Even though not much surprised me with the Oscar announcements this morning, I still feel it’s my duty to address the matter, considering how often we talk about movies here anyways. So where to begin exactly? Well let’s begin with the things that surprised me.
Javier Bardem for Biutiful, the latest from Mexican writer/director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Also nominated in the Best Foreign Film category, this one came out of left field. Although Bituiful may have a had a great performance from Bardem and I bet it does, it’s interesting as the film itself really hasn’t been that raved about, I don’t even know how I could of seen it.
Next might be a good time for me to express my opinion about the other Best Actor nominees. Now I liked The Social Network as much as the next guy, but I still find it strange to see Jesse Eisenberg continually nominated for best actor. He was good, but never when watching him did I ever think “He deserves an oscar.” Of course he wont win, but I find it peculiar how all the critics seem to get set in their ways and all come to the same consensus. Personally I would of liked to see Robert Duvall get nominated for Get Low, one of his most powerful and moving performances in years, but that was probably never gonna happen.
John Hawkes in the best supporting actor category is definitely a pleasant surprise. I’m a fan of his work and I always enjoy seeing some of the lesser names get some recognition. Though it would seem the category is more or less a lock for Christian Bale, but still it’s fun to see. If it were up to me I’d give that shiny golden statue to Geoffrey Rush come Oscar night, but seeing that he’s already got an Oscar it’s unlikely, Oscars man, it’s all politics.
In the case of snubs, I think there’s one in particular that’s creating a frenzy and that’s the absence of Christopher Nolan for Best Director. As far as I’m concerned Inception was one of the best films of the year. It was a stunning exploration of the mind that came solely from Nolan’s own noggin, so he gets the royal screw job. It wouldn’t sting so bad if he hadn’t already been snubbed for The Dark Knight in 08′. I mean do the Coens really need another nomination? Come on, let’s mix it up! And David O. Russell? The Fighter was good, but it’s easily the weakest movie considering the amount of nominations it has. If it wasn’t for Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo I wonder if anyone would of even given a shit?
The Town is another film that I believe should of taken the place of The Fighter, in this case for the Best Picture category. It was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the fall and all it has is a single nomination for Jeremy Renner. I swear it’s like all these award shows make a pact about what movies to include and not include. It’s a real shame how uninventive and unfortunately predictable the nominations were this year, but I shouldn’t take it out on the movies most of them were gold!