Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Oscar Snubs

The best part of any list is the ability to comment on it and provide an opinion as to how you would have compiled the list differently. I would like to say thank you Academy for giving me this opportunity. And without further (blah blah blah)... Quack Back with your snubs...

Best Film

  • Harry Potter - seriously if you are going to expand the field from 5 to 10 with the reason being that you want to include other genres of movies well then what is the reasoning for excluding Harry Potter.
  • Conviction - this movie was solid from every level and should have received multiple nominations (see below)
  • The Town - if a movie like the Departed can get nominated then why not a movie that does it better without ripping off shot for shot from the foreign original. Was better than at least three of the nominees.
  • Blue Valentine - I will gush about this movie more below...
  • Others to consider Another Year, The Ghost Writer, Hereafter, Made in Dagenham, Rabbit Hole, and The Way Back.
Best Director

  • Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right, completed the difficult task for a young artist by combining the writing and directing jobs to put her vision on the the screen. She wouldn't have likely won, but she deserved the recognition. Was better than at least one of the nominees.
  • Christopher Nolan, Inception, for all the reasons given above with a blockbuster size budget.
  • Derek Cianfrance, Blue Valentine, an amazing emotionally charged movie where the only person that could direct the film is again the person who wrote it. it took him seven years to finish writing this script and his vision required a dual story line that was cleverly woven together. Was better than at least one of the nominees.
  • Others to consider Ben Affleck, The Town; Danny Boyle, 127 Hours; Clint Eastwood, Hereafter; Debra Granik, Winter's Bone; John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole; Peter Weir, The Way Back; Roman Polanski, The Ghost Writer.
Best Actor

  • Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine, always puts out a quality performance and this is just another example of his strong acting skills. Perhaps the only criticism would be that he doesn't have the range to change his appearance for the dual story lines. This has to be one of the bigger SNUBS. Was easily better than at least two of the nominees.
  • Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter, perhaps he didn't really play a character that he hasn't played before, but he did show just as much acting chops through his dialogue with the other members of the cast that did receive nominations. He wasn't the weakest link in this movie.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, Love and Other Drugs, probably wouldn't have won but he deserved the nomination for the compassion that he showed in his character.
  • Paul Giamatti, Barney's Version, based on hype as I haven't seen the movie yet (check back in the coming week after I get a chance to screen this one). He looks great in the previews.
  • Others to consider include Ben Affleck, The Town; Matt Damon, Hereafter; Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland; Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception; Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole; Robert Duvall, Get Low; Michael Douglas, Solitary Man;
Best Actress

  • Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right, she was every bit as strong in her character as Annette Benning if not better. I think the Academy sided with the character issues and not the performance.
  • Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs, neither her or Julianne Moore would have won this category, but again deserving of a nomination for her performance.
  • Others to consider include Cecil de France, Hereafter; Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice; Carey Mulligan, Never Let Me Go; Hillary Swank, Conviction; Naomi Watts, Fair Game.
Best Supporting Actor
  • Sam Rockwell, Conviction, wow this has to be one of the biggest SNUBS. He did everything in this role showing range of emotion and acting ability. Certainly gave a strong performance than at least two of the nominees.
Best Supporting Actress
  • Mila Kunis, Black Swan, gave a dynamite performance in one of her first roles that you had to take her seriously in. She is a lot more than just Meg from Family Guy or the dizzy hot girl from That 70s Show. Look for her to get some strong roles in the coming years and get a nomination.
  • Others to consider include Marion Cotillard, Inception; Dianne Wiest, Rabbit Hole.
Best Original Screenplay
For starters, how is The Kings Speech and The Fighter considered an original screenplay when both are based on, or leveraged, books/stories/HBO specials. This decision by the Academy weakened a strong category and the SNUBS are big ones.

  • Blue Valentine, with a clever dual story being told provided for a counter balance to an emotionally challenging movie that without the strong script would have been too much for some to handle. But then again maybe that is why it is on the list of SNUBS so much. Easily better than at least one other nominee.
  • Conviction, perhaps I am guilty of liking this movie too much. The story itself may not have been strong enough to win, but worthy of a nomination for sure.
  • Others to consider include Black Swan, Get Low, and Hereafter.
Best Adapted Screenplay
  • Love and Other Drugs, probably wouldn't have won this category and it is waning in my views of it anyways, but I still liked it.
  • Others to consider include Rabbit Hole, The Town, Shutter Island, and Barney's Version.

1 comment:

  1. Hello fellow blogger,

    I agree with you about Blue Valentine, it definitely should have been nominated for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor. Mark Wahlberg, Leo DiCaprio, and Chris Nolan for Best Director definitely didn't get deserved to get snubbed either! The Town was okay....not as great as all the critics made it sound. I liked Love and Other Drugs too but when are romantic comedies ever really nominated for Oscars!?

    Check out my film blog at:

    http://itsallinthemovies.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...