And the 2022 Oscar Goes To...

For the ninth year in a row, it's time for me to go over all the Oscar nominees and tell you about the movies I loved, the ones I'm shocked got nominated, and the performances and artistry that I deem most worthy of a statue. If past years are any indication, my tastes and preferences rarely tally with those of the Academy, so if you're reading this blog post in order to get some insight into your office Oscar pool, you're out of luck. But if you're merely looking for some inspiration for what to watch, or some quick-fire summaries so you can avoid watching these movies yourself, you've come to the right place. Let's delve right in!

Best Picture: I am slightly underwhelmed by this year's crop of nominees. I has a perfectly enjoyable time watching all of them, but I'd be hard-pressed to say that I found myself profoundly moved by any of them, unlike in years past when I've often had a visceral reaction to some Best Picture nominees. For my money, The Green Knight was the best movie I saw last year, and that film didn't receive a single Oscar nomination. But enough about the folk that were snubbed. Of the ones who actually snagged a nomination, I am rooting for Belfast. That movie felt somehow both cinematic and personal, telling a grand, sweeping tale, but doing so in such an intimate manner through the eyes of a young boy. The frontrunner, however, appears to be The Power of the Dog, which would be a perfectly good choice. It is a spare and eerie Western that features some spectacular performances. I wish I had seen it in theaters instead of at home on Netflix, because I would have probably enjoyed the cinematography and quiet pace a lot more in that setting, but nonetheless, it's a worthy contender. I thoroughly enjoyed West Side Story, so you can't go wrong with giving Spielberg another Oscar, particularly for his very first musical. And Dune was a fun cinematic experience, so if the Academy somehow wants to go wild and give the main award to a science fiction epic, I wouldn't be upset, but we all know that ain't gonna happen. CODA was a lovely movie, and everyone should watch it, but the story didn't elevate itself into the ranks of Best Picture for me (the performances are another story, and we'll get to that below in the Best Supporting Actor discussion). And Drive My Car is the dark horse here, with people predicting that it may pull a Parasite and become yet another foreign film that wins in this category. I don't think this is as likely, because this is a much slower and languid movie than Parasite, and while it was fine, it didn't thrill me the way Parasite did when I first saw it in theaters. Then we have King Richard, which was a perfectly decent and inspirational biopic, and Nightmare Alley, which was aesthetically pleasing and cinematically unsettling. Again, both are fine movies, but not quite Best Picture-worthy. Which leaves us with Licorice Pizza and Don't Look Up. Two movies written and directed by the kind of white men that the Academy loves to honor and I simply cannot stand. My feelings about these movies have already been documented on the blog so I shall not belabor them here. Suffice to say, if either of those movies win, I will be throwing a tantrum.

Best Director: We have another woman nominated in this category, Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog, and it seems like she has a good shot at winning it. It would a well-deserved win and a testament to her quiet and powerful work in the Hollywood boy's club. So that is who I am rooting for. However, I wouldn't be terribly affronted if the award went to Kenneth Branagh for Belfast, Ryusuke Hamaguchi for Drive My Car, or Stephen Spielberg for West Side Story. But if Paul Thomas Anderson wins for Licorice Pizza, you shall know my wrath. 

Best Actress: There are some sterling performances here and you can't go wrong with any of them. For my money, I am personally rooting for Kristen Stewart to get the acclaim she deserves and win a statue for that haunting performance as Princess Diana in Spencer. However, Jessica Chastain delivered an absolutely insane performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. If she wins an Oscar, that's a triple award for Acting, Costume Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling. She has been nominated twice previously and never won, so she's a likely contender for this prize (third time's the charm!) - first-time nominee Stewart may have to wait her turn. But I was also floored by Penelope Cruz's work in Parallel Mothers. She has an Oscar already though, so she can afford to spread the wealth. Likewise with Olivia Colman, who did great work in The Lost Daughter, and Nicole Kidman, who was a wonderful Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. Good job ladies, you made it a pleasure to go to the cinema this year. 

Best Actor: Benedict Cumberbatch is probably thirsting the most for this award, so maybe we should give it to him for his work in The Power of the Dog? My personal favorite might actually be Andrew Garfield for that marvelous turn in Tick, Tick...Boom! especially considering the man couldn't even sing before he was cast in the film. However, chances are this is Will Smith's chance to finally nab an Oscar for his good work in King Richard after being nominated three times before. The British boys will have to wait their turn. Similarly, while Denzel Washington and Javier Bardem put in good performances in The Tragedy of Macbeth and Being the Ricardos respectively, they already have Oscars, so they can sit this one out. 

Best Supporting Actress: Give it to Ariana DeBose for West Side Story please. This is already a lock for the lady, and she is so charming and charismatic and fully deserving. And it would be thrilling to see a Latina win for playing the exact same role that Rita Moreno played when she became the first Latina to win an Oscar in 1962. All of the other nominees are excellent in their respective movies, and perhaps it's unfair that they have to compete against Ariana when they did quieter "supporting" work, while she got to twirl her skirts around the big screen belting "America." Jessie Buckley had quite a lot of angst and anger to convey in The Lost Daughter, Judi Dench was a sweet and stalwart Irish grandmother in Belfast, Kirsten Dunst was a twitchy and nervous wreck in The Power of the Dog, and Aunjanue Ellis made it clear that she might be more of a champion than her husband or her daughters in King Richard. Fantastic work ladies, but this is Ariana's to lose. 

Best Supporting Actor: This should be a lock for Tory Kotsur for CODA. The man uses sign language for the entire movie and makes each sign feel like a poem. Out of everyone in the film, he is the one you probably don't ever need subtitles for, because the expressions on his face and the eloquence of his hands (which are occasionally signing the most filthy things imaginable) is all you need to get the message. I'm starting to realize there's a pattern here where the Supporting categories are where you get less "traditional" winners, but I am excited to give this man an award and see him sign a filthy acceptance speech - I hope the network censors have to blur his hands. Again, no shade against the other nominees. Both Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee did great work in The Power of the Dog (Smit Mc-Phee could have been considered a co-lead with Cumberbatch), J.K. Simmons perfectly captured the essence of William Frawley/Fred Mertz in Being the Ricardos, and Ciaran Hinds offered up a lot of the emotional heart and soul of Belfast. But Kotsur deserves this award for an extraordinary and delightful performance that was unlike any other this year. 

Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Branagh needs to win for Belfast for two reasons. One, it was a great script and he did a fantastic job translating his personal childhood experiences into a universal and relatable tale. Two, most of the other nominees made me viscerally angry and I cannot believe they are nominated for this award. The less said about Don't Look Up, the better (though it just won the Writer's Guild Award so blech). Licorice Pizza? No. The Worst Person in the World was structurally interesting and had many writerly flourishes, but the actual content thoroughly annoyed me and made me feel like these male screenwriters had no idea what a woman's life is actually like. King Richard was perfectly fine, and did a good job of not falling into the biopic trap of telling a birth-to-death story. But nothing can beat that Branagh script. If it does, I will scream.

Best Adapted Screenplay: This is such an interesting bunch of nominees and I honestly cannot say I am rooting for or against anyone. CODA just won the Writer's Guild Award, so perhaps Sian Heder is the favorite here. A win for Dune would be fascinating, but unlikely. I would love to see Maggie Gyllenhaal get an Oscar for writing The Lost Daughter since she couldn't get a nomination for directing it. Jane Campion is probably due for other Oscar for The Power of the Dog so she can skip this one, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi seems destined to get Best Foreign Film for Drive My Car, so he seems like an unlikely winner here too. But again, this is a stacked category, with people who wrote extraordinary scripts, so it's impossible to make a bad choice. 

Those are my thoughts for the major categories. Some other predictions/wishes: Ari Wegner must win for Best Cinematography for The Power of the Dog as she would be the first female cinematographer to win in the history of the awards (I know, it's 2022, but let's shatter another glass ceiling ladies). And it would be kind of hilarious to give Best Makeup and Hairstyling to House of Gucci just so that movie has to be eternally known as an Oscar winner. For Best Score, I have a soft spot for Alberto Iglesias' work in Parallel Mothers, but Jonny Greenwood wrote the score for two great movies this year. So I would like to give him the prize as a reward for his combined efforts in creeping me out in The Power of the Dog and Spencer. And Billie Eilish is so freaking young, but sure, go ahead and give her and Finneas O'Connell an Oscar for Best Song.

That's it. Another Oscar year has come and gone. Unlike last year, I saw most of these movies in the theater and they served as a powerful reminder of how transporting movies can be when you see them on the big screen. Let's hope 2022 bring us more wondrous tales so we can do this again next year. I'll see you at the movies.