Oscars floated around the idea to have a “Best Popular Film” category, so since that didn’t work out, I think they just decided to vote for movies that casual movie goers enjoy. I think Bohemian Rhapsody and The Favourite are even worse nominations.

Also, Won’t You Be My Neighbor is the biggest Oscar snub in recent memory.

I’m surprised Ethan Hawk wasn’t nominated for Best Actor. That film where he played a priest was also excellent imo.

If I could pick all the nominations they’d be:

Best Picture:

A Star is Born
You Were Never Really Here
If Beale Street Could Talk
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Leave No Trace
The Hate U Give
The Old Man & the Gun
Widows
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
A Quiet Place

Best Actor:

Ben Foster – Leave No Trace
Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born
Viggo Mortensen – Green Book
John David Washington – Black Kansman
Russell Hornsby – The Hate U Give

Best Supporting Actor:

Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Sam Elliot – A Star is Born
Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy
Joel Edgerton – Boy Erased

Best Actress:

Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Lady Gaga – A Star is Born
Viola Davis – Widows
Amandla Stenberg – The Hate U Give
Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade

Best Supporting Actress:

Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Nicole Kidman – Boy Erased
Yalitza Martínez – Roma
Rachel Weisz – The Favourite
Blake Lively – A Simple Favor

Best Director:

Spike Lee – Black Klansman
Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk
Steve McQueen – Widows
Alfonso Cauron – Roma
Marielle Heller – Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Score:

Nicholas Britell – If Beale Street Could Talk
Alexandre Desplat – Isle of Dogs
Marc Shaiman – Mary Poppins Returns

I’d go with Lee as Best Director.

Spike Lee is an awful director. He uses a hammer instead of a scalpel. Bradley Cooper should have gotten that spot.
Roma is a beautifully filmed movie, but it was boring as hell.
I thought the best movies of last year were Buster Scruggs, The Death Of Stalin, and Bad Times At The El Royale.

They’re probably trying to avoid the whole whitewashing thing from the last couple of years.

And let’s be honest the Oscars never really get the awards right anyway. How many times has a director or actor won for a film that was obviously not their best work just to make up for the fact that during a long and illustrious career they managed to miss out being nominated for all the actual great stuff.

I have yet to see Death of Stalin and El Royale.

Lee’s Klansman is significantly relevant cinema exceptionally executed.

The Oscars should have nominated Hawke’s movie instead of Panther. Show some self-respect. Lol

@mazingerz88 I agree about “First Reformed.” If not one of the choices for Best Picture, Ethan Hawke should have been nominated for Best Actor.

And Lucas Hedges was fine in many things but particularly great in “Ben is Back.”

Definitely a slant toward the popular movies this year.

It’s true, heavy promotion and lobbying works with Academy members.

The cheapness had always been there I just didn’t realize it until several years ago when they raised the number of nominated films just to show “inclusiveness” and stay relevant out of desperation.

Guess they know better on how to survive when the industry goes into evolution.

I understand that but this Black Panther instead of First Reformed move sets a new low in my view.

Unfortunately nowadays people will suspect that the movie was only nominated so the Academy won’t be “racist”. A lot of people agreed that La La Land should’ve won over Moonlight in 2017, not to mention The Shape of Water only winning last year because it’s “woke” (that’s a common perception at least).

Honestly I only pay attention to Oscar nominations because it sometimes gives me ideas of good movies to see. I don’t take them seriously as truly rewarding greatness.

@Demosthenes And a lot of people agreed that “Moonlight” was a much better movie that “La La Land” and were very pleased that it won.

To me the Oscars do get it right but would they get it right most of the time these coming years? I kinda doubt it.

Maybe they had a good run in the 90s when there were fewer movies produced and rare that a really deserving film got ignored.

Re : La La Land, I walked out of the theater after 30 minutes or so. The songs just sucked. Not for me.

Moonlight deserved the prize.

Moonlight was terrible. Seriously, has anyone watched it more than once?
La La Land was watchable at least. My favorite movie that year was Arrival.

@filmfann i suspect we have very different taste in movies although we do agree on “Roma.”

@filmfann

Absolutely loved Moonlight, and I’ve seen it three times. Wonderful performances and the direction is beautiful. Although I think the ending is a little flawed, especially with the cast changes. Completely unnecessary in my opinion.

Have you seen If Beale Street Could Talk? I actually think it’s better than Moonlight.

I can’t really say I’ve ever paid attention to the Oscars or cared what movie was nominated for/won what.