{"id":1296,"date":"2017-01-24T17:03:16","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T22:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/?p=1296"},"modified":"2017-01-26T08:49:48","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T13:49:48","slug":"thoughts-oscar-nominations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s talk Oscar noms!"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/634\/2017\/01\/La-La-Land-Background-e1485295140870.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1297\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1297\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/634\/2017\/01\/La-La-Land-Background-e1485295140870.jpg\" alt=\"La-La-Land-Background\" width=\"550\" height=\"300\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Some quick thoughts on the 2017 Academy Award nominations, which were announced earlier today. A full list of nominees is available <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/movies\/la-et-mn-oscars-2017-nominees-winners-list-20170123-story.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At first blush, my biggest surprise is that there isn\u2019t a ton here I would bicker with. The list of nominees this year is really darn good, spread out over several movies. Maybe it\u2019s because I saw fewer movies than normal this year or simply because so many of the nominated films are on my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2016\/12\/30\/la-la-land-sing-street-arrival-best-movies-2016\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">best-of list<\/a>, but I can\u2019t really find a bad choice among the films. Really, a fantastic list of fantastic films this year.<\/li>\n<li>The big story, of course, is \u201cLa La Land\u201d with 14 nominations, tying the Academy record for nominations with \u201cTitanic\u201d and \u201cAll About Eve.\u201d I know there\u2019s a backlash going on among some critics, but I\u2019m thrilled to see Damien Chazelle\u2019s musical getting so much love. It\u2019s a fun, joyful movie that I\u2019m sure required an immense amount of work. And for a night designed to celebrate movies, what better one to lavish attention on? Whether \u201cLa La Land\u201d is truly the best film of the year is up for debate, of course, but few can deny that it\u2019s the most MOVIE movie of the year, a celebration of the form and the dreams that fuel the Oscars. I\u2019m rooting for it, and happy that the film has struck such a chord.<\/li>\n<li>Probably the most heartening story, though, is the diversity in nearly every category. After two years of being an embarrassingly lily-white affair, this year saw six black actors receive nominates; three in the best supporting actress category alone. It\u2019s a record, and it\u2019s well-deserved. This is a year in which diverse casts made up some of the most acclaimed films of the year, from \u201cMoonlight\u201d to \u201cHidden Figures.\u201d And can I just say how great it is to see that latter film getting so much love? I don\u2019t know that it would have made my list from last year, but it\u2019s really stuck with me as an inspiring, entertaining story and one that I\u2019m glad has found so much love with audiences.<\/li>\n<li>As I said earlier, I saw fewer films than usual this year, so there are a few I need to try and catch up on before the big day. Top of that list is \u201cMoonlight,\u201d a movie I tried to make time for before the end of the year but just couldn\u2019t catch before it left theaters. I have a screener of \u201cFences\u201d I\u2019ve been meaning to get to for a weeks now. \u201cHacksaw Ridge\u201d is one I just didn\u2019t have much desire to see, but I guess I have to get around that now. And \u201cLion,\u201d which seems to have come out of nowhere, is now on my radar.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m really thrilled by the genre love scattered among the best picture nominees. Sure, everyone expected \u201cManchester by the Sea,\u201d \u201cMoonlight\u201d and \u201cLa La Land\u201d to get some love. But also in there is a science fiction drama (\u201cArrival\u201d) and one of the best Western\/crime dramas in ages (\u201cHell or High Water\u201d). In fact, the love for \u201cHell or High Water\u201d might be my favorite thing about this year\u2019s Oscar nominations. I\u2019m sure the film doesn\u2019t have a chance in hell (or high water) to win, but it\u2019s great to see that this tense, smart little thrill ride wasn\u2019t forgotten.<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m not sure, but is this the first year that Pixar released a film and found itself shut out of the best animated picture category? And listen, I enjoyed \u201cFinding Dory\u201d quite a bit, but I\u2019m not feeling too sad to see it left off the list. This was a fantastic year for animation, and Disney\u2019s \u201cMoana\u201d and \u201cZootopia\u201d were both better than what Pixar put out. But I have to admit that I\u2019d love to see \u201cKubo and the Two Strings\u201d get a surprise win, just to give Laika a boost to keep making these special, beautiful movies.\u00a0<strong>Edit: A helpful comment below reminded me that\u00a0<em>Cars 2<\/em> in 2011 and\u00a0<em>Monsters University<\/em> in 2013 both went un-nominated. Maybe the Academy just doesn\u2019t like Pixar\u2019s non-<em>Toy Story<\/em> sequels (although you\u2019re not going to hear me mount a vigorous defense for either film).\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Is the Mel Gibson comeback official? I\u2019ve been hoping the actor\/director would see a resurgence, but I have to admit I was surprised to see \u201cHacksaw Ridge\u201d among the best picture nominees, along with a nod for Gibson\u2019s direction and Andrew Garfield\u2019s performance. I know the film has its supporters, but everything I heard on it was quite mixed. But I guess I can\u2019t underestimate Gibson; he\u2019s a solid director and I hope he\u2019s getting his life and career back on track.<\/li>\n<li>If there\u2019s a chip on my shoulder with \u201cHacksaw Ridge,\u201d I guess it\u2019s because I really wanted Andrew Garfield\u2019s\u00a0<em>other<\/em> story of religious struggle to be noticed. But aside from a cinematography nod, Martin Scorsese\u2019s \u201cSilence\u201d was completely shut out of the race. It\u2019s a shame: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/17\/wrestling-with-silence-martin-scorsese\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">as I\u2019ve written<\/a>, I think \u201cSilence\u201d is one of Scorsese\u2019s late masterpieces, and one of the best films about faith ever made. I\u2019m not saying it should have replaced \u201cHacksaw Ridge\u201d (which, again, I haven\u2019t seen), but I think it\u2019s one of this year\u2019s few snubs.<\/li>\n<li>Other griping? Well, I feel like the annual give-Meryl-Streep-a-nomination tradition should have been suspended this year. Amy Adams carried \u201cArrival,\u201d and is the reason that film\u2019s mix of emotion and intelligence worked so well. It\u2019s shocking she\u2019s not listed among the best actress nominees. I would have loved to see \u201cThe Witch\u201d get a cinematography nod for its bleak, oppressive atmosphere. My favorite film of 2016, \u201cSing Street,\u201d was completely shut out of the awards. And while I didn\u2019t expect a best picture nominee, surely a best song nod for \u201cDrive it Like You Stole It\u201d would have been appropriate, no? And while Lin-Manuel Miranda has a shot at an EGOT with \u201cHow Far I\u2019ll Go,\u201d we all know that the best song from \u201cMoana\u201d was actually \u201cYou\u2019re Welcome,\u201d right?<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s hosting this year\u2019s Oscars. I like Kimmel; he strikes a nice balance between respect and a poke in the ribs, and I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be a funny host. Can\u2019t wait to see this year\u2019s Oscars!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"fb-page\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chrisicisms\/\" data-tabs=\"timeline\" data-small-header=\"false\" data-adapt-container-width=\"true\" data-hide-cover=\"false\" data-show-facepile=\"true\">\n<div class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\">\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chrisicisms\/\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chrisicisms\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Chris Williams<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some quick thoughts on the 2017 Academy Award nominations, which were announced earlier today. A full list of nominees is available here.\u00a0 At first blush, my biggest surprise is that there isn\u2019t a ton here I would bicker with. The list of nominees this year is really darn good, spread out over several movies. Maybe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2598,"featured_media":1297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12,621,620,13],"class_list":["post-1296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-academy-awards","tag-arrival","tag-la-la-land","tag-oscars"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Let&#039;s talk 2017 Oscar nominations!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;La La Land&quot; leads a great field of films and leaves this critic with very little to quibble about when it comes to this year&#039;s Oscar nominees.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let&#039;s talk 2017 Oscar nominations!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;La La Land&quot; leads a great field of films and leaves this critic with very little to quibble about when it comes to this year&#039;s Oscar nominees.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chrisicisms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-24T22:03:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-26T13:49:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/634\/2017\/01\/La-La-Land-Background-e1485295140870.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/\",\"name\":\"Let's talk 2017 Oscar nominations!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-24T22:03:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-26T13:49:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/#\/schema\/person\/34aadb5161279c2babff6a9606bb0714\"},\"description\":\"\\\"La La Land\\\" leads a great field of films and leaves this critic with very little to quibble about when it comes to this year's Oscar nominees.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/2017\/01\/24\/thoughts-oscar-nominations\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Let&#8217;s talk Oscar noms!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/\",\"name\":\"Chrisicisms\",\"description\":\"Film, television and faith\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/#\/schema\/person\/34aadb5161279c2babff6a9606bb0714\",\"name\":\"Chris Williams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chrisicisms\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84d012e59f4b1fbe40e02ec67d155d61?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/84d012e59f4b1fbe40e02ec67d155d61?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Williams\"},\"description\":\"Blogger and critic Chris Williams has been writing about film and faith for more than a decade. 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