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 earlier today, we asked for our writers to submit their general reactions to the Oscar nominations.
The Oscar nominations are in, and I was impressed. I was disappointed, not surprised, but glad to see my favorites: Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Colin Farrell, Ke Huy Quan, and Michelle Yeoh. I shouldn’t be surprised by Austin Butler’s nomination (I’m happy, though). We saw what happened with Taron Egerton’s portrayal of Elton John. At least the Academy recognized another superb performance. The push for Andrea Riseborough for To Leslie was a shock and an upset when you have other performances that were just as riveting that should’ve been in the nods (looking at Danielle Deadwyler). There was one sneak, and it was Ana de Armas’s nomination. Paul Mescal’s subtle performance in Aftersun was definitely on my radar, and I’m glad to see his first nod for his first leading role. I’m so excited for Stephanie Hsu and Brian Tyree Henry for their nominations in EEAAO and Causeway, respectively. Hsu should’ve been on the awards radar from the get-go (sorry, Jamie Lee!). Also, Henry’s era is just getting started. The disappointment with snubbing Nope, The Woman King,and Till,among others, shouldn’t even be a surprise, but I believed to see a little glimmer of light in the award season tunnel. (Chantal Ashford)
Movies are cool, and so are acting nominations for Paul Mescal, Hong Chau, Bill Nighy, Brian Tyree Henry, Stephanie Hsu, Barry Keoghan, and Ke Huy Quan. Good stuff. (Robert Bouffard)
When looking at this year’s batch of nominations, there are a couple things I was sad to see not get nominations that just weren’t in the awards race: The Menu’s screenplay, The Batman’s score, The Northman’s anything. However, there’s one nomination that has been in the race, and stuck its head up again here, that I need explained to me. What did I miss with Ana de Armas in Blonde? Seriously. I think I got 30 minutes in and realized, after getting past the awful extended flashback, I could make better use of my next two-and-a-half hours by just hitting the eject button. I know I wasn’t alone in the way I felt about the film overall in finding it off-putting, and I get that there can be a performance worth recognizing in a film that is largely problematic, but I truly am going to need the love for this performance white boarded for me. If it’s just as simple as the old, “Hollywood loves Hollywood stories” trope, it’s one of the most mystifying examples of a trope that never fails to mystify. (Jake Bourgeois)
No major surprises this year. I loved how many nominations Everything Everywhere All at Once got, loved seeing “Naatu Naatu” from RRR getting a best song nomination, and Paul Mescal getting the nomination for Aftersun, too. Didn’t like the zero nominations for Decision to Leave, but overall, pleasantly surprised, and excited to watch the Oscars this year. (Luke Burian)
International cinema reigns again this year for the Oscar nominations. It felt like All Quiet on the Western Front was nominated in every other category. Triangle of Sadness hit big with top of the show nominations, and a few others slipped into music and technical categories. The Sea Beast just might be my most pleasant surprise of the whole show, as it’s a really underappreciated Netflix offering. Best Actress sure caused a snuff, and for good reason! When all is said and done, it looks like All Quiet, Everything Everywhere,and Banshees might run this show. (Shane Conto)
As an awards season fan, there is nothing I love more than a little chaos, and this year’s batch of nominations certainly brought it in a few key categories. Unquestionably, the most significant nomination of the year is Andrea Riseborough’s performance in To Leslie, a film which hardly anyone knew before a surprising, last-minute, word-of-mouth campaign by Riseborough’s acting peers. It is difficult to overstate the significance of this nomination, as it opens the door for lesser-seen films to score Oscar nominations through a modernized form of door-to-door campaigning, even after the nomination window has opened. I am bummed by the snubs for Danielle Deadwyler’s performance in Till, and Decision to Leave for Best International Feature, both of which deserved to be in the winning conversation for their categories. Even so, I absolutely love the turnout for first-time acting nominees. 16 out of the 20 nominees received their first nominations this morning (compared with last year’s nine out of 20). It is as exciting to see veteran actors like Bill Nighy or Michelle Yeoh get their due as it is to see up-and-comers like Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal, Brian Tyree Henry, and Stephanie Hsu step onto the scene. (Foster Harlfinger)
Surprisingly, I’m largely okay with this year’s Oscar nominations. There are some notable snubs that I’m not thrilled about. Danielle Deadwyler not being nominated for best actress for Till is a travesty. “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is missing from Best Original Song. Claudio Miranda isn’t nominated for the amazing cinematography in Top Gun: Maverick. Nothing for acting for She Said either! Most curious to me is RRR not being nominated for Best International Feature (and if I’m being honest, Best Picture too). Lucky for us, “Naatu Naatu” will be rocking the Best Original Song category, and I hope the performance will be just as great during the ceremony as it is in the movie. There were also some pleasant surprises! The Sea Beast being nominated for Best Animated Feature warms my heart! I am elated that Stephanie Hsu got in for EEAAO! At this point, I am all in for Everything Everywhere All At Once to take this! (Mike Hilty)
Overall, I’ve got to say, I’m incredibly happy with these nominations! There were a few snubs and things that made me raise my eyebrow, but nothing so egregious that I’d feel inclined to single it out a single category, though it does make me sad that there was so much hesitation towards Babylon. But my beloved Everything Everywhere All at Once leading the pack with 11 nominations? A diverse range of representation in the acting categories? A welcome mix of arthouse films with blockbuster spectacles? It’s hard to not be satisfied. It’s also great seeing Triangle of Sadness sneak in there with some big nominations. Overall, I’m quite happy. Now we just have to wait in eager anticipation for the assuredly awesome live performance of “Naatu Naatu” on the Oscar stage! (Heath Lynch)
It is encouraging to see the highly original Everything Everywhere All At Once receive the nominations across the board it deserves, but my biggest takeaway from the nominations is how it’s time to embrace the addition of genre categories. Horror also had highly original films in 2022 which went entirely unrepresented. Jordan Peele’s Nope should have received at least a Best Original Screenplay or Cinematography nod, and it had multiple award-worthy acting performances. Side note: Best Cinematography not including at least one from The Banshees of Inisherin, The Batman, Nope, and Top Gun: Maverick is crazy. Horror being overlooked is a common occurrence, like in 2018 when Toni Collette should have won for her role in Hereditary, but wasn’t even nominated. Imagine being able to have categories like best horror, action, and comedy, and seeing wins for films like Nope, RRR, and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, respectively. One more takeaway is how Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio deserved so much more than its Best Animated Feature Film nomination. It should have been nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, and even Best Production Design, which would have been a first for an animated movie. (Jason Mack)
It appears the Academy got it right for the night. A couple of pleasant surprises in the actor categories, mainly being Bryan Tyree Henry and Andrea Riseborough. Super excited for BTH because I’m a big fan, and I love him in everything he’s ever done. Also, really happy Ana de Armas has been recognized for her astonishing transformation in Blonde. It’s great to see Paul Mescal nominated also; this one was a shock to me, but I honestly feel every actor nom is deserved. Someone will always miss out in awards like this. When EEAAO came out, most of us were pre-angry at the Academy assuming the film would be overlooked, as it isn’t an “Academy film.” So the best part of my joy is reserved for the fact that it has gotten all the nominations we thought it deserved. (Adam Ritchie)
I’m quite happy with the way things turned out. The big surprise (in a good way) for me was to see Kerry Condon nominated for The Banshees of Inisherin. I haven’t seen five of the Best Picture nominees, but that excites me because it gives me a list of things to check out before the awards! Glass Onion being in the Adapted Screenplay still boggles my mind, but whatever; I don’t make the rules. To me, the biggest upsets are no Best Picture nominations for Babylon or Glass Onion, and no Best Lead Actress nomination for Margot Robbie in Babylon. Although, I’m not sure what you would take out of Best Picture to make room for them. Maybe Avatar and Elvis. Anyways, I loved seeing the nominations because it gave me a long list of films I had heard of, but hadn’t gotten around to. As a movie fan, and someone who felt disappointed by 2022, it seems that I had just not been looking in the right places. (Aaron Schweitzer)
Overall, I am happy with this year’s Oscars nominations. Everything Everywhere All at Once is getting plenty of love in almost every category, and I really hope it gets Best Picture, and Daniels get Best Director. I am ecstatic to see Brendan Fraser in the Best Actor lineup for The Whale. If anyone deserves that Oscar, it’s him. Rian Johnson picking up Best Adapted Screenplay for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has me hopeful. One of the surprises on Best Picture was Elvis. I enjoyed the movie, but I’m not sure if it’s Best Picture good. Austin Butler does, however, deserve his Best Actor nomination, but I still hope Fraser takes home the Oscar. I have been listening to “Lift Me Up” by Rhianna since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever came out. I am thrilled the song picked up a Best Original Song nomination. Turning Red was one I watched late in the year, but I’m definitely glad I watched it; I am also glad it picked up a nomination. All in all, I am very happy with which films got nominations, and I am looking forward to the Oscars this year. (Austen Terry)
Firstly, I have to rant a little bit. Something that’s bugged me for years about award season is how late many big award films come out over here in the U.K. Writing this on the day the nominations have been announced, The Fabelmans, Women Talking,and The Whale still aren’t out yet, and TÁR came out less than two weeks ago. With that out of the way, I love that they have given so much love to Everything Everywhere All At Once. It’s high time they started rewarding films for being informative and original. As for the acting awards, it’s odd that Brendan Gleeson is only considered a supporting actor in The Banshees of Inisherin,and a shame Glass Onion has no actors nominated. However, I understand it, since no single actor stands out in the film. They might as well HAVE not bothered with nominees for Best Visual Effects, because I think we all know what is winning that one. Disappointed at Glass Onion being snubbed for Best Picture, but stunned to see She Said get no nominations at all. But while I’m unhappy with some snubs, all in all, I’m pretty happy with what has been nominated. (John Tillyard)
Overall, I feel like these nominations aren’t too bad. Personally, I was disappointed to see Nope get completely shut out. I wasn’t expecting a flood of nominations, but I expected it to at least be nominated for Sound and Visual Effects. I was higher on Nope than most, but I think most people can agree that those two things definitely deserve some recognition. My biggest surprise was seeing Decision to Leave get completely shut out. As soon as I finished watching it, I thought Park Chan-wook was a guaranteed Best Director nom. I also thought there was no way it didn’t get a Best International Feature nomination as well. Very happy Stephanie Hsu picked up a nom because I thought she was much better than Jamie Lee Curtis in EEAAO, and deserved more recognition. Seeing Brian Tyree Henry get nominated also made me very happy. All in all, pretty good choices across the board, and I can’t wait to watch the broadcast. (Kaleb Wolters)
Every year since I was old enough to watch R-rated movies, I’ve been trying my best to see every film (both features and shorts) nominated for an Oscar. Last year, I got close, but no cigar. After seeing the nominations this morning, I feel confident this is my year. Not only are some of my favorite movies from 2022 represented throughout multiple categories, but Everything Everywhere All At Once (which, I will always maintain, has never been nor will ever be overrated) has scored 11 nods, which not only proves that the Academy is not entirely unwilling to embrace weirdness, but also a satisfying acknowledgement that sometimes popular opinion can align with the views of awards voters. It’s also stellar to see accomplished actors like Brendan Fraser, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Nighy, Brian Tyree Henry honored with their first ever nominations, alongside some truly thrilling inclusions (“Naatu Naatu” springs to mind, alongside some more personal excitement – my producing professor Beth Levison scoring a nomination for Netflix’s short documentary The Martha Mitchell Effect!). It’s a solid collection, and in my humble opinion, one of the best lineups in years. (Rowan Wood)