The season is upon us, folks! No, I’m not referring to the Oscar nominations. I mean the period directly after the nominations are announced, when everyone complains bitterly for a month about their favorites not being nominated, which comes directly before the period after the Oscars where everyone complains bitterly for 11 months about their favorites not winning. As usual, the Academy couldn’t cram all of this year’s talent into just a handful of nominations, and some great accomplishments were overlooked. I wouldn’t want to be left out of the pre-Oscar complaining fun, so here are the nomination snubs that are bothering me the most:
1. Selma…for Several Categories
Let’s address the big one right away. There are a lot of understandably angry people over the exclusion of the historical pic about the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches from all categories except Best Picture and Best Original Song. This means it was passed over for all the acting categories, including Best Actor (an infuriating snub for star David Oyelowo) and was ignored in the Best Director category. Taking such powerful and iconic real life events and turning them into an entertaining movie that also stays true to history and does justice to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his supporters had to have been a rough task, and director Ava DuVernay handled it masterfully. Her vision was well-executed and inspired. The Golden Globes recognized her strength as a director, making her the first woman of color to be nominated for the Globe for Best Director, but the Academy passed her and her incredible talent over, as well as the talent of her lead actor, who nailed the difficult role of King, something few actors could have pulled off so impressively.
2. The Lego Movie for Best Animated Feature
I entered the Lego Movie expected it to be fairly stupid, and left it with the impression that I’d just watched one of the best animated movies I’d ever seen (and I assure you, I’ve seen a lot of animated movies). The film combined a delightfully fun nostalgia trip for everyone who played with Legos as a child (which was basically everyone cool, yes?) with a surprisingly touching storyline of a boy trying to connect with his father that brought the over-the-top concept back to earth and kept it believable and relatable. It was one of the most inventive animated movies of at least the last decade, and to see that beat out by How to Train Your Dragon 2 was frustrating (though I’m sure How to Train Your Dragon 2 was lovely, if you’re in to that).
3. Jennifer Aniston for Best Actress
I really had my hopes pinned on a Anistaissance this year. Jennifer Aniston, despite how adored she was on Friends and how talent she is, hasn’t done much lately worthy of even a glance from the Academy. I mean, to be fair, I actually quite liked We’re the Millers, bad dialogue and all, but her recent films are, at best, guilty pleasures, and, at worst, total trash. Enter Cake: a surprising powerhouse performance from a once-beloved actor whose career had devolved into a series of bad rom-coms. Sound familiar? What last year was for Matthew McConaughey, this year could have been for Aniston, an especially exciting idea given how hard it is for women over 40 to be successful in Hollywood. It’s disappointing that Aniston didn’t get her chance at a much-deserved comeback this Oscar season.
What Oscar snub is bothering you most? What do you think of my choices? Sound off in the comments!
I’m surprised that “Boyhood” walked away with only a single award (ditto for “American Sniper”). Both of these bother me more than “The Grand Budapest Hotel” getting best hair and makeup.