Friday, January 23, 2015

Oscar Nominations and Snubs - 2015



It’s that time of year again.  Insert obligatory disclaimer concerning the paradox of how little regard we have for the Academy Awards and yet how we cannot stop talking about them.

BEST PICTURE
It seems that the Oscars is going back to its old tricks.  For a while it was nominating movies people actually wanted to see, but it seems to be reverting back to nominating aesthetically insignificant biopics and cause movies.  I’ve only seen one movie on this list (Grand Budapest Hotel, which is deserving), but I intend to see American Sniper and Birdman when I get the opportunity.  I think Calvary was a snub.  I'm happy Noah was not nominated.

BEST PICTURE
Wes Anderson is one of the most original and distinctive directors working today, and I would be upset if he did not get recognized for it.  I believe the snub of this category was Christopher Nolan.  I had my issues with Interstellar, but it demonstrated that he can still direct the hell out of a film.

BEST ACTOR
This doesn’t sound very objective, but I haven’t seen any of these movies and yet I’m still rooting for Michael Keaton just for being the best live-action Batman.

BEST ANIMATED FILM
A lot of people have been complaining about The LEGO Movie snub, but I find it understandable considering that the one thing that solidified it as a truly good movie as a opposed to just a surprisingly fun one was a live-action sequence.  Visually beautiful as Book of Life was, it was an understandable snub because the movie itself wasn’t that good.  If there was an award for Best Animation (which would be far more legitimate than this ghetto award), it should go to that or Boxtrolls.  I haven’t seen Song of the Sea or Princess Kaguya, but Boxtrolls is the best nominee I have seen.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Probably the most useful award in introducing people to obscure movies they otherwise would not have seen.  Introducing The Lives of Others to people by awarding it over Pan’s Labyrinth is one of the few things I’ve got to hand to the Academy.  It’s still a ghetto award, and I don’t agree with awarding these movies based on their American releases as opposed to recognizing them in time for people to go see them in theaters.  I’ve heard Ida is excellent and I intend to see it when I can.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
A surprisingly good group despite couple bad snubs.  Alexandre Desplat’s score for Grand Budapest Hotel has a nice folk charm.  His score for The Imitation Game is also very good.  My money is on his winning the award.  Hans Zimmer’s score for Interstellar is awesome, but suspiciously familiar at times.  Johann Johannson’s score for The Theory of Everything seems to be the weakest of the bunch.  Mr. Turner (Gary Yershon) is okay.  The frustrating snubs of the year in this category are Steven Price’s excellent work for Fury, which I think is even better than his Oscar-winning score for Gravity, and Clint Mansell's score for Noah.  

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
While most of the nominations seem solid, this category is the biggest screw-up of the year.  The Best Original Song award broke from tradition the last couple of years by awarding songs that actually deserved it for the first time ever, but now the Academy is back to its old ways.  I’m going to be the bad guy here, but I do not understand why everyone likes “Everything is Awesome.”  It’s a bland and phoned-in song, and there are much better happy songs out there.  I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to have an ironic Stylistic Suck appeal, but that should obviously disqualify it for an award based on earnest musical achievement.  I’ve always thought this award was a complete and utter joke, but if this song wins, it would be a new low even by the standards of this category.  It’s the song I will be rooting against.
     The other songs in the category are also predictably underwhelming except for John Legend/Common’s “Glory.”  With the exception of that song, this years award was a travesty.  My money’s on this song just because of politics, but it’s still the most deserving of the nominees.  C’mon Hollywood white guilt, don’t let me down now.  Funny though, I think “The Apology Song” from Book of Life would have been a good choice due to its ethnic appeal and the fact that it’s far better than most of the nominees.  Oh well, Hollywood white guilt can only focus on one race at a time, and this is apparently Black Person Year.  “The Yellow Flicker Beat” from Hunger Games was also a blatant snub.
      My nomination for the biggest snub of the year in this category is honestly…My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Rainbow Rocks.  I don’t want to look like I’m giving any quarter to the terrible idea that was Equestria Girls, but the songs in it that are sung by The Dazzlings are actually really good (especially “Battle”) and far more deserving than any of the nominees.  The movie probably didn’t warrant a theatrical release, but that does qualify its songs for nominations.  Maybe it’s the Academy Awards bias against awarding songs for movies that were not too critically acclaimed even for awards in which that’s moot.  The Oscars has also shown a blatant bias against villain songs (the other songs in Rainbow Rocks kinda suck).                

BEST SOUND MIXING
This is usually an award no one gives a crap about, but I really think the sound effects in Captain America: The Winter Soldier helped its action have impact.  That was a snub.  Probably rooting for Interstellar among the nominees.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Definitely rooting for Interstellar or Grand Budapest Hotel.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
I’m rooting for Grand Budapest Hotel, but Interstellar was a snub.
 
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Under normal circumstances, I would root for Interstellar for its excellent practical effects in a time where all movies look the same due to CGI, but I think Guardians of the Galaxy deserves an award just for pulling off a talking animal in live-action.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier also got nominated I presume because of its excellent action, but that would be a different award…a Best Action/Best Stunts award that should exist. 

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