supporting turn in the long-forgotten Bille August misfire The House Of The Spirits. This was not a weak year for actresses, but they didn’t nominate Toni Collette (Hereditary), Viola Davis (Widows), Sakura Ando (Shoplifters), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), Kathryn Hahn (Private Life), Carey Mulligan (Wildlife), Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace), Joanna Kulig (Cold War), Maryana Spivak (Loveless), Nicole Kidman (Destroyer), Rosamund Pike (A Private War), Charlize Theron (Tully), or Léa Drucker (Custody). However, they did nominate Melissa McCarthy and Lady Gaga, so I hope one of them pulls off an upset.Picture: A Star Is Born
Directing: Paweł Pawlikowski (Cold War)
Actor: Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)
Actress: Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Supporting Actor: Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Original Screenplay: No vote
Adapted Screenplay: If Beale Street Could Talk
Foreign Language Film: Shoplifters
Cinematography: Cold War
Costume Design: Black Panther
Film Editing: No vote
Production Design: Black Panther
Sound Editing: A Quiet Place
Sound Mixing: First Man
Visual Effects: First Man
Makeup and Hairstyling: No vote
Original Score: If Beale Street Could Talk
Original Song: “Shallow” (A Star Is Born)
Best Animated Film: Abstain
Best Animated Short: Abstain
Best Documentary Feature: Abstain
Best Documentary Short: Abstain
Best Live Action Short: Abstain
I hope Willem Dafoe wins Best Actor for At Eternity’s GateI hope Paul Schrader wins Best Original Screenplay for First ReformedI hope Lukasz Zal (Cold War) wins Best CinematographyI hope Alexandra Byrne (Mary Queen of Scots) wins Best Costume DesignPretty much Cold War or Spike Lee in any category they are nominated.
Spike Lee. lmfao.
I am legitimately astounded to see love for the visual effects in First Man.It’s the least of the five nominees in this category, honestly,I give Ready Player One the slight edge over Christopher Robin, partly because it managed to never become hard to look at.But that Shining sequence deserves something, goddamn it.As for Picture, I want BlacKKKlansman, Black Panther or A Star Is Born.I’ll be fine with the others, excepting Green Book.
Black Panther.
Pandering shithead.
Eh. Spiderverse was ok for what it was but I’m not getting why people are losing their minds over it. I found the soundtrack to be annoying and couldn’t get onboard with the animation style. Just for shits and giggles I’m going to rent it and turn on my TV’s motion smoothing just to see if that improves things (or at least provides a few laughs in the attempt) because I’m still just gobsmacked how such an expensive and well done in most respects film can end up looking about as polished as Season 1 of The Dragon Prince.
Glenn Close, because I want to see those who reduce awarding one of the best actresses in history to getting a “pity Oscar” fume.Black Panther, because I think it deserves it, and also because I’m so tired of all the handwringing about the unworthiness of superhero movies. After that I don’t care very much, although I kind of hope Rami Malek wins just because I’m tired of all the passive-aggressive sneering surrounding his work (I’d be more open in supporting him if not for the whole song and dance about how of course he had no idea of Bryan Singer’s alleged history in spite of being a working actor in Hollywood for over 15 years).
In a way, they’re all winners.Also, why the hell am I in the grey now?
Predator, again.
There are numerous ways to interpret “Best,” and if we were to discuss impact on filmmaking and anticipated presence in the public consciousness years from now. What Best Picture winners from the last 20 years do we still talk about, outside the context of Best Picture? Chicago a little. LOTR a little more. No Country. Maybe Birdman and Moonlight. Which losers do we still talk about? A much better case can be made for Saving Private Ryan, Crouching Tiger, Moulin Rouge, maybe Gangs of NY, Master & Commander, Lost in Translation, Brokeback, Juno, There Will Be Blood, Up, Fighter, Inception, Toy Story 3, Tree of Life, Her, Wolf of Wall Street, and Mad Max.QED, Black Panther should win.
I am in the minority of those who weren’t as mesmerized by Roma as everyone else seems to be, but Alfonso Cuaron will once again get all the awards. While Roma was a beautifully shot film, I found the storyline underwhelming. I felt the same with Gravity.
I am rooting against The Incredibles 2. PIXAR’s track record was great, but they just aren’t who used to be anymore. Maybe it’s Japan that deserves the winning streak. Mirai is beautiful. I want Into the Spider-Verse to win, but if it loses, it should only do so to that movie. Those are my conditions.
Laura’s write-up for The Favorite is perfection. Love that movie. And I’m with A.A. Dowd on Minding the Gap. I’m of two minds about Solo, though. Ron Howard and co. did the bare minimum required to pump out another Star Wars cash grab, and there isn’t a thing visually interesting about it. Yet it’s still a better contender than Infinity War and Ready Player One which are practically videogames, and Christopher Robin, who design their puppets with the drabness of being fished out of a sewer. I’d like to give this to First Man, but looking at recent space works like Gravity, or Interstellar, or even The Martian, First Man somehow feels ho-hum by comparison.
When the Oscars are considering inventing a category just so they can honor Black Panther, I say just drop the pretense and go ahead and honor Black Panther. Ignore your head and follow your heart. Yea, I want Black Panther to
win the big one. Not in a fanboy way, not in an ironic way. And not in some historical way. I
just legitimately liked it best of anything I saw last year. Even watched again recently to see if it was a worse movie than the other nominees. (Let’s run that gauntlet: Did I like it better than Vice? I did. Did I like it better than Green Book? I did. Did I like it better than Bohemian Rhapsody? I did. Did I like it better than BlackKklansman? You bet I did.. Did I like it better than A Star is Born? …Eh…Good movie, but yea, I did. And sorry, but Roma is overrated, so I totally liked it better than that.) My second favorite of the nominees is, well, The Favourite, and while that win would delight me, I would still prefer BP for BP if given the choice.
Fuck just Best Animated, I want Spider-Verse to win Best Picture.
I came here to complain that last year there was no American film that could tempt me into a movie theater. Then at the bottom of the article I clicked on the clip for ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’, a film I didn’t know existed until now. Apparently it popped up in a few theaters last October.
Black Panther so we get to see Hollyweird honor the film about the country that built a wall to keep out its [poor neighbors.
Spike Lee
I have finished with my pre-Oscar streaming binge and I have to say that the best screenplays of the year are within the animated shorts category, and the best acting by far is within the short live action shorts.
I want Bohemian Rhapsody to win Best Picture because Flash Gordon scored 2 goals for us this afternoon.
No Sorry To Bother You nominations.Get outta here.