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<\/a>Oscar\u2014Hollywood\u2019s very own golden, naked Santa Claus\u2014handed out gifts this morning, and he was especially generous to The Shape of Water.<\/em><\/p>\n The fantasy romance helmed by monster impresario Guillermo del Toro snagged 13 Oscar nominations, including ones for Best Director (del Toro), Best Actress (Sally Hawkins) and Best Picture. Dunkirk<\/em>, Christopher Nolan\u2019s riveting war flick, collected eight, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/em> nabbed seven.<\/p>\n But digging deeper into the nominations announced this morning, we find some interesting themes in play.<\/p>\n A few I found worth noting:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Academy Spreads the Wealth \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to the nomination hogs named above, six other films are in the running for Best Picture: \u00a0Darkest Hour, Phantom Thread, Get Out, The Post, Lady Bird<\/em> and Call Me by Your Name.<\/em><\/p>\n That\u2019s a pretty eclectic roster of nominees, really. Get Out<\/em>, after all, is a horror flick\u2014a genre rarely honored by Oscar. The last slam-dunk horror movie to score a Best Picture nom was The Sixth Sense<\/em>, way back in 1999. The last to win? Silence of the Lambs<\/em> in 1991.<\/p>\n And while Oscar traditionally shows little love for comedies, three Best Picture noms straddle the line. While I didn\u2019t find Get Out<\/em> particularly funny, it was nominated for Best Comedy or Musical by the Golden Globes. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri<\/em>, for all its scathing commentary, feels often like a dark comedy. Lady Bird<\/em> tries to make you laugh as you cry.<\/p>\n The Academy also did better with diversity than it has in some past years, and in a variety of categories. Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out<\/em>) and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq<\/em>.) both landed noms in Best Actor. Mary J. Blige (Mudbound<\/em>) and Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water<\/em>) both earned noms for Best Supporting Actress. Get Out\u2019<\/em>s creator Jordan Peele scored nominations in three separate categories\u2014for directing, writing and naturally Best Picture. After getting snubbed by the Golden Globes, Greta Gerwig picked up her own directorial nomination for Lady Bird<\/em>. (She\u2019s the first female to earn a Best Director nomination since Kathryn Bigelow nabbed one for 2009\u2019s The Hurt Locker<\/em>.) And Rachel Morrison became the first woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography, for her work in Mudbound<\/em>.<\/p>\n In some ways, this year\u2019s crop of nominations show that Oscar\u2019s not just nominating movies that feel like Oscar flicks anymore\u2014films like, say, Darkest Hour<\/em> or The Post<\/em>. While I liked both of those movies quite a bit, it\u2019s nice to see the Academy showing some love to the Lady Birds<\/em> of the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2026 But Still No Love for Some Genres<\/strong><\/p>\n But while the Academy is showing a greater willingness to accept different sorts of movies into its glittering fold, it shows an absolutely mystifying disregard for movies that, y\u2019know, most people pay to see.<\/p>\n Last year was a banner year for superhero movies. Indeed, 2017\u2019s superhero flicks were some of the most critically acclaimed movies of any<\/em> genre: Wonder Woman<\/em>, Thor: Ragnarok<\/em> and Spider-Man: Homecoming<\/em> boast a 92% \u201cfreshness\u201d rating on Rotten Tomatoes<\/em>\u2014higher than Darkest Hour, The Post<\/em> and Phantom Thread<\/em>. Logan<\/em> stands at 93%, higher than Dunkirk<\/em> and The Shape of Water<\/em>, and the same as Three Billboards<\/em>.<\/p>\n How many Oscar nominations did those three collect this morning? One. Just one, for Logan <\/em>in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.<\/p>\n Science Fiction failed to impress Academy\u2019s voters, either. Well-reviewed movies Blade Runner 2049<\/em> and Star Wars: The Last Jedi<\/em> both earned a handful of nominations, but mostly in technical categories\u2014even though 2049<\/em> being considered a dark horse for more prestigious awards. War for the Planet of the Apes<\/em>, despite a 93% freshness rating on RT<\/em> and a strong push to get Andy Serkis nominated for Best Actor (he plays Caesar via CGI wizardry), earned just one nom: An oh-so-predictable nod for Best Visual Effects.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lauding Strong Women<\/strong><\/p>\n Hollywood has long been justly criticized for overlooking strong stories with strong females at their center. But, judging from the nominees, the industry\u2019s been moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n Of the nine Best Picture nominees, four unquestionably have strong women at their core: As Mildred Hayes, Frances McDormand anchors Three Billboards Outside Ebbing<\/em>, Missouri<\/em>, with a palpable, poignant rage. Meryl Streep\u2019s Kay Graham is the publisher of The Post<\/em>, and it\u2019s her decision\u2014whether to publish explosive government secrets or not\u2014that propels this gripping docudrama forward. In Lady Bird<\/em>, Saoirse Ronan\u2019s titular character dominates the film with warmth and humor. And Sally Hawkins, as the mute cleaning woman Elisa in The Shape of Water<\/em>, gives the movie its warmth, grace and power without ever saying a word. All four of these women, naturally, were nominated for Best Actress honors (joined by Margot Robbie for her work in I, Tonya<\/em>).<\/p>\n And personally, I think that this quartet of women-driven Best Picture nominees could be joined by a fifth: In the film, dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Oscar nominee Daniel Day-Lewis) tangles with two<\/em> strong women\u2014his lover and muse Alma (Vicky Krieps) and his tough-as-nails sister Cyril (Oscar nominee Lesley Manville).<\/p>\n Still, I think the Academy missed an opportunity to laud a couple of other female-driven films that were among my favorites: Wonder Woman<\/em>, of course, and the little-seen but puckishly poignant The Florida Project<\/em>. While all the Best Actress nominees gave truly worthy performances this year, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve seen anyone who did better than Project\u2019<\/em>s 7-year-old centerpiece, Brooklynn Prince<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Round Up the Usual Suspects<\/strong><\/p>\n For all the Academy\u2019s efforts in the last couple of years to shake up its voters and nominate divergent, worthy movies, Some habits are hard to break.<\/p>\n As mentioned, Streep snagged a nomination for her work in The Post<\/em>. That\u2019s her 21st nod, by the way, padding her already formidable record. And while I loved her in The Post, it sometimes does feel like her reputation is such now that Streep would get an Oscar nomination if she read a bicycle assembly manual for two hours.<\/p>\n Ditto Daniel Day-Lewis. Granted, he doesn\u2019t come out and play that often: Day-Lewis has appeared in 16 films in the last 30 years\u2014and just seven since 2002. And how many Oscars has he been nominated for for those seven roles? Four! And he won twice during that same seven year period! It was almost a lock that, as he allegedly heads into retirement, Day-Lewis would be saluted for his work one last time.<\/p>\n Denzel Washington scored his eighth acting nomination, this one for starring in the otherwise only-OK Roman J. Israel, Esq<\/em>. Deserved? Arguably, but his work this year doesn\u2019t, in my opinion, hold a candle to his blistering work in Fences.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>