With the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards just announced, this seems to be a good year in terms of what they nominated for Best Picture. My overall reaction to who or what got the chance got nominated wasn’t in anger this time around. However, we will always witness some surprises and snubs whenever nominees are given the chance to shine.
I didn’t find it surprising that Joker got the most nominations, or even the fact Scarlett Johansson got two nominations for Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit, respectively. But when making my predictions, a few there were probably frontrunners might not be in the running anymore.
Let me talk about a few that came to mind as I was watching the nominations live!
SNUB: Jennifer Lopez for Best Supporting Actress in Hustlers
Though I’m usually not a fan of Jennifer Lopez, there’s no denying her performance as Ramona Vega in Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers was fantastic and the best role she’s ever given in her entire career. She also earned nominations for the Golden Globes and SAG awards. So, when her name was missed for Best Supporting Actress, that felt wrong. Hustlers was a great film, and Lopez’s buzz was strong since September. I didn’t think she would win, but I was honestly rooting for her to get this nomination.
SNUB: Greta Gerwig for Best Director for Little Women
It’s another year where female directors weren’t given the recognition for their work in film, and that evidence is clear to find out they left out Greta Gerwig of the Best Director category. Even though she earned a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination and the film itself is in Best Picture, I don’t believe Little Women directed itself. Her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel was beautifully direction and knew how to get great performances out of her actors. She would’ve been the first female director to get nominated for the category because she earned her nomination two years ago with Lady Bird.
SNUB: Rocketman
It was no surprise to see “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” gets a Best Original Song nomination, but it’s kind of sad Rocketman got nothing else, despite positive reviews. Where was Taron Egerton, who gave one of the best performances of the year as Elton John? Didn’t he just win the Golden Globe not too long ago? If Rami Malek can win last year for Bohemian Rhapsody, why couldn’t he at least be in there? But I also think they completely ignored the brilliant Costume Design where the re-creation of John’s stylish outfits were perfect.
SNUB: Robert De Niro for Best Actor in The Irishman
To quote Beanie Feldstein’s character in Lady Bird, “It is the titular role!” Even though both Al Pacino and Joe Pesci made it in for Best Supporting Actor for The Irishman, Robert De Niro was found nowhere for his role as Frank Sheeran. I can’t say I’m surprised since he missed out on the Golden Globes, SAG, and BAFTAs, but I don’t understand the Academy for taking into consideration the best performance the two-time Oscar winner has given in a while.
Surprise: Kathy Bates for Best Supporting Actress in Richard Jewell
Though I haven’t seen Clint Eastwood’s latest drama, I still predicted that Kathy Bates will get nominated for Best Supporting Actress. To my surprise, she actually got in. I heard her performance in Richard Jewell was great, but I didn’t think she would be the one to take Lopez’s place that’s some might not have seen coming.
SNUB: The Farewell for Anything
The Farewell, Lulu Wang’s dramedy about a Chinese family not telling their grandmother that she’s dying from cancer, didn’t get anything. That was one of my favorite movies of last year, and I was hoping it would get at least two nominations. However, no Awkwafina for Best Actress (she also won the Golden Globe), no Zhao Shuzhen for Best Supporting Actress, and no Original Screenplay. Just a big fat goose egg for the movie.
SURPRISE: Knives Out for Best Original Screenplay
Didn’t think it was possible to see Knives Out anywhere in the Oscars, but we are fortunate enough to see Rian Johnson earn a nod for Best Original Screenplay for his hit murder mystery. This was a great choice since they snubbed him in the same category for Looper when that came out, but this was a last-minute prediction and I’m glad to see this gets some love from the Academy.
SNUB: Frozen 2 Snubbed for Best Animated Feature
Frozen 2 just became the highest-grossing animated movie of all-time, and this anticipated sequel didn’t get nominated for Best Animated Feature? I enjoyed this sequel, but the 2013 original will always be better. The film got a Best Original Song nod for “Into the Unknown,” yet I don’t think Disney is too happy that it only got that single nomination. But now I’m guessing the competition is between Toy Story 4 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World to take home to the prize.
SNUB: Dolemite is My Name for Anything
Everyone will agree that Dolemite is My Name is one of the best comedies of the year, and Eddie Murphy’s performance as Rudy Ray Moore helped a ton to make it his comeback film. Yet, despite earning some love at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, the Academy gave no love to the Netflix biopic in Costume Design and Murphy for Best Actor. Granted, the Best Actor category was stacked this year with him and fellow SNL alum Adam Sandler getting snubbed also for Uncut Gems.
SURPRISE: Tom Hanks First Nomination in Almost Two Decades
I got the chance to see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood just a month ago, and I didn’t have time to review it since I was busy just getting out of school. I thought it was a good film, but Tom Hanks’ performance as Fred Rogers was simply amazing. The reason it’s a surprise to see him get nominated for Best Supporting Actor is that this is Hanks’ first acting nomination since Cast Away. That’s right? Remember when the Oscars snubbed him for Captain Phillips? That’s something that can’t be forgiven.
SURPRISE: The Two Popes‘ Nominations
Netflix’s drama The Two Popes got three nominations, including Best Actor for Jonathan Pryce, Best Supporting Actor for Anthony Hopkins, and Best Adapted Screenplay (the latter wasn’t too much of a shocker). But this was one of those movies that I probably would not check out since it’s not the kind of story that it would interest me in watching for two hours.
DC's Take 
Yeah there were a fair amount of annoying snubs, but they also snubbed Lupita Nyong’o because I guess they hadn’t learned their lesson since Toni Colette for Hereditary. I was so annoyed they snubbed the entire cast for Parasite. Oh well at least the Best Picture noms are pretty good.
LikeLike