So the biggest snubs that the media talked about were David Oyelowo not getting a Best Actor nod, Ava DuVernay, and to a lesser extent, Angelina Jolie missing out on Best Director nominations and The Lego Movie being shut out of Best Animated Feature Film. I do agree that Oyelowo and The Lego Movie were snubbed, but have mixed feelings about the other two. I've been a fan of Oyelowo since watching him on the British series MI-5 (or Spooks in the U.K.) and he was great as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. Granted, I have not yet seen American Sniper, but I wish Oyelowo, would have gotten nominated over Bradley Cooper. Maybe I'll eat these words after watching American Sniper in the next week or so but I doubt it. The Lego Movie was really wonderful and I was shocked it didn't get nominated for Best Animated Feature Film. Admittedly, I have only seen one of the nominees (Big Hero 6) so far but I've heard mixed things about The Boxtrolls. As for the Best Director snubs, I'm fine with no nomination for Angelina Jolie. Her direction of Unbroken was very "meh"; it wasn't horrible but it wasn't anything special either. It seemed like she was just running through the motions of what a "prestige" film should be, but it fell flat. I notoriously cry when watching movies and I didn't even tear up during Unbroken despite it being a sad, harrowing story. So, no, Jolie did not deserve a directing nomination, especially if she couldn't elicit an emotional reaction from this sap. On the other hand, Ava DuVernay's direction of Selma was very moving. The morning the nominations were announced I heard one commentator on Good Morning America say "I guess Selma directed itself" because the film was nominated for Best Picture but not Best Director. However, because there are only five Best Director nominees and eight Best Picture nominees there are going to be at least three movies that don't get director nominations because of math. My dilemma with DuVernay's snub, though, is that when I saw the movie I could understand why she was left off the nominees list because there were a few times the movie felt a little slow and I think a movie that has a Best Director nominee shouldn't ever feel slow or long despite the actual running time. But then, I saw Foxcatcher and I think Bennett Miller had the same issues where there were times that the movie felt slow and I was aware I was watching a movie instead of being completely caught up in the story. So now, I don't know. I think DuVernay and Miller directed at the same level and it's likely that Miller had the edge with the director's branch of the academy because, unfortunately, they are mostly old men.
The other snubs that didn't get as much media attention but that I was bummed about were Nightcrawler and Gone Girl being left out of Best Picture. Both were wonderful dark thrillers but I really loved Nightcrawler. I also wish Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo had been nominated for their performances in that film. For me the bigger snub for Selma that no one talked about was Carmen Ejogo's performance as Coretta Scott King. She gave a powerfully emotional performance and it got no attention this awards season. And finally, I was surprised that Gillian Flynn didn't get a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for adapting her own book for Gone Girl. It was one of the best adaptations of a book I've ever seen, and it's difficult to adapt a beloved book to the screen without failing or letting down fans.
Moving on from the negative of who didn't get nominated, let's talk about the excitement of who did get nominated. I was most excited about all the love for Grand Budapest Hotel. I've written before about how much I adore Wes Anderson's movies and it was so satisfying to see his work get some recognition from the Academy. Come Oscar night it will most likely win in the more technical categories but I'll be rooting for it to win for all nine of it's nominations. Other films I was happy to see get nominations were Boyhood (great performances and a very true portrait of what it's like to grow up as a child of divorce), The Imitation Game (my husband and I called it "a perfect movie" when we walked out of the theatre) and Whiplash (a fascinating look into an intense music school experience). I also adored Meryl Streep in Into the Woods. She is a national treasure.
Since I last wrote there have also been a couple of awards shows that have aired. First was the Critics' Choice Awards and I have to admit most of those awards are a haze for me. It's the only movie award show to air on a week day and this may show that I'm getting older but it was very difficult for me to stay awake and alert enough to pay attention. My general impression of the night was that it was less awkward than it has been the past couple of years and the writing had gotten better because there were some funnier bits with the presenters. The SAG Awards have also aired and there were a few good moments throughout the night. The ceremony always starts with various actors and actresses in the audience turning towards the camera and telling a story about how they became or why they are an actor. It's usually incredibly awkward and doesn't flow well, but this year it wasn't as annoying and ended with Zach Galifianakis humorously exclaiming, "I'm and actor?!" Patricia Arquette gave a moving acceptance speech and talked about being a 4th generation actor and gave shout outs to all of her siblings. My favorite moment of the night though was when Carrie Fisher presented the life time achievement award to her mother, Debbie Reynolds. They are both a little nutty but I LOVE it. I've read both of Carrie Fisher's autobiographies and the SAGs felt like a little window into her crazy relationship with her mother. Amazing.
One of my favorite things to do when the nominations are announced is to make a list of all of the nominated movies I have to see and challenge myself to see them all before Oscar night. The day the nominations were announced I had 44 movies to see and as of writing this I have 27 to go. Which means I need to wrap things up for now because I made a deal with myself that I couldn't go see any more movies until I finished this post and my husband and I are having a date night double feature tonight. So adios for now, I promise to update more in the next couple of weeks!
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