Borrowing a page from Siskel and Ebert from back in the day, we here at Movie Dearest are once again presenting our own version of "If We Picked the Oscars"! These aren't predictions, but what movies, actors, directors, et al that we would vote for if we were members of the Academy. We also chime in with our picks for the "egregiously overlooked" non-nominees in each category as well as what we deem are the "Worst Nominations of the Year".
So without further ado, the envelope please...
The nominees for Best Picture are: Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and Parasite
CC: I love Jojo Rabbit, not only for its audaciously funny approach to life in Nazi Germany but for its unexpected, gut-wrenching emotional moments and terrific cast. This may ultimately prove to be bold director Taika Waititi's masterpiece.
KH: With my own personal top 5 of the year all nominated here, this is an easy one, with my favorite movie of 2019 – Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood – obviously getting my vote for the big one.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: I'm very surprised that Terrence Malick's excellent A Hidden Life was completely snubbed. Based on a powerful true story, it is arguably the longtime Academy darling's most moving and accessible film.
KH: Pedro Almodóvar's Pain and Glory was #6 in my top ten of the year and our Dearie Award winner for Movie of the Year, so here's another easy choice.
For their final voting, Academy members are asked to rank the Best Picture nominees from #1 to #9, so here are our rankings:
CC: 1. Jojo Rabbit, 2. 1917, 3. Marriage Story, 4. Little Women, 5. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, 6. Parasite, 7. The Irishman, 8. Joker (I haven't seen Ford v Ferrari)
KH: 1. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, 2. Little Women, 3. 1917, 4. Marriage Story, 5. Jojo Rabbit, 6. Ford v Ferrari, 7. Parasite, 8. The Irishman, 9. Joker
The nominees for Best Actor are: Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory, Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Adam Driver in Marriage Story, Joaquin Phoenix in Joker and Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes
CC: This is a real toss up for me. Joaquin Phoenix is undeniably powerful in Joker but I'm a longtime fan of first-time nominee Jonathan Pryce, who gives a wonderful performance as Pope Francis in The Two Popes. Under the gun, I think I would lean toward Pryce.
KH: As Salvador Mallo, a filmmaker coming to terms with his life in Pain and Glory, Antonio Banderas gave the performance of a lifetime.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: I expect I'm going to be mentioning A Hidden Life a lot, and August Diehl's soulful turn as Catholic martyr Franz Jagerstatter is my pick here, although Taron Egerton is a close second for me as Elton John in Rocketman.
KH: Our Movie Dearest Man of the Year, Taron Egerton, was fabulous and fantastic as Elton John in Rocketman.
The nominees for Best Actress are: Cynthia Erivo in Harriet, Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story, Saoirse Ronan in Little Women, Charlize Theron in Bombshell and Renée Zellweger in Judy
CC: I was very impressed by Cynthia Erivo's fierce take on emancipator Harriet Tubman and would love to see her move closer to EGOT glory (she could yet win the Oscar this year for Best Song). However, Renée Zellweger's is now for me the definitive, and appreciably compassionate, take on Judy Garland and would get my vote.
KH: Our Movie Dearest Woman of the Year, Renée Zellweger, totally transformed herself – body, soul, voice – into Judy Garland in Judy.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Daisy Ridley was very impressive as the center of the last three Star Wars episodes and coulda/shoulda been recognized for her presumably final appearance as Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.
KH: She's nominated for her terrific supporting turn in Little Women, but Florence Pugh was equally great in a totally different role in Midsommar.
The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are: Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Anthony Hopkins in The Two Popes, Al Pacino in The Irishman, Joe Pesci in The Irishman and Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
CC: Anthony Hopkins deserves the Oscar for making Pope Benedict XV likeable, no easy task!
KH: Brad Pitt was effortlessly cool as stuntman Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Sam Rockwell both cracked me up and moved me as young Jojo Rabbit's closeted Nazi educator and ultimate protector.
KH: Dolemite Is My Name's Wesley Snipes, our scene stealer of the year.
The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are: Kathy Bates in Richard Jewell, Laura Dern in Marriage Story, Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit, Florence Pugh in Little Women and Margot Robbie in Bombshell
CC: The often icy Scarlett Johansson blew me away with her warm, funny yet tragic turn as Jojo Rabbit's secretly rebellious mom.
KH: It's difficult to imagine how Jojo Rabbit would have turned out without Scarlett Johansson as Jojo's loving... and a little loony... mother Rosie.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Rebecca Ferguson was great as the most gleefully vicious villain since Hannibal Lecter in the neglected Doctor Sleep. And snicker all you want, but I thought Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench and newcomer Francesca Hayward were all terrific in the much-derided Cats.
KH: As Senator Dianne Feinstein in The Report, Annette Bening turned in another outstanding performance.... where's her Oscar already?
The nominees for Best Directing are: Bong Joon Ho for Parasite, Sam Mendes for 1917, Todd Phillips for Joker, Martin Scorsese for The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
CC: Sam Mendes did a masterful job directing his intimate World War I epic 1917, seemingly shot as one continuous take.
KH: No other director would have had the guts to rewrite history so audaciously, not to mention as entertainingly, as Quentin Tarantino did with Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Terrence Malick for A Hidden Life, again.
KH: With Little Women, Greta Gerwig did the near impossible: took a story we have seen many, many times before and made it feel not only fresh and new but also modern, without forfeiting its timelessness. Isn't it about time that the Academy just increases the number of nominations (like in Best Picture) in at least the directing and acting categories already?
The nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay are: The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women and The Two Popes
CC: Taika Waititi for Jojo Rabbit gets my vote, and I'm tempted to add a "Heil, Hitler" for good measure. Just kidding!
KH: Greta Gerwig for Little Women, see above.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Mike Flanagan did an excellent job adapting Stephen King's novel sequel to The Shining while honoring Stanley Kubrick's classic film version with Doctor Sleep.
KH: Toy Story 4 needed a compelling reason to exist, and Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom's smart and clever script provided it.
The nominees for Best Original Screenplay are: Knives Out, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and Parasite
CC: I would go with Noah Baumbach's sensitive Marriage Story, although I'd be tempted to vote for Rian Johnson's Knives Out just for fun.
KH: Tarantino already has two screenplay Oscars and my vote for directing, so my vote here would go to Noah Baumbach for Marriage Story, his finely-crafted, warts-and-all exploration of divorce.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: The heartfelt and moving The Last Black Man in San Francisco (by Joe Talbot, Jimmie Falls and Rob Richert), completely ignored by the Academy.
KH: Pedro Almodóvar, a previous winner here for Talk To Her, deserved a return invite for his bittersweet, semi-autobiographical Pain and Glory.
The nominees for Best Cinematography are: The Irishman, Joker, The Lighthouse, 1917 and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
CC: 1917.
KH: Roger Deakins' expert camerawork on 1917 was equal parts stunning technical marvel and awe-inspiring artistic achievement.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC:The gorgeous Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
KH: Claire Mathon's lush photography of Portrait of a Lady swept the three major American critics' group awards, yet somehow came up short with the Academy.
The nominees for Best Production Design are: The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, 1917, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and Parasite
CC: Jojo Rabbit.
KH: From the Manson Ranch to the Playboy Mansion, Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh brought the world of Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood to life.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Downton Abbey.
KH: The stately Thrombey manor, with all its nooks & crannies and bric & brac, was a character in and of itself in Knives Out.
The nominees for Best Costume Design are: The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
CC: Jojo Rabbit.
KH: Mayes C. Rubeo's creative designs (Yorki's paper uniform) and colorful couture (everything worn by Scarlett Johansson) took the whimsicality of Jojo Rabbit to an even higher level.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Downton Abbey.
KH: Not sure how the drab duds seen in The Irishman and Joker got in over the much more eye-catching fashions seen in Dolemite Is My Name. Or Downton Abbey. Or Rocketman...??
The nominees for Best Original Score are: Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
CC: I would send maestro John Williams out on a high note with an Oscar for his final Star Wars movie.
KH: His stirring, transporting score for 1917 is Thomas Newman's 15th nomination and is more than worthy of being his first win.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Bear McReary's "monster opera" approach to Godzilla: King of the Monsters was spectacular, but his score was likely disqualified since it utilizes some music from the Toho classics.
KH: Michael Giacchino was the perfect choice to compose Jojo Rabbit and his absence here is truly glaring. Just listen to his "Jojo March" and be instantly transported back to Nazi Germany... by way of Taika Waititi of course.
The nominees for Best Original Song are: "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" from Toy Story 4, "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman, "I'm Standing With You" from Breakthrough, "Into the Unknown" from Frozen II and "Stand Up" from Harriet
CC: Sir Elton John (with Bernie Taupin, of course) definitely gets my love for the peppy, inspirational "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman, his otherwise overlooked bio.
KH: "Stand Up", performed by and co-written (with Joshuah Brian Campbell) by Harriet star Cynthia Erivo, is a powerful coda to the story of Harriet Tubman, who's actual last words – "I go to prepare a place for you" – are the song's haunting final refrain.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Taylor Swift's contribution to the Cats soundtrack, "Beautiful Ghosts", is appropriately haunting and one of the overall score's few understated songs.
KH: I predicted a win for "Glasgow" (written by Caitlyn Smith, Kate York and Mary Steenburgen... yes, that Mary Steenburgen) from Wild Rose that now won't happen due to the lazy miopia of the Academy's Music Branch. But that doesn't mean it isn't a far better song than at least two of the ones the Academy did chose (see my "Worst Nomination of the Year", below).
The nominees for Best Film Editing are: Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker and Parasite
CC: I haven't seen likely winner Ford v Ferrari so would vote for Jojo Rabbit.
KH: Ford v Ferrari is a film editor's dream gig, and nominees Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker drive it into the winner's circle.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Would nominating 1917 here somehow spoil its one-take conceit? The at least occasional editing is what makes it so believable.
KH: How did The Irishman, which needed at least a 40-60 minutes cut from it, get nominated while Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, which could have gone on for another hour or two, wasn't?
The nominees for Best Sound Mixing are: Ad Astra, Ford v Ferrari, Joker, 1917 and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
CC: Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.
KH: The dense soundscape... car radios, classic tunes, flamethrower... of Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood added immensely to the mesmerizing quality of the film.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
KH: Musicals usually fair well here, so where's Rocketman?
The nominees for Best Sound Editing are: Ford v Ferrari, Joker, 1917, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
CC: OK, here's Rise of Skywalker, which would be my choice.
KH: Reportedly the Academy is mulling over the idea of combining the the two sound categories into one, a good idea that is long overdue considering that the nominations are almost always pretty close to identical. So in that spirit, my vote goes to Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood here as well.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Godzilla: King of the Monsters, another big noisy epic and one of my underrated faves of 2019.
KH: Like musicals, animated films used to appear here more often too, and the hero's unique and endearing voice in Abominable is all thanks to its expert sound crew.
The nominees for Best Visual Effects are: Avengers: Endgame, The Irishman, The Lion King, 1917 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
CC: It's always hard to ignore a Star Wars movie in this category, so I wouldn't.
KH: 1917 had the most seamless and therefore invisible effects, a far more impressive accomplishment than all the other nominee's CGI overload/overkill.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Godzilla: King of the Monsters provided a feast of magnificent monster mayhem.
KH: How anyone could watch Alita: Battle Angel and not be blown away by the flawless creation of the cyborg title character is beyond me.
The nominees for Best Makeup and Hairstyling are: Bombshell, Joker, Judy, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and 1917
CC: Judy.
KH: The makeup in Bombshell felt more like a stunt than a creative necessity; my pick is for the far more subtle and effective work seen in Judy.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: Jojo Rabbit.
KH: Just like the designers behind Judy, the Rocketman team transformed their lead into a pop culture icon.
The nominees for Best Animated Feature are: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, I Lost My Body, Klaus, Missing Link and Toy Story 4
CC: I really liked Klaus, which could eventually become a Christmas classic.
KH: Despite Toy Story 4 being a terrific film in its own right, the Toy Story franchise has been amply Oscar'ed in the past, and its about time that Hiccup and Toothless (not to mention their creator Dean DeBlois) got some long overdue love. So my vote goes to the DreamWorks Animation series' soaring final chapter, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: I also really liked the fun new version of The Addams Family.
KH: Abominable was an unexpected delight for me on all levels, and it's shocking how underrated it is, especially in comparison to the nominees with a similar protagonist (Missing Link) or setting (Klaus).
The nominees for Best International Feature Film are: Corpus Christi (Poland), Honeyland (North Macedonia), Les Misérables (France), Pain and Glory (Spain) and Parasite (South Korea)
CC: Honeyland, which is important on multiple levels.
KH: No surprises here: Pain and Glory, plain and simple. (Note: Corpus Christi is the only nominee in any category this year that I haven't seen yet; it opens in the US in limited release on February 19th).
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: France criminally submitted the good but not great Les Misérables over Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
KH: They weren't their country's official Oscar submissions, but Argentina's End of the Century and France's Portrait of a Lady on Fire, both featuring same-sex romances, are equally award-worthy.
The nominees for Best Documentary Feature are: American Factory, The Cave, The Edge of Democracy, For Sama and Honeyland
CC: Honeyland redux.
KH: The Syrian Civil War has now taken over as the Oscar's favored nonfiction subject of late, with two very similar docs, The Cave and For Sama, making the cut this year. And while I found some of its filmmaker's actions questionable, that it elicited that response proves how effective the uncompromising, at-times deeply distressing For Sama is at conveying the almost impossible-to-comprehend reality of living in the midst of war.
Egregiously Overlooked:
CC: One Child Nation, an eye-opening look at China's adoption policies and abuses.
KH: My favorite documentary of the year, the mesmerizing Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché, somehow wasn't even on the long list, so I'll go with short list finalist One Child Nation, a devastating exposé of China's "one child" policy.
The nominees for Best Documentary Short Subject are: In the Absence, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), Life Overtakes Me, St. Louis Superman and Walk Run Cha-Cha
KH: Yes, I'm going with the requisite "inspirational kids' story": Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl).
The nominees for Best Animated Short Film are: Dcera (Daughter), Hair Love, Kitbull, Mémorable and Sister
CC: Kitbull is too sweet!
KH: Sister gets my vote for its deft mixture of melancholy and absurdity.
The nominees for Best Live Action Short Film are: Brotherhood, Nefta Football Club, The Neighbors’ Window, Saria and A Sister
KH: In a strong field this year, I pick The Neighbors' Window, the most emotionally effective and narratively satisfying.
And now for our own special category of dishonorable mention, the Worst Nomination of the Year:
CC: I was truly impressed by the digital de-aging of stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Al Pacino in The Irishman. But a nomination for Best Visual Effects? Something tells me not even Jimmy Hoffa would approve. In general, Scorsese's overly familiar, overlong epic is over-recognized.
KH: My biggest disappointment on Oscar Nomination Morning was the lack of a nomination for "Glasgow" from Wild Rose in the Best Original Song category. That disappointment turned to outrage when, in its place, were the umpteenth nominations for Randy Newman and Diane Warren for, respectively, "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" from Toy Story 4 and "I'm Standing with Your" from Breakthrough. It seems that Newman and Warren are now the Music Branch's Meryl Streep; they'll nominate them for just about anything these days, even these two trite, terrible tunes.
And so the final march to Oscar glory begins. Tune in to the Big Show this Sunday to see who wins, as well as which nominees are rocking the best (and worst) gowns, hottest escorts and most heartfelt acceptance speeches.
By Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine, and Kirby Holt, creator, editor and head writer of Movie Dearest.
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