The Oscars are a big deal for movie fans. No award is more highly regarded by both movie buffs and casual watchers. So it is a big deal when a film gets a nomination, and especially when it wins an award from The Academy. With the nominations being revealed yesterday, we asked for our writers to submit their general reactions to the Academy Awards nominations.
My initial reaction to the Oscar nominations was that it was a safe, solid list that, with the exception of the love for Don’t Look Up, included nothing that would make me upset. I would have loved to see more appreciation for Mass, The French Dispatch, The Green Knight, Lamb, The Last Duel, Pig, and a host of other films, but I understand that sort of thing doesn’t happen thanks to the politics of it all. So out of everything that actually was in contention, while I’m ecstatic about the Nightmare Alley praise, I was disappointed to see a lack of Bradley Cooper (Nightmare Alley is in contention for his best performance, and he’s really, really great in Licorice Pizza). And the biggest snub in my book was Denis Villeneuve, while literally everything else about Dune got nominated. Who do you think orchestrated it all?! But I do love that Kristen Stewart nabbed that final Best Actress slot over Lady Gaga — Stewart was outstanding in Spencer. But with all that being said, my main takeaway is that I need to find a way to see Drive My Car, Parallel Mothers, and The Worst Person in the World! (Robert Bouffard)
Let’s do this Sergio Leone style. The Good: Loved seeing the diversity of nominees. Another international film in the Best Picture race. A first time Best Animated Feature/Best International Feature/Best Documentary Feature triple nominee. First deaf male nominee (Troy Kotsur, CODA). So glad CODA wasn’t forgotten and that streaming films continue to get proper respect. However… The Bad: The Power of the Dog led the way 12 nominations and I just don’t get it. There were tons of amazingly shot movies this year, but I’m not sure how none of Belfast, Last Night in Soho, or The Green Knight made the cut for Best Cinematography. Speaking of The Green Knight, nothing?! Did you try to read the story it was adapted from? I did. It was a vast improvement. Denis Villeneuve getting Argo’d. What does the Academy have against Morgan Neville? No nomination for Won’t You Be My Neighbor? a few years back and Roadrunner wasn’t even on this year’s shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. Being the Ricardos was fine. I loved JK Simmons’ performance, but I think the other acting noms would have been better served going elsewhere. Which brings us to… The Ugly: JUSTICE FOR JODIE COMER! (Jake Bourgeois)
As other cinephiles, I don’t understand Denis Villeneuve not being up for best director. I also secretly hoped for at least a nomination or two for Last Night in Soho (costumes, production design, camera…) but I knew that won’t probably happen. I was also shocked to see Don’t Look Up not being nominated for any acting awards. Overall, it’s Oscars — people will always have thoughts about who deserves to be there, who doesn’t, and so on. For my money, the nominations were what I expected. Now just need to watch as many Oscar nominated movies and performances before the March 27! And I hope you will too. (Luke Burian)
I am sad that there was no love for The Green Knight at the Oscars, but I am so happy to see that the international films got plenty of love this year! Flee could make history, and if it wins all three awards it is nominated for, that would be well deserved for such a moving and impactful film. (Shane Conto)
Admittedly, there are quite a few of the Oscar nominations I need to watch to better grasp who I feel like deserves the Oscar nominations, especially the category for Best International Film (Drive My Car must be one hell of a movie to get both that and a Best Picture nomination). However, while I’m glad that CODA got a best picture nomination and that Andrew Garfield got the love he deserves for his role in tick, tick… BOOM!, I feel that the latter film got snubbed for Best Picture. Admittedly, that opinion may change once I get the chance to catch up on the rest of the nominees, but it feels left out. (Joseph Davis)
In a year with so many incredible films and performances, I find myself being more joyous than annoyed at this year’s nominations. Would I have loved to see Nic Cage get the Best Actor nomination? Absolutely. But seeing the love for CODA, Drive My Car, and Kristen Stewart more than cancels out my annoyances. I think Denis Villeneuve easily could have been nominated, but I don’t really want anybody taken off the list who did get nominated. The exclusion of both Alana Haim and Rachel Zegler feels like a miss, more so because I feel like their performances were head and shoulders better than Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. The Being the Ricardos and Don’t Look Up love will always sort of confuse me, but we can always trust the Academy to have some weird opinions. THANK THE HEAVENS that they finally utilized the ability to nominate 10 films for Best Picture though. I have never understood why they don’t just always nominate 10 films. All in all, I was expecting to be a lot more disappointed than I actually was. There will always be snubs, but I feel like they did alright this year. (Nashua Doll)
The 2022 Oscar nominations pleasantly surprised me with their appreciation for foreign films like Drive My Car, Parallel Mothers, and The Worst Person in the World. It’s wonderful to see first-time nominations for excellent actors like Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, and Kristen Stewart. However, ignoring best-of-the-year performances like Ruth Negga for Passing, Jodie Comer for The Last Duel, and the entire cast of Mass will not age well. The most frustrating choice made by the Academy this year occurred when they chose to nominate Judi Dench’s brief appearance in Belfast over the terrific Caitriona Balfe. Beyond the performances, the most egregious snubs are Denis Villeneuve for Best Director, Spencer in categories other than Best Actress, and beautiful films like C’mon C’mon, The French Dispatch, The Green Knight, The Last Duel,and Mass being completely ignored. In spite of the Academy’s expected safer picks (*cough* *cough* Being the Ricardos), there were a number of pleasant surprises, making this year’s batch of nominations better than I had expected. I appreciate the fantastic turnout for films I personally loved, including CODA, Drive My Car, Dune, Flee, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog, and The Worst Person in the World. (Foster Harlfinger)
I’m a normie, so no big opinions on the main contenders. But Suicide Squad (2016) winning an Oscar and The Suicide Squad (2021) not even being considered for Best Makeup or Best Visual Effects is my Joker origin story. (Alex Henderson)
This is the first year in a long time where I’ve seen more than half the Oscar nominees right off the bat instead of waiting until a movie theater has them all available for an Oscar binge. Generally, there are a few snubs out there that I’m a little peeved about. The Last Duel practically getting shut out, particularly Jodie Comer’s performance, was probably what I didn’t like the most. Denis Villeneuve not getting a Best Director nod bothered me too. Ruth Negga’s performance in Passing getting passed over is also a snub. I was surprised that The Mitchells vs the Machines finally got a little love for Best Animated Film, while there was maybe too much love for Being The Ricardos. This will be interesting because a lot of the contenders are streaming platforms have a legit chance for Best Picture. I personally don’t think it’ll happen this year, but it’s getting closer. (Mike Hilty)
If anything, for me the nominations were just puzzling. Some of the films that got many nominations (The Power of the Dog, CODA, Belfast, etc.) seemed to me that they came and went in terms of hype and buzz, while others that were more notable and exciting “Oscar” films such as The Last Duel, The French Dispatch, Spencer, and many others got none or very little. Of course, being a big horror fan, I’ll keep wishing the Academy took horror filmmaking more seriously. Last Night in Soho and Malignant made 2021 an unforgettable year for me. While I still would’ve preferred many others get nominated, at least it gives me motivation to check out some others I wouldn’t have gotten to until much later! (May Honey)
The 2022 Oscar nominations were mostly what I expected. Best Picture went chalk this year with the exception of Drive My Car. This film getting a Best Picture and Best Director nomination was surprising to me, but also a positive sign that the Academy is willing to consider foreign films in the bigger discussion after Parasite’s historic win in 2020. I might replace King Richard or Nightmare Alley with tick, tick… Boom! in the Best Picture nominations, but that’s just me. I was also disappointed to see that Alana Haim wasn’t nominated for Licorice Pizza, but was still appreciative of the film’s recognition, as it was one of my favorites of 2021. There are still about seven or eight films I need to see in this year’s race and I’m excited to get to them! (Jacob Kinman)
This is the year for Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Garfield! I’ll be shocked if they don’t both take home statues for their categories. I’m a little surprised and disappointed that there was no love for Nicholas Cage in Pig; definitely a snub! (Matt Lawson)
For the most part, I’m fairly satisfied. I do however have two major gripes. First and foremost, Denis Villeneuve not getting a Best Director nom is ridiculous. The movie got 10 other noms, but not Best Director? Does the Academy think the movie made itself? Absurd. Second, Ridley Scott backed the wrong horse. Marketing and campaigning should’ve gone into The Last Duel, one of the best films of the year, which got shut out completely from the Oscars, instead of the far weaker House of Gucci. It’s irritating beyond belief to see Villeneuve and The Last Duel stiffed like this. Also, “Edgar’s Prayer” should’ve gotten a Best Original Song nom, just sayin’… (Heath Lynch)
First thing’s first: I am a lover of the Oscars. I have been watching them every year since I was five years old, and will continue until I’m 85 and beyond. However, every year the nominations come, and every year I react in shock, awe, and disappointment. I’d say this year the Oscars mostly got things right. I’m happy to see love for Belfast, Don’t Look Up, and Dune. I’m also happy to see that Sony and Disney have made their appearance in their specialist categories (Visual Effects and Animated Feature respectively) with deserving films. However, with each year, as I mentioned, I am annoyed by some obvious snubs that cause me to question the Academy’s ability to reason. This year, they are the following: Denis Villeneuve for Best Director, Caitriona Balfe for Best Supporting Actress in Belfast, and both Spider-Man: No Way Home and tick, tick…BOOM! for Best Picture. While nigh unacceptable, this is, alas, the way of the Oscars, and maybe even why I like it so much — you just never know what will happen after all. Now, all that’s left to do is to wait and see where the results take us. I’ll be watching. (Alice-Ginevra Micheli)
The Best Picture noms didn’t surprise me at all. tick, tick… BOOM! Is probably the biggest omission. Jodie Comer is the biggest snub in lead actress. Being the Ricardos is a huge surprise for its acting nominations. Denis Villeneuve not getting Best Director nomination is ridiculous, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. (Adam Ritchie)
Mass deserves better. (Aaron Schweitzer)
The first thing I am excited about is that CODA is getting some love in the 2022 Oscars, picking up a Best Picture nomination, Best Supporting Actor nomination, and Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Secondly, I do feel tick, tick… BOOM! deserved at least a Best Picture nomination, but I am happy with Andrew Garfield grabbing a Best Actor nomination; he definitely deserves it. Last Night in Soho definitely deserved a Best Picture nomination, and both Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie should have gotten Best Actress nominations. Next, it’s great to see comic book movies getting some love in the Best Visuals category, but Spider-Man: No Way Home did in fact deserve more nominations — it was one of the best comic book movies last year. Encanto has become one of my favorite animated features of last year, and it deserves the Best Animated Feature nomination and Best Score, but I am disappointed that the Best Song nomination went to a song that’s not on people’s minds. The song that got nominated was “Dos Oruguitas,” but the songs “Surface Pressure” and “We Don’t About Bruno” are so much better. I am excited about the Oscars this year, though. (Austen Terry)
Having, at time of writing, only seen four of the 10 best picture nominees, it’s hard for me to make any valid case as to if I think the right films were nominated, especially since I’ve also not seen the film with the most nominations, The Power of the Dog. Dune seems like an odd choice to me, given it’s not even a complete film. It would have made more sense to me to nominate it for Best Director, since the directing of part one of this film was spectacular. But the Academy have snubbed it for that category, possibly because director Denis Villeneuve has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay — guess they don’t want him winning both. In terms of acting nominees, I am happy to see Kristen Stewart’s name on there. It seems she has finally shaken off the stigma of the Twilight films and is being taken seriously as an actress. Will Smith apparently can only be nominated for Oscars when he’s playing real people, and as much as I liked him in King Richard, I don’t think the performance is Oscar worthy. (John Tillyard)
Everything turned out mostly as I expected, excepting a total lack of attention for The Green Knight and an under-appreciation for The Worst Person in the World. I am glad to see that some foreign language films are getting the attention that they deserve, and the nominees are appropriately diverse. Also, as much as I love many of the Best Picture nominees (CODA, King Richard, Don’t Look Up, Nightmare Alley chief among them) I do fear they will lose it all to The Power of the Dog, a film I liked but didn’t love. If that’s a lock for Best Picture, Jane Campion has a very strong chance of winning Best Director as well, despite the strong case I could make for Branagh and Spielberg for their respective films. And hey, now Maggie Gyllenhaal is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for her very first film! It’s always nice when that happens… we’ll see if she loses out to The Power of the Dog as well… (Rowan Wood)