General Thoughts
The Academy has bowed to ABC since Tom Sherak expanded the best picture category after the so-called “snub” of The Dark Knight and launched the Governors Awards after Jerry Lewis spoke while accepting his honorary Oscar. Then, during the Oscars So White chapter, the Academy threw its members under the bus and has been adding new people ever since – many who didn’t really accomplish anything and, in some cases, don’t even work in the film. And now, because the academy has an expensive museum to worry about, and because the entire organization is so overstaffed and overpaid — there are literally more ushers and security guards at academy screenings than there are members — it’s scared, for itself to admit When ABC told the academy to remove a few categories from the live show “otherwise,” the academy bent down and handed them out. They should have told ABC to fuck themselves and sell the show to someone else. It is an insult to the nominees of these categories that their awards are presented while the red carpet is still rolling and people are filing in and out of the room. And for what? Have more time to show clips from superhero movies and throw a Twitter award? On top of that, the members can’t even go to the show anymore – they’re not taking part in the lottery this year – and yet the academy park ranger still gets a spot every year. Many members are extremely unhappy and are exploring the possibility of a class action lawsuit. We didn’t sign up for that.
best picture
On my ballot I have tick, tick… boom! 1st place – good luck for that! I also felt that The Unforgivable was underrated – it’s the most powerful film about self-sacrifice I’ve ever seen, with an amazing performance from Sandra Bullock. And the 10 that were nominated? Drive My Car isn’t a bad movie, but it belongs in the international feature category, not here, just like Parasite. Dune is worthy in many categories, but not in this one. I was looking forward to the new West Side Story, but other than its opening sequence, it’s almost a carbon copy of the original; I know they emphasize that this time they’re casting Latino and Latina actors, but the actress who plays Maria is called Rachel Zegler, so I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Don’t Look Up is a one joke film. King Richard isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly good either. Licorice Pizza is masterful in some ways, but I don’t know how much it really has to say. The other four – Belfast, CODA, Nightmare Alley and The Power of the Dog – are all worthy. The Power of the Dog is beautifully acted, photographed and directed in many ways, but it’s just too long with some really boring moments. Belfast moves with great performances and shows how the riots affected the average person which I had never seen before; I’m not sure why they called the boy “Buddy” instead of “Kenneth,” but that’s another matter. Nightmare Alley is far superior to the other Guillermo del Toro film that won this award [The Shape of Water]; It’s visually stunning and a study in greed that many people could benefit from. But CODA shows a part of life that certain people live but most people aren’t exposed to, and it’s excellent in every way, as a best picture should be – it has great storytelling, acting and directing, and conveys one too important message about society . It deserves recognition.
POLL: (1) CODA, (2) Nightmare Alley, (3) Belfast, (4) The Power of the Dog, (5) Licorice Pizza, (6) King Richard, (7) Don’t Look Up, (8) West Side Story, (9) Dune, (10) Drive my car
Best Director
I am shocked about this [CODA’s] Sian Heder was not nominated in this or that category [Drive My Car’s Ryusuke] Hamaguti was. [West Side Story’s] Steven Spielberg shouldn’t have been nominated – this film was mostly made by the art department and the choreography department. [Licorice Pizza’s] Paul Thomas Anderson’s writing is more impressive than his directing. [Belfast’s] Kenneth Branagh and [Dog’s] Jane Campion are both very strong candidates; Kenneth simply told his story in a more economical way.
POLL: Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Illustration by Audrey Malo
Best actor
[Being the Ricardos’ Javier] Bardem hasn’t done much for me; he doesn’t look like Desi Arnaz at all and the movie wasn’t that good. I’ve never been a big fan of [King Richard’s] Will Smith. denzel [Washington of The Tragedy of Macbeth] is always awesome. [Dog’s Benedict] Cumberbatch offers a powerful, subtle performance. But my choice is above all [Tick, Tick … Boom!’s] Andrew Garfield. You can see he put his heart and soul into this film and did things he’s never done before, and with an American accent, I might add. I loved this movie.
POLL: Andrew Garfield, tick, tick… boom!
Best Actress
I have a feeling she’ll probably win, but I didn’t like Olivia Colman’s take on this character [in The Lost Daughter] – She was consistently just a one-note bitter woman, and I thought the actress who played the younger version of her character [Jessie Buckley] was much better. [Ricardos’] Nicole Kidman wasn’t anything special except when she was reenacting scenes from “I Love Lucy.” Both [The Eyes of Tammy Faye’s] Jessica Chastain and [Parallel Mothers’] Penelope Cruz is always good. but [Spencer’s] Kristen Stewart deserves this — if her rendition of Diana hadn’t been perfect, the whole movie would have perished. She not only embodies Diana physically, but captures her whole essence. I have not liked many of her other films, but in this one her talent is undeniable.
POLL: Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Best supporting actor
I’m not sure how [Dog’s] Jesse Plemons or [Ricardos’] JK Simmons was nominated. I would like to [Dog’s] Kodi Smit-McPhee, but I’d like to see a bigger work from him before we honor him with an Oscar. [Belfast’s] Ciaran Hinds is wonderful. But for me it is [CODA’s] Troy Kotsur, no doubt – he could bring tears to a non-deaf audience, he was so brilliant.
POLL: Troy Kotsur, CODA
The best supporting actress
I’m not a big King Richard fan [the film for which Aunjanue Ellis is nominated]. I did not think [Dog’s] That’s how special Kirsten Dunst was. [The Lost Daughter’s] Jessie Buckley was really good.[Belfast’s] Judi Dench never ceases to amaze. But I vote for Ariana DeBose, the best thing about West Side Story.
POLL: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Best Aadapted script
I really didn’t like The Lost Daughter. I don’t think Dune belongs here because it’s not even a finished movie [part two of the adaptation is still to come] – but in fairness it’s already a far better interpretation of the book than the previous adaptation! Drive My Car is interesting. For me it’s really close between The Power of the Dog and CODA. I just found CODA more powerful, and it’s no small feat for a hearing person [Heder] to capture the nuances of what life is like for deaf people.
POLL: KODA
Best Original Screenplay
The Worst Person in the World is very interesting and I appreciated Don’t Look Up’s humor and cynicism. But Belfast deserves this one.
POLL: Belfast
Best Animated Feature
Encanto is charming, but Flee deserves credit in this category, as does each of the three it’s nominated for, for its unique use of animation to tell its story.
POLL: Flee
Best Documentary
The Rescue should have been nominated and won. Flee is a gimmick. Writing with fire is powerful. But none of these five blew me away.
POLL: [Abstain]
Best International Feature
[Austria’s Oscar entry] Great Freedom should have been nominated, and I might have voted for it if it had been. Of the five that were there, I liked all of them, but the best was definitely the best [Italy’s] The Hand of God is the closest thing to Fellini I’ve ever seen.
POLL: The hand of God
Best cinematography
Macbeth and Nightmare Alley were beautifully photographed. But The Power of the Dog’s gritty look made you feel like you were right there at that time and place.
POLL: The power of the dog
Best Costume Design
I don’t think the costumes in Dune were anything unusual. Cruellas were very Disney. Nightmare Alley’s and West Side Story’s were certainly colorful. But Cyranos were the most creative.
POLL: Cyrano
Best film editing
Editing in tick, tick… boom! was just extraordinary. It played off the rhythm and energy of the character and his music in the sense that it’s frenetic and all over in a way that just worked.
POLL: Tick, tick… boom!
Best make-up and hairstyling
Coming 2 America was a terrible movie. Cruella is Disney – over-the-top characters. Dune wasn’t particularly notable for his hair and makeup. That leaves The Eyes of Tammy Faye and [House of] Gucci. I’m going to give it to Tammy Faye because they totally changed Jessica; it’s the least I can do to acknowledge the suffering she must have gone through!
POLL: Tammy Faye’s eyes
Best Original Score
I liked Dune’s soundtrack, but The Power of the Dog’s soundtrack fits this movie perfectly.
POLL: The power of the dog
Best Original Song
I’m a little biased because Diane Warren [the 13-time nominee who is up this year for “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days] is a friend. I doubt she’ll get away with it, but since I wasn’t overly thrilled with the other nominees, I’ll give her a vote. “No Time To Die” [from No Time to Die] is not bad, but I think “Skyfall” [from Skyfall] was a much better song.
POLL: “Somehow you can do it”, Four good days
Best Production Design
I liked West Side Story’s production design, but Nightmare Alley advanced its story and improved the experience tremendously.
POLL: nightmare alley
best sound
I’m looking for sound design that is realistic and moves the story forward. Dune, No Time to Die, and West Side Story are big and loud; Belfast and The Power of the Dog are subtle. I was impressed with Belfast’s street stuff and use of music.
POLL: Belfast
Best visual effects
Here we have all the popular movies and their effects are pretty good. Spiderman [No Way Home]’s were above the others’.
POLL: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Best Animated Short Film
POLL: [Abstain.]
Best Documentary
POLL: [Abstain.]
Best Live Action Short Film
POLL: [Abstain.]
A version of this story first appeared in the March 23 issue of magazine. Click here to login.