88th Academy Awards Nominations

Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald in The Revenant

I always watch the nominations live. I sit there, like a moron, looking at that stage and wait for them to announce the nominees. But given that this year I'm sick when the nominations happened...I was asleep in bed after taking antibiotics.

My mother woke me up to say the nominations were announced. I was like 'OK' grabbed my phone and half-heartedly browsed the list. And then I saw Tom Hardy's name and I made a sound that made Gustav startled. I literally sat up. I just cannot believe it.

I even wrote an entire fucking article about the injustice being done to Hardy this season. While there was certainly injustice, the most shameful coming from BAFTA - this is an identical situation to Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street" two years back - no BAFTA, no Globe and no SAG nominations for a supporting role in a film starring DiCaprio that in the end earned the actor an Oscar nomination. I'm thrilled beyond words - I was so happy for Hill, but my favorite Hardy who leads the movie with 10 nominations (Mad Max) and starred in the most beloved one so far (12 nominations for The Revenant) being now an Academy Award nominated actor....that is lovely. Even though this all happened on a particularly sad day - today we lost Alan Rickman who was never even Oscar nominated.

 Best Animated Feature
“Anomalisa” "Boy And The World" 
“Inside Out” 
“Shaun The Sheep Movie” 
"When Marnie Was There"

- I have only seen Inside Out so I cannot make any contribution here.

Best Sound Editing
“Mad Max: Fury Road” 
“The Martian” 
“The Revenant” 
"Sicario" 
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

 Best Sound Mixing
"Bride Of Spies" 
“Mad Max: Fury Road” 
“The Martian” 
“The Revenant” 
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

- sad how the only nominations for Star Wars are in technical categories, but at least it's something. Maybe Revenant wins here? I have not seen the movie (2 more weeks) but the Academy clearly loves it

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
“Mad Max: Fury Road” 
"The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared"
“The Revenant” 

- superglad to see Mad Max here. I imagine making Leo look like shit wins here.

Best Costume Design
“Carol”
“Cinderella” 
“The Danish Girl”
“Mad Max: Fury Road” 
"The Revenant" 

- it's a big shame Crimson Peak got nothing, it is actually my win in this particular category. Very glad to see Cinderella love and nominations for ingenious but simple costumes in Mad Max (specifically the Dag's attire).

Best Song 
"Earned It" from "Fifty Shades Of Grey"
"Manta Ray" from "Racing Extinction"
“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground” 
“Simple Song 3” from “Youth” 
"Writing's On The Wall" from "Spectre"

- that this dying cat parade from Spectre is gaining awards buzz and actual nominations is a travesty
 
Best Documentary Feature
“Amy” 
“Cartel Land” 
"The Look Of Silence" 
"What Happened Miss Simone" 
"Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom" 

- seen neither, as usual. I hope at least I'll see Amy

Best Cinematography 
Roger Deakins - “Sicario” 
Edward Lachman - “Carol” 
Emmanuel Lubezki - “The Revenant”  
Robert Richardson - "The Hateful Eight"  
John Seale - “Mad Max: Fury Road” 

- beautiful line up with the exception of Carol, but I suppose it's well shot movie too. Hopefully Chivo wins this and that will be his third one in the row

Best Live-Action Short Film
"Ave Maria" 
"Day One" 
"Everything Will Be Okay" 
"Shok" 
"Stutterer" 
Best Documentary Short Film
"Body Team 12" 
"Chau, Beyond The Lines" 
"Claude Lanzmann: Spectres OF The Shoah" 
"A Girl In The River" 
"Last Day Of Freedom
Best Animated Short Film
"Bear Story" 
"Prologue" 
"Sanjay's Super Team" 
"We Can't Live Without Cosmos" 
"World Of Tomorrow" 

- again, cannot make a comment

Best Visual Effects
“Ex Machina” 
“Mad Max: Fury Road” 
“The Martian”  
"The Revenant"
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

 - so glad for The Revenant. Hopefully Judy the Bear wins this
Best Production Design
“Bridge Of Spies” 
“The Danish Girl” 
“Mad Max: Fury Road” 
“The Martian”  
"The Revenant"

- Bridge of Spies, really? Again Crimson Peak was snubbed. What production design was there in The Martian? Space rubbish?

Best Foreign Language Feature 
"Embrace Of The Serpent"
“Mustang” 
“Son Of Saul” 
“Theeb” 
“A War”

- my ignorance prevents me to make a comment once more

Best Score 
Carter Burwell - “Carol” 
Ennio Morricone - “The Hateful Eight”
Thomas Newman - “Bridge Of Spies” 
 Johann Johannson - "Sicario" 
John Williams - “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

 - Redmayne and Lawerence being nominated is a travesty but the single worst nomination happen here - I tried listening to Williams lazy and repetitive TFA score and couldn't. That this was eligible and got a nomination while The Revenant was deemed illegible is just gross. Also the category is missing the most wonderful and inventive score of the year - for Mad Max.

 Best Film Editing
Hank Corwin - “The Big Short” 
Margaret Sixel - “Mad Max: Fury Road” 
Tom McArdle - “Spotlight” 
Stephen Mirrione - “The Revenant” 
Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" 

- good choices all around, Mad Max in particular deserves this win

Best Adapted Screenplay
Drew Goddard - “The Martian” 
Nick Hornby - “Brooklyn”
Adam McKay & Charles Randolph - “The Big Short” 
Phyllis Nagy - “Carol” 
Emma Donoghue - "Room" 

 - The Martian's screenplay is not the best and certainly not worthy of Oscar nomination. Carol bored me to tears, I'm gonna go ahead and say The Big Short deserves this because it made some of us understand stuff we never would without it and others feel very very stupid because they still don't

Best Original Screenplay
Matt Charman, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen - “Bridge Of Spies” 
Alex Garland - “Ex Machina” 
Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve - “Inside Out” 
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer - “Spotlight” 
Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savage, Alan Wenkus - "Straight Outta Compton" 

- Ex-Machina is so overrated. This story was told countless times before. I hope Spotlight gets it because for what it is, it is excellent. I'm so freaking glad Tarantino didn't get in for his irresponsible and misguided screenplay.

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh - “The Hateful Eight” 
Rooney Mara - “Carol” 
Rachel McAdams - “Spotlight”
Alicia Vikander - “The Danish Girl" 
Kate Winslet - "Steve Jobs"

 - I'm stunned McAdams got in. It must mean they really liked the movie so it's probably winning Best Film. Adams is not bad, she is very, very good, but there were so many better supporting performances this year. Leigh winning would be nice but her role has so many ugly implications thanks to Tarantino's script I'm gonna be rooting for Winslet here as every 'they will get married one day' Leo and Kate fan does

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale - “The Big Short”  
Tom Hardy - "The Revenant" 
Mark Ruffalo - “Spotlight” 
Mark Rylance - “Bridge Of Spies” 
Sylvester Stallone - “Creed” 

- oh gosh I'm just so freaking happy for my main man Hardy. Beautiful year he had, I have yet to see The Revenant but I'm sure he is outstanding. Ruffalo's presence here is odd, given how Keaton was much better but Ruffalo has the single showy scene in the movie and just for that scene I'm OK with his nominations. What the FUCK is Christian Bale doing here. He was easily the worst part of the Big Short ensemble. Gosling was so much better than him, not to mention that the list is missing my current win in the category - Del Toro for Sicario. Are you telling me that anyone out there actually thinks Bale being all twitchy and weird was better than Del Toro in Sicario? For weeks now me and others were saying 'if Stallone is nominated, he is gonna win'. I hope it happens, his work in Creed is beautiful and it would be such a fantastic Oscar moment.

Best Actor 
Bryan Cranston - “Trumbo” 
Matt Damon - “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio - “The Revenant” 
Michael Fassbender - “Steve Jobs” 
Eddie Redmayne - “The Danish Girl” 

- saw Trumbo yesterday and that movie has no business being anywhere near nominations, Cranston tried but the notion this was nominated while Hardy - who was also in mediocre film - is not for his amazing work in Legend...NO. Redmayne being nominated for his psychotic smiling and showing his dick on screen makes me sick. Leo is easily winning this this year. The only person who could have been a threat - 11 year old Jacob Tremblay - was sadly not nominated for Room

Best Actress 
Cate Blanchett - “Carol” 
Brie Larson - “Room”  
Jennifer Lawrence - "Joy" 
Charlotte Rampling - “45 Years” 
Saoirse Ronan - “Brooklyn”

-  Jennifer Lawrence with 4th Oscar nomination. Can someone hand me over a bucket? Alan Rickman had none. And this basic chick has four. Well at least Rampling got in, even though just yesterday I heard many Academy voters didn't finish watching the screener for her movie because it was "too long". They are such charmers, aren't they? Anyways this is the first nomination for incredible Rampling, so that's one of the nicest surprises this year that the Academy finally wised up. Let me write this again - Jennifer Lawrence - 4 nominations and 1 win, Rampling - 1st nomination at the age of 70. I think Brie Larson is winning here.

Best Director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - “The Revenant” 
Adam McKay - “The Big Short” 
George Miller - "Mad Max Fury Road" 
Lenny Abrahamson - "Room" 
Tom McCarthy - "Spotlight" 

- can Inarittu win 2 times in the row? He can but it would be so much cooler if Miller won for his incredible masterpiece.

Best Picture 
“The Big Short”
“Bridge Of Spies"
“Brooklyn”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
 "Room"  
“Spotlight”

- no Carol which I consider crazy overrated, but Room, small indie movie is here. That bodes so well for Larson and I think there is no doubt she is gonna win that actress Oscar. The biggest deal is obviously the nomination for Mad Max - this is not the type of movie the Academy goes for and it's the 2nd most nominated movie of the year and the one with Best Picture nomination. Given how it is my favorite movie from 2015, I'm thrilled. Can Academy get even more progressive and actually award it the statue? I doubt it and I bet on Spotlight, but this is certainly a lovely, lovely day for the film.