And the nominees Are…

Well, the nominees for the 2022 Academy Awards were announced this morning, and as always, there were a few surprises, as well as some very notable snubs. Of course, when I say snubs, I’m not talking about those I believe should’ve been nominated. I am merely meaning those who seemed poised to get nominated. Those who were on many predictions by the experts. Those who seemed like locks, or at least highly likely, selections that ended up not making the cut. This happens every year, but this year there seemed to be a few instances that were, quite frankly, jaw dropping. Also, fun fact. Not one of the Best Actress nominees was on MY list of those who SHOULD BE nominated. Fun fact #2. I only have to watch FOUR movies to have seen every film nominated in a major category. Last fact (not so fun). I will only be focusing on the nominees, snubs, and surprises in what are typically considered the top SIX categories (picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, and supporting actress. I may touch on a few surprises or omissions in other categories, but my main focus will be these six. So let’s discuss.

BEST PICTURE:

Belfast

CODA

Don’t Look Up

Drive My Car

Dune

King Richard

Licorice Pizza

Nightmare Alley

The Power of the Dog

West Side Story

BIGGEST SURPRISE: To be honest there weren’t a to of surprises here. Every single film on this list has been in the best picture discussion at some point. If I had to pick a surprise, it was a bit surprising to see the Academy nominate Drive My Car. Although many predicted this could happen, it didn’t always seem like the most likely outcome.

BIGGEST SURPRISE SNUB: Tick…Tick…Boom and The Tragedy of Macbeth. Yes, in a perfect world Pig and Spider-Man: Now Way Home would’ve been nominated but I knew there was no way that would happen, so to me the biggest surprise snubs were Tick…Tick…Boom and The Tragedy of Macbeth (two of the best and most inventive films of the year) not being nominated. I would’ve replaced any combo of Don’t Look Up, King Richard, and Licorice Pizza with these two films.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Paul Thomas Anderson ~ Licorice Pizza

Kenneth Branagh ~ Belfast

Jane Campion ~ The Power of the Dog

Ryusuke Hamaguchi ~ Drive My Car

Steven Spielberg ~ West Side Story

BIGGEST SURPRISE: While it was nice, and deserved, to see Ryusuke Hamaguchi get nominated for Drive My Car, I was a bit surprised that it happened based on who didn’t make the cut.

BIGGEST SNUB: Hand down the biggest snub, not only of this category, but of all the nominees, is Denis Villeneuve not getting nominated for Dune. He was about as sure of a thing as you can get, but for whatever reason, did not connect with voters. I also think Joel Cohen for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Guillermo Del Toro for Nightmare Alley could be considered snubs but they were for less certain than Villeneuve. I would’ve nominated Villeneuve above every one on this list.

BEST ACTRESS:

Jessica Chastain ~ The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Olivia Colman ~ The Lost Daughter

Penelope Cruz ~ Parallel Mothers

Nicole Kidman ~ Being the Ricardos

Kristen Stewart ~ Spencer

BIGGEST SURPRISE: No surprises here. Everyone was on most short lists to make the cut. Some thought that Stewart’s momentum had started to die down but apparently she still had enough juice to make the final list.

BIGGEST SNUB: Frances McDormand should have absolutely not only been nominated but also won for her work in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Rachel Zegler for West Side Story is another actress that should’ve been on this list. I would’ve replaced everyone on of the nominees with these two actresses.

BEST ACTOR:

Javier Bardem ~ Being the Ricardos

Benedict Cumberbatch ~ The Power of the Dog

Andrew Garfield ~ Tick, Tick…Boom!

Will Smith ~ King Richard

Denzel Washington ~ The Tragedy of Macbeth

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The only surprise here is how predictable this category seemed to be.

BIGGEST SNUB: Clearly, anyone who knows me knows that I was hoping Nicholas Cage would make the cut for Pig, but I also knew that was not going to happen. To be honest, everyone on this list gave a performance worthy of a nomination, so I can’t see too much fault with it. It is too bad there wasn’t enough room for Peter Dinklage in Cyrano though.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Jessie Buckley ~ The Lost Daughter

Ariana DeBose ~West Side Story

Judy Dench ~ Belfast

Kirsten Dunst ~ The Power of the Dog

Aunjanue Ellis ~ King Richard

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Where do we start? Oh, Academy, you almost did it. You almost managed to avoid nominating a less deserving performance by a decades long veteran by keeping Rita Moreno of this list. But then you had to go and nominate Judi Dench. I love Judi Dench. But the fact that she made the cut over another actress in the same move (we’ll get to that in a minute) is criminal. On the other hand, perhaps the greatest surprise of all the nominees is that Jessie Buckley garnered a nomination for The Lost Daughter. She gave one of my favorite performances of the year but I really thought there was no chance she’d make it. Well, done Academy.

BIGGEST SNUBS: Really? Really? No Catriona Balfe for Belfast? She easily gave one of the best and most effective performances of the year. How does Judi Dench get nominated over her? Also, Ruth Negga for Passing was a major snub as well. Both of these actresses seemed like sure things not that long ago. The Academy clearly has a short memory.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Ciaran Hinds ~ Belfast

Troy Kotsur ~ CODA

Jesse Plemons ~ The Power of the Dog

J.K. Simmons ~ Being the Ricardos

Kodi Smith-McPhee ~ The Power of the Dog

BIGGEST SURPRISE: There are several. Let’s start with the welcomed surprises. I am so happy Jess Plemons got a nomination and so happy Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto didn’t for Licorice Pizza and House of Gucci, respectively. Plemons has been a great actor for years, flying under the radar, because of how grounded his characters always are to reality. Cooper was fine, but nothing he did was deserving of a nomination, and perhaps, Leto getting a Razzie for his nomination left a bad taste in the voters mouths. Although, that may have happened after voting had closed. Either way it was the right choice. Leto’s performance is little more than obvious makeup and a bad accent.

BIGGEST SNUBS: There are several. I think Woody Norman was deserving for C’mon, C’mon, although I wasn’t holding my breath. I also thought Jamie Dorman for Belfast may make it over his costar, and deservedly so. But actor left of this list than has the best claim to being an actual snub is Ben Affleck for The Tender Bar. His performance was understated, focused, and pretty much perfection. Perhaps it was too understated to get the attention of the Academy. Regardless, he should have made the cut.

~So there you have it. My biggest surprises and snubs of the 2022 Academy Award Nominations. When I look at the other categories, there weren’t a ton of snubs or surprises. There were, of course, those that I had hoped would get nominated, but not any that I was expecting to get nominated and didn’t. In the original screenplay category, I was hoping any of Encanto, Pig, The French Dispatch, and Last Night in Soho would be nominated, but also wasn’t surprised that they weren’t. In the adapted screenplay category, I was hoping some love would be shown to West Side Story, Passing, and No Time to Die, but knew they were fighting an uphill battle. The animated features were exactly as expected, although I would’ve made room for Ron’s Gone Wrong. For best original score I thought The French Dispatch would beat out Parallel Mothers and thought The Tragedy of Macbeth should’ve been nominated, but once again, was also not surprised by how it played out. And finally, for best song, I thought there were others with a bit more momentum, like “Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up, but every song on the list was on my short list to make the cut. Though, I do believe ”Somehow You Do” is extremely outmatched by every other song on the list. Well, those are my thoughts on this mornings’ nominations. Once it gets closer to the actual show, and I have watched those four movies, I will do another post about who will and should win out of those nominated. So be looking for that soon. Take care and thank you so much for taking the time to read this post.~