Oscar Nominations 2021
BEST PICTURE
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
I have not seen The Father yet, but plan to rectify that soon. Out of the rest I would say I am happy for 5 of these. I am confident one of my favorites will win it. The two I don’t agree with are Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Both directors are responsible for my favorite, and maybe the universally decided best movie of 2010 The Social Network. Both have fallen off this year. Chicago 7 is about an important cultural event and decides to tell that story through the balance of the radical and the civil. It chooses civility ultimately. It is a neutered movie that ends with one of the biggest eye roll script choices of all time. It is by no means the Green Book of the year. But it does only use the Black Panthers as a footnote to show brutality of the police while then moving on and never really dealing with any of that again. Some would say good job staying in it’s lane. I felt cowardice and manipulation by using the one black character as an image of oppression then discarding them the same way the police did. It isn’t an awful movie. It is entertaining and is trying to be helpful. I am all for that, and I think it means well but the road to hell etc.
Mank is a tough one. I wanted to love it. I rewatched Citizen Kane, I was reading about Hollywood history and how the scare of communism invading movies at that time. I was ready. Then Gary Oldman made the choices he made, Fincher either didn’t change the script his dad wrote a long time ago or changed it too much. I found a lot to think about but also found it to be poorly executed. I didn’t like it and I felt bad about that. My least favorite Fincher movie with my least favorite Fincher lead performance. I think Oldman sinks the movie. My feelings on this will come up again. I predict Nomadland wins. I have 3 of the same choices.
Here’s my Best Picture choices for what I’ll call The Major’s (gross)
Another Round
Dick Johnson is Dead
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
The Nest
Nomadland
Possessor
Promising Young Woman
Saint Frances
Sound of Metal
The Wolf of Snow Hollow
BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand in Nomadland
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman
I have not seen Andra Day or Vanessa Kirby in their movies yet but I will soon. McDormand and Mulligan deserve this. I’m fine with Davis getting it even though I don’t think the movie is good. Happy for all involved though. I predict Carey Mulligan takes this one. I have two of the same choices.
My choices
Jessie Buckley in I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Carrie Coon in The Nest
Frances McDormand in Nomadland
Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man & Shirley
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman
BEST ACTOR
Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins in The Father
Gary Oldman in Mank
Steven Yeun in Minari
As mentioned previously I have not seen The Father but Hopkins is almost always good. I also said I think Ma Rainey’s is not good but Boseman was inevitable and he is solid in the movie so I’m happy he will get a posthumous win like Ledger did in 2009. I have Ahmed in my choices, and although I don’t have Yeun I’m happy for him being the first Asian best actor nomination. My issue here is with the Oldman pick. I won’t tear down what I think is a lazy and bullshit performance but I will instead raise up some of who I think would be better. Christopher Abbott in Possessor has to do such a hard job of playing sometimes three different things at once and make you believe but also understand a lot of complicated things at once just with his face and physicality. Jude Law in The Nest plays the Willy Loman classic archetype of businessman making bad financial decisions and causing family disruption in a way that makes you hate and understand him deeply. Mads Mikkelsen in Another Round goes from boring & bland to exhilarating and fun without changing anything externally. Just filling his character with a past you can tell was there years ago and giving us the fun we need not to be sad the entire time. Finally, my choice for best acting I saw this year is Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods. On first encountering him and he is wearing MAGA gear and being an ass you wonder if this will turn into something over the top. He instead embodies a dysfunctional and understandable human being that is making difficult choices in a difficult life. His big Oscar moment is later in the movie marching through the jungle. He gives what is the best monologue I’ve seen in a long time. Lindo was the worst “snub” and even though that movie doesn’t totally pull off everything it was trying to do, Delroy Lindo does. Great performance and completely robbed by Oldman’s miscast strange performance. I think Boseman wins, obviously. My choices are
Christopher Abbott in Possessor
Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
Jude Law in The Nest
Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods
Mads Mikkelsen in Another Round
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman in The Father
Amanda Seyfried in Mank
Youn Yuh-jung in Minari
A pretty great category that also includes Glenn Close getting a nomination for a dog shit movie. They will probably give it to her since she lost THE WIFE nomination to the also nominated Olivia Colman. So she won’t win. This is Bakalova, Close, and Seyfried’s award to win. Yuh-jung deserves it as well but this was most likely a nomination only. I think Close wins and it sucks. Although she is the best part of that movie as Spongebob in Sandy’s house asking for water named MAMAW. Amy Adams innocent (kind of)
My choices
Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Toni Collette in I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Olivia Cooke in Sound of Metal
Jennifer Ehle in Saint Maud
Mia Goth in Emma.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr. in One Night in Miami
Paul Raci in Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield in Judas and the Black Messiah
First things first! I dare you to watch Judas and the Black Messiah and tell me who the lead is. It is Lakeith Stanfield. Now, you could argue with me that it’s Kaluuya and I would let it happen because sure, who cares? But one of them is the lead. If one of them aren’t that would mean the movie either has no lead or even funnier and dumber it is saying Jesse Plemons, playing the racist asshole yet it’s Plemons so not as bad as he could be FBI agent. Either way they messed this up. But I’m happy for them but also sad they will probably cancel each other out and Cohen will win for a blah movie instead of winning for Borat. I haven’t seen One Night in Miami yet but will soon. Paul Raci would be a wonderful winner and you should see Sound of Metal. I pick Cohen wins and it’s complicated but overall glad he gets to go on stage and call out Mark Zuckerberg and other asswipes ruining democracy. I won’t be nominating Kaluuya because to me that is a 2021 movie. But if I did he would be in my choices.
My choices
Richard Jenkins in Kajillionaire
Alfred Molina in Promising Young Woman
Paul Raci in Sound of Metal
Michael Stuhlbarg in Shirley
David Thewlis in I’m Thinking of Ending Things
BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Isaac Chung for Minari
Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
David Fincher for Mank
Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round
Chloe Zhao for Nomadland
Happy for everyone here except Fincher. He directed the hell out of the movie but he forgot to add any depth to anything. It looked plastic and felt hollow to me. Fennell did a great job making her first feature but do not think it was good enough for this. She actually got in the way of it being better sometimes. But the good outweighs the bad. Chung is good, Zhao is good. Both movies are delicate and intimate in a way movies can rarely pull off. Vinterberg is in my choices. I predict Zhao wins. I think it’ll be a Nomadland night on April 25th.
My choices
Brandon Cronenberg for Possessor
Kirsten Johnson for Dick Johnson is Dead
Charlie Kaufman for I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Andrew Patterson for The Vast of Night
Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round
I won’t write much more but here are all the nominations. * means who I think will win as of now.
FILM EDITING
The Father
Nomadland *
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sean Bobbit for Judas and the Black Messiah
Erik Messerschimdt for Mank *
Dariusz Wolski for News of the World
Joshua James Richards for Nomadland
Phedon Papmichael for The Trial of the Chicago 7
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father *
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7 *
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
Another Round (Denmark) *
Better Days (Hong Kong)
Collective (Romania)
The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
Qu Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Collective *
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Time
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward ?*
A Love Song for Latasha
PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet *
VISUAL EFFECTS
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet *
ORIGINAL SCORE
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul *
ORIGINAL SONG
Fight for You from Judas and the Black Messiah *
Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7
Husavik from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga
Io Si (Seen) from The Life Ahead
Speak Now from One Night in Miami
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Soul
Sound of Metal *
COSTUME DESIGN
Emma
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank *
Mulan
Pinocchio
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom *
Mank
Pinocchio
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul *
Wolfwalkers
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You ?*
Opera
Yes-People
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers ?*
White Eye
Excited to do some movie catch ups this next month. Hope you are well and if you made it this far thank you and send me a message about your favorite movies or what your favorite nut is. Mine is cashew.