Oscar snubs

[Olympic Fan]

Surprised that with all the movie buffs on this board, we haven't had any comment yet about Thursday morning's Academy Award nominations.

I don't really have a problem with the films that were nominated:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/1932545/2015_oscar_nominations/

But some of the snubs were just baffling.

I shouldn't be surprised that the voters screwed up the Documentary category again -- they almost never get it right. But they definitely blew it by leaving off Jorodowsky's Dune AND Steve James' Life Itself. I don't know what it is about James that ticks off the Oscar selectors -- he's probably the greatest documentary filmmaker of modern times and he's never gotten a nomination (not even for 1994's Hoop Dreams, rated by Gene Siskel as the greatest movie -- not just documentary -- of the 1990s). At this point, the academy is just embarrassing itself.

A lot of internet buzz about the bizarre treatment of Selma, which was nominated for best picture, but almost nothing else -- no writing, no direction, no acting, nothing except a nomination for best song. How often does that happen? There is some talk that the studio messed up promotion. The film had a late limited release on Christmas Day and apparently the studio failed to send DVDs of the film to the voters.

Also a lot of angry buzz about the snub of The Lego Movie in the animated film category.

Finally, there are the actors who were surprisingly snubbed -- Jake Gyllenhaul for Nightcrawler, Tilda Swinton, who could have been nominated for Grand Budapest Hotel or Snowpiercer; Jennifer Anniston for Cake, and finally Andy Serkis, who continues to do brilliant work in computer animation in such films as Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit and Planet of the Apes movies.

Anybody else see a snub I missed? Or think the academy got it right with the snubs cited above?

[brevity]

I shouldn't be surprised that the voters screwed up the Documentary category again -- they almost never get it right. But they definitely blew it by leaving off Jorodowsky's Dune AND Steve James' Life Itself. I don't know what it is about James that ticks off the Oscar selectors -- he's probably the greatest documentary filmmaker of modern times and he's never gotten a nomination (not even for 1994's Hoop Dreams, rated by Gene Siskel as the greatest movie -- not just documentary -- of the 1990s). At this point, the academy is just embarrassing itself.

CNN aired Life Itself about 2 weeks ago and I watched it. This may be weird to say, but it was slow until Gene Siskel showed up. It was interesting, and difficult at times, showing Roger Ebert in his last days, and providing the director with some of his last words. There's a neat bit where Ava DuVernay (who directed Selma) talks about how Roger Ebert championed her early work and contacted her, and she told him that he'd met her when she was a child. I wouldn't compare Life Itself to Hoop Dreams, which I felt had a lot more to say, but it was very watchable.

I still follow the Oscars, but have become more emotionally detached, especially in regard to what people consider to be snubs. It's almost exactly like the Baseball Hall of Fame: prestige is measured by a flawed and aging electorate, and society accepts their selections as the standard. It doesn't have to be that way, but it is.

So far I've seen 2 Best Picture nominees: Birdman (which I discussed negatively and extensively in its own thread (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?34451)) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (which sounds like the result of a Wes Anderson Movie Name Generator rather than a real Wes Anderson movie). Generally, I am not on board with Wes Anderson. His style gets a little too precious for my taste, he's obsessed with keeping the action in the center of the screen, and he has a tendency to fetishize minority subordinates. This film has those very qualities, but Ralph Fiennes is so funny in it that it's the first Wes Anderson movie I actually enjoyed. I have Boyhood as a DVD rental and I'll see it this weekend.

Oscar historians will point out that the Best Picture usually goes to a film whose director and editor are also nominated. That leaves 3 contenders: Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Imitation Game. Of those 3, Boyhood may be the favorite, but it received the fewest nominations.

[bjornolf]

Tilda Swinton, who could have been nominated for Grand Budapest Hotel or Snowpiercer

I'm not saying they're right, but imdb has Snowpiercer listed as 2013.

[Olympic Fan]

I'm not saying they're right, but imdb has Snowpiercer listed as 2013.

Except here they have it on Rotten Tomatoes as 2014:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/snowpiercer/

Okay, I checked it out. The film was a South Korean production that was released in Korea in 2013. It was released in the United States on July 11, 2014.

I'm not sure how the academy dates it, but everything I've seen and read suggests that the academy is treating it as a 2014 film.

[brevity]

I'm not sure how the academy dates it, but everything I've seen and read suggests that the academy is treating it as a 2014 film.

The complete rules can be found here (http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility). For most feature-length films, it has to show in a Los Angeles-area theater with paid admission for 7 consecutive days in the calendar year 2014, with no prior transmission in a non-theatrical setting (TV, Internet, etc.). Exceptions apply for foreign language films, documentaries, and short films.

[gurufrisbee]

It's really the opposite of a snub, but Boyhood was HORRIBLE. One of the weakest movies I can remember seeing. It was pointless and meandering. And it had some of the worst acting since When Justin Met Kelly. I cannot fathom any reason it is getting any accolades at all, except being kind of a creative idea for a movie. If it wins, it will be BY FAR, the worst movie to ever win Best Picture.

[Edouble]

I still follow the Oscars, but have become more emotionally detached, especially in regard to what people consider to be snubs. It's almost exactly like the Baseball Hall of Fame: prestige is measured by a flawed and aging electorate, and society accepts their selections as the standard. It doesn't have to be that way, but it is.

This is why I don't watch the Oscars. I disagree a little bit with you though. I think that the Baseball HOF prestige has taken a hit in the past 5-10 years with a lot of the sports media attacking the BBWAA and bringing up how bad the system is when the inductees are announced every year. I think the masses know it's political.

However, I still think most Americans consider an Oscar win as a legitamizing, career-making phenomenon. Once you've won as Oscar it's like, the actor/actress/director is cemented as Hollywood royalty or something to most people. There are Oscar-winning actors and actresses that I find to be so-so at their craft (Cuba Gooding Jr., Cher, etc.), but if I ever brought that up, many people would say "But he/she won an Oscar".

[Jim3k]

Surprised that with all the movie buffs on this board, we haven't had any comment yet about Thursday morning's Academy Award nominations.

I don't really have a problem with the films that were nominated:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/1932545/2015_oscar_nominations/

But some of the snubs were just baffling.

I shouldn't be surprised that the voters screwed up the Documentary category again -- they almost never get it right. But they definitely blew it by leaving off Jorodowsky's Dune AND Steve James' Life Itself. I don't know what it is about James that ticks off the Oscar selectors -- he's probably the greatest documentary filmmaker of modern times and he's never gotten a nomination (not even for 1994's Hoop Dreams, rated by Gene Siskel as the greatest movie -- not just documentary -- of the 1990s). At this point, the academy is just embarrassing itself.

I concur on Life Itself. The story of Ebert was really well done and truly moving. But it was sad to see him deteriorate. James deserves a lot of recognition for this work. It really was art.

I'm wondering if the Academy just won't salute a critic. I have no evidence for that thought, but what else can there be?



A lot of internet buzz about the bizarre treatment of Selma, which was nominated for best picture, but almost nothing else -- no writing, no direction, no acting, nothing except a nomination for best song. How often does that happen? There is some talk that the studio messed up promotion. The film had a late limited release on Christmas Day and apparently the studio failed to send DVDs of the film to the voters.

I was not aware that the producers flubbed the publicity path, but it's not surprising, given the short time from release to deadline. Even so, and I know I risk censure for this opinion, I didn't think the acting or the production itself exceeded the pedestrian. The story of the Selma march is an historic event, worthy of film treatment and worthy of exacting study, whether film or other media. Its ultimate impact was so powerful that society changed. Yet, while the film mentions what is happening, the presentation came off to me as just another day at the office.

There were two performances I thought noteworthy. I thought Tom Wilkinson as LBJ and Tim Roth as George Wallace caught their personae quite well. Stan Houston as Jim Clark is close, though it is easy to portray a villain such as Clark. Not quite nomination-worthy, but excellent nonetheless.

[brevity]

I'm wondering if the Academy just won't salute a critic.

Well, they're pretty cool with a critic's nephew (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-gene-siskels-nephew-beats-764073). Charlie Siskel was nominated for co-directing the documentary Finding Vivian Maier. People who subscribe to Showtime (http://www.sho.com/sho/reality-docs/titles/3409027/finding-vivian-maier#/index) can see it.

[rasputin]

A lot of internet buzz about the bizarre treatment of Selma, which was nominated for best picture, but almost nothing else -- no writing, no direction, no acting, nothing except a nomination for best song. How often does that happen?

You have to go back a ways (1932), but Grand Hotel (one of my all-time faves) was awarded Best Picture for 1932 and wasn't even nominated for any others. Of course there were many fewer categories back then.

[Bostondevil]

I loved The Grand Budapest Hotel and thought Ralph Fiennes was a comic tour de force in that movie, so, I'm OK with a bunch of nominations.

The Lego Movie was the only snub that upset me. In general, Oscar snubs fall under I just don't care label. I also don't really care about winners who, on second thought, look ridiculous, because, well, George Clooney said it better than I ever could in his speech at the Golden Globes. If you're in the room (or the discussion), you are already a winner.

But The Lego Movie was robbed!

[Wander]

It's really the opposite of a snub, but Boyhood was HORRIBLE. One of the weakest movies I can remember seeing. It was pointless and meandering. And it had some of the worst acting since When Justin Met Kelly. I cannot fathom any reason it is getting any accolades at all, except being kind of a creative idea for a movie. If it wins, it will be BY FAR, the worst movie to ever win Best Picture.

I don't remember the exact metric, but I think there was some metric on Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic or IMDB by which Boyhood was the best reviewed movie ever. I really liked it, but I can also see why one wouldn't.

I think Lego Movie is without exaggeration the funniest movie I've ever seen.

[wilson]

The Lego Movie was robbed!Totally agreed here. TLM was far better, for example, than How to Train Your Dragon 2...really perplexing.
I was also disappointed to see The Case Against 8, co-directed by Duke alum Ryan White, miss out on a Best Documentary nomination, after being forecast as one of the nominees by a significant majority of prognosticators.

[AncientPsychicT]

Totally agreed here. TLM was far better, for example, than How to Train Your Dragon 2...really perplexing.

Yeah seriously. It's not just that The Lego Movie was a deserving nominee. In a fair world, it should have won the competition! In my mind, The Lego Movie was pretty clearly the best animated film to come out this year. It really is a headscratcher.

[gurufrisbee]

Lego Movie was really good and deserved a nomination, but it's not half of How to Train your Dragon 2. But the nomination itself is an honor, so it was kind of screwed out of that.

[YmoBeThere]

Given the ranking the movies threads, I am a bit surprised their isn't a guess the Oscar winners thread here...

[brevity]

Given the ranking the movies threads, I am a bit surprised their isn't a guess the Oscar winners thread here...

I'm kind of impressed that no one has bothered. It shows restraint. Besides, the winners seem so preordained that there's more drama in seeing who makes and misses the In Memoriam montage.

I guess we can talk about BOYHOOD vs. BIRDMAN if someone wants to. My take is strange: I much preferred the former, but don't get the Patricia Arquette acclaim at all.

[gurufrisbee]

I thought the idea behind Boyhood was creative and unique and I think Ethan Hawke was very good in it. But no one else it acted even at a mediocre level - including and especially Arquette who was just awful in her overacting and obnoxiousness. Shaq was better in Blended than that. I kept thinking it was a bad SNL skit because she was that bad. And the movie was just meandering and pointless. I don't think birdman is an all time great or anything but given that it seems to be the only chance at something beating boyhood I'm rooting hard for it, because otherwise what little credibility the Oscars still had is completely gone.

[YmoBeThere]

I'll confess that I haven't seen any of the Best Picture nominees...

[jjredickrules]

The Lego Movie is the worst snub. It should have won the category. I'm livid that it didn't even get nominated.

[weezie]

Biggest snub was nothing for Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaall (that must have been a hard name to learn to spell in kindergarten) was spectacular. Creepy and wonderful.

[Blue in the Face]

Biggest snub was nothing for Nightcrawler. Jake Gyllenhaall (that must have been a hard name to learn to spell in kindergarten) was spectacular. Creepy and wonderful.
And Ryan Gosling got no recognition for it at all.

[cspan37421]

I thought the idea behind Boyhood was creative and unique and I think Ethan Hawke was very good in it. But no one else it acted even at a mediocre level - including and especially Arquette who was just awful in her overacting and obnoxiousness. Shaq was better in Blended than that. I kept thinking it was a bad SNL skit because she was that bad. And the movie was just meandering and pointless. I don't think birdman is an all time great or anything but given that it seems to be the only chance at something beating boyhood I'm rooting hard for it, because otherwise what little credibility the Oscars still had is completely gone.

I am amused by your indignation. 158,904 ratings on IMDB average to 8.2/10, which is quite high. A perfect 100/100 metascore from metacritic, one of only 11 movies to have done so, according to IMDB. And to those who have lived through some of the things that her character did, Arquette's portrayal is spot-on, and that's why she won. Perhaps you haven't experienced life in that way, and thus find it overacting, or hard to believe?

You're entitled to your opinion, but let's not pretend that it is widely shared. It's not; in fact, quite strongly the opposite. Oh, and meandering? Really? What do you think childhood and adolescence often is? Were you expecting an epic quest? The movie was about character development, not plot. And as a fairly autobiographical movie (w/r/t director Linklater), perhaps it ought not surprise that an artist's young life may seem meandering an outsider, esp. if the outsider is goal-oriented and self-assured.

[rthomas]

The Lego Movie is the worst snub. It should have won the category. I'm livid that it didn't even get nominated.

My god, that song was awful. And it got nominated.

[Billy Dat]

I thought the idea behind Boyhood was creative and unique and I think Ethan Hawke was very good in it. But no one else it acted even at a mediocre level - including and especially Arquette who was just awful in her overacting and obnoxiousness. Shaq was better in Blended than that. I kept thinking it was a bad SNL skit because she was that bad. And the movie was just meandering and pointless. I don't think birdman is an all time great or anything but given that it seems to be the only chance at something beating boyhood I'm rooting hard for it, because otherwise what little credibility the Oscars still had is completely gone.

I disagree about the overall movie, which I really enjoyed, but completely agree with your assessment of Arquette. Walking out of the movie, I thought she was terrible, i was shocked when she got a nomination, and I can't believe she is holding the statue today. But, her wild feminist exhortation as she made her acceptance speech was so real and interesting - far better than anything she did in the movie - that I am glad she won!

[Udaman]

The Best Supporting Actress nominees were probably the worst in the last 20 years. Dern and Knightly immensely overacted. I agree that Arquette did as well. Emma Stone was fine, but her performance seemed forced, and she was also massively outdone by everyone around her (Norton, Keaton, Watts, Riseborough and Galifianakis). And I thought Into the Woods was just awful. Boring with a capital B.

So I think Arquette won it by default. You had to vote for someone.

I am extremely glad that Boyhood did not win Best Picture or Director. What an overrated film that was. It was an incredibly creative idea that they pulled off. But that's all it was. It was way too long, and not that good.

The two things that disappointed me were:

1) The Lego Movie not even getting nominated, when it should have won and won easily.

2) Michael Keaton losing to Redmayne. I thought the latter was very good in his move, but Keaton was fantastic in a film that was shot with extremely long takes and with him surrounded by outstanding talent everywhere, and he carried that movie from start to finish. And I don't think the Oscars should be about rewarding a long career....but if the vote is close, then that should matter, and Eddie is too young and wasn't nearly good enough to have beaten out what should have been Keaton's moment.

My top three movies of the year were: 3) Grand Budapest Hotel, 2) Birdman 1) Whiplash. I'm glad all three won major awards.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

My god, that song was awful. And it got nominated.

It grows on you after you've watched the movie 30+ times. And played the videogame. And heard it on XM Radio repeatedly.

Joking aside, I do like most of what Lonely Island puts out.

[brevity]

And to those who have lived through some of the things that her character did, Arquette's portrayal is spot-on, and that's why she won.

Okay, I'll bite. (Remember, I liked the film but not her performance.)

For most of the film, Patricia Arquette's character comes across as caring from a distance, but not deeply involved. There are a lot of valid reasons for this: the focus is not on her, the standard motherly scenes are essentially edited out, she pursues an academic career, she's kind of a hippie. I liked that; the actress sacrificed herself for the good of the film. The only time she gives anything approaching maternal advice is to the landscaping teenager, someone who is not her child. Also, Arquette has one of the flattest line deliveries of any working actress (who isn't trying to be deliberately deadpan). This is the rare role where her delivery was an advantage.

But I think Linklater compromises her character by the end, with an empty nest monologue that comes out of nowhere, and bears no relation to anything we've seen earlier. There are earlier scenes where she becomes more introspective and mature, and those showed a more natural progression of her character. But her last scene is such blatant awards bait from the one director who would seem to stand against that. The only thing that saves the film is Linklater's willingness to move past that with a coda that gets us back on track.

The empty nest monologue is why Arquette won the Oscar, and many of the earlier awards. Without it, she's basically Ethan Hawke, whose character remains in background as a consistent sacrifice. Maybe still award-worthy, but a more challenging choice for a simple-minded awards voter.

P.S. Some people have stronger feelings than I about the karmic return of the landscaping teenager as an ambitious and modestly successful collegian, who exists to validate Arquette's character in the form of third party proof. I'll admit that this is a convenience that's mildly disappointing from the guy who directed Slacker, but I think it was necessary. He wasn't exactly trying to remake Slacker here.

[JasonEvans]

I am extremely glad that Boyhood did not win Best Picture or Director. What an overrated film that was. It was an incredibly creative idea that they pulled off. But that's all it was. It was way too long, and not that good.

Preach on, brother! My friends in the critic community are all over the moon in love with Boyhood. Me, not so much. I appreciated the daunting task they undertook but... well... I like my movies to have an actual story that is sorta going somewhere.

To me, Birdman and Grand Budapest were the best films of the year. I agree that Keaton should have beaten out Redmayne too. I hate that the Academy seems to always go crazy for playing a sick/handicapped person. It reminds me of a certain commonly held belief (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6WHBO_Qc-Q&feature=player_detailpage#t=72) about how the Academy treats... well... people with disabilities.

--Jason "In addition to Lego's absurd snub in Animated Film, I'm bothered that Dawn of the Apes got zero recognition. It should have won Visual Effects and I would not have been even remotely upset to see it somehow get a Best Pic nomination, though that ship sailed a while ago" Evans

[weezie]

Loved Boyhood. It is in reality an authentic "chick flick" in that this mother (Arquette) deals with the son day to day and the divorced father gets to have the "fun." Not looking to start a gender war, just that, as a mother, this movie rang very true to me. But, I'm not divorced so what do I know. Somewhere I read a long piece (New York Mag?) about how the daughter's growth, or the lack thereof, is handled throughout the film.

But, whatevs. The academy has spoken.

[Billy Dat]

I'm bothered that Dawn of the Apes got zero recognition. It should have won Visual Effects and I would not have been even remotely upset to see it somehow get a Best Pic nomination, though that ship sailed a while ago

As a huge fan of the original Planet of the Apes, I only watched a few of the many original sequels "Beneath", "Escape from", "Conquest of", "Battle for", and I thought that Tim Burton/Mark Wahlberg 2001 reboot was bad. However, as you say, the current two-film reboot has been GREAT. I read that a new one is due in 2017 which is great news.

[Mal]

Everything brevity and udaman said in their last posts. Very insightful takes. I'm in the camp of two thumbs up for the audacity and actually pulling it off on Boyhood, and I like the theme of time and slow, tectonic changes, but I still didn't love it. Liked it a lot, admired it a lot, wasn't as moved by it emotionally as I would have wanted.

That said, my fears about Birdman came true and I had a difficult time with that, too. Inarritu is just too "Hey, look what I'm doing!" to me. Had this been the first of his films I'd seen, I think I would have had a different reaction to it. I did love Keaton, though, and regret not learning if he was going to spit out the chewing gum if he had to give an acceptance speech, or just roll with it.

So, surpisingly to me, I think I might have gone with Budapest at the end of it all. I only saw two of the other Best Picture nominees (Imitation Game, Whiplash), so who knows had I viewed all of them. But in terms of setting out a vision, accomplishing it, looking unlike anything else in doing so, featuring outstanding performances, and appealing to my own sense of which auteur tics and attention-craving are enjoyable and which are not, that was the one this year. I liked it better on second viewing than first, and kept seeing new things.

I've also learned in this thread that gurufrisbee and I should not trade movie recommendations (or, perhaps, we should just go see everything the other posts as hating :)). Having three children, I've seen all of the mainstream animated features most years, including this year. Lego was far and away a more successful film than the three big names to get nominations, in my humble opinion. It had a sneaky message, was visually endlessly inventive, had dialogue that not only made my kids laugh but also enough subtle/subversive stuff to have me howling, and numerous lines that we're still repeating around the house. I would not have been surprised had it gotten a nomination for the big prize, to say nothing of Best Animated Feature. Dragon 2, on the other hand, was a decent sequel to me, but not the equal to the original, it dragged on and on with a climactic battle that took like half an hour, and it lacked the underlying message about finding your own path that lifted the first movie.

[bedeviled]

My favorite part of the ceremony was when they took a break in the awards ceremony to talk about another awards ceremony. I find the industry to be on the edge of delusional in their self-importance and self-congratulations.

I find it difficult to feel bad for an Oscar snub (moreso, I just feel ill about the Academy). I realize that most people in the industry aren't counting their $200M with their Victoria Secret friends like Leonardo DiCaprio is, but I know a lot of people who work very hard at their jobs and aren't as well off as movie industry folks. And, I know a lot of people who work in meaningful professions who don't have lots of award ceremonies to tell them 'thank you.'

For kicks, I compiled a list of a bunch of movie awards (not including festival awards). Maybe The Lego Movie will find appreciation somewhere.

Academy Awards
Golden Globes
Critics' Choice Movie Awards
BAFTA Film Awards
Empire Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
People's Choice Awards
Teeen Choice Awards
Kids' Choice Awards
MTV Movie Awards
Saturn Awards
Independent Lens Audience Awards
NAACP Image Awards
Gotham Awards
National Board of Review Awards
AACTA Awards
American Comedy Awards
Producers Guild Awards
Directors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Writers Guild of America Awards
American Cinema Editors' (ACE Eddies) Awards
Art Directors Guild Awards
Visual Effects Society Awards
Cinema Audio Society Awards
American Cinematographers Awards
Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards
American Choreography Awards
American Society of Composers
Costume Designers Guild Awards
Hollywood Makeup and Hairstylist Guild
Publicists Guild of America Awards
International Press Academy Satellite Awards
International Film Critics Awards
International Online Film Critics' Poll
Online Film Critics Society
International Animated Film Society Annie Awards
International Film Music Critics Association
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards
National Society of Film Critics
Broadcast Film Critics Association
Black Film Critics Circle
Austin Film Critics Association
Los Angeles Film Critics Awards
New York Film Critics Awards
Village Voice Film Poll
Boston Society of Film Critics
Chicago Film Critics Association
Dallas-Forth Worth Film Critics Association Awards
Southeastern Film Critics Association
American Film Institute Awards
Toronto Film Critics Assocation Awards
IFTA Awards
Rembrandt Awards

[gurufrisbee]

And to those who have lived through some of the things that her character did, Arquette's portrayal is spot-on, and that's why she won. Perhaps you haven't experienced life in that way, and thus find it overacting, or hard to believe?

Oh, and meandering? Really? What do you think childhood and adolescence often is? Were you expecting an epic quest? The movie was about character development, not plot. And as a fairly autobiographical movie (w/r/t director Linklater), perhaps it ought not surprise that an artist's young life may seem meandering an outsider, esp. if the outsider is goal-oriented and self-assured.

I found it overacting because it was overacting. It's a reflection on the job of the actor and has nothing to do with anything else. It was bad overacting.

And none of what I feel about that movie has anything to do with whether I think people go through experiences like that or not. Heck, it's practically spot on the experience my wife had growing up with her single mother and one sibling.

Yes, it was meandering. Maybe that is the experience of childhood and adolescence. But it makes for a lousy movie. Whether the movie was about character development or not, a movie without a plot is not a good movie. For that matter there wasn't much character development either. Time makes you get older, but it certainly as evidenced in this movie doesn't force you to actually do anything or grow in any significant way.



I've also learned in this thread that gurufrisbee and I should not trade movie recommendations (or, perhaps, we should just go see everything the other posts as hating :)). Having three children, I've seen all of the mainstream animated features most years, including this year. Lego was far and away a more successful film than the three big names to get nominations, in my humble opinion. It had a sneaky message, was visually endlessly inventive, had dialogue that not only made my kids laugh but also enough subtle/subversive stuff to have me howling, and numerous lines that we're still repeating around the house. I would not have been surprised had it gotten a nomination for the big prize, to say nothing of Best Animated Feature. Dragon 2, on the other hand, was a decent sequel to me, but not the equal to the original, it dragged on and on with a climactic battle that took like half an hour, and it lacked the underlying message about finding your own path that lifted the first movie.

Hey, I have two kids of my own - I live in animated land. Mine are both girls so I've seen Frozen about a thousand times and every new version of a straight to DVD Barbie movie there is. I loved the Lego movie. It was super creative and had I thought TWO great messages - one about parent-kids but also about the nature of Legos and whether to be strict by the instructions or carefree and creative (and in our house we do both with the legos). But I still think Dragon 2 was superior. The characters and relationships were far deeper and more developed. It has it's own great messages about loyalty and family. It wasn't as visually chaotic as Lego, which I appreciated too. But I don't think I would have really had a problem with Lego winning, even though I think it was only the second best animated movie of the year.

[JasonEvans]

Hey, I have two kids of my own - I live in animated land. Mine are both girls so I've seen Frozen about a thousand times and every new version of a straight to DVD Barbie movie there is. I loved the Lego movie. It was super creative and had I thought TWO great messages - one about parent-kids but also about the nature of Legos and whether to be strict by the instructions or carefree and creative (and in our house we do both with the legos). But I still think Dragon 2 was superior. The characters and relationships were far deeper and more developed. It has it's own great messages about loyalty and family. It wasn't as visually chaotic as Lego, which I appreciated too. But I don't think I would have really had a problem with Lego winning, even though I think it was only the second best animated movie of the year.

Whether you think Lego Movie or HTTYD2 deserved to win, I think we can all agree that we went "Whaaaaaaat?!?@?#?#!#!" When Big Hero 6 ended up taking the prize.

-Jason "biggest surprise of the night to me" Evans

[gurufrisbee]

I think the biggest surprise to me was that Lady Gaga could sing that well. I actually picked Big Hero Six to win - it wasn't as good as Dragon 2 or Lego, but it felt like an Oscar winner. I learned long ago my preferences were often no the Academy's preferences. But there were not too many surprise winners all night.

[alteran]

The Lego Movie is the worst snub. It should have won the category. I'm livid that it didn't even get nominated.

My god, that song was awful. And it got nominated.

I'm not sure how I feel about the song getting nominated.

Without the context of the movie, the song feels like Disney Channel schlock at its absolute worst. HOWEVER, in the movie it is being used satirically. The horrible qualities it embodies are exactly what it is being used to criticize/make fun of. (Check out the lyrics (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/teganandsara/everythingisawesome.html). No way is that serious.)

Plus it has the nerve to make you tap your feet a little even of you hate it.

So, looking at it objectively without the context, it's an annoying, trite song with way too much energy. Anyone who hasn't seen the movie would think the academy has lost their collective minds.

In context? It nails it.* It's everything it should be.

Not sure whether a song that doesn't fully stand on its on should be nominated or not. I'd go with "yes," but I could see the other side of the argument.

--alteran

* I really, really really wanted to write "It's awesome" there, but I didn't. Just sayin'.

[brevity]

I'm not sure how I feel about the song getting nominated.

"Everything is Awesome" was one of the Academy's best nominee decisions in any of its 24 categories this year, whether you personally liked it or not. Here's why.

The Best Original Song is, generally, a vast wasteland of favors to old, traditional songwriters that bears no resemblance to any part of the music industry. Let me be clear on this: I'm not saying it should match what's popular now. I'm saying that whatever music you like, anytime in the past 40 to 50 years, is vastly underrepresented and unrecognized by the Academy. There are popular artists who have an Oscar -- Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Prince in an obsolete Soundtrack Score category -- but they are rare exceptions.

So what the category celebrates instead, usually, is irrelevance. And because the Oscar telecast showcases each song with its own, sometimes full-length performance, irrelevant music gets more screentime than everything except acting.

The nominees this year were unusual in that they featured one old standby -- Diane Warren -- and four relative newcomers, if you can call Glen Campbell a newcomer. Two members of 1990s one-hit wonders New Radicals ("You Get What You Give"), a TV/movie animation composer, and Common/John Legend filled out the field. Progressive? Maybe, until you realize that only one of the 5 songs ever got serious radio airplay.

I heard John Legend's "All of Me" every five minutes on the radio, and never once heard "Glory." It's probably a two-way street: the radio behemoths should try to include what the Academy recognizes, and the Academy should pay attention to original movie music that people actually listen to. But there's a vast chasm, for some reason.

If a movie song crosses over, like "Let It Go," it's because it bent radio to its will. But "Everything is Awesome" did the opposite: it bent the Academy to its will. It was never going to win, but it was one heck of a nomination.

[El_Diablo]

And Ryan Gosling got no recognition for it at all.

Some may say that getting a glowing review from Jason is more meaningful than an Academy Award nomination.

[gurufrisbee]

I totally think the song was a perfect nomination. Best Original Song should ABSOLUTELY focus on songs that really mean something in the movie. Everything is Awesome was brilliant in the context of that movie.

I still think the absolute worst Oscar snub probably ever was that "Scottie Doesn't Know" from Eurotrip wasn't nominated. It's hilarious and not serious and not deep or meaningful or done by a famous singer, but it was absolutely PERFECT in that movie and resonated possibly more than a song in a movie ever has. That movie, which isn't that good, is seriously a hundred times better just because of that song. And for that, that song should have been awarded.

Here it is (which makes no sense if you haven't seen the movie and it's a little PG 13 (or more) but if you've seen it, it still is so good):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DY2kmAYCVU

[brevity]

I still think the absolute worst Oscar snub probably ever was that "Scottie Doesn't Know" from Eurotrip wasn't nominated. It's hilarious and not serious and not deep or meaningful or done by a famous singer, but it was absolutely PERFECT in that movie and resonated possibly more than a song in a movie ever has. That movie, which isn't that good, is seriously a hundred times better just because of that song. And for that, that song should have been awarded.

I would argue that the singer is quite famous.

This is the "Terry Crews should have been nominated for White Chicks" argument. Sometimes you find amazing work in the weirdest places. Way better than the real nominees, but also a healthy reminder that personal favorites and Oscars are very different things.

[Olympic Fan]

I would argue that the singer is quite famous.


Indeed, the singer has been nominated for three Academy Awards and five prime time Emmys. He has won one Academy Award and starred in at least half a dozen $100 million blockbusters.

I agree that "Scottie Doesn't Know" should have been nominated -- great song.

[gurufrisbee]

To clarify - I don't think HE was the actual singer and therefore he would not have been nominated. Yes, clearly he is famous.

[Chicago 1995]

To clarify - I don't think HE was the actual singer and therefore he would not have been nominated. Yes, clearly he is famous.

One of my favorite movie scenes in recent memory.

The song was done by a band called Lustra, FWIW. I downloaded it a long time ago. Even Mrs. 1995 thinks its a riot.

[Blue in the Face]

I found this comment about Boyhood pretty amusing.


And with BOYHOOD, as you’ve probly heard, he somehow managed to make a movie with a star who is 7 years old at the beginning and he filmed a little bit each year until the year he starts college. About the only thing that would be more ambitious would be if he made a movie about trying to get me to sit through WAKING LIFE again.

http://www.outlawvern.com/2014/09/10/boyhood/

[weezie]

Finally, just, saw Sniper with a theater full of vets in VA Bch. Now thoroughly bemused at the Academy of Nitwits picking the Birdman director over Eastwood.
Whatevs I guess, Clint still gets the butts in the seats.