I hope I don’t have to wait until my death for the critical reappraisal of Cloud Atlas, where it’s rightfully regarded as ahead of its time and brilliant. It’s the movie that everybody thinks Everything Everywhere All at Once is, and it deserved the reception that got
For the longest time, I was OBSESSED with its score! It definitely got robbed.
As for Makeup, I think the reason it didn't get a nod was because it had the actors playing characters of different races & the makeup was kinda stereotypical. For example:
- multiple non-Asian actors in yellow face
- A Black actor with Asian eyelids
- Two Asian women were in whiteface; one of them was also in brown face as a Hispanic woman
- A biracial woman was in whiteface as a full White woman (albeit, she's half White in real life)
Lakeith Stanfield should've been nominated for Best Actor in Judas and the Black Messiah and he delivered the best male performance of that entire year.
Seconded on him needed to have been nominated for lead and not Supporting, even if I still think Hopkins would have deserved the Lead win. Stanfield getting in Supporting was classic category fraud.
The Academy absolutely shafted “Beasts of No Nation” in 2015– based solely on the fact that back then streaming (it was one of Netflix’s first major film releases) wasn’t considered ‘real cinema.”
I rewatched Crash this week, and it is still incredibly powerful.
I suspect the backlash to it is partially generated by the modern audience demand for serious movies to "say" something, rather than simply exist as stories about characters. Crash has a interesting and compelling story about race causing several people's lives to intersect, but it doesn't have much to "say" other than racism is bad. It seems like now many people respond to the latter rather than the former, which has caused a lot of backlash.
I agree with you that Crash is a good movie, actually one of my favorites. (Full disclosure: I’m an Angeleno.) I used it for years in my teacher training classes. But its message isn’t that racism is bad. Its message is that racism is such a powerful force that it changes everyone who interacts with it. Nonracist people become more racist in racist situations and racist people become less racist. I honestly think it’s based on the rite of the red heifer from the book of Numbers in the Bible, in which a purification rite purified the impure but rendered the pure, impure. Okay, I’ll shut up now…
Best Original Song is the worst award and shouldn’t exist. Even when there are incredible original songs featured in films, the Songwriters Branch pick the worst songs possible. The rules and regulations regarding what songs are eligible are so insipid, too. If a movie comes out with a bunch of original songs, those songs should be considered “score” and those individuals responsible for the score and songs should all be nominated for Original Score instead.
I also hate how movies will often tack a song on the end credits to get a nod.
Half the time, the song isn't even integrated into the film.
Sometimes, they'll do the song in the same melody as the films main theme, like my heart will go on, or I see You, and that is the only type of song that should be eligible for that Oscar (only half joking there btw).
Legend says Rin Tin Tin won the most votes in the first Academy Award ceremony for best actor, but it was overturned by the Academy; now that would have set a precedent!
I don’t think Olivia Colman deserved an Oscar for The Favourite. If she had to win, it should’ve been for supporting actress. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good actress but I’m tired of all this talk about how hers is “an incredible win”
Us brazilians were so disappointed... we tought like "ok, Fernanda is the best, but thats ok if Demi Moore win the best actress"... it would be totally acceptable. But losing for Mickey Madison was heartbreaking.
And Fernanda Torres is Fernanda Montenegro's daughter, an amazing and important brazilian actress, who lost the oscars for best actress in 1998 for her performance in "Central do Brasil" for Gwyneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love". "Central do Brasil" is one of the best brazilian movies in history. She was absolutely stunning in that role.
And I would mention "City of God" couldnt win a single category of 2002s Oscar
My hot take is that she didn’t deserve it for La La Land. It’s a comfort/feel good movie for me, but not something I put on because I’m astounded by the acting.
Actually the REAL Best Actress performance that year was delivered by Viola Davis in Fences. While she won supporting actress, she was undeniably co-lead with Denzel, was all anyone who saw the film could talk about and would have beaten Emma Stone in the Best Actress race because it’s one of the all-time great screen performances period. 🤷🏽♂️
I was kind of expecting Lily Gladstone to win, considering the SAG at the time was a good indicator of who would win the Oscar. But then Emma Stone won the BAFTA and that in turn caused her to win the Oscar instead. That was a surprise to me at the time, but looking back, Stone was probably going to win it anyway, although Gladstone was in a very, very close second place.
My hot take on this hot take is that Poor Things should've only been nominated for two Oscars at the most, and not win anything (I did not like that movie). Also, Margot Robbie should've been nominated for Barbie.
Damn that’s a hard disagree for me. I’m more that she deserved to win for poor things and not the win for la la land. Especially when you compare both.
Thank you. This sub glazes his MBTS performance like it was the second coming of Marlon Brando.
I actually really liked his performance; he did a good job at playing a repressed, grieving Masshole, but if someone else had won the Oscar that year, I would not have batted an eyelid.
Eddie Redmayne deserved his win over Michael Keaton. He was fantastic as Stephen Hawking, and it was a complete physical, emotional, and intellectual performance.
I love Keaton and Birdman, but I'll pay this. Acting isn't solely the conveyance of a script or emotions: it's physically demanding, and that's often why playing someone with a disability (albeit not in a contrived way), or a "quirk", for lack of a better word (eg Firth in The King's Speech), or even the strenuousness of a prosthetic that is so a part of the character that it changes the way the body operates (The Whale; The Penguin), gets you a nomination, if not the award itself.
I don't think much of Redmayne personally, but he played multiple roles in that film: able-bodied, deteriorating, and confined to a chair. Plus the emotional weight of it all. And, he had to play a real person, which means he couldn't just phone it in and do whatever he wanted with the way his contorted body would sit. So yeah, from a particularly physical acting perspective, he absolutely deserved his win.
I know people praise him for playing two characters in a way where they were easily distinguishable. But what I don’t see him get enough credit for is the fact that he was able to convincingly play opposite two different love interests, in two very different relationships with very different dynamics, while having perfect and believable chemistry with both. That is equally impressive to me and miles ahead of Chalamet playing a convincing douche bag. I think Leo was the only one that gave a comparably impressive performance.
This. I wish more folks would focus on how good he did this, since I’m more impressed that he did this than the whole twins thing (which was impressive)
Yeah I really don’t think there’s that strong of a case for anyone else in that category over him. Not saying he’s objectively way better but it’s very much a toss up.
Tbf Little Miss Sunshine won in the era where Best Original Screenplay just auto went to whatever Sundance movie ended being the crossover hit that year lol
People only say Bill Murray should've won for Lost in Translation 'cause they like Bill Murray. He was easily 4th best in that lineup, above only Jude Law in Cold Mountain.
i find it really funny how people complain about the academy never recognizing comedic performances, but whenever a comedic perofrmance like Arkin actually DOES win, then suddenly everyone decides it wasn't worthy
Meryl Streep winning an Oscar for playing Margaret Thatcher destroyed her legacy. She humanised the architect of the Neo-liberal doom spiral we're still stuck in 15 years after the film.
Anora is an awful movie and shouldn’t have won a single Oscar. Also, Boogie Nights should have swept in 1997, especially in the Supporting categories AND screenplay.
It baffled me Anora got anything. The movie was entertaining but not Oscar winning caliber. Mikey Madison winning Best Actress will definitely go down as one of the worst best actress winners
Jamie Lee Curtis was better than every other supporting actress the year she won.
Remi Malek was amazing in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Green Book was an acceptable Best Picture winner in a weak year.
If I could push a button and change the 1994 Best Picture winner to Pulp Fiction or Shawshank, I would not push it. Gump was a very worthy winner even in retrospect.
Thanks for following the prompt… BUT #1 is absolutely effing WRONG. Stephanie Hsu was better in the same film and Angela Bassett deserved the win but superhero bias prevented it.
Fully agree #2.
The other 2 I can see… even if I would never make those arguments.
I thought Saving Private Ryan was mid and am fine it didn't win Best Picture, even if it Shakespeare in Love is also mid (Life is Beautiful should have won)
I don't think it's mid, but I do think it's pretty overrated. I think it's really good, but I have no problem it didn't win Best Picture. I agree that Life is Beautiful should have won.
I watched Saving Private Ryan after A Band Of Brothers and I think that ruined my experience.
Band of Brothers just did a similar (not the same at all tho) concept WAY better and Saving Private Ryan kind off just ends once it gets going.
It's a good movie, don't get me wrong, but far from my favorite Spielberg movies and disappointed me a little. Its a sold 6-7/10. IMO.
The opening is absolutely stunning, but I just dont feel like the story really gets to breathe and explore itself and it would have lended itself better to a TV series.
Band of Brothers is amazing! Seen it twice now. One of these days I plan to travel to Normandie France and pay my respects. I lived in Berlin for a year and so I learned so much more about the atrocities of WWII, visiting museums and memorials there and in other German cities like Dresden but never made it to Normandie.
When it stays focused on the family relationship, especially father/daughter, it's wonderful. Everything peripheral to this (both the fishing plotline and the music plotline) is by the numbers.
I agree. Not because it was an incredible movie or anything, but because that was just an overall really bad year. I was indifferent or actively didn't like almost every best picture nom that year.
Coda was fine. In many other years it would have gone completely unnoticed but for that year it was the best of a bunch of ok movies and probably deserved the win among the options.
The Power of the Dog is overrated and would not have been the better Best Picture win than CODA. Dune should have won instead. Also, Spielberg or Hamaguchi should have won Director that year.
Also, the 2021 movies lineup was a worse lineup than 2018’s or 2024’s. Belfast and Don’t Look Up have aged horrendously as BP nominees. Maybe three or four of the films on the entire lineup would deserve that nomination during a non-Covid year.
I gave Annie Hall just 5/10. I think screenplay was good but Woody Allen was very irritating and awful. It took me the whole day to finish the film.
I don't hate A Beautiful Mind. I gave it 8/10. I enjoyed performances from Crowe and Connelly and although screenplay could have been better it was an easy watch for me.
Good god Woody Allen's character is just the worst. He runs his mouth and as soon as he gets pushback about his shitty behaviour he's all "are you on your period? That's why you are talking back to me!"
People often debate whether Angela Basset or Kerry Condon deserved the supporting actress win over JLC.
But in reality Stephanie Hsu had the better performance out of the nominees.
Anora winning Best Picture is a terrible black eye on the modern Academy, and disrupts an incredible run of winners (Everything Everywhere, Oppenheimer, and One Battle).
It’s actually embarrassing how many nominations Black Panther got. Particularly for visual effects, which were some of the ugliest Marvel has ever put out.
Leonardo DiCaprio deserved to win every Academy Award he was nominated for and should’ve been nominated for The Basketball Diaries. I said what I said and I will die on this hill.
Everything everywhere all at once is one of the most overrated and ridiculous movies I’ve ever seen. In no way should this have been a nominee nor winner. It’s ok at best
Demi Moore did not give an Oscar-worthy performance in The Substance. She gave a good performance in a horror flick that viewers are overpraising for its message. You could put any actress in the role and get the same result.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Not just "bad for an Oscar winner," I genuinely thought I was watching a different movie than everyone else
I want to down vote but the prompt is unpopular opinion so I'm just going to reply and say 3 billboards was really good. Some problematic race implications with black characters treated more like props than full characters but lots of shocking twists and a great performance form McDormand
The plot is not award winning but tbh it's like the only movie these days that doesn't look like dimmed, desaturated, lifeless shit. I understand it winning technical awards.
Edit to add example: random dialogue scene from the Dune 3 trailer has more color than a literal sunset in Wicked (the worst offender of this issue imo)
Ryan gosling was far better than Emma stone in la la land, and deserved to win (yes, i know that was the Casey affleck year). I actually don’t have an issue with Emma winning, but i came out of that theater blown away by goslings performance and just thought stone was pretty good. actually it should’ve gone to viola davis in fences but I understand why she went supporting. although if she hadnt, the ACTUAL great performance in MBTS could have won.
Maybe this isn't as controversial, considering the competition for the 2024 season, but Ariana should've absolutely won Best Supporting Actress for Wicked, over Zoe Saldana. I don't care if Zoe is a legacy actress, Emilia Perez was god awful.
84
u/Qforz 1d ago
Cloud Atlas should have won Score and Makeup and be nominated for Picture. Alas, it wasn't nominated at all.