Oscar Contenders

[luburch]

Initial reactions:

Bohemian Rhapsody getting a best picture nomination is a joke. I don't think Black Panther deserved one either.

Elsie Fisher 100% deserved a Lead Actress nomination. She put in the best performance of the year.

Surprised John David Washington didn't get a nomination for BlacKkKlansman.

Cooper didn't get a nomination for A Star is Born? Wow!

[luburch]

Won't You Be My Neighbor wasn't nominated for Best Documentary?! Yeesh.

[wilson]

At least one category has a Duke connection. "End Game," nominated for Best Documentary Short, includes cinematography by Rebekah Fergusson, T '04.

[JasonEvans]

Rockwell surprises me. I did not love his performance in Vice.

It was ok, but wasn't that great. I thought Steve Carrell was fabulous as Rummy in that film and wish he had gotten more Oscar traction, but everyone loves laughing at bungling W so Rockwell gets all the pub. Carrell was essential to huge portions of the film, not just the back half like Rockwell.

Initial reactions:

Bohemian Rhapsody getting a best picture nomination is a joke. I don't think Black Panther deserved one either.

Elsie Fisher 100% deserved a Lead Actress nomination. She put in the best performance of the year.

Surprised John David Washington didn't get a nomination for BlacKkKlansman.

Cooper didn't get a nomination for A Star is Born? Wow!

Agree with every word except your comments on Black Panther.

What is the point in nominating Glen Close yet again for The Wife? This is her 7th Oscar nomination without a win. She won't win this time either so it is just becoming cruel (she could easily have won for World Accord to Garp or Dangerous Liaisons or Fatal Attraction). Why not toss Elsie Fisher and the marvelous Eighth Grade a nomination?

[PackMan97]

I think there should be an automatic nomination for the top grossing film of the year in the Best Picture category. Call it an automatic bid if you will. If American's deemed it the most popular picture with their attendance and money, the Academy should be forced to at least consider it.

I'm glad Black Panther was nominated but would be completely shocked if it won.

[weezie]

Nothing for Ethan Hawke/First Reformed.
I had hopes that Cedric the Entertainer would get a supporting nod.
Came out too early I guess and pretty dark material.

[weezie]

Wow, just saw "At Eternity's Gate" about Van Gogh, starring Willem Dafoe. Dafoe can act rings around just about any actor out there today. Daniel Day-Lewis appreciates him, I'd venture.

Oscar Issac was very fine, too.

[luburch]

Scratched Can You Ever Forgive Me? off the watch list yesterday afternoon.

Good film. Grant and McCarthy both did nice jobs, but I don't feel like any of it was award worthy.

[YmoBeThere]

Interesting, no follow up discussion...

[luburch]

Roma losing was a shock. Controversy has surrounded Green Book for months now.

Olivia Colman wining Best Actress was somewhat surprising.

The most egregious selection of the evening was Bohemian Rhapsody winning the editing category. It had terrible editing!

[JasonEvans]

Attached is my predictions made last week for a pool I was in. I have not been told if I won, but I did really, really well. I missed Best Picture (because I voted with my heart, not my head, though my head would not have taken Green Book either) but hit almost everything else. I was surprised by BoRap doing well in the sound categories but I am surprised by every award BoRap wins. Other than that, I was dead on target.



In a year where there was no dominant film, it was an Oscars where everything got a win (except Vice). They really spread the wealth around a good bit. I guess that is ok.

-Jason "really uninspiring show... they need a host" Evans

[budwom]

I don't get too immersed in the Oscars, but at quick glance (I'll watch more tonight on FF) the lack of a host was nothing but good news, made things go faster with fewer lame jokes.

Also enjoyed watching some of the prattling cut short by the Music of Cessation...feel bad for folks who didn't get to thank everyone, but there are only so many hours in a day.

[weezie]

Saw about ten minutes but did catch Malek winning. Just before his name was called the husband remarked that the stage floor looked dizzying. Then Malek tripped exiting said stage.

Anyway, why does Cranky Spike Lee wear those captain hats all the time? Does anybody know?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Olivia Colman winning was a delight. Her speech was truly lovely and impromptu.

[brevity]

Roma losing was a shock. Controversy has surrounded Green Book for months now.

Leave it to the Academy to vote for the wrong old-fashioned black and white film.

In a year where there was no dominant film, it was an Oscars where everything got a win (except Vice).

You are forgiven if you already forgot that Vice won for Makeup/Hairstyling.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=oattDtak0yg

I can’t even embed the video because it sucks that much.

If the Kodak Theatre had a Cameron Crazies section — and they should — you might hear the chant “Three winners, one speech, no glasses”. Or better yet, “Cut to commercial”.

I try to avoid recency bias, but I cannot recall a worse acceptance speech. It’s a field with only three nominees, and the other two are longshots. How is it possible that none of these 3 people were prepared to speak? If ever there were an argument not to televise every category...

[fuse]

I watch movies for entertainment is my leading statement ahead of my opinions.

Roma may have been among the worst movies I watched this year.
My opinion has nothing to do with black and white film, or subtitles.
I’m trying to think of a movie experience I’d compare.
I’d enjoy understanding other people’s perspective on what I am missing.

I did not see the period piece movies, so no opinions there.

Glad Spiderverse won.
Wish Black Panther had won best picture.

I watched both Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born this weekend prior to the Oscars.

Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury was good, the movie itself was a hot mess. Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of Jack Maine in ASIB was the superior performance. I didn’t see any of the other movies for best actress so saying Lady Gaga deserved it is not defensible.

I guess I don’t understand the sound awards- how did A Quiet Place not win the one for which it was nominated?

I haven’t seen Green Room, and my initial thoughts on it would likely generate some unnecessary controversy, so I will pass on sharing my thoughts.

[luburch]

I watch movies for entertainment is my leading statement ahead of my opinions.

Roma may have been among the worst movies I watched this year.
My opinion has nothing to do with black and white film, or subtitles.
I’m trying to think of a movie experience I’d compare.
I’d enjoy understanding other people’s perspective on what I am missing.

I did not see the period piece movies, so no opinions there.

Glad Spiderverse won.
Wish Black Panther had won best picture.

I watched both Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is Born this weekend prior to the Oscars.

Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury was good, the movie itself was a hot mess. Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of Jack Maine in ASIB was the superior performance. I didn’t see any of the other movies for best actress so saying Lady Gaga deserved it is not defensible.

I guess I don’t understand the sound awards- how did A Quiet Place not win the one for which it was nominated?

I haven’t seen Green Room, and my initial thoughts on it would likely generate some unnecessary controversy, so I will pass on sharing my thoughts.

You can believe that a movie is a cinematic masterpiece and not really enjoy watching it.

Roma is beautifully shot and tells a wonderful story. I'm not sure I'll ever watch it again.

Think of it like Virginia basketball. They play amazing defense and are extremely efficient. Doesn't mean I want to watch all of their games.

[PackMan97]

I think I saw Green Room about 20 years ago. It was called Driving Miss Daisy.

[fuse]

You can believe that a movie is a cinematic masterpiece and not really enjoy watching it.

Roma is beautifully shot and tells a wonderful story. I'm not sure I'll ever watch it again.

Think of it like Virginia basketball. They play amazing defense and are extremely efficient. Doesn't mean I want to watch all of their games.

Beautifully shot, I can agree with.
Wonderful story- perhaps for some.

I like the analogy.

What makes a cinematic masterpiece?
Can both Roma and Black Panther be cinematic masterpieces?
[I know, answers are akin to beauty is in the eye of the beholder.]

[Truth&Justise]

Beautifully shot, I can agree with.
Wonderful story- perhaps for some.

I like the analogy.

What makes a cinematic masterpiece?
Can both Roma and Black Panther be cinematic masterpieces?
[I know, answers are akin to beauty is in the eye of the beholder.]

There's an incredible efficiency of storytelling in Roma. Think how much is conveyed about two characters just by watching, slowly, as they park an over-sized car in a driveway. So much is told there, and in so many other scenes too, without words. It's also a film that manages to be simultaneously very intimate--covering a year in the life of a single domestic worker, including truly personal tragedy--and vastly grand--covering political upheaval in 1970s Mexico and deep class and ethnic divides. Every choice by the filmmaker was careful and deliberate.

Personally, the two best films I saw last year were Roma and If Beale Street Could Talk. I haven't seen Green Book yet, so I'll have to reserve judgment, but it'll have a hard time topping either of those two films.