Skip to main content

Oscar Nominations 2017: Snubs and Surprises

Reaction to 2017 Oscar Nominations

The nominations for the 2017 Oscar nominations were announced this morning. If you haven't seen the list, click here. Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises.




SNUB: Amy Adams for Best Actress

Many prognosticators thought Amy Adams was a lock for a Best Actress nomination for Arrival, so they were shocked to see her left off the final list. I, on the other hand, was never predicting her. I just could not see Arrival getting nine or ten nominations along the lines of a Gravity or Avatar. It's better than those movies, but smaller and too cerebral to get that kind of across-the-board support. In her place, I was predicting Taraji P. Henson, but instead Ruth Negga got recognized for her work in Loving.

SURPRISE: Mel Gibson for Best Director

I was predicting Hacksaw Ridge to do well, but I wasn't expecting it to do well enough to get a directing nomination for Mel Gibson. He missed at the DGA, an important precursor. I was prepared for an outside the box choice like Garth Davis or David Mackenzie, but they went with a previous winner in the category. 

SNUB: Sing Street for Best Original Song

I predicted four of the five nominations in this category, but was surprised to see a song from John Carney's Sing Street left out. Begin Again, Carney's last movie, was nominated despite being far worse than the charming Sing Street, and Once won the category ten years ago. While I am talking about this category, why is "City of Stars" the song from La La Land getting the most awards attention? I would say it is towards the bottom of songs in that film. 

SURPRISE: Michael Shannon for Best Supporting Actor

The Nocturnal Animals costar was not nominated up at none of the major precursor awards, despite lots of critical praise. I was predicting a nomination for Aaron Taylor Johnson for the same movie, since he was nominated by BAFTA and won the Golden Globe. 

SURPRISE: PASSENGERS

The Jennifer Lawrence-Chris Pratt space movie did not get warm notices from critics, but that didn't affect Oscar voters nominating it in both Production Design and Original Score. 

SNUB: SING

A poorly run campaign was to blame for the absence of the Illumination charmer from both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.  

SURPRISE: Jackie for Best Original Score

This one was not that much of a surprise, as many were predicting it, but how it got in I have no idea. The score for this movie is sometimes nightmarish, big and loud at the film's most intimate moments. It throws the whole tone off and is the reason the film veers into camp at times. Natalie Portman was great, the score was not. What would I have liked to see in its place? Alexandre Desplat for The Secret Life of Pets. That score was light, fun, and one of the year's best. 

SHOCK: La La Land for Best Sound Editing

No musical ever in the history of this category has been nominated. Not Moulin Rogue, not Chicago, not Dreamgirls, not Les Miserables. They must have really, really loved La La Land. It's now a juggernaut that will be impossible to stop from winning Best Picture and a slew of other Oscars.

SNUB: Hugh Grant for Best Supporting Actor

Many were predicting Grant's serious turn as Meryl Streep's husband in Florence Foster Jenkins to be recognized. Perhaps not enough of the nominators saw him as a serious actor. Streep, however, received her 20th nomination for the same movie.

NEITHER SNUB NOR SURPRISE: Joanna Johnston for Best Costume Design

I was very pleased to Joanna Johnston get nominated for her work on Allied, but sad it was that film's only nomination. Such a shame because I loved that movie. 

The Oscars air on ABC on February 26. What nomination were you most excited about? Let me know in the comments below!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Drew Barrymore Gives Two Great Performances in Misguided Comedy "The Stand In": Review

Drew Barrymore fans haven't exactly been starved for content lately. Her cheery, fully unhinged new daytime talk show has provided a host of gif-able moments. But, it is significant that The Stand In , out now on VOD, is the first feature film she has appeared in 5 years (since the underrated  Miss You Already ). And I wish I could report that her return to the big screen (well, not big at the moment, but you know what I mean) is a triumph, but The Stand In is a deeply flawed movie, in spite of a game and spirited lead actress. Barrymore has a dual role in the film, a satire of celebrity culture. She plays Candy Black, an ex-movie star whose career was derailed by a volatile on-set tirade, and Paula, Candy's wacky stand in. The plot kicks in when Candy has Paula swap places with her ahead of her court-mandated rehab stay, and Paula takes a liking to the limelight and plots to steal Candy's life. Those are the basics, it's actually a lot more complicated than that, whic...

Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen are Excellent in Timely Comedy "Ingrid Goes West": Review

Film Review: Ingrid Goes West I was worried based on the trailers and marketing for Ingrid Goes West that it was going to be a cautionary tale about the perils of social media. One of those condescending 'lessons' about how much better the world would be if we still used rotary phones and things like that. You know, stuff like this . Thankfully, Ingrid Goes West is not that, it's not even about social media despite being set in the Instagram Age. Written by Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith and directed by Spicer, the movie is about Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza), who has recently been released from a mental hospital and following the death of her mother decides to reinvent herself in Los Angeles, inspired by the Instagram feed of a seemingly perfect influencer named Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). Using clues from her Instagram, Ingrid tracks Taylor down and befriends her. Yes, Instagram plays a large part in the story, but it's one that could be (and has been) told i...

New "Twin Peaks" is a Puzzling and Maddening Experience: Review

TV Review: "Twin Peaks: The Return" Disclaimer: This review contains major spoilers for the original Twin Peaks and minor spoilers for Twin Peaks: The Return. The original Twin Peaks , created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, is one of the most beloved and iconic television series of all time, despite only running for 30 episodes on ABC in 1990 and 1991.  Heavily influenced by daytime soap operas, it featured several hallmarks of that genre: a sleepy town, an ensemble of wacky characters, an ongoing mystery, and the illicit and adulterous underside of the facade of a wholesome American small town. Of course it was also more that, and as the series went on it became more of a supernatural exploration of good and evil, but the soapy trappings gave the series a shape and a structure. The highly anticipated revival miniseries, now airing on Showtime, eschews shape and structure altogether in favor a more puzzling, maddening creation.