The 91st Academy awards have very recently just happened. I did not see the ceremony, because there is only so much narcissism and political agenda shoving I can take, but I am always curious to see who wins. Here are my reactions to all of the winners. This is in the order of the live update on iMDB for the most part.
Best Picture: Green Book
I haven't seen this film, but from looking at what else has been nominated and what has been nominated in past years, the Academy played it safe. It seemed like they picked a movie that they knew would appeal to a lot of people instead of actually picking the best movie. Roma could have been the first ever foreign film to win Best Picture. The Favourite has some of the best videography, performances, and writing of the entire year and it didn't win. Black Panther could have been the first ever comic book film to win Best Picture. Instead of choosing something memorable, they chose Green Book. I'm sure it's a good movie, but it has "will be forgotten in a few years" written all over it. I'm sorry, but I highly disagree with this decision.
Best Actor: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Everybody that has ever talked about this movie say that Rami Malek was, without question, the best part of this movie. The fact that he did win came as no surprise. Honestly, this is the only award Bohemian Rhapsody should have one. I haven't seen it, but every other category it won overshadowed movies that actually deserved the recognition. With that being said, congrats to Malek for winning.
Best Actress: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Olivia Colman gave my absolute favorite performance of 2018, and seeing her win the award is fantastic. I'm sure a lot of people were rooting for Glenn Close to win, especially considering she has never won. My argument for this case is that The Favourite, as a whole, is more memorable than The Wife. I have never seen The Wife, but I had never heard of it until it was Golden Globes season. Nobody remembers it, they just hear that Glenn Close is great. The Favourite, is not just a fantastic movie, but it has a fantastic lead performance, and Colman absolutely deserves the award.
Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Roma)
No one else deserved to win this award other than Alfonso Cuaron. If anyone were to come close, it would be Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite. However, Roma is so gorgeously realized from beginning to end, that it had to win. I am so glad that this film got best director. Roma is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it deserves everything it won and more.
Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
I'm not surprised with the decision here. I would have gone with Sam Elliot for A Star is Born, but way to go Ali! Second win in a row!
Best Supporting Actress: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
I'm still upset that I missed this film! I've heard great things, and the fact that King won best supporting actress is no surprise to me. From what I've seen, my vote would have gone to Marina de Tavira for Roma, but hey, congrats to King!
Best Original Screenplay: Green Book (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly)
Well, I am disappointed. Sure, I haven't seen Green Book, but the writing of Roma is so fantastic! And the dialogue of The Favourite is great! I don't think this should have won at all.
Best Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman (Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee)
While I didn't love this movie, I did enjoy it a lot, and the script is great. I'm happy it won, even though I would have rather voted for either A Star is Born or The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. But hey, it's still a good choice.
Best Cinematography: Roma (Alfonso Cuaron)
I absolutely adore Roma, so you know that I want Roma to win everything that it's been nominated for, so I'm incredibly happy that this won. However, this is probably the one category where I would have gone with something else. Personally, I would have voted for The Favourite. That being said, I am still very glad that this won, for this is a gorgeous film.
Best Film Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody (John Ottman)
I haven't seen the entirety of this film, but I did see one particular clip on twitter. The way the shots were cut together were so choppy and clunky, that it was genuinely hard to focus on anything. From that alone, I don't think this should have won. It may just be the one scene, and there might be some instances with better editing, but judging from the one clip, I would not have voted for this at all.
Best Production Design: Black Panther (Hannah Bealcher, Jay Hart)
Yeah, I can understand the decision for this one. Though I would have preferred the vote go to either Roma or The Favourite, I'm glad Black Panther won. As long as you don't count the special effects, the visuals were easily the best part of this film. So... yeah. No complaints here.
Best Costume Design: Black Panther (Ruth E. Carter)
Once again, I completely understand the decision. The costumes in this film are incredible. I would have voted for The Favourite, but hey, glad Black Panther won in a category that it deserved to win.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Vice (Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, Patricia Dehaney)
I have not seen this movie, but from the images I've seen, the makeup is impressive. No surprises here. This is one of a few categories where I saw none of the movies nominated, and my prediction was correct. Go me.
Best Original Score: Black Panther (Ludwig Goransson)
The music is pretty sweet, so I can't complain, although I would have much preferred to see Isle of Dogs win this one. It's definitely not the best score, but it's good enough.
Best Original Song: "Shallow" from A Star is Born (Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt)
As much of an obvious choice this is, I'm glad this song won. It's a great song from a great movie, and no other song deserved to win in my opinion. It was definitely the only song worthy of this award.
Best Sound Mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody (Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, John Casali)
I have a hard time differentiating the difference between sound mixing and sound design. I know they're different, but it's hard for me to tell the difference. With that being said, from what I've seen, I would have much preferred Roma win. If you've seen the movie, you should understand.
Best Sound Editing: Bohemian Rhapsody (John Warhurst, Nina Hartstone)
Again, Roma should have one. The sound design for this film is some of the best I have ever seen/heard in a movie. The fact that it did not win upsets me.
Best Visual Effects: First Man (Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, J.D. Schwalm)
I haven't seen it, but I'm not surprised because the Academy tends to go for space movies when it comes to best special effects. I would have gone with Infinity War, but I'm not complaining.
Best Documentary Feature: Free Solo (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes, Shannon Dill)
I have not seen this, but judging by the synopsis, it sounds fascinating. I want to see it. This is one of a few categories in which I saw none of the movies nominated, and my prediction was correct. Go me.
Best Documentary Short: Period. End of Sentence. (Rayka Zehtabchi, Melissa Berton)
Hey look, another winner that I have not seen. It's an important subject, so hey, neat. This is one of a few categories in which I saw none of the movies nominated, and my prediction was correct. Go me.
Best Animated Feature Film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller)
This is easily, without question, the best movie in this category. I am so glad the Academy recognized that! Spider-Verse is such an incredible film, and I'm ecstatic that it got the award acclaim that it deserved! This is easily my favorite outcome to come out of the Oscars this year.
Best Animated Short Film: Bao (Domee Shi, Becky Neiman)
This short is absolutely adorable. That is all I have to say. Next.
Best Live Action Short: Skin (Guy Nattiv, Jaime Ray Newman)
Haven't seen it, interesting synopsis, blah blah blah. This is one of a few categories in which I saw none of the movies nominated, and my prediction was incorrect. I predicted the award would go to Marguerite, but I was wrong. Whoops.
Best Foreign Film: Roma
Oh my gosh what a surpriiiiiiiiiise. But seriously though, Roma is a masterpiece, and I am very glad it won. I do wish that I had seen the other nominees in this category, but hey, another win for my favorite film of 2018 is never a bad thing.
Final thoughts: The best word I can use to describe the results of this Oscars ceremony is "pandering." A lot of the winners they picked seemed to be because they were popular instead of if it was truly spectacular quality. This year in particular made it feel like the Best Picture honor feel meaningless. A lot of previous Best Picture winners completely outshine this one in premise and memorability alone. And Bohemian Rhapsody did way better than it had any right to. I feel like the Academy played it safe this year. Hopefully next year will be better and more interesting, but I doubt it. If the ratings are better, then they will probably keep this trend going. Whatever. The Oscars have started to lose relevance anyways, so why bother? Anyways, now I can finally leave the 2018 movie season behind me. Good night.
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