This is the thread where we discuss matters pertaining to the detrius that accompanies the "End of the Year in Cinema" -- 2023

Cord Jefferson is the first ex-Gawker Oscar nominee

Diane Warren doesn't miss

surprised American Symphony didn't make it in doc

Wow -- the expected Zone of Interest aside, the most toothless int'l film nominees since the '90s.

was Taste of Things expected in international?

hell yeah Zone of Interest nom in sound

whoa the El Condé nom

Colman Domingo over Scrunchy Face.

Annette Bening!

omg Bening

so, no Robbie

and no Gerwig for director

Glazer and Triet made it.

so the PGA slate repeats, as expected

With Bening in the race now, I wonder if the chatter will turn to honoring her at last.

Yeah, best actress now becomes kind of the hottest acting race

yeah that'll be interesting. but it also feels like a nomination from the acting branch that the academy as a whole might not be as enthusiastic about.

These nominations are more bad than good, but I'll admit that's as respectable a 10-deep best picture lineup as we've had since category expansion.

I'm not mad about Mulligan -- I never am -- but the Best Actress nominees are among the strongest in a while.

Saltburn shutout?

Appears so? I had a feeling that was a BAFTAs phenomenon.

surprised gerwig didn't get a director nom.

The Academy doesn't like comedy.

I liked Anatomy of a Fall quite a bit, but Barbie seems like a more accomplished directorial achievement. (Comparing them not bc they're both women but bc Triet took the slot Gerwig was expected to fill.)

I actually prefer AOAF but I'd rather the Academy for once stopped taking itself so goddamn seriously.

Yeah. I'm also not looking forward to the inevitable discourse about this.

I wayyyy prefer AoaF and also think it was a bigger directorial achievement, but it's pretty telling that they nominated Ferrera and not Gerwig/Robbie. Ferrera and her speech makes them feel like they've done their diligence

The more it sits, the more annoyed I am with that Ferrera nomination, which came at the expense of much better options in a much wider open category

Wes Anderson slides in with a Best Short Film nod for Henry Sugar.

But not Almodovar

ferrera was not good in the barbie movie

She should move to Florida and run for Senate. We need her!

Make America America Again

Between this and Eric's recent post about it, I might just give it a watch...

Don't think of NYAD as a Netflix biopic, think of it as a fun dramedy about stubborn lesbians

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) January 23, 2024

It's not fun.

I mean, it's not offensive but it's a thin premise stretched to a couple hours.

If taken strictly as a showcase for two older actresses, I've seen far worse ... It's not great cinema, but I have no objections to what Foster in particular brings to the screen here. Especially her big "I know my friend is annoying the room so I'm going to save her from herself" energy.

But speaking of Netflix, you really can't say that it was Netflix resistance that led to the May December collapse now, given how well so many other Netflix movies (all of them inferior) did

The Academy just doesn't like Todd Haynes; MD's tonal mixtures confused voters who think The Holdovers is awesome.

I don't remember Emily Blunt doing *anything* in "Oppenheimer," but maybe that means she *was* acting, vs. whatever it was that, say, RDJ was doing.

Nothing (even technical) for Ferrari or The Killer.

Yeah I think the treatment of May December is testament to its subversiveness. It makes people uncomfortable.

whatever it was that, say, RDJ was doing

Per my wife, "He's not playing this role, he's playing David Strathairn playing this role."

I know, and I get that. Still doesn't make it any less annoying that the only thing these voters seem to respect above all else are biopics

xp

I knew Blunt was getting nommed as soon as I left the theater

I knew she was getting nominated the moment I saw she was very nearly the only female cast member

Keep me away from all the "So I guess Barbie/Past Lives directed itself??" takes. There are only five slots!

I guess Asteroid City just Pantoned itself…

The more precursors pile up on top of each other, the more each Academy branch feels no need to color outside the lines anymore ... even the reliably nutty costume design category is almost entirely carbon copy best picture nominees (Oppenheimer for costumes?! for fuck's sake)