Ah, here we go again! Hollywood will be the center of the world for this year’s Oscars ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. on ABC. There are some great films up for nominations, but what would an Oscars ceremony be without any controversy?
If you recall last year, the Academy Awards did well with inclusion, as many hailed the ceremony’s biggest winner as diversity. Films like BlackKklansman, Black Panther, and Roma lead with nominations in major categories. While Roma swept the floor with three wins in significant categories (Director, Foreign Language Film, and Cinematography), Green Book left with the grand prize of Best Picture.
It was a divisive choice because some thought Green Book was a white savior movie, while others believed it as a lesson in breaking down barriers. Regardless, I enjoyed it much more than Roma and found it worthy of the award.
Although last year looked like a step in the right direction for inclusion at the Oscars, the Academy has taken a thousand steps back. Across all the major categories of acting and directing, the Academy has only chosen two people who are not white. This includes Cynthia Erivo of Harriet for Best Actress and Bong Joon-ho of Parasite for Best Director.
On top of this, films driven by white male stories have dominated Best Picture and other important categories. Those flicks are 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Irishman, Ford v Ferrari, Jojo Rabbit, and Joker, which leads with 11 nominations. This move by the Academy comes as such a shock, where there were plenty of films that could’ve been included to diversify the field.
Some of the most notable diverse movies that were snubbed involve the Asian family drama The Farewell (for Best Picture, Best Director for Lulu Wang and Best Actress for Awkwafina), death row justice drama Just Mercy (for Best Picture and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan), the Rudy Ray Moore inspired comedy Dolemite is My Name (for Best Picture and Actor for Eddie Murphy), and the Jordan Peele directed horror Us (for Best Picture, Actress for Lupita Nyong’o, and Director for Peele).
Other outcry worthy snubs included Best Actress for Jennifer Lopez’s role in Hustlers, Best Director for Greta Gerwig’s work in Little Women, and Best Original Song for Beyoncé’s ‘Spirit’ from The Lion King.
Considering all the possibilities they had, you can’t help but just take a step back and think, “Wow; how’d they screw that up?”
The Academy could’ve easily had diversity across the board, but they rolled up the red carpet on that.
This sends a bad message out to Hollywood again. With such a great melting pot of talent in so many strong films, shutting the door on inclusion is archaic today.As a place that’s liberal and tends to be forward thinking, it’s incredible how backwards they can be.
As for the nominations we got, it’s a mixed bag. There are some great films up for nominations like director Martin Scorsese’s mob drama The Irishman, director Bong Joon-ho’s wild rollercoaster ride Parasite, the Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins led drama The Two Popes, the sincere yet heartbreaking Marriage Story directed by Noah Baumbach, and the exhilarating Christain Bale led race movie Ford v Ferrari. Those are all the films worth checking out ahead of the show.
Then there are the overrated picks that the Academy loves for some reason. The Nazi comedy Jojo Rabbit couldn’t get a smirk out of me, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is only nominated because it strokes Hollywood’s ego, 1917 was a one shot gimmick, Joker was fine but downright depressing, and Little Women was just okay. So while there are plenty of strong choices, there are also some poor ones.
Unfortunately, it’s not a year where I’m enthralled by every film nominated. However, if some of the previously mentioned snubbed were nominated, the Oscars could’ve been a big splash.
Outside the nominations, the Academy chose to go hostless again for the ceremony. If you recall last year, comedian Kevin Hart was controversially ousted as host when his homophobic tweets resurfaced from years ago. Instead of trying to find a replacement for Hart, they boldly chose to go hostless.
The move was a great success, as the ceremony moved quickly and finished at a decent time, compared to the sluggish four hour event we were all too familiar with. It’s great how they just cut the mumbo jumbo and got right on with the show.
What will be presented? Below is the list of nominees for major categories in acting and Best Picture.
After the list, I’ll give my pick of who or what I’d like to see win, then the prediction of who or what will most likely win the award.
Best Picture:
1917
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
The Irishman
Little Women
Jojo Rabbit
Marriage Story
Pick: Parasite
Prediction: 1917
Parasite was one where you walk out of the theater with your eyes still wide and say, “Wow, that was amazing.” The Korean film has a story that digs the family deeper into a hole and their way out is full of twists and turns.
If Parasite were to win Best Picture, it would be unprecedented. There’s never been an international film to win Best Picture, but Parasite is worthy. Usually Best Picture goes to the most popular film and many people have seen Parasite in this case. It’s grossed over $143 million worldwide and nearly $30 million in the U.S.
However, the Best Picture category is completely wide open. It’s filled with films many have seen and enjoyed, yet not one has been a runaway favorite at award ceremonies leading up to the Oscars.
I don’t think the Academy will pick something from Netflix in protest (as good as those films are), which knocks off two. They could choose Once Upon a Time in Hollywood because they’re full of themselves, but I think ultimately they may pick 1917.
It won Best Drama at the Golden Globes and a lot of critics like it (even though it’s one of the most boring and safest movies I’ve seen recently). Plus, it’s a movie out in theaters, which will get people to the cinema.
Best Actor
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Pick: Robert DeNiro
Prediction: Joaquin Phoenix
I know, DeNiro is not nominated for Best Actor, but this is highway robbery. For three-and-a-half hours, the camera was on DeNiro the entire time and he gave an unforgettable performance. If you’re going to replace an actor for DeNiro in this category, I got two: Banderas and DiCaprio. Both were mediocre in their roles and I wasn’t a big fan of their films. Shame on the Academy for this.
Regardless, the runaway favorite is Phoenix. He’s winning awards left and right at award ceremonies like he’s Daniel Day Lewis. Admittedly, he did a great job in his role, for Phoenix shedded so much weight it was concerning. But I’ll never let go of DeNiro’s snub.
Best Supporting Actor
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Pick: Joe Pesci
Prediction: Brad Pitt
For Pesci to be out of the game for nearly 20 years and give such a powerful performance in The Irishman was incredible. Throughout his whole performance, he acted cool and tough. Even acting as an old man (which he already is), was powerful, as he was shaking his hands or stuttering on some words. It’s as though Pesci never left.
So to give the award to Pitt would be pitiful but we know it’s going to happen. For some reason, Hollywood has fallen in love with Pitt all over again. Maybe it was because his role mostly consisted of him wandering around with his shirt off? I could see a GQ award but an Oscar? Malarky!
Best Actress
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Pick: Cynthia Erivo
Prediction: Renée Zellweger
Harriet wasn’t as good as it should’ve been, but Erivo was superb. She put a lot of care into being Tubman and carried the film.
There’s no knocking Zellweger though. She felt like a clone of Judy Garland, from the mannerisms down to the singing voice. Hollywood loves Garland, so it’s the perfect combination for Zellweger to take the award ‘Over the Rainbow.’
Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Pick: Laura Dern
Prediction: Laura Dern
Frankly, most of these performances were forgettable except for Dern’s. Sure, they were fine, but I wasn’t blown away by them.
Dern’s portrayal of a ferocious divorce attorney served as the spark for Marriage Story. She makes you want to think,
“Dang, I better get my marriage together before an attorney like that gets involved!” She’s ruthless yet sophisticated in the role, which will get her the Oscar, case closed.
IMAGE TAKEN from Vanity Fair
