Monday, January 13, 2020

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Oscar Nominations 2020)

GOOD
-Six nominations for Parasite, including of course Picture and Directing but also two categories that many hoped it would get but weren't confident that it would: Editing and Production Design.
-Antonio Banderas gets a Best Actor nomination for his sublime work in Pain and Glory!
-Jonathan Pryce gets nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Pope Francis in The Two Popes. Much more expected was the nomination of Anthony Hopkins in Best Supporting Actor for his role as Pope Benedict XVI.
-I Lost My Body is the most inventive among the shortlisted Best Animated Feature films and it gets nominated.
-The Lighthouse gets a very, very well deserved nomination for Best Cinematography.

BAD
-Jennifer Lopez doesn't get the Best Supporting Actress nomination that she so deserved and that she got from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and SAG.
-It's not surprising at all, but I would have loved to see Weathering with You among the Best Animated Feature nominees, especially because the slot that everyone thought Frozen II had sewn up was free.
-Complete shut-out of Dolemite Is My Name. Many, including myself, were hoping for it to get in at least the Costume Design category.
-Not really very upset about it but, come on: does John Williams have to automatically get a nomination for Best Original Score? The scores of Avengers: Endgame and Us were much more deserving.
-Speaking of Avengers: Endgame, just one nomination (Best Visual Effects). Couldn't even get a nod in Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing. Such disrespect for the biggest film of the year.

UGLY
-It's official: the Academy is blind to the capabilities of Asian actors. Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Song Kang-ho, or any of the other actors of Parasite: all snubbed. I actually expected it (didn't predict any of them to get into their respective categories), but it's still bad. I wanted to be wrong.
-Also official: unless you're starring in a socio-politically important film like Get Out, you won't get an acting nomination no matter how absurdly excellent you are. Last year, it was Toni Collette. This year, it's Lupita Nyong'o. Both criminal snubs.