About 24 hours ago the Oscars nomination for 2020 has just been released, with John Cho and Issa Rae announcing each of the category. It's the first time I am watching this kind of announcement and I'm not sure if this is the first time the Academy is doing it. But kudos. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time (well, not for the documentaries and other "smaller" categories).
As with every year at this time, I have yet to watch many of the movies that are nominated but I feel like this year I am making good progress and will even be able to watch all of the nominated movies by the time the show proper happens on 10 February 2020.
There were surprises, there were shocks. Let me try to address each one. (A list of the nomination is attached at the bottom, but I have omitted the categories which I am not interested in or not familiar with, like the technical side, or make-up and costume categories which I don't really have an eye for.)
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Frozen II
First and the most notable snub was Frozen II from the Animated Feature category. I have only seen three of the nominated five so I can't really call this snub, but it's really shocking to see Disney Animated Studios being shut out this year.
Joker
A big congratulations to Joker for garnering 11 nominations, the most for the year and the biggest one for the comic book genre, even though this one did not play like a comic book movie. I don't think even the studio was ready for the massive love the Academy has shown the movie. But we still have to see how many wins will come out of these 11 nominations. And with it, this marks the second year in a row that a comic book movie is nominated in Best Picture!
The Lighthouse
I am, however, disappointed to see some movies that did not get more love. One in particular is The Lighthouse which saw Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe being shut out for the Acting categories. And I see this as a result of The Two Popes coming in from outside of my radar, and paving way for Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce getting nominated.
Scarlett Johansson
Another huge congratulations to Scarlett Johansson for nabbing a place in both the Leading Actress and Supporting Actress nominations. I liked Johansson's acting, but I never thought she would get this kind of love. I have not seen Jojo Rabbit as of now, but I just saw Marriage Story and it would have been difficult to top her performance.
All-Male Directors
I applaud the Academy for being brave enough in this sensitive times to say that, hey, if the men did better than the women this particular year in Directing, then it is only fair that we give out a list that is all men. I say this in the hope that you, the reader, will not think I am an anti-women neanderthal but just being fair for the sake of fairness.
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
This movie has been blown out of proportion. It really isn't that good. Quentin Tarantino is good, but this is nowhere near his best. There were lulls in the movie which made the movie at least 20 minutes too long. The character of Margot Robbie wasn't even necessary. But Hollywood being Hollywood, they love movies about Hollywood and that is probably the only reason why this movie is getting so many categories as well.
Quentin Tarantino
Personally, I would not have nominated Tarantino for Writing nor Directing for reasons in the paragraph above. And because he is in, he has taken a spot that I felt others would have deserved more, like Rian Johnson for Knives Out, Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit and James Mangold for Ford v Ferrari.
Ford v Ferrarri
Another surprise here is both Christian Bale and Matt Damon not getting nominated, though I would have a hard time kicking anyone off the list. And I think it's high time James Mangold gets an Oscar nomination for Directing.
The Farewell
The disappointment here isn't in Awakwafina not getting nominated. Unlike the silly Golden Globes, I thought she wouldn't be able to stand toe to toe with the others in this list. But the disappointment here was Zhao Shuzhen playing "Nainai", who tore my heart apart every time she was onscreen.
Lupita Nyong'o
I didn't enjoy Us, not at all. Logic problems plagued this movie for me. But I don't think you can deny Nyong'o's performance, especially when playing two roles. But for how much I didn't enjoy the movie, I am not crying over it.
Robert DeNiro
So there was no surprise here with DeNiro not making the final list, but he has been shut out during most of the award season. I won't be crying over this also.
Bong Joon Ho's Parasite
I am very happy that this movie and its director is having such a grand momentum right now going into the Oscars. It will be really wonderful and very forward of the Oscars if they awarded either the Directing honour or the Best Picture title to this movie. I thought this is would have been well deserved and I think Bong and Parasite's biggest hurdle is 1917.
1917
Speaking of momentum, 1917 is at full speed going into the Oscars. The most obvious for me for this movie would be Roger Deakins for Cinematography. But I have a feeling this movie may sweep most of its category, winning more than Joker.
Ad Astra
I am happy to see Ad Astra getting nominated even if it's something technical like Sound Mixing. I would argue for Brad Pitt for this movie as well but then I am in the minority.
John Williams
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker gets the nomination for Original Score, and with it, John Williams gets his 52nd nomination! Fifty-second!
Avengers: Endgame
At least we can say Endgame is an Oscar nominated movie! But The Lion King maybe should take this award home for being able to fool some people into thinking that the entire movie wasn't done with visual effects.
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Best Picture:
1917
Ford v Ferrarri
Jojo Rabbit
Little Women
Joker
Parasite
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Marriage Story
The Irishman
Directing:
Bong Joon Ho - Parasite
Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Martin Scorsese - The Irishman
Sam Mendes - 1917
Todd Phillips - Joker
Best Cinematography:
Roger Deakins - 1917
Rodrigo Prieto - The Irishman
Robert Richardson - Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Jarin Blaschke - The Lighthouse
Lawrence Sher - Joker
Leading Actor:
Joaquin Phoenix - Joker
Leonardo DiCaprio - Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Antonio Banderas - Pain And Glory
Adam Driver - Marriage Story
Jonathan Pryce - The Two Popes
Leading Actress:
Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story
Cynthia Erivo - Harriet
Charlize Theron - Bombshell
Saoirse Ronan - Little Women
Renee Zellweger - Judy
Supporting Actor:
Brad Pitt - Quentin Tarantino - Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
Joe Pesci - The Irishman
Al Pacino - The Irishman
Anthony Hopkins - The Two Popes
Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
Supporting Actress:
Kathy Bates - Richard Jewell
Margot Robbie - Bombshell
Laura Dern - Marriage Story
Florence Pugh - Little Women
Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit
Original Screenplay:
Parasite
Knives Out
Marriage Story
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood
1917
Adapted Screenplay:
Jojo Rabbit
The Two Popes
Little Women
Joker
The Irishman
Animated Feature:
Toy Story 4
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Klaus
I Lost My Body
The Missing Link
Visual Effects:
The Lion King
Avengers: Endgame
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
1917
The Irishman
Original Score:
Thomas Newman - 1917
John Williams - Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Randy Newman - Marriage Story
Alexandre Desplat - Little Women
Hildur Gudnadottir - Joker
Best Original Song:
"Into The Unknown" - Frozen II
"Stand Up" - Harriet
"I'm Standing With You" - Breakthrough
"I'm Gonna (Love Me Again)" - The Rocketman
"I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" - Toy Story 4
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