It’s finally that time of the year again, and we now officially have our list of nominees for the 90th Academy Awards! Let’s take look at who’s in the running for some gold statues!
This year was a pretty good year for film in my opinion, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t entirely caught up on everything that has come out! Seriously though, I haven’t been this far behind on movies in a long while (at least in regards to the big name/blockbuster films that have come out). Thankfully I have seen quite a few of the films that were nominated, except, ironically, the two that are getting the most buzz (The Shape of Water and Three Billboards). While I’m still catching up in the theater, I have been keeping track of the winners in the other big name ceremonies, so I’m not completely out of the loop. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the nominees!
Best Picture
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Reaction
I guess we can start things off with a bit of outrage on my part. In what could be one of the biggest snubs in the last decade, Blade Runner 2049 has NOT been nominated for Best Picture…unbelievable. This is The Dark Knight debacle all over again! I genuinely don’t understand the Academy sometimes. How can you cut one of the greatest sci-fi movies in recent memory, possibly of all-time (yes, it’s that good), from the Best Picture category??? It’s an insult to the industry. I firmly believe that the Academy would rather celebrate social commentary sometimes than great achievement in film (which is what the Oscars is supposed to celebrate and award…). It’s absolutely ridiculous.
OOF! Well now that I got that off my chest, I’m not terribly upset with the rest of this list. However, I am quite surprised to see Get Out on here. It’s a great movie, but Best Picture? That seems like a bit of a stretch for me. I called Oscar bait on The Post the moment I saw the trailer, so it doesn’t surprise me to see that on here. Phantom Thread could potentially be left off this list too. Again, great movie, but I’d rather see something like Logan, War for the Planet of the Apes, or maybe one of the greatest sci-fi movie in the last decade (if not all time) in these spots instead.
Lead Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis – Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out
Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington – Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Reaction
This is another category where I don’t quite understand what’s going on here. As good as Daniel Kaluuya is in Get Out, does he have one of the top 5 performances of the year? I’m sorry, but no. From what I’ve heard, Denzel didn’t really wow anybody in Roman J Israel, nor did he really do any campaigning for the film, so I’m pretty surprised to see him on this list too. I had to watch Andy Serkis listen to his name not get called again for a career performance while he was announcing the nominations yesterday morning, which was just disheartening and sad.
Hue Jackman is also snubbed even with two fantastic performances this year, one of which was the best of his career (Logan). And lets not forget what everyone is talking about; James Franco. The controversy being him getting snubbed surrounding the allegations against him (Sorry James, its guilty until proven innocent nowadays), but after seeing this list, I’m not so sure he would’ve made it regardless. None of this matters anyway because, as much as I’d love to see DDL solidify his status as the GOAT, Gary Oldman is pretty much a lock at this point.
Lead Actress
Sally Hawkins – The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie – I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird
Meryl Streep – The Post
Reaction
This is a pretty stacked category this year. Sally Hawkins and Frances McDormand are getting a ton of buzz lately, and I can’t wait to see what it’s all about! Saoirse Ronan continues to prove that she’s one of the best working today, and it’s great to see her in the race again. Margot Robbie’s role in I, Tonya is another I can’t wait to check out when I get the chance. And Meryl Streep lands yet another nomination…*exasperated sigh*… yep. She’s got some great friends in high places, that’s all I’m going to say. Glad to see her in the running again instead of another, more worthy performance, like Jessica Chastain’s in Molly’s Game for instance.
Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe – The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer – All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Reaction
There’s a bit of controversy surrounding some of these picks, though I can’t really weigh in on them since I actually haven’t seen any of these films yet. All I can say is, “where the hell is Patrick Stewert?!”
Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige – Mudbound
Allison Janney – I, Tonya
Lesley Manville – Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf – Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer – The Shape of Water
Reaction
Yeah, good picks for the most part. Allison Janney has been making a huge splash, so I can only assume she’ll be taking home the gold.
Director
Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk
Jordan Peele – Get Out
Greta Gerwig – Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson – Phantom Thread
Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water
Reaction
I’m sure you can guess what I think is missing here…I’ll give you another second to look over the list…Do you see it? WHY IS DENIS VILLENEUVE NOT ON THIS LIST??? This is the other massive snub for me this year, and I can’t decide whether this or the Best Picture snub is worse. What Denis managed to accomplish with Blade Runner was truly incredible. It is an absolute masterpiece of filmmaking, but who cares about that, right?! Instead, for what I can only assume is to promote diversity amongst nominees, Jordan Peele gets the nomination. And again, Get Out is a great movie, and Jordan Peele did a superb job in his directorial debut! But the core question remains; was he was one the top five best directors of the year? Well he definitely wasn’t as good as Villeneuve, that’s for sure. Martin McDonagh directed three of his cast members to nominations for crying out loud!
On a more positive note, Christopher Nolan finally earns his first nomination for director, which is crazy considering his body of work. Could not be more excited for him! From what it’s looking like, Guillermo del Torro is favorite to take home his first Oscar, which is awesome as well!
Animated Feature
The Boss Baby – Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
The Breadwinner – Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
Coco – Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
Ferdinand – Carlos Saldanha
Loving Vincent – Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman
Reaction
Every time we come to this category, I think about how much it must suck to be one of the four other features that weren’t made by Disney. Ferdinand may put up somewhat of a fight, but I think it’s safe to assume that Coco is going to win. I’m not even going to start with The Boss Baby…
Animated Short
Dear Basketball – Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant
Garden Party – Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
Lou – Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
Negative Space – Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
Revolting Rhymes – Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer
Reaction
Haven’t seen any of them.
Adapted Screenplay
Call Me by Your Name – James Ivory
The Disaster Artist – Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Logan – Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
Molly’s Game – Aaron Sorkin
Mudbound – Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Reaction
I’m so glad to see Logan get some recognition, and adapted screenplay is a big deal! This is the first super hero movie to be recognized in this category. I’ll definitely be rooting for them! One can only assume that Aaron Sorkin will take home another trophy, though I could maybe see James Ivory potentially pulling off an upset. The Disaster Artist gets nominated for one of the only big categories that James Franco didn’t have his name on, which I’m sure was the Academy’s way of reluctantly admitting that it was in fact a great movie.
Original Screenplay
The Big Sick – Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
Get Out – Jordan Peele
Lady Bird – Greta Gerwig
The Shape of Water – Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Martin McDonagh
Reaction
This is a pretty stacked category this year as well, though it sounds like it’s really between The Shape of Water and Three Billboards…damn I need to see these movies.
Cinematography
Roger Deakins – Blade Runner 2049
Bruno Delbonnel – Darkest Hour
Hoyte van Hoytema – Dunkirk
Rachel Morrison – Mudbound
Dan Laustsen – The Shape of Water
Reaction
This is it! This is the year! Roger Deakins, the master of light, is finally going to get his first Oscar! I’m calling it now, and if I’m somehow wrong, then I will completely give up on the Academy.
However, for the sake of fairness, it does sound like he’ll have some pretty stiff competition this year. But come on! Deakins has to win…right? Please???
Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short Subject
Edith+Eddie – Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 – Frank Stiefel
Heroin(e) – Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon
Knife Skills – Thomas Lennon
Traffic Stop – Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Reaction
I probably won’t watch any of these.
Best Live Action Short Film
DeKalb Elementary – Reed Van Dyk
The Eleven O’Clock – Derin Seale, Josh Lawson
My Nephew Emmett – Kevin Wilson, Jr.
The Silent Child – Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton
Watu Wote/All of Us – Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen
Reaction
See Reaction for Best Documentary Short Subject
Best Foreign Language Film
A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
The Insult (Lebanon)
Loveless (Russia)
On Body and Soul (Hungary)
The Square (Sweden)
Reaction
This is the first year that I haven’t actually heard anything about at least one of the nominees here.
Film Editing
Baby Driver – Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
Dunkirk – Lee Smith
I, Tonya – Tatiana S. Riegel
The Shape of Water – Sidney Wolinsky
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Jon Gregory
Reaction
Baby Driver was just too good to not get the win here. The editing was way to important to that film for it to not, and it was such a creatively done film! Dunkirk is great, and I have to see the rest, but Baby Driver was my pick for this category the moment the credits started rolling.
Sound Editing
Baby Driver – Julian Slater
Blade Runner 2049 – Mark Mangini, Theo Green
Dunkirk – Alex Gibson, Richard King
The Shape of Water – Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood
Reaction
I’m happy with all these picks (I’m going to safely assume that The Shape of Water deserves to be here). I’m surprised that War for the Planet of the Apes wasn’t nominated, but at this point, what can I really say on behalf of the Academy. War movies tend to do really well in this category so we’ll see if Dunkirk takes it.
Sound Mixing
Baby Driver – Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
Blade Runner 2049 – Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
Dunkirk – Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
The Shape of Water – Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick
Reaction
I can get on board with these picks too. No Apes here either though, which is even more surprising of a snub than for Sound Editing.
Production Design
Beauty and the Beast – Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
Blade Runner 2049 – Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
Darkest Hour – Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
Dunkirk – Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
The Shape of Water – Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau
Reaction
All great picks! This could go to any one of them!
Original Score
Hans Zimmer – Dunkirk
Jonny Greenwood – Phantom Thread
Alexandre Desplat – The Shape of Water
John Williams – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Carter Burwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Reaction
It’s another Hans Zimmer/Alexandre Desplat showdown! Hopefully Hans will get the edge this time around.
Original Song
“Mighty River” from Mudbound – Mary J. Blige
“Mystery of Love” from Call Me by Your Name – Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from Coco, Kristen Anderson-Lopez – Robert Lopez
“Stand Up for Something” from Marshall – Diane Warren, Common
“This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman – Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Reaction
Dont really care.
Makeup and Hair
Darkest Hour – Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
Victoria and Abdul – Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
Wonder – Arjen Tuiten
Reaction
Makeup is a very important part of Darkest Hour. Just sayin’.
Costume Design
Beauty and the Beast – Jacqueline Durran
Darkest Hour – Jacqueline Durran
Phantom Thread – Mark Bridges
The Shape of Water – Luis Sequeira
Victoria and Abdul – Consolata Boyle
Reaction
This could go any way here. All good picks.
Beyond the Frame 
Leave a comment