95th Academy Awards

 

(Everett Collection, Deadline)

Another year, another movies, eh? I can't get enough of 'em. I love the art, and the craft, and the art of the craft. I love the people you watch movies with and the ways they react. I love hearing unique stories from all kinds of people! This year, I got to see a litany of great movies, many of which happened to be nominated for this year's Academy Awards. I love a contrived opportunity to rank and award random movies, don't you? Let's get in to some of this year's more interesting categories.

Best Costume Design

Will win: Catherine Martin for Elvis
Want to win: Ruth Carter for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Here is the annual battle between the authentic recreation of old outfits and the creative execution of wholly original costumes. Typically, it's the former that wins out in this category- and I think this will be a chance to award Elvis where it otherwise won't win out. Austin Butler's impressive performance as Elvis is absolutely helped by Catherine Martin's terrifically accurate renditions of the musician's most famous outfits, and it's telling that she's won for (most) all of her previous costume collaborations with director Baz Lurman (The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge!). Personally, I was much more impressed with Ruth Carter's work in the latest Black Panther, which required a bit more imagination to execute (even if this is her second go at it); Regal formalwear for multiple fake, futuristic nations presents all kinds of interesting opportunities, and Carter's work greatly enhanced Angela Bassett's performance just like it did for Butler. However, given that both of these women have won here before multiple times, it'd be neat to see someone new win here.

Best Cinematography

Will win: James Friend for All Quiet on the Western Front
Want to win: Florian Hoffmeister for Tár

This is where we high-five the movie with the best camera work- Lighting a scene, framing the shot, and moving the camera during a sequence. Cinematography is one of my favorite aspects of filmmaking, but I can't say I have a ton of love for any of these nominees. I probably enjoyed Roger Deakins' work for Empire of Light the most, but it's nothing we haven't seen him do before. Instead, this year we're seeing a lot of new faces; For three of our nominees, this is the first time they've ever made an appearance in this category. While Hoffmeister's work for Tár was probably the most impressive of the nominees, James Friend has been winning more awards this year for All Quiet on the Western Front.

Best Film Editing

Will win: Paul Rogers for Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Eddie Hamilton for Top Gun: Maverick

Once you've shot all that fancy footage with a camera, the editor has to piece it all together to actually make the movie. The sequence of events, as well as the individual shots that depict events, are all (in part) decided by the editor. Some refer to film editing as an "invisible art" as the "best" editing doesn't draw attention to itself; Instead, it contributes to a seemingly-natural pace and an easy-to-follow narrative structure. Paul Rogers' work for Everything Everywhere All at Once has fetched a lot of awards for walking the line between crazy stylistic editing (something Elvis probably has too much of) as well as a digestible, easy-to-understand structure (something The Banshees of Inisherin has too muc- ya know, actually, is there such a thing?). While it is to be commended, I think Top Gun: Maverick owes a lot of its success to the work Eddie Hamilton did in ensuring that the movie feels like its firing on all cylinders; The action is thrilling and exciting thanks to the editing that keeps the pace rock-solid.

Best Production Design

Will win: Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino for Babylon
Want to win: Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino for Babylon

These folks command the design and construction of the sets used on the film, as well as the props placed in each shot. Again, this tends to be a battle of "faithful recreation" versus "impressively imaginative," but this year the nominees lean much more heavily into the former (All Quiet on the Western Front, Babylon, Elvis, The Fabelmans) versus the latter (Avatar: The Way of Water). Frankly, all of these movies have some incredible production design- The sets look spectacular and natural, which is doubly impressive for movies like this that try to ape a specific time period. Babylon has been winning the most here, though, and I think it's well deserved- plus, an opportunity to honor an impressive movie that won't be honored elsewhere tonight.

Best Original Score

Will win: Justin Hurwitz for Babylon
Want to win: Justin Hurwitz for Babylon

What movie had the best background music this year? Can you recall any specific themes or leitmotifs? (Personally, I'm just itching for an excuse to whip out the word "leitmotif.") While there's a lot of big names in the category this time, I can't say many of them were all that memorable to me- except for Babylon. Honestly, you'd think I loved this movie given all the praise I've heaped on it so far (spoiler alert: I did not). However, Justin Hurwitz does. not. miss. and this year was no different. Whatever you think about the film, the opening half hour is pretty electric, and it has everything to do with Hurwitz's fantastic score. I'm probably biased as I've still got the score for La La Land and even First Man in my regular rotation- but given the other nominees in this category, I'm hopeful the Academy will agree with me.

Best Animated Feature Film

Will win: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Want to win: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

This is another favorite category of mine, and man, this year it is loaded. The Sea Beast, while kind of a weak movie, is definitely impressive enough to earn a seat at the table. However, between Turning Red, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, I'd be happy with anyone winning this year. They're all seriously incredible movies that I would highly recommend to all- in particular, Marcel and Pinocchio have been duking it out in my mind throughout the year as my #1 movie of 2022. I think the Academy likes Guillermo del Toro more, but wouldn't it be great to see a win for our guy Marcel the Shell??

 

(Associated Press)

Best Original Screenplay

Will win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Effectively the "cool kids" category, this is where the Academy likes to nominate great movies that don't really have a shot at Best Picture. That doesn't take away anything from these nominees though- As my man Charlie Kaufman said at the Writers Guild Awards this year, “They’ve tricked us into thinking we can’t do it without them. The truth is they can’t do anything of value without us." The screenplay is the backbone of every movie, and it's a major reason why any great movie works as well as it might. This year, Everything Everywhere All at Once has impressed the most, tackling generational trauma and our purpose in life with a comedic edge that never loses sight of its core themes. It's all over the place, as the title implies, but rarely too unwieldy- and it's clearly been very effective for a wide array of people. I can't say I was one of them per se, but I'm not sure who I'd want to award here instead. The Fabelmans was intimate and personal, but not particularly affecting. Triangle of Sadness and The Banshees of Inisherin were hilariously absurd, though certainly rough around the edges. And, well, I didn't really care for Tár all that much. In that sense, EEAaO is probably the one to beat.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will win: Sarah Polley for Women Talking
Want to win: Sarah Polley for Women Talking

Here's a fun quirk of the Academy: While "adapted" screenplays tend to refer to scripts that were derived from books or other projects, it also (apparently) describes any movie sequel. This leads to a couple interesting nominees this year- Glass Onion and Top Gun: Maverick are both great sequels that feel mostly original, whereas All Quiet on the Western Front, Living, and Women Talking owe a lot to their prior incarnations. Honestly, they're all pretty great films. Since Women Talking is topical and won't be awarded elsewhere, this is probably where it'll get its due. I'm not very familiar with the original book, but I gotta say that the script is a big reason why I pegged this movie at #7 of the year. (That being said, shout out to Living for being a very competent adaptation of a nice old Kurosawa movie.)

Best Supporting Actor

Will win: Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Brian Tyree Henry for Causeway

Now we're getting to the good stuff. We've got a couple double-nominees for our Supporting categories this year, which isn't too surprising given the actor-driven movies that are nominated up and down the Oscars this time around. Ke Huy Quan handed in a particularly stand-out performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once this year, and his career path is absolutely the kind of story that the Academy loves to celebrate. But I'd be remiss without mentioning of my favorite actors, Brian Tyreen Henry, for making an appearance here. Causeway was a neat enough movie that doesn't really need to win any awards, but we better give him one sooner or later- the best parts of that movie are absolutely the little lines he delivers in such a gut-wrenching fashion.

Best Supporting Actress

Will win: Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Every year, it feels like many things change about the Academy- but many things also stay the same. It's inevitable that a great performance from a great actor will be passed up in order to give more of an honorary award to a great actor for a so-so performance. Such is likely the case here for Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once. I really don't feel like she had a very praise-worthy performance in this movie, but I'm sure the Academy feels it's high time to nominate her. Everyone else in this category (particularly Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) is great, but, ya know, they'll probably be back here some other year... right?? Or, at least, if not, we'll force some weird nomination for an okay-movie that they starred in so we can continue the cycle. I loved what Hong Chau and Stephanie Hsu did for their movies, but I think I'd lean a bit more towards giving Angela Bassett an award for her commanding presence in the latest Black Panther iteration.

Best Actor

Will win: Brendan Frasier for The Whale
Want to win: Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin

This is probably the juiciest category. Paul Mescal gets a "great to be here," but otherwise everyone else has kind of a likely shot at winning this award. This is the first time any of these actors have had a shot at Best Actor, and it certainly feels like they all played a huge part in making their movies work. Brendan Frasier handed in a particularly memorable performance- but, like Ke Huy Quan, his Hollywood tale has certainly played a role in drumming up excitement for this potential win. The Academy would love to grant him this award as a quasi-apology for the way he was treated over the years, but I'd personally love to hand it to Colin Farrell for being exceptionally hilarious and exceptionally charming. Still, you can't deny that the Academy also loves to award actors for mimicking real life celebrities- particularly musicians; Austin Butler has a real chance here.

Best Actress

Will win: Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Another major category with some heavyweights- All year, it's been a neck-and-neck battle between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. At this point, tough, I think Yeoh has the upper hand; Though she's been around for years, this is her first nomination (and a historic one, as the first Malaysian to be nominated in any category). Blanchett, as electric as her performance was, has already won two acting Oscars. The other three nominees don't really have much of a chance here, so I'm all-in on Michelle Yeoh- even if her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once wasn't even my favorite!

Best Director

Will win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin

Ok, enough chit-chat. It's time to get down to business. Movies are massive, massive projects to be managed, and someone has to be credited for helming them. The field this year is interesting- Spielberg has won Best Director twice before, of course, but not since 1999. Todd Field, Ruben Östlund, and Martin McDonagh have all made a variety of appearances at previous Academy Awards, but never for directing. However, the star of the show tonight has obviously become Everything Everywhere All at Once- which, while not competing for Best Actor, may otherwise sweep all the remaining major categories for which its nominated. This feels surprisingly likely, particularly given the other awards it has won throughout the year, setting records alongside movie giants like American Beauty, No Country for Old Men, Slumdog Millionaire, Argo, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. In that sense, it feels particularly clear that the Daniels will win here. Personally, I'd probably rather give it to anyone else nominated; No disrespect to our boys, but the movie feels a little too rough around the edges for me to want to grant it an award for Best Directing. On the flipside, I feel like that was my chief complaint with McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which he clearly took to heart for The Banshees of Inisherin, which is much more well-rounded; Perhaps he deserves some credit there?

Best Picture

Will win: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Want to win: Anything!

Man, what a movie year! For once, the Academy opted to nominate some movies that normal people have actually seen, and it does feel like there's actually kind of a chance that they might win. Still, Everything Everywhere All at Once feels like the peoples' choice- which is exactly why I'd love to see anything else win. I mean, c'mon, I would love to wake up to the firestorm on the internet that will inevitably blaze through every timeline, every comments section, every YouTube suggestion if Everything Everywhere All at Once lost out to, I dunno, Elvis. Or Tár. Or Avatar! It feels pretty unlikely though. Personally, I'm pretty happy with all of these nominees, so any kind of win would be exciting here. Which in itself is quite exciting! This show might actually be good! We might actually see some well-deserved wins! 

Thanks for making it all the way to the end of my ramblings. I love movies, and I love to talk about them exhaustively. This year has been especially fun- not a lot of movies I was taken with, but plenty of really great movies that a lot of folks clearly loved. Here's to many more!