February is upon us which means one thing: Oscar season.
Now, I am not normally one for awards shows. They always seemed arbitrary and pointless to me. But, in an effort to be less apathetic and coldly cynical about the world, I decided to try to show some interest this year because 1) the controversy surrounding the Oscars is at fever pitch this year, and 2) my wife gets excited about awards shows. So, here I go, delving into the 87th Academy Awards, looking at how the Academy flubbed certain nominations, and who they snubbed.
1. I just do not see the appeal of Wes Anderson. I haven’t seen The Grand Budapest Hotel, but based on his past works, it is probably “stylishly shot” and “full of quirky and offbeat characters.” Just like every other Wes Anderson film. – FLUB
2. I watched Gone Girl the other night, and much like Wes Anderson, I do not understand why people love David Fincher. His movies are marred by over length, meandering, and at times incoherent. Thankfully, he wasn’t nominated for any awards, but Rosamund Pike is up for Best Actress. I’m generally fine with Pike; she was great in Doom, Jack Reacher, and The World’s End, but I hated her in this. I think it is because of the dreadful material she was forced to work with. A good quarter of her lines are spoken in voice-over as she journals, and they come off as awkward and flat. Plus, in the middle of the movie, I swear she morphs into Brie Larson. – FLUB
3. It is hard to believe that the film Veronica Mars came out last year. I was a big fan of the TV show, and I was ecstatic when I heard it was coming back as a movie. While the film itself was nothing groundbreaking, Kristen Bell was flawless and deserved to be nominated for Best Actress. – SNUB
4. Glancing through some of the more technical awards, Interstellar has been nominated for Best Sound Editing. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The mix was horrible. The sound consistently drowned out the dialogue and was too loud throughout. It was equivalent to standing directly in front of the speakers at a Sunn O))) concert. – FLUB
5. One thing I’ve noticed about the Oscars is that they hate action movies. In 1998, The Fifth Element was not nominated for anything. In 2013, Dredd was not nominated (even though it should have gotten Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Costume Design at the very least). Continuing that tradition, this year John Wick received no nominations despite being a tour-de-force action film. – SNUB
6. The Lego Movie wasn’t nominated for Best Animated Feature. I think everyone who has seen it knows immediately that this is a – SNUB
7. I saw The Judge, and I thought it was a good, if uneven, movie. But nominating Robert Duvall for Best Supporting Actor seems too much. He was competent as always, but there must have been someone more deserving of the nomination. How about Anthony Mackie for his terrific turn in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? – FLUB
8. Speaking of Captain America, the lack of Scarlett Johansson on the list is a real shame. She was amazing, and the film was at its best when she and Chris Evans were verbally sparring. I think she is a big reason why Winter Soldier was so much better than The First Avenger; she breathed life into the franchise and made Cap seem less wooden. – SNUB
(Additionally, I think Frank Grillo should have picked up a nomination for his role as Crossbones. Frank Grillo needs to be in basically every movie. Also, the Russo Brothers deserve a nomination for their directing. Guys, this movie was amazing.)
9. Finally, I am livid and heartbroken that 20,000 Days on Earth wasn’t nominated for Best Documentary. I almost wrote this whole post on this movie, but then I realized no one would care. It is a documentary about a fictional day in Nick Cave’s life as he records the album Push the Sky Away. If you don’t know who Nick Cave is…please never talk to me. But seriously, this movie is amazing, and it may be of particular interest to writers because Cave talks a lot about his creative process and what he thinks writing is/should be. – SNUB
Paul (’10) lives in Grand Rapids with his wife, Emma (’10), and cat, HandsomeMarcoCat. He loves board games, Babylon 5, and honey-curry chicken. Everything else is negotiable.
4 Comments
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Definitely agree–Kristen Bell deserves a nod.
She really does
You missed nothing by not seeing Grand Budapest. Horribly overrated movie.
Boom, called it.