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93rd Academy Awards (2021)Gold StandardBy Jeffrey M. Anderson
Here is the full list of 2021 Oscar nominations, with links to the films I've reviewed during this bizarre year, as well as notes, my picks and predictions. Films released between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021 were eligible. (I make no promises with my predictions. I usually don't score much better than 66%, and with this year as off-the-rails as it is, there could be quite a few left turns and surprises.) The ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 25, 2021. Best Picture Notes: Not one of the films on my ten-best list received a nomination in this category, or in any category except one (Da 5 Bloods in Best Score). However, while I do think that all eight of these movies are good, I don't really have a horse in this race. Nomadland is the projected winner, with only the caveat that The Trial of the Chicago 7 took the all-important SAG ensemble award.
If I Had a Vote: Promising Young Woman Best Director Notes: Again, none of my favorites are here. I do have to say that I'm flabbergasted that, when the Academy had a chance to nominate a Black woman (Regina King, who was a front-runner), they went all the way over to Denmark to find another white guy instead. Old habits are hard to break, I guess... Fincher is probably the most talented of these, and its his third nomination with no wins, but Mank is just not one of his best films. Film nerds love it, but there's very little there for regular viewers. Chloé Zhao is the most unique and promising of the five, and she has a new Marvel film coming up!
If I Had a Vote: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland Best Actor in a Leading Role Notes: I'm bummed that Delroy Lindo didn't make the cut, but my next choice, Boseman, is here. It's his last role, and the impact he made on the movies in just a short time cannot be underestimated. Plus I really liked Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Ahmed is great, too, and posthumous awards are always a little bittersweet, but I'd like to see Boseman get it. He's also the current front-runner.
If I Had a Vote: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Best Actress in a Leading Role Notes: This is a fun one. The five women have split almost evenly in all the pre-awards hoo-hah, and no one seems to know which way is up. A poll I saw had Carey Mulligan ahead by a fraction, but I'm going to go with Viola Davis. She checks off a lot of the boxes that award-winning performances usually do, plus everyone loves her, and a second win for her (after Fences) would look really good for the Academy.
If I Had a Vote: Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Best Actor in a Supporting Role Notes: I can't figure out why both Stanfield and Kaluuya are in the same category. To my eyes, Stanfield should be lead since he was the story; he was the driving force. Kaluuya had the showier, more powerful role, but he's the true supporter. My original pick for this category was Raci; he just blew my mind, but that was before I saw Judas.
If I Had a Vote: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Best Actress in a Supporting Role Notes: Glenn Close has eight Oscar nominations and has never won, so I guess she could sneak in there. (Ironically, the woman who beat her last time is also nominated here! Heh.) But the front-runner throughout awards season has been the saucy Yuh-jung Youn, the grandmother from Minari. One large issue here is that Close's film is a Netflix film, and readily available to most people in the US, while Minari is still a fairly pricey rental. (If this and my above 4 other predictions are correct, then 5 people of color could win the acting and directing categories, for the first time ever!)
If I Had a Vote: Yuh-jung Youn, Minari Best Animated Feature Film Notes: I loved both of Pixar's movies this year, but Soul was the best. My other favorite, the weird The Wolf House, never even entered the conversation.
If I Had a Vote: Soul Best Adapted Screenplay Notes: Chloé Zhao's Nomadland is the front-runner here, and given the absense of Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things and Kelly Reichardt & Jonathan Raymond's First Cow, is perhaps the best pick.
If I Had a Vote: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland Best Original Screenplay Notes: Aaron Sorkin's script seems to be the front-runner at the moment, and perhaps the most traditional, with its peppy, rapid-patter dialogue. And I like that film a lot, but for me the greater achievement, both in terms of structure and storytelling, and in impact, is Promising Young Woman.
If I Had a Vote: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman Best Original Song Notes: This category again. Two of these movies I hadn't seen, and of the other three, I can't recall even hearing any songs. But at least Leslie Odom, Jr. plays a righteous Sam Cooke. On another note (get it?) this is the 12th nomination, with zero wins, for songwriter Diane Warren, who goes all the way back to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" from Mannequin (1987), and performed by Starship. Voters may throw her a bone this year.
If I Had a Vote: n/a Best Original Score Notes: This is the only category in which one of my top ten films, Da 5 Bloods, was nominated, but as well as Blanchard's score works with the film, it sounds kinda overblown without it. My own #1 was Colin Stetson's Color Out of Space, which never had a prayer. I loved Howard's Western-y News of the World score, and it was also a top pick for me. But the clear winner here is Reznor and Ross's Soul, a score that makes the movie, and continues to enchant on its own.
If I Had a Vote: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Soul Best Sound Notes: Usually this one goes to movies with lots of explosions, but in this weird year, it has turned to smaller films, and only one stands out. Sound of Metal is so intricately designed sonically, that I spent several paragraphs of my review raving about it. So...
If I Had a Vote: Sound of Metal Best Costume Design Notes: I know so little about this category, and it usually seems to go to period pieces anyway. The front runner is probably Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and it's also my favorite of the ones I've seen here. Plus... Netflix.
If I Had a Vote: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Best Animated Short Film Notes: You'll have to read my reviews of the shorts to understand why Opera is my favorite and Genius Loci is my second favorite, and my least favorite, If Anything Happens I Love You, will be the winner.
If I Had a Vote: Opera Best Live-Action Short Film Notes: Didn't have time to see these this year. The favorites seem to be Two Distant Strangers and Feeling Through.
If I Had a Vote: ? Best Cinematography Notes: My favorites First Cow, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, The Vast of Night, and She Dies Tomorrow aren't here, but one of my favorites is: Mank. Just LOVE that widescreen black-and-white, and it was so exquisitely, precisely composed here.
If I Had a Vote: Erik Messerschmidt, Mank Best Documentary Feature Notes: Logic would dictate that Collective, which won most of the awards-season trophies, and which is also in International Feature, would be the front-runner here, but everyone (myself included) loves Netflix's My Octopus Teacher. I think I see an upset coming.
If I Had a Vote: Collective Best Documentary Short Subject Notes: No notes here except to say that Hunger Ward was made by a kid I used to know in elementary school (and Cub Scouts), and it's amazing. You should see it.
If I Had a Vote: Hunger Ward Best Film Editing Notes: This is one of my favorite categories, because it sometimes takes a right turn and does something cool, like giving awards to Bullitt or The Matrix or Mad Max: Fury Road. Nomadland is probably the safe bet, but in terms of sheer craft, I'd personally give a little love to both Promising Young Woman and Sound of Metal.
If I Had a Vote: Sound of Metal Best International Feature Film Notes: I clearly saw all the wrong international feature films this year, but it doesn't matter because Another Round is also in the directing category, which puts it pretty significantly over the edge. I like the film, but I wish I liked it more...
If I Had a Vote: n/a Best Makeup and Hairstyling Notes: For this I guess I'd have to go with the film I like the best out of the ones I've seen, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which also happens to be the current favorite.
If I Had a Vote: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Best Production Design Notes: My pick would be Ma Rainey's Black Bottom for the brilliant way it used its limited set, its various layers, levels of light and dark, and doors and hallways, for specific emotional effect in tune with the story's rhythms. The front runner is, of course, the movie with the most production design.
If I Had a Vote: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Best Visual Effects Notes: I somehow missed three of these movies, despite being a big nerd. Despite only being released in theaters and not being seen by a lot of people until home video, (and despite not being very good) Tenet is probably the front runner here.
If I Had a Vote: n/a |
