They Nominated What?! – 2015 Edition

In what is becoming a yearly tradition, CineSnob.net woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to watch the Oscar nominations unfold live. In the first year where all nominations were announced live on TV, there were some surprises, both good and bad. Here are our thoughts on the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards, which will air on February 22 on ABC.

BEST PICTURE

KIKO: The fact that the Academy only nominated eight films this year is telling that there weren’t enough top tier films to choose from. Every film is deserving of a nomination on this list, with the exception of AMERICAN SNIPER, which got love in way too many categories for an average film. It really doesn’t matter, anyway. This is BOYHOOD’s Oscar to lose and I don’t see that happening no matter how much campaigning the other studios do. 7 out of 8

CODY: For the first time the Academy only nominates eight films. This is pretty more or less what I expected, though I will say…it is odd that FOXCATCHER gets nominations for lead actor, screenplay AND director and yet doesn’t pop up on Best Picture. We’ll call that “reverse Ben Affleck syndrome.” The nomination for SELMA here feels, unfortunately, arbitrary as you well soon see.
7 out of 8.

JERROD: So close on this one, with only NIGHTCRAWLER throwing off my Top 8. I thought there was more love for NIGHTCRAWLER as a whole to push it and Gyllenhaal into the top spots, but alas. The presence of AMERICAN SNIPER, itself just an okay movie, scares me a little bit, but I still think it’s BOYHOOD’s award to lose at this point. 7 out of 8

BEST DIRECTOR

KIKO: No real love for SELMA this morning, especially with the omission of Ava Duvernay in this category. I don’t have a problem with Bennett Miller’s nomination, but it should’ve come at the expense of Morten Tyldum, who I’m sure split votes with director James Marsh. 4 out of 5

CODY: So it turns out all of the guild omissions were telling and Ava DuVernay is hit with one of the biggest snubs of the day. To be totally honest, I’m a little surprised that it was Bennett Miller that was the beneficiary and not someone like Clint Eastwood, (considering the amount of other nominations for AMERICAN SNIPER), James Marsh or even Damien Chazelle. If Richard Linklater doesn’t win this, I’m going have a fit on Oscar night. 4 out of 5

JERROD: Bennett Miller over Ava Duvernay is bullshit. Was she burned by the mild LBJ controversy brewing over SELMA? She was the public face and voice for SELMA, and I don’t know that she handled it well. And why does anyone like FOXCATCHER this much? 4 out of 5

BEST LEAD ACTOR

KIKO: Has Bradley Cooper really become the critical darling with the Academy? This category is all jacked up. David Oyelowo for SELMA should be on this list over Cooper and especially over Steve Carell’s nose. Keaton for the win. FYI: This is the first time in 20 years that all the nominees in this category are white. 3 out of 5

CODY: Every year there is a category that goes completely wonky, and this year it is lead actor. David Oyelowo is an unfortunate victim of a lack of interest in SELMA and is easily one of the biggest snubs of the day. There was some momentum gaining for Steve Carell to pop up in supporting, but he gets a seat at the big boy table for, frankly, an underwhelming performance. The most surprising is that Bradley Cooper comes from out of nowhere to wind up on this list. Also interesting to note, 3rd year in a row for a nomination for Cooper. A very interesting late in the game surge for AMERICAN SNIPER. This was a category that I thought Keaton had locked up, but with how weird these nominations are, I have no idea. 3 out of 5

JERROD: For any other movie, Carell getting this nom would make me smile, but not for the dull FOXCATCHER. Besides, Kiko and I bought into a theory the field would be too crowded for Carell and he would get bumped to supporting, but instead he took the spot that belonged to David Oyelowo. Also, Bradley Cooper over Jake Gyllenhaal is a mild surprise, but if anyone other than Michael Keaton wins, I’m setting the building on fire. 3 out of 5

BEST LEAD ACTRESS

KIKO: My favorite female performance of the year gets in (Cotillard for TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT) and all is right with the world. Too bad they’re going to give this to Julianne Moore for a performance that isn’t close to one of the best of her career. I’m so perfect it sickens me. 5 out of 5

CODY: So I’ll be perfectly honest here. When TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT was omitted from the shortlist for Best Foreign Film, I thought that there was no way that Cotillard would be nominated in this category. I was wrong. Jennifer Aniston gets the boot, and while I thought that Amy Adams would be first in line to knock her out, I am pleasantly surprised to see Cotillard take her place. Moore seems to be the only one out of this group with any sort of momentum. 4 out of 5

JERROD: I went 5 for 5 on this one. In a just world, Witherspoon would win for the unappreciated WILD, but this will be Julianne Moore’s lifetime achievement award. 5 out of 5

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

KIKO: I definitely thought the bad reviews of The Judge would sink Robert Duvall, but I was wrong. I threw a Carrell nom in there for kicks, but I should’ve stuck to my gut. 4 out of 5

CODY: FINALLY! I get an entire category right. Duvall gets this years “Max von Sydow Award” for being nominated for an acting award for a film with a Rotten Tomatoes score under 50 percent. Congrats! This award is not going to anyone not named J.K. Simmons. 5 out of 5

JERROD: Again, I though Carell might get pushed here, but they went with Robert Duvall instead, causing me to go 4 for 5 because they all like the old guy. This appears to be J.K. Simmons’ Oscar to lose, and he’s great, but I can’t love Ethan Hawke in BOYHOOD any more than I do. 4 out of 5

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

KIKO: Wow, no love for A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (Jessica Chastain) anywhere. It saddens me, but I’m happy to see Laura Dern get this nomination. I don’t understand the love for Streep here, but she’s an acting god, so I guess she gets nominated automatically. 4 out of 5

CODY: Never. Bet. Against. Meryl. Streep. I learned my lesson last year, and did not fall into the same trap again. Laura Dern here is, quite honestly, the most pleasant surprise of the day. She completely makes WILD what it is, and I thought that she was way on the outside looking in. This will be an interesting category come Oscar night. Arquette is still the front runner but I feel like this race is a bit open. 4 out of 5

JERROD: 4 for 5 on this one again, but I’m happy because I love, love, love Laura Dern in WILD (I had Jessica Chastain in that 5th spot). Dern is fantastic, but so is Patricia Arquette in BOYHOOD. I’m so torn here. Seriously, go watch Wild. 4 out of 5

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

KIKO: Poor Selma. Seriously, what happened? Was the campaign that off the mark? The Academy voters didn’t warm up to this movie as much as they should’ve. 4 out of 5

CODY: Another big SELMA snub here. Other than that, not much to say. BIRDMAN has the best screenplay of the year and I still think it will win, but there’s a lot of love for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. Maybe Anderson gets his first Oscar here? 4 out of 5

JERROD: Burned again by the love I expected SELMA to get. Instead we get more FOXCATCHER. Whatever, it’s between BIRDMAN and BOYHOOD anyway. 4 out of 5

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

KIKO: If I hear another person say that the INHERENT VICE script is amazing because “it’s captures the essence of the book,” I’m going to scalp myself. I love you with all my heart Paul Thomas Anderson, but that thing was a big fat mess. Anyway, disappointed in all of AMERICAN SNIPER nominations and the fact that WILD is not in this category either. 3 out of 5

CODY: Another category that was sort of hard to predict. The switch from original to adapted screenplay proved to be no problem for Team WHIPLASH. If there was any category I thought that GONE GIRL would be nominated for, it was screenplay. I am secretly happy about its absence, though I wish the AMERICAN SNIPER spot (or WHIPLASH for that matter) was filled with WILD.
3 out of 5

JERROD: Oh, hi there P.T. Anderson for INHERENT VICE. You took the spot that belonged to GONE GIRL. Also, your movie is just THE BIG LEBOWSKI without the fun. Also, fuck you AMERICAN SNIPER for taking WILD’s spot. Ugh, I have such a bad feeling about AMERICAN SNIPER taking every award it’s nominated for. 3 out of 5

FINAL THOUGHTS:

KIKO: Miscellaneous things going on in my head right now: 1) Biggest snub is, of course, THE LEGO MOVIE not even being nominated for Best Animated Film when all season it looked to be the frontrunner. Personally, I thought it was the third best animated film of the year (go BIG HERO 6!), but for it to be passed over completely is insane; 2) So very happy to see IDA get a nomination for not only Best Foreign Language Film, but also for Best Cinematography. It was easily the best looking movie I saw all year; 3) Maybe I have a soft spot for it because it’s my profession, but where is LIFE ITSELF for Best Documentary? 3) I really hope Glenn Campbell wins the Oscar; 4) Very disappointed A MOST VIOLENT YEAR didn’t get a single nomination.

CODY: UMM, WHERE THE HELL IS THE LEGO MOVIE FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE? That, for me, is one of the biggest snubs of the day. Among other snubs: No DuVernay or Oyelowo for SELMA and LIFE ITSELF is very curiously absent from the documentary feature category. Otherwise, expected big days for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, BIRDMAN, BOYHOOD and surprising showings for FOXCATCHER and AMERICAN SNIPER. Along with the snubs, there were some pleasant surprises. Laura Dern is a great addition, and IDA for best cinematography might be one of my favorite nominations of the day. So what can we expect come Oscar night? You got me. I still say that BOYHOOD will come down with the big trophies for picture and director and BIRDMAN should clean up everything else…but consider THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL your dark horse.

JERROD: Best Animated Feature belongs to THE LEGO MOVIE, hands down. Wait, THE LEGO MOVIE wasn’t even nominated?! Oh, fuuuuuuuuuuck you, Academy. Burn this motherfucker down.

FINAL COUNT:

KIKO: 75/106

CODY: 75/106

JERROD: 73/106

 

 

 

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