Oscars 2026

I haven’t done this since 2020?!  Well, the site still works, and I’m on Spring Break.  My nephew Carter will be here for the Oscars this Sunday, so this will be fun.

Or, so I’d like to think.  As I made my way through watching the films this year, many of them are either sad and depressing or angry.  Some of them are downright soul-sucking.  I can tell I’m getting older, as if I come across something that I clearly don’t want to see by its description, I’m not compelled to watch it just to be a completionist.  If you tell me the movie is about a guy who takes pictures of the bedrooms of children who have been killed in school shootings, I’m not going to watch it.

Let’s break this down.  Same old rules apply – this is not what I think is going to win but rather my assessment of the field. 

Actor in a Leading Role:  I’ve seen all of these.  I’m really not sure why the film Blue Moon exists.  I haven’t seen everything Linklater has done, but I’ve seen a chunk, and this seems so unrelated.  My guess is that, for some reason, Ethan Hawke had a burning desire for this role.  It’s so obscure.  Does he nail Lorenz Hart?  Does anyone know?  For something with this much dialogue, I was sure it was based on a play.  Nope.  Hawke, who, even in that hair, still looks baby-faced, can’t really pull this off, whatever it is.  If annoying the hell out of me was the point of Marty Supreme, mission accomplished.  There’s been many irritating characters that are played deftly by good actors (think Estelle Parsons as Blanche in Bonnie and Clyde, who won an Oscar for that).  But you just want to constantly punch Chalamet’s Marty throughout that movie.  So, I guess he did good?  But I hated it?  If a chef prepares a perfect version of a meal you can’t stand, do you still applaud them?  Maybe?  Michael B. Jordan plays two brothers in the film, but in order to track them, I always had to pay attention to who they were with in the scene.  I didn’t really see any difference.  DiCaprio was playing manic and intense, again.  Seen it.  Out of all five, Wagner Moura was the most interesting to watch, but that movie was TWO HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES, and the first hour was slow.  So … Moura?

Actor in a Supporting Role:  I didn’t watch all of Frankenstein (more on that later – got about halfway through though did see the rest of these), but I got the point with what Elordi was doing, and he was effective.  From what I’ve seen of Del Toro in films and interviews, he is a genuinely charming fellow, so playing Sergio didn’t seem like much of a stretch for him.  Delroy Lindo was good, but he wasn’t in the film that long.  The two men that were working were Sean Penn and Stellan Skarsgard, and they were both outstanding.

Actress in a Leading Role:  Saw everything but If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, and from what I’ve heard about it, no thank you.  Out of the other four performances, the weakest was Emma Stone.  That’s really saying something.  This is the strongest category of the four acting groups this year.  I was shocked at Kate Hudson’s performance in Song Sung Blue – I went into that movie thinking it was supposed to be light-hearted.  Pretty much everything about that movie surprised me.  That leaves the two that were quite impressive, but they are so different that it’s hard to compare them.  Buckley’s performance is so external, and Reinsve is internal.  Both were excellent.

Actress in a Supporting Role:  Did not see Weapons – I’m not a horror movie person.  Least effective was Taylor, but only because she had little screen time – after the first bit, she’s gone from the rest of the film.  Similar with Mosaku.  She was good, but Sinners was such an ensemble piece.  The two ladies from Sentimental Value remain.  Fanning was ok – she didn’t have a very big role.  But, you had to have Lilleaas for Sentimental Value to work, and she had a balancing act to perform, which she did adroitly.

Animated Feature Film:  Zootopia 2 was a lot of fun and can be argued as being better than the first.  I saw KPop Demon Hunters, which was also fun.  Slick.  I didn’t see the other three.

Animated Short Film:  I only saw the trailer for The Three Sisters, but I saw the rest (they’re on YouTube).  The art styles are all very different.  The most appealing one to me was The Girl Who Cried Pearls, which looked like a Tim Burton film.  I was liking Forevergreen until it got message-y.  So, when teenagers do something careless and selfish, caregivers should sacrifice themselves to save them?  That’s a yikes.  Heck of a way to learn a lesson.  Humans can’t grow back if a small part is left.  Retirement Plan gave me a few chuckles until it got too true. Butterfly was pretty, but I already knew Nazis were bad.

Casting:  Well!  We don’t get a new category every Oscars now, do we?  I was bummed when they collapsed Sound Editing and Sound Recording into one category, but people got those mixed up all the time.  And we get another one in 2027 for Stunt Design (just when it seems that all the stunts will be done by CG or AI).  We haven’t had a    category since 2001 (Animated Feature).  Um … honestly, this is a bit hard, as there’s a lot of differences between films on how something is cast, so assessing this is slippery.  This is not, from what I understand, an award for ensemble.  It’s for casting director.  It’s determined by the casting group of the Academy.  This is probably now the most inside baseball category at the Oscars.  Given the variety of actors in Sinners and The Secret Agent, it’s hard to choose between the two.  Third would be One Battle.  Fourth Marty.  Hamnet doesn’t have that big of a cast, so I’m unsure why it is here.

Cinematography:  If I ran the world, it would be Train Dreams – that movie was gorgeous.  But, what they were pointing the camera at was very beautiful.  The rest of these movies were … fine.  I think their look came more from set design, visual effects, and editing.  Honestly, I think Song Sung Blue should have been nominated – there was a lot of well-done lighting in that movie that, again, surprised me.

Costume Design:  I haven’t seen any of the Avatar films, but when I heard this was up in this category, I howled.  I can see it for visual effects, but costume design?  WTF?!  The rest are period pieces where PEO-PLE MADE THE COS-TUMES.  You know, like the category implies.  How goofy.  Out of those four, Frankenstein was the most fanciful and inventive.

Directing:  Yes, I know.  PTA is way overdue for this, and he’ll most likely get it.  I just think that it shouldn’t be for this movie.  It is not tight.  It is not as meticulous as his other films.  I really feel they pushed this out given what was, and still is, happening in the country.  So, timeliness beat process.  I’m not going to be angry when he wins – it’s not a bad film.  It’s just not on par with what he has done.  As much as I didn’t like Marty Supreme, it did the most gymnastics, but that’s a Safdie thing, isn’t it?  The control Trier exhibited in Sentimental Value was intricate.  Zhao’s deep dive into grief was a bit too much – I get the sense she either had to be pulling back and didn’t get heeded or she was pushing buttons for what we did get.  Given Nomadland, I’ll take the former.  Maybe her success rides more on the actors she works with rather than her talent?  Sinners was also juggling skillfully.  The slight edge goes to Safdie.

Documentary Feature:  I only saw one of these:  The Perfect Neighbor.  Not only was the narrative compelling, but telling the story almost exclusively through police body camera footage added another dimension.  I might get to see Mr. Nobody against Putin before Sunday, but Cutting through Rocks is not available, I don’t want to watch Come See Me in the Good Light, and I’ve heard The Alabama Solution is like other “prison is fucking awful” documentaries.  Yeah …

Documentary Short Feature:  Remember that film I mentioned at the beginning about someone photographing the bedrooms of children killed in school shootings?  That’s All the Empty Rooms.  It’s on Netflix.  I’m not watching it.  The only one of these I watched is Perfectly a Strangeness, which I really liked.  If you have Kanopy, it’s on there.  Three donkeys roam upon an observatory in Chile.  It’s beautiful and quirky.  Not a day in the life of a security guard at an abortion clinic.  Not a film about the first journalist killed in Ukraine made by his brother.  Not the silent protestors in Isreal of the genocide in Gaza. 

Film Editing:  Usually, this is where action movies shine.  Sinners can be an action movie at the end.  So, the only “legit” action movie is F1.  Or, can you call One Battle an action movie?  I could see an argument for that.  As I mentioned before, there’s a lot going on in Marty Supreme, and that film could be a potential mess without a solid editor at the helm.  Again, didn’t like it, but I do respect it.

International Feature:  I’ve only seen Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent.  Both films are up for best picture as well, and this will not be like Parasite, which won both International Feature AND Best Picture.  I do still want to see It Was Just an Accident, as it did win the Palme d’Or.  Both the films I saw were controlled and engaging. 

Live Action Short:  I did not see The Butcher’s Stain and only saw the trailer to A Friend of Dorothy (though Kim, who did see the movie, told me that if I saw the trailer, I saw the film).  Jane Austen’s Period Drama was funny and did a good job of making one wonder how did men find out about how women’s bodies work, especially during previous historical times like the Georgian or Victorian Era, or any era for that matter.  The Singers has made me cry both times I watched it – there is something so sweet about it, and I love the punchline at the very end.  Two People Exchanging Saliva sounds bizarre, and it is set in an alternate universe and very French, but it was the most filmic.

Makeup and Hair Styling:  I have only seen Frankenstein and Sinners, so I don’t feel qualified to speak on this one.

Original Score:  This one goes to Hamnet.  I feel the score really enhanced certain scenes but was not overt.  So many scores, it seems to me, are getting way too bombastic or intrusive, and that’s not what a score is supposed to do.  Bugonia second.

Original Song:  This one I usually don’t care a tinker’s cuss for.  And, as much as I love my Train Dreams, Nick Cave’s song is not in the film.  I haven’t seen Relentless or Viva Verdi!  The argument comes in that the other two songs from KPop Demon Hunters and Sinners were integral to what was happening in the film when we heard them, and that’s the best kind of use of song, in my mind.  Both are emotionally impactful where they are used in the film.  Weighing them out, it should go to “I Lied to You” from Sinners.  But, the Academy may not agree with me.

Production Design:  This one is hard.  Most of Sinners takes place in one location, but we get to know that location very well.  Frankenstein has a lush design, and it’s based on a fairy tale version of the Victorian Era.  Hamnet is also doing a lot, but honestly, outside of exteriors, interiors are very pared down.  This was not Eggers.  Most of the stuff in One Battle is a blur; same with Marty Supreme.

Sound:  I haven’t seen Sirat.  The other four are doing a lot with splitting channels and not losing things in the mix.  Probably the one that did the best job of this was Sinners, but the others did well.

Visual Effects:  I haven’t seen three of these, so I’m not going to comment.

Adapted Screenplay:  Would love to see Train Dreams win this, but I haven’t read it, so I don’t know.  The only one I have read of this bunch is Frankenstein, and I’ll comment more on that later.  From what I know about these films and their makers, I’d vote Bugonia.

Original Screenplay:  I almost don’t want to say anything because I haven’t seen It Was Only an Accident, and it won the Palme d’Or, so it may actually be the best.  It’s definitely not Blue Moon.  Sinners is more of an idea to execute than a screenplay.  Sentimental Values is a screenplay.

And now, for the Best Picture Nominees, ranked:

10.  Frankenstein – I think del Toro is an amazing director, and the actors in this movie are great.  I had to read Frankenstein when I was younger, and I HATED it.  It’s a great metaphor for why some people just shouldn’t have kids, regardless of the motivations behind why they do.  Some people are cruel and heartless.  They are the last people who should create new life.  When Victor burns down the laboratory with the monster in it, that’s when I shut the movie off.  I’m not interested in watching wanton cruelty to prove a point.  I get it.

9.  Marty Supreme – There are no likeable characters in American Psycho.  Yet, I still find it interesting.  What happens when your protagonist, and pretty much everyone else in the film, are people you don’t like?  This movie is racing to tell the story of a character that lies, cheats, and steals.  And, his story isn’t all that compelling.  So, why should I care?

8.  F1 – I watched this movie on the same day I watched Blue Moon, got through half of Frankenstein, and Marty Supreme.  This was my favorite of the day.  I think it was weird how Brad Pitt was in this and George Clooney was in Jay Kelly, both films where they are playing old has-beens still trying to be relevant.  Only, in Pitt’s movie, which he did also produce, he was still relevant.  Clooney did not produce Jay Kelly.  Results differ.  It’s a decent action film (if you’re grabbing the crew who did Top Gun:  Maverick, it better be).  It was enjoyable.

7.  Hamnet – you would think someone who spent most of their undergraduate and part of their graduate academic careers studying Shakespeare would be beyond excited for this, and I don’t know what has happened in Shakespeare scholarship in the past 25 years, but back then, no one could nail down who wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare.  There just wasn’t enough evidence.  Maybe someone uncovered something that finally settled the issue, but this film is banking hard that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet to eternalize his son Hamnet.  Not to go into a ton of stuff why that is patently wrong, but William Shakespeare’s son Hamnet did die young at about the same time the plays attributed to Shakespeare not only include Hamlet but also switch from comedies to tragedies.  Ultimately, this film seemed very manipulative.  I put off watching it for a long time because I was constantly told how sad it was.  Like watching it was a punishment of some sort.  You know what?  My film at #1 was about loss, too.  But I didn’t feel beaten over the head by it.  It was more organic.

6.  Bugonia – The relationship between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone is a peculiar one these past few years.  I loved Poor Things and thought it was brilliant, though I hated The Lobster more than any film of the past decade because of what it said about humanity (though it may be true – that we are the worst things ever).  None of his films are very pro-human, and I definitely get that.  So, this film made me sad watching it.

5.  One Battle After Another – As mentioned previously, this director has created some of the most significant, auteur-like films for decades.  He is a consummate film director.  This is not his best work by a long shot.  But, it is timely and relevant, and that has drawn attention in a way other films of his, which are far better, don’t.

4.  Sentimental Value – A father too preoccupied with his children to parent them, then wanting to make it up to them later in life by including them.  This is a story that has been told countless times.  Ambition in youth becomes a form of regret when we age.  The human condition.  But, this film treats this dynamic with sensitive gloves, and the performances are so touching.

3.  Sinners – This was an impressive film, and it deserves all the credits and accolades it’s been receiving.  And, its metaphor is hard to ignore.  It’s stylish and exacting.  Good movie.

2.  The Secret Agent – I can’t get over thinking this film was not titled well.  Even when you look at the original Portuguese.   Marcelo / Armando is not working for the government.  When you untangle everything, he’s trying to find evidence of his mother existing in a society that has tried to wipe her out due to her class and the scandal.  Then, you get this stuff about Marcelo’s work on an electric car and leather tanning at the university that’s not the “right” one since it’s in the northern part of the country.  Funding gets cut; sides get chosen.  Armando has to take on an alias to find out about his mother yet also duck the hitmen coming for him regarding his university work.  This plot has so many layers.  But what it amounts to is that there can be a lot of illegal shit going on, but if it was 50 or so years ago, no one remembers, and very few care.  This film reminded me a lot of The Lives of Others (2006), but just in a different location.  I’m not trying to undercut how heartbreaking it is for people in other places in other times who have had to deal with injustice and corruption that have led to beloved people being hurt or killed.  But ultimately, this film suggests the ultimate horrific question: who will remember or care?

1.  Train Dreams – yes, the film that will clearly not win.  Yet, I’m heartened that it was nominated here.  That does surprise me quite a bit.  This story, which covers the protagonist’s life from age 6 to death, is only an hour and forty-four minutes, yet tells so much.  So many others of these films are two plus hours, pushing three, but they couldn’t tell a story of this magnitude.  About this man’s experience with love and loss through his entire life, and how his relationships haunt him.  This film is so beautiful and well-executed. I’m not saying this because I think Joel Edgerton is an amazing actor, though he is rarely not in shot.  It’s the treatment of love and loss in this film which makes it so poignant.

Love to all of you.  Happy Oscars!

Oscars 2020

I didn’t make an Oscar post last year, mostly because I was appalled at what was being trotted out as “best” of anything.  Mom always says, “if you can’t say anything nice,” right?  But this year has been an enormous improvement over last year, so I’m pretty giddy for this year’s Oscars to get here.  It should be fun.  My analysis here is only going to be what I think should win (because of course, I’m right) and not what I think will win (though I may make mention of what the New Academy may do).  Unless I note otherwise, I’ve seen all the films in the category.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:  I haven’t seen Pain and Glory and probably won’t before the Oscars come and go, so my choice here is not completely informed.  The four performances I did see were all quite good but so, so different from each other:  an actor past his prime, a director blindsided by a divorce, a mentally unstable misfit, and the current pope.  It is difficult to compare these performances, since the actors are working with a completely different range.  I would have no problem with Phoenix, Driver, or Pryce winning (I don’t think that DiCaprio’s performance was that nuanced).  Pryce’s performance seemed similar to the one Hanks was playing in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood in that they are playing two saintly men who have to deal with significant hardships and not crack, so there’s a lot of control there.  Phoenix is the opposite of this – a hurt rage machine.  Driver sort of balances both.  The climax of Marriage Story with Johansson is one of the best scenes from a film this year, and it’s mostly due to Driver.  I’m not going to pick one – all three are effective.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:  I’ll go into this more in detail later in this post, but I was NOT impressed with The Irishman … except for Pacino.  Every time he showed up on screen, I was like “ok, here we go!”  I know it’s his normal schtick of chewing the room up.  I don’t care.  I love that.  Pesci and Hopkins seem to be playing their archetypical selves in their roles, and you may be saying to yourself, “But Mary, isn’t what you are saying the same as Pacino?”  And, you’re right.  But, I don’t enjoy Pesci or Hopkins as much as Pacino.  There are a few times in Neighborhood where we get to see why Hanks is given the regard that he is owed.  The story and most of the acting (outside of Hanks and Cooper) is very boilerplate.  But there are times where Hanks takes Rogers and, just through looks or facial expression, shows the cracks.  That was interesting to watch.  However, Pitt was the reason why I enjoyed Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood as much as I did.  There used to be a time where I would swear up and down that Tarantino was the most brilliant American director of his time.  His last few films have made me walk back on that.  I maintain that ever since Sally Menke (his editor) passed away in 2010, his films haven’t been as good.  But Pitt is so much fun to watch in Hollywood, and he makes it look almost effortless.  Pitt should get it, but if Pacino gets it, I won’t be upset.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:  Ok, so this one you shouldn’t listen to me, because I haven’t seen two of the five performances (Erivo and Zellweger).  Judy was initially panned so severely (though now, curiously, the ratings on RT are much higher) that I was surprised to see Zellweger nominated and even more shocked to see her win the Golden Globe.  So, while I know I should see it, I don’t really want to.  Just put it at the top of my Netflix cue, so maybe before Oscars, I’ll get it in.  I feel bad for Johansson, as she gave two of the best performances in her career this year, but being nominated in two different categories means your votes get split (this will come up again when I talk about Parasite).  I didn’t see Theron anywhere in her performance as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell.  Ronan was good in LW, but I don’t see her performance as stellar.  I would be happy with Johansson or Theron winning here.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:  I did not see Richard Jewell, nor do I want to.  However, Bates is an outstanding actress, and the other four performances in this category were fantastic.  I really wouldn’t mind any one of these women winning.  I have a soft spot for Dern, I must admit, so I’m probably pulling more for her than anyone.

Best Animated Feature:  I haven’t seen any of these, but I Lost My Body looks cool.

Best Cinematography:  As much as I would deeply love to see The Lighthouse win for this, as it is its ONLY nomination this year and was my favorite film of last year, it has to go to Deakins’ work on 1917.  I did have a shade of doubt cast on it by a guy I watch on YouTube not liking it and pointing out faults, but given the light continuity they went for (and I think achieved) without digital processing, this is a feat too great to not acknowledge.  I didn’t see anything particularly innovative or beautiful in the other three films.

Best Costume Design:  None of these films are contemporary.  We’ve got a movie that spans 50 years, WWII, early 1980s, late 1860s-early 1870s, and the late 1960s.  No real alternate or futuristic universes here.  Just how well did you represent the time?  I would lean towards Rubeo’s work in Jojo Rabbit (as a particular part of a costume has a searing effect in the film) or Durran in Little Women.

Best Director:  Hands down:  Bong Joon Ho.  He’s had a career of excellently executed films, and I’m so happy to see him getting some recognition.  Runner-up would be Sam Mendes, as 1917 is not just a film but an orchestration.

Best Documentary:  I have only seen American Factory, but it is good enough for me to use in my comp classes.  I know Honeyland is supposed to be really good (interesting that a documentary is also up for best international film).  Two of the other films deal with Syria, and the other is about democracy in Brazil.

Best Short-Subject Documentary:  No clue on this.  Sorry.

Best Film Editing:  The racing sequences in FvF are tight and effective, but the rest of the movie is meh.  Do you give it the award for just that?  I’m not sure why Jojo is here, and I love that film.  I don’t recall going “wow, that editing” after seeing it.  Joker’s a little more complicated.  It should go to Parasite, because of the carefully calculated tension that is built through editing.

When Did They Change the Name From Best Foreign Language Film to Best International Feature Film?  WTF?:  I think that THIS is the biggest thing that needs to be changed about the awards.  I don’t think the same picture should be up for this (stupidly named) category and best picture, because the votes will be split, or this will be considered a consolation prize.  Of course, Parasite will win this when it should win best picture.  People may go with the safer bet to make sure Ho wins his award.  But think of how many people may actually get past the subtitle barrier if it won best picture?  In my world, Honeyland would win this, and Parasite wins best picture.  But, that’s not how it is going to go down.  And, honestly, 1917 is an international film, because Great Britain.  Why isn’t it in this category?  Stupid.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:  It was interesting to see more than three films nominated this year – normally, they only do three.  My soft spot is for Bombshell because of the work they did on Theron and Lithgow.  Joker is mostly about the character’s performance and what he did to/with himself, physically.  I didn’t see Judy, but I don’t think everyday Zellweger looks much different (outside of the hair) than real life Garland.  Didn’t see Maleficent.  I don’t recall there being much makeup and hair in 1917, outside of showing body wounds, and the shots were so fast, most of the time, it didn’t register.

Best Original Score:  Lots of good stuff here this year.  Again, didn’t see SW, and Williams has enough awards at home.  I really like Desplat – his work is consistently exceptional.  I do lean more towards T. Newman than Gudnadóttir, but it should come down to those two. 

Best Original Song:  Normally, I don’t give a flying fig about this.  This year, I do.  Rocketman really impressed me, as I went into that film thinking I was going to be bored.  Far from it.  I’m sad to see that Egerton wasn’t nominated (but glad to see he at least got a Golden Globe).  I’m not a huge Elton John fan, but there’s no denying his influence on pop music.  So, “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” should win.  If any of the other songs win, I will be legitimately sore.

Best Production Design:  This one is hard.  Even I’d admit that The Irish/Italianman looked good.  Ok, yeah, Parasite had a pretty house.  But, there was that scene during the flood.  Things got real technical real quick there.  Grr.  Anyone can have this one.  Little Women should be on this list.  And The Lighthouse.  Plenty of pretty movies this year.

Best Animated Short:  I haven’t seen any of these and am running out of time.  Based on their posters and plot descriptions, they all sound fascinating.  I hope I get a chance to see them.

Best Live Action Short:  I’ve seen none of these, and I’m too out of time to try to catch them.  These all sound depressing except for Nefta Football Club.

Best Sound Editing:  Did not see Star Wars.  For those who forgot, sound editing in this context doesn’t mean splicing sounds together – it means sound capture.  For that reason, I don’t think SW has a chance.  The other four, though, did a good job of this – the throaty roar of the engines in FvF, crowd calamity and insane laughing in J, the explosions and gunfire of 1917, and the dialog of OUaTi…H.  I wouldn’t mind any of those four films winning.  I would, though, give the edge to FvF and 1917, as those were more technically difficult films to get sound for.

Best Sound Mixing:  This is post-production sound.  I didn’t see Ad Astra.  Rather surprised to not see SW in this one instead of Sound Editing.  Again, all four of the films I saw in this category were solid.  I think, like with sound editing, FvF and 1917 probably needed more work in post, so they would be my choices.

Best Visual Effects:  I haven’t seen The Lion King or the last Star Wars film.  While Endgame was sort of impressive, the screen was far too busy trying to be epic, and colors were washed out.  I’ve seen clips from TLK, and it looks awful.  I wish Disney would stop rebooting these films.  But, they are raking in so much money that they don’t care about art.  All the de-aging in TI was not convincing to me (nor were the constant times they were calling the 40-ish version of DeNiro “kid”).  I’m sure SW looked great.  I’d give it to 1917 just because of the dead bodies Schofield had to crawl over to get out of the water.  The goal of visual effects is to make something that isn’t real appear real or plausible.

Best Adapted Screenplay:  I’m afraid I haven’t read any of the books the films were nominated on, so I do not know who truly did the best job.  My three picks are Jojo Rabbit, Little Women, and The Two Popes, with the edge to LW.  A lot of people got bent out of shape about Joker not really following that character’s true mythology (while others said it was perfect – the backstory of that character is deliberately ambiguous).  As can be told by all my other posts, I give nothing to Irish/Italianman.

Best Original Screenplay:  I’m not sure why 1917 is nominated for this – there wasn’t very much dialog in the film.  The screenplay must have looked like a schematic diagram for what they were going to do with the cameras, actors, explosions, etc.  Those are awards for other departments.  Knives Out was cute, but when compared to these heavy hitters, it looks light.  The best is Parasite, but it’s in another language, so people won’t care.  As Marriage Story rests solely on the performances and script, this is a respectable choice.  Tarantino still has a cult of personality, and people did like to see Sharon Tate not get horribly murdered.  Any one of those three is fine with me.

Best Picture (from least deserving to most): 

The Irish/Italianman:  This movie was so indulgent of itself that it was somewhat sickening.  Changing someone’s eye color from brown to blue digitally does not make them Irish, especially when that someone has had a 55-year long career being his Italian self.  I saw in an interview that Scorsese wanted to make this film for years but couldn’t for an assortment of reasons and was so grateful to Netflix to get a chance before someone dies.  I’m creeped out by the de-aging in films, and I don’t see this getting any better.  Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.  If you’ve seen a Scorsese mobster film, you’ve seen this.  Everyone is so thunderstruck that in this one, you see those gangsters grow old and deal with the consequences of their wily ways.  Oh, how Scorsese has matured.  Silly.  Embarrassing.  And THREE HOURS AND TWENTY-NINE MINUTES LONG.  And the joke is, it’s up for best editing.  Oh.  My.  God.  The only worthwhile thing in the film is Al Pacino.  The rest is forgettable.

Ford v Ferrari:  I’m puzzled why this is nominated.  It’s a decent film, but the world’s full of them.  I’m guessing that they were able to raise the pedigree of this film by its actors.

Joker:  I’ve mentioned this before, but Parasite does what this film is trying to do much better.  It is sort of crazy to see such a critical film of current America (yes, it is set in an alternate 1980s, but it’s impossible to miss seeing today in it), the class struggle, and the failure of social programs make this much money (and a rated R film, at that).  Joaquin Phoenix kills it (but he does in every movie – watch You Were Never Really Here instead of this film).  The score really contributed.  The controversy was ridiculous.  In five years, what will people remember about this film?

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood:  There was a time when Tarantino was razor-sharp.  This is a good film and a lot of fun to watch (especially when Brad Pitt is on screen).  I buy more into the whole “our innocence died the day the Manson family murdered,” but as a country, we’d already had Civil Rights leaders assassinated.  This certainly hit closer to home for people in the film industry, as it was some of their own.  I like that Tate gets to live here, just as I liked the theater full of burning Nazis in Inglorious Basterds.  The film is beautiful, and I love that there are some directors that won’t let analog film die and make a stink about it.  It just wasn’t as good as the others that come after this.

Marriage Story:  This is at the same level as Little Women, but because you leave LW feeling good and this feeling awful, this was a bit lower.  The performances and the script in this are what made it.  The story itself isn’t all that new.  Kramer vs. Kramer was 1979.

Little Women:  This was fun to watch, even when it wasn’t (like the dying sister).  Honestly, Chris Cooper should be up for an Academy Award for best supporting actor, because every time he was on screen (and it’s precious little), he totally broke my heart.  Everyone was great in this.  Timothée Chalamet is actually starting to grow on me.  It was feminist without harping on it.  It was delicately made, and everyone looked like they were invested.  I’m thinking that Gerwig is quite a director.  It also kind of tickled to see Streep and Cooper in a film together again.

1917:  It was a technical achievement, and I’m interested in WWI.  Roger Deakins.  It’s not a heavy story – it's a race against time.  It’s exciting.  It’s tragic.  For me, it worked.  Loved it.

Jojo Rabbit(s):  The (s) is because at my house, that’s how we say the title.  Really loved this film.  Child actors can be really hit-or-miss.  Roman Davis and Archie Yates were awesome.  I didn’t know Sam Rockwell or Scarlett Johannson were in it, and they were both awesome.  Taika Waititi as Imaginary Friend Hitler was awesome.  The story was engaging.  I think some people can’t take Nazis being humanized, but there is so much fun poked at them in this film.  It’s really well-made, and it has a good heart (like LW).

Parasite:  This is such an intricate film, so beautifully crafted in every aspect of the categories above.  Again, it will probably only get best international film (ugh), but it is way out there past these other films.

I’ll be sure to get caught up on the films I missed (maybe not the shorts or the documentaries).  It will be wild to see what actually wins – if it’s politics or merit that triumphs.  Good luck!

Oscarzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've really let this blog go.  Been so busy.  I do miss it, creating the posts.  But, no guilt will stop my Oscar post.  This is mostly what I think should win, not what will actually win, so don't bet your Oscar pool money on what I have here.  Onward!

Best Actor:  The only one I haven't seen in this category is Denzel Washington's Roman J. Israel, Esq.  From what I've heard, it wasn't that great.

Why was he nominated?  Well, he's Denzel Washington.  I think the Academy from here on out will start treating him like they do Streep.  And (and this will be a refrain you will hear a lot in this post, so you can go ahead and call me racist and sexist right now), the Academy has drastically changed its voting body make-up within the last year, so you're going to start seeing films and performances nominated that you wouldn't see before (sort of like how the literary canon started changing in the 1960s and continues to change today).  That's also why Daniel Kaluuya is up, too.  Get Out was a good film and made a significant statement that is to be applauded, but when you compare Kaluuya's performance to, say, Christian Bale's performance in Hostiles, it's pretty obvious who did heavier lifting.  And, although Daniel Day Lewis says this is it for him, he cannot beat what Gary Oldman did in Darkest Hour.  No one can, or should, beat Oldman.  As for Chalamet, who was flipping in everything (I saw Call Me By Your Name and Lady Bird on the same day, not knowing he was in both, then he pops up in Hostiles as a French Union solider and is in the movie for literally 5 minutes, I was like "Jesus, what else is this kid in this year?" [answer:  a film called Hot Summer Nights]).  If you like emo teens, you'll like him.  Guess where I fall on that.

Best Actress:  Here's another category where I think there should be little debate on who gets the prize.  FRANCES MCDORMAND.  Why is there anyone else nominated?  Yeah, the other actresses did that whole acting thing, whether they were romancing sea monsters, tolerating high-pressure board meetings, being emotionally obliterated by their mothers, or just shopping with their mothers (just realized 3 of these 5 performances focused on mother / daughter relationships, all of which are fraught with problems).  McDormand just owns so hard in Three Billboards.  I didn't see I, Tonya and honestly don't want to but may.

Actor in a Supporting Role:  Ok, yet another easy one.  Sam Rockwell.  I didn't see The Florida Project, and Willem Dafoe is good in everything, but from the clips I've seen of Dafoe's performance, it doesn't look like he had to reach far.  Nor did Plummer (he's getting the nod for the situation he acted in, not his acting).  Jenkins was solid.  I'm hoping the vote for Rockwell doesn't get split with Harrelson, because both guys did such a great job in Three Billboards.  But Rockwell had more to do, and he did it a little better than Harrelson.

Actress in a Supporting Role:  This is going to be weird, because if I end up not seeing I, Tonya, I'll still be maintaining that Allison Janney should win this.  One, she's great.  Two, I've seen a lot of interviews with her about this role, and she's flexing here.  Three, the clips I've seen of her performance are devastating.  I saw everyone else nominated.  Blige was good in Mudbound, but she's not in it very much.  Metcalf is good, too.  But, she's lost the role of belligerent mother to Janney.  Spencer is good, too.  But, she's not incredibly central to the film.  She's almost token in it.  If anyone gives Janney a run for the money, it should be Manville from Phantom Thread.  She was totally delicious and elevated every scene she was in.  And that's big when you're playing tennis with DDL.  And she wins a lot.  Still, Janney should take it.

Best Animated Feature:  Why are Boss Baby and Ferdinand up for this?  Where's Silent Voice?  Was this the best group they could field?  Don't get me wrong, I loved Coco.  I saw it twice in theaters.  But, there's simply no comparison to how drop-dead gorgeous Loving Vincent is.  It is in my top 5 films of the year.  See this movie.  It won't win, because it isn't Pixar.  But damn.  The Breadwinner looks pretty serious and is from the same people that did Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells.  Will try to catch it.

Best Cinematography:  Oooohhhhhh, boy.  Please give Roger Deakins his Oscar.  He's earned it.  My god, John Bailey's the damn President of the Academy right now.  They can't mess this up this year.  And, honestly, Hoytema should probably win for the feat that was shooting Dunkirk in flipping IMAX and the pure scale of that film.  But … this is Deakins' THIRTEENT nomination.  Seriously.  Stop it.

Best Costume Design:  Mark Bridges for Phantom Thread.  Yeah, the other films have good looking costumes in them.  But, PT was about dress making.  If Bridges doesn't win and it goes to Durran for Beauty and the Beast, that's just people giving something to Disney because they only make box office pictures and don't have a prestige piece that can win something in a significant category.  But, everyone wants some of that Disney Money©®.

Best Directing:  While everyone is twitterpated with Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird, I don't see anything particularly stunning with the film.  It is a TV movie which is elevated by its actors and writing.  Straightforward narrative storytelling.  The Oscars wanted to nominate a woman.  They should have nominated Katheryn Bigelow for Detroit, but gee, she's 67 years old, and this is all about new, fresh, young.  Sad.  I think it is interesting that Peele is nominated.  Get Out hit people like a slap in the face.  But, I think he's being nominated more for who he is and what the film did, and not the film itself.  That really leaves three candidates.  del Toro did a lot with a little budget on a passion project that was very close to his heart.  It's an interesting film, and I'm surprised it is getting as much attention as it is.  I love Phantom Thread, but I think it may be a bit too restrained for this year (look at the other entries in this category – PTA's movie was just too quiet).  The obvious choice, to me, is what Nolan did with Dunkirk.  That film is a technical achievement.

Best Documentary Feature:  So, I did something really dumb.  I had a day on the weekend to myself and found out that four of the five documentaries were available on streaming services that I have (Amazon and Netflix).  So, I said "fuck it!  Let's watch them all!"  I forget how depressing documentaries can be.  And, I just happened to watch them in the order of least to most depressing.  Yay.  The only one I didn't see was Faces Places, the doc on Agnes Varda.  I'm sure that's lovely.  I probably won't see it by Oscar Night.  As to the other four, Abacus:  Small Enough to Jail is a PBS Frontline show.  It's a nice David and Goliath story, but ultimately, PBS looks like it was trying too hard (too many staged shots of the family and Chinese Americans looking defiant).  Strong Island is brutal, but it's also self-indulgent (and to say that is risky, since it implies denial of the situation, of which I am not doing).  The two that are competing here are Icarus and Last Men in Aleppo. Both are very different movies.  One is about the Russian state-sponsored doping of athletes and the other is about the White Hats in Aleppo trying to dig bodies (mostly dead and in pieces but every once in a while, they get to save someone).  Last Men packs a more immediate, visceral punch, but the lingering sting of Icarus is frightening, especially when the news is blaring how Russia is GOING to interfere with midterm 2018 elections.  There are people in this world that are truly unscrupulous, and they will do anything to get what they want.  I'd be happy if either picture wins.

Best Documentary Short:  I saw Edith+Eddie, and if you click on the link, you can, too.  I saw Heaven Is A Traffic Jam on the 405, and if you click on the link, you can, too.  Heroin(e) is on Netflix.  You can watch Knife Skills here.  Traffic Stops is on HBO, so I can't see it.  Enjoyed Knife Skills for its message of empowerment.  The other three I saw were significant downers, as most documentaries are.  Heroin(e) does have somewhat of a possible message of hope, but mostly people are dropping like flies because of opioids, and very little seems able to stop that.  I felt like I was only getting one side of the story with Edith+Eddie, and a pathos-based one at that (if the daughter in Virginia is the one closest to Edith and takes care of her, why does the distant daughter have POA?).  405 was too difficult to watch for me – just because it was hard to track what was going on with Mindy.

Film Editing:  The only one I haven't seen is I, Tonya.  Three Billboards and Shape of Water don't really do anything interesting or innovative – they are cut for narrative effect.  Two films that do do interesting things with their cuts are Baby Driver and Dunkirk.  Both qualify as "action" films.  I have to go with Baby Driver on this, as there's some really interesting editing to music in this film that made it fresh and engaging.

Foreign Language Film:  I have seen NONE of these.  A safe bet would be that Loveless won't win because Russia.

Makeup and Hairstyling:  I haven't seen Victoria & Abdul or Wonder, but that doesn't really matter because Darkest Hour will win this, no problem.  Gary Oldman doesn't look a THING like Churchill in real life, but damn it if you think that's Churchill on the screen.

Musical Score:  Ok, can we STOP nominating John Williams?  You think the score for The Last Jedi was noticeable?  Stop fooling yourself.  Everyone else in this category could win, because all four other scores are effective.  But honestly, this should go to Jonny Greenwood.  The music in Phantom Thread was so perfect for what the film was doing.  Spot on.

Music (Original Song):  "Remember Me" from Coco!!!  Why is anything else in this category?  Granted, I watched Mudbound and Call Me By Your Name.  The music in CMBYN is 80s pastiche.  I don't remember what played over the credits in Mudbound, but the song sure wasn't in the film, so whocares?  Didn't see the other two.  My personal favorite?  "Un Poco Loco."

Production Design:  This is maybe the hardest category to vote on, since these five movies had such a distinct look.  I'd say this is a race between Blade Runner 2049 and The Shape of Water.  The edge goes to Blade Runner 2049 - the world-building is amazing.

Animated Short Film:  Didn't see any but will be seeing them before Oscars – may update.

Live Action Short Film:  Didn't see any but will be seeing them before Oscars – may update.

Sound Editing:  Honestly, this is hard, because I cannot tell if the sound in Phantom Thread is production or post-production.  If it's in production, it should win this, but IT ISN'T EVEN NOMINATED!  Assholes.  This should probably go to The Shape of Water because it seems the least likely to have had a ton of post-production done to it.  But, that isn't saying much, and that may not be accurate.

Sound Mixing:  ALL these films look like they had a ton done in post.  So now the decision is about which had the most heavy lifting.  Geez.  Tough.  WWII film.  Sci-fi film. Car stunt action film.  Obligatory Star Wars.  That's why I put Shape of Water in sound editing.  Um … DAMN!  This is HARD!

Visual Effects:  People are really high on giving War for the Planet of the Apes something, since the series is A) groundbreaking technologically and B) at its end.  I couldn't get into GofGV2 - something was off (probably plot), but as a result, I don't remember much about the visual design.  Star Wars was actually kind of sloppy in places (mostly notably the Planet Monaco sequence).  Didn't see Kong:  Skull Island.  Give it to Blade Runner 2049.

Adapted Screenplay:  This one is tough for me because I really liked Molly's Game and The Disaster Artist.  I've been listening to the audio book of TDA, which is read by Greg Sestero.  And, I love Sorkin.  And, from a storytelling perspective, Mudbound was solid.  There's going to be negative blowback on James Franco, so that might shoot any mention of TDA in the foot.  Going with Sorkin.

Original Screenplay:  I honestly don't know how much hate is now leveled at Three Billboards, but it should really win.  Otherwise, people will be dying to give the awards to either Gerwig or Peele.  I'd go with Peele, if people can get over stupidity and just give it to McDonagh.

Best Picture (in order from least to most deserving):

Call Me By Your Name (Guadignino, 2017) – Full disclosure, I loved Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash (2015).  And, it wasn’t just for Matthias Schoenaerts (but, he was good in it) and that it was a great adaptation from the novel (from Alain Page, which was already adapted into the movie La piscine (1969)].  You had a bizarre love square with Schoenaerts in a relationship with rock star Tilda Swinton (this movie was so well-cast), having this amazing villa in an Italian south sea (read Mediterranean) island villa to try to recoup from speech loss (because she’s a singer).  But Ralph Fiennes and his “daughter” Dakota Johnson show up, and things get way complicated.  It is the first film that I’ve seen to incorporate the Syrian crisis that wasn’t a documentary.  It was a compelling story, well-acted, well shot (my god, this film was gorgeous).  And, the use of food in this movie was so sensuous.  I couldn’t understand why ABS wasn’t better received.  So, my expectations were high for this film.  And this film was so BORING.  Holy shit.  Ridiculously educated archaeology professor and his wife take his ridiculously educated son to the north of Italy, which they do every year, and there is the promising grad student working on whatever paper or theory they are working on.  There literally isn’t anything that happens in this movie other than two men fall in love (I guess) while they are able to swim, ride bikes, eat al fresco, and go into town to pick up wonderful wine.  It is so goddamn boring.  The interjection of 1980s pop songs, the awkward editing, and overall content of this film lead me to believe that even in the face of knowledge of actors and timelines, this film was made before A Bigger Splash.  It seemed so more sophomoric, with casual errors in editing and an abrasive use of music that is trying to mirror 1980s John Hughes films but ultimately is lifeless.  I am so disappointed in this. A Bigger Splash was so much more tightly edited and written, and this film is so loose and pointless.  When I explained this to Kim, she made a great point that the things that happen to this kid and the level of acceptance that the protagonist in this film experiences is almost like a re-writing of history.  Few teenagers in 1983-84 would have expected a pass like this.

The Post (Spielberg, 2017) – I love Spielberg.  I love Streep.  Hanks is pretty loveable.  He's pretty much the modern-day Jimmy Stewart.  However, this movie was boring.  People talking in rooms.  People talking on the phone.  And it was so message-heavy.  It felt to me like a WWII studio propaganda film, but instead of supporting the war, this was about supporting a leftist agenda (women's rights, freedom of the press).  Ok, maybe "leftist" or "liberal" isn't the best way to peg it, but it certainly seems very anti-Trump message.  I'm not for Trump, but this was extremely blatant.  If you compare / contrast this with Spotlight (2015), I'd argue you see a more even portrayal of journalism in Spotlight.  It was just a disappointment.  Hopefully, Ready, Player One will put Spielberg back in charge of something more suitable to his style.

Lady Bird (Gerwig, 2017) – Yes, the relationship between the mother and daughter seems real and unaffected.  That's largely due to the great performances of Metcalf and Ronan.  Ronan is a great young actress.  I've liked her in everything I've seen her in.  But I'm too old to care about high school, and I'm not nostalgic for my high school days whatsoever, so I am not the audience for this film.  Yes, it has good writing.  But, it just came off to me as a Lifetime movie with talent.  There was no need to see this on a big screen.

Darkest Hour (Wright, 2017) – Darkest Hour is like an action film if you replaced the action sequences with speeches.  I enjoyed watching it because I love the era, Oldman, and Scott-Thomas.  It is quite a good companion piece / double feature to Dunkirk.  And both movies are trying to give a shot in the arm to countries who want so badly to be on the right side of things in an era where the bad guys are harder to detect.  Remember when the Allies kicked Hitler's ass?  Remember?  Good times.  Now, people just bomb subways and run over people in trucks.  Not very sporting.  Have hope, western civilization.  If Churchill really did drink as much as he did, how did he ever get anything done?

Get Out (Peele, 2017) – This movie was refreshing, the same way that Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing was a wake-up call in 1989.  It's also a real rarity to see a thriller / horror film get nominated.  Performances were good.  Writing was good.  Directing was good.  I think people are reading an awful lot into it, which stands to reason, given the current political climate.  But, best picture?

Dunkirk (Nolan, 2017) – I’m not going to change my opinion on this, no matter what I read (in fact, what I read reinforces what I think about this film).  Have you ever gone to an IMAX theater at a museum?  It was just for the experience.  If you would ever like to experience what it was like to be a retreating force on the beaches of Dunkirk, I can’t endorse a movie experience like this more. Seriously, if you didn’t see this in 70 mm or IMAX, you missed this film.  And no, watching it on your big screen TV is not sufficient.  Nolan had a vision. A vision that required grown men to cart 70 mm cameras in these environments.  Which is why if anyone other than Nolan wins best director, people don't get it.  This is not a character or plot-driven movie.  This is a movie meant to capture a moment in time.  And Nolan is BRILLIANT in what he does here, and the scale is enough to make Spielberg choke (seriously, how would Spielberg have directed this?).  However, this tells no story and has no characters.  Why did Nolan squander Tom Hardy as someone behind a flight mask for the whole of this movie? Why?  Seriously?  Why did you do that, Nolan?  He’s a great ACTOR.  You wasted his time for a trailer marquee.  I loved this, just not as a movie.

The Shape of Water (del Toro, 2017) – This film has an edge over Dunkirk because it has characters and a story.  Everything about this movie loves movies.  It really wouldn't shock me if this wins best picture, because Hollywood loves movies that love the industry (though you can't judge that by last year's best picture).  It is a little weird, which is fine.  And, it's got Michael Shannon, being creepy, which is more than fine with me.  I didn't quite buy the relationship that grows between the mer-man and Elisa, so a lot of this movie was me enjoying the technical aspects (set design, cinematography, Shannon, the score).  And, I like the whole Commie plot.  And wouldn't you know it, Nigel Bennett popped up in it!  I haven't seen him in years!  Good to see he's working (though to check out his IMDb page, he's done a ton of TV up in Canadia). 

Phantom Thread (Anderson, 2017) – Ok, so no every PTA movie is a masterpiece, but you can always tell he's trying for something meticulous.  He definitely achieved that here.  This movie is gorgeous.  The dynamic of the relationship between Reynolds Woodcock (god, that name) and Alma is such a weird dance, and Cyril injects such necessary grounding at points.  This is "dainty."  Acting, directing, costumes, music, set design, cinematography, sound design – so much is right with this movie.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (McDonagh, 2017) – Just got it in the mail yesterday, so can't wait to see this again.  This is not, on a technical level, the best movie, but the acting is outstanding and the story is compelling.  It's topical without being as in-your-face about it as The Post or Get Out or Lady Bird.  This is great writing, but what else do you expect from an accomplished playwright?  Everyone is acting so hard in this.  One scene will always stick with me as one of the greatest moments in acting I've seen on screen – between McDormand and Harrelson where they are sparring and then he coughs blood on her.  That obliterated me.  Rockwell is great.  I'm so sad to see the blowback this movie has received in the past month, almost like people are looking for a reason to hate it.  Don't give me that b.s. about a Brit can't write about American racism.  He's a writer.  That's what they do.

And there you have it.  I think it's going to be a wild night.  I can't tell how much the new demographic of Oscar voters will affect the outcome, but we may get a sure sign of a serious sea-change, depending on how the envelops open.