I can count on the the animation category to piss me off every year. I still remember how angry I was when "Brave" won against: "Frankenweenie", "Paranorman", "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Pirates! Band of Misfits" Ugh! -.-
Well, I don't think it's an awful flick. There are some good stuff in it. But I don't think it's very original or anything outstanding or award-worthy. In my opinion, every other movie in the category deserved the Oscar more.
Ye, considering The Wind Rises didnt win last year against Frozen, I wouldnt feel too confident for Princess Kaguya....I would say its between HTTYD 2 and Big Hero 6 and from these two I really hope HTTYD 2 wins, finally bringing Dreamworks their first Oscar since Shrek in 2002.
I'm happy for Whiplash & Birdman in the best picture category! I still need to see Boyhood. On a separate note, you're the first youtuber, that I follow, to post a review on the Oscar noms & snubs; good job!
Beyond The Trailer Grace, when you put up the BTT vote, will you include the new categories you introduced last year like original and adapted screenplay, as well as song?
Animation: There are always 1 or 2 outside North American releases that get in. Of course the best Studio Ghibli movie since Howls Moving Castle was getting in and that is Tale of Princess Kaguya. Of course Box Trolls (production company Laika is small private company so not only is marketing hard, but finding a consulting team for award season is harder), yes it would get nominated. Big Hero 6, a solid Disney animation movie. It’s as safe as it could be. Now, Song of the Sea. This was my 4th favorite movie last year. Holy shit!! I am so happy. It is an Ireland animation studio. I have been asking Grace to review it, maybe she might. It is the closest thing to a kids book coming to life. It is a hidden masterpiece, I’ll go that far. - Lego Movie: My theory is it’s too silly. There’s a lot going on and that’s normally something filmmakers try to resist doing. I have no problem saying Tale of Princess Kaguya is better than Lego in it's own way and Song of the Sea is no doubt, the best animated movie I've seen in recent memory.
Oh yeah, forgot to comment on HTTYD. I still loved it. It was my 6th fav movie of last year. Animation and everything else with it lol was really impressive. Yeah, I think it's going to win to.
Why the fuck is meryl streep even nominated? The Oscars just fkn adores Meryl, she could act as an transformer and still get that fkn Oscar, I think it's bullshit when there are better performances 2014.
LOL - too true! In general I like Streep as an actor but agree with your sentiment. She too is probably tired of being nominated for everything. Still having said that Michael Bay should cast Streep in Transformers 5 and finally get the Oscar nod he covets.
sanyrub Agreed. Also funny how they just nominate her out of respect even if there was one person better than her yet they refuse to nominate Jake. Jake is a proven actor and has done so many good movies and he just performs better every time. He completely transformed himself in the role to the point that if youve never seen him before you would think thats him yet actors with good but not amazing performances get nominated... I cant even.
Although, I think Dragon 2 is a better film it's stupid that they didn't nominate The Lego Movie. It's better than Big Hero 6 and The Boxtrolls. Not saying those are bad films, but I would pick Lego movie over those two.
I agree completely, the academy doesnt give shit about animated films and its proven in their reason for voting. My order is 1. httyd2 2. lego movie 3. big hero 6 I havent seen Tale of Kaguya and I LOVE Ghibli so Im sure it would be high on my list, and I enjoyed bh6 but I dont think it was as creative and well executed as lego and dragons
Lego movie is a great film one of the best of the year, but I think Lego movie is not better than big hero 6 these are both amazing movies but Lego movie is more of a comedy, and big hero 6 is just a strong, independent film, although it is disappointing Lego movie did not get nominated, but these are both very good films nonetheless.
I think they didn't because it didn't have as much emotion as the other movies. it is the same thing with other movie awards they don't choose a comedy with a little bit of emotion. they don't even choose movies like that for comedy musical award
I think Princess Kaguya is better than the Lego Movie. Haven't seen Song of the Sea yet. I also don't think I can say that the Lego movie is "better" than the other nominees. I did like it better than Big Hero 6 and Boxtrolls, but to say that it is better is a whole different story.
Agreed. I thought Princess Kaguya was better than the lego movie. You gotta see Song of the Sea, especially if you enjoyed the Secret of Kells. Ultimately it's just opinion anyway, but I'm glad to see traditional animation still has a place in the industry.
Hello Grace, great review. Do you think they should extend the number of nominations since there are more movies made nowadays? And when do you think they will have a motion capture category or somewhere in that room?
Best animated feature? Grace have you even SEEN Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea? It bugs me so much when people call it the best when that's all the saw besides BH6 and Dragon 2. They are FAR superior to LEGO even though they're not popular. LEGO is simply far too commercialized for The Academy - I was expecting it. And it is no secret that they don't really care about animation besides Pixar, with Disney as back up. Same with last year where the voters admitted to not even see most of the features besides Frozen, or simply just voted for it because of its popularity. If it was about best movie Princess Kaguya should win. Animation AND storytelling wise.
Was Spirited Away the last anime movie to win an Oscar ?, love that film and all the other Studio Ghibli films your right the oscars have a soft spot for disney , Last year The Wind Rises should have beaten Frozen
I think that before we criticize the lack of nominations for "The Lego Movie", you first need to watch all the movies that were nominated in the category of best animation, and then to decide whether the Lego movie deserved nomination or not.
Also, it's so interesting that every actor in the leading actor category has their first oscar nomiation ever this year (and frist golden globe nomination for a movie too) - except bradley cooper of course, who started getting nominated every year since silver linings playbook.
I loved the Tale of Princess Kaguya! When we went our theater was packed. I would say i definitely felt more moved by tToPK than the Lego Movie, i thought the storytelling was richer and more complex. It is a much more adult film though, and less fun. I wouldn't like to say which was better because they were so different. I can't believe the Lego Movie wasn't even nominated though! As an animation fan its so frustrating to see the academy, year after year, appear to pick Oscar winners without even seeing them!
Of all the things Birdman should of been nominated for, editing should have been that category since one of the biggest selling point was the continuous shot trick and the way it was integrated in storytelling.
I loved the imitation game! I usually agree with you but I feel like you are really wrong about this. I think Cumberbatch was excellent in the role and even Knightley did a good job, although I don't feel she deserves the best sup. actress nomination. I feel that Gylanhall was once again snubbed and I think the theory of everything deserves more recognition than it is getting. I am excited about Whiplash though. I hope they win something for it :)
Also, the lego movie (which I loved) is not entirely animated and I feel that it was the none animated part really elevated it from an ok movie to a great one. It might be snubbed but maybe this is the reason why?
I totally agree with you about The Imitation Game! Maybe I'm biased because it deals with two of my favorite topics (computer science and LGBT issues), but I absolutely loved it. I'm having trouble understanding why Grace dislikes it so much. I think some people might have trouble connecting emotionally to it because of Turing's personality. He clearly has Asperger's, and maybe some people have trouble connecting to a character who acts that way. (I think this was also the case with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close from a few years ago. I loved it, but many people complained that the protagonist was "whiny and annoying".)
I haven't seen Lego Movie but The Tale of Princess Kaguya is the most stunning animated movie that I have seen. Also it has a nice story and a beautiful soundtrack. It definitely deserves its nomination and I really hope that it wins!
The biggest snub in my eyes was Jake Gyllenhaal not getting into the Best Actor category for Nightcrawler! Also shocked and annoyed Ava Duvernay didn't get a Best Director nomination, Gone Girl was left off Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, Wild ignored for adapted screenplay and Lana Del Rey gets snubbed for the second straight year for Best Original Song! As for Lego, I liked it but am not a huge fan. How to Train Your Dragon 2 was one of my fave movies of the year and has been my choice for Best Animated Film the entire way. I am stunned Lego didn't make the list however and from a technical standpoint, it deserved a nomination for sure. I'm pleasantly surprised at the HUGE support and recent surge of The Grand Budapest Hotel! I'll be rooting for it to pull some upsets come awards night!
Pondering, whether I should check out American Sniper. Besides The Imitation Game, which I am going to see soon, the only Best Picture nominee, I haven't seen yet.
The vast majority of reviewers I have read have said this film is competent but falls flat. Only a handful say it is exceptional but I guess they were the loudest voices.
Grace, I think the movie with Steve Carrell that you were thinking of is The Way Way Back (and he was great in it). Personally, I loved The Imitation Game and really don't think the inaccuracies were particularly grievous (though the director really didn't deserve a nomination). There are inaccuracies, but this is largely to add drama and keep tension up and make it easier to tell the story in general. Besides, it did what it was supposed to do, which was get people interested in Alan Turing (or if you're cynical you could say it was supposed to win Oscars). I haven't seen all of the other actors nominated, but I would be quite happy with Benedict Cumberbatch winning. I thought he was great, as usual. Keaton will probably win, though. Also, I would have liked to see Emily Blunt get a nomination. I liked her performance more than Meryl Streep's, though she was good too.
I cannot describe how upset I am with the Academy for the Gone Girl snub. Rosamund Pike was at least recognized, but David Fincher's direction, Gyllian Flynn's script and Trent Reznor's score were truly spectacular, Gone Girl deserved better
Actually I wasnt upset at all....The Lego Movie WASNT THAT GREAT PEOPLE!!! I mean was it worthy of Oscar nominations? propably, but I simply cant understand the huge fuzz about it. For sure I was surprised it didnt get even nominated, but HTTYD 2 was by far the best animated movie of 2014. It rightfully won Golden Globe and hopefully also brings Dreamworks their first Oscar since Shrek and 2002. Honestly you are completely dismissing the fans of these other animated movies, which I found rather rude....I bet the HTTYD fans and BigHero 6 fans and the fans of the other 3 nominated animations are going to watch the show with great interest. So just because your favorite didnt even get nominated, DONT go dismissing it like that "well now people have nothing to be excited about"....I mean sure I can understand that you are angry about Lego Movie not being part of the competition, but try to show atleast some respect to the other nominees and fangroups
Tebigong101 How many black haired people are nominated? People closing just to one group are as racist as people they fight against. Then again, I'm not American and we don't have that skin colour and slavery probblems.
goran77ish There are so few place in the world that don't have their own ethnic issues or are not influenced by white supremacy. Europe is a touched by the sin of slavery and bathed in the blood of colonialism. Canada and Australia have their own issues with marginalizing their native people. 17 people died in Paris last week and we are still reporting about it and there was a gathering of international leaders. 2000 people died in Nigeria, we are only now finding out about it and talking about it and there will be no outcry for those Nigerians let alone a march. But both were "terrorist" attacks... Ugh!
To be fair the only good movies with Black people in them were Selma and Top Five. Top Five is a comedy so that goes out the window. I'm going to guess the reason why Selma didn't get any love is because the academy feels like it's the same as 12 Years a Slave which is just untrue.
I know everyone is upset the Lego movie wasn't nominated, and frankly I myself can't believe it, but I'd just like to say that I'm glad Song of the Sea and Princess Kaguya made the cut. Great stories and very uniquely animated. Traditional animation has kinda fallen by the wayside these days in cinemas, so it's encouraging to see the Academy recognize the work that was put into these movies, which don't get as much attention as the ones made by big studios. On the other hand Nightcrawler just can't catch a break. I thought it was better than Whiplash, and Gyllenhaal absolutely KILLED in that role. After the McConaissance, it's time for the Gyllenhaaling !
No best actor nom for Selma? Hmm... also The Animation Oscar category is interesting because unlike for best picture it seems that most of the winners have to be hit films. And all but two of the winners were CGI films. So the winner will either be "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2(most likely) or BIG HERO 6(only if it pulls a "BRAVE")
Selma not getting that many nods is a bit of surprise. But I've seen some backlash start to come about as a lot of historians are saying they changed some key facts.
The great thing about The Oscars is that they celebrate the art of filmmaking. The Imitation Game was an incredible film and I am so happy to see it being celebrated like it should be
ALSO Haven't seen Kaguya YET but I'll admit, I want Kaguya to win sort of as an apology for robbing the Wind Rises last year, and from what I've seen at least it'd deserve the oscar. In terms of it being better than the LEGO movie, idk, very tough choice. . . too bad huh? ;)
I know it is an unpopular opinion, but I am very glad "The LEGO Movie" didn't get a nomination. I tried to get through the movie, but I just couldn't. In fact, I found it difficult to get through the trailer. However, I also never played with legos as a kid. Hhmm... I hope Dragons wins, the true animated masterpiece of the year. I continue to be impressed with Dean Deblois's incredible, sophisticated storytelling. Not to mention, it has the best use of CGI to date (the facial expressions are what pulls it forward), and a score that is up there with the work of Hans Zimmer, etc. Fingers crossed for Dragons...
Agreed :D Dragons is amazing! the cgi is amazing, Its better than disney! the facial expression have every single detail. and the score was amazing! I'm crossing my fingers too.
Can I peacefully get into this debate and say I hated HTTYD2. Personally I found Hiccup to be too much of a Gary Stu, he's talented, good-looking, everyone loves him, he never fails, he's morally flawless, he's smart and physically capable, he's in the perfect relationship, he even has the most cliched 'chosen one' storyline going on. His mother's inclusion was such a gimmick and it was unbelievable that he didn't feel a shred of animosity. Oh yeah, you chose a life with these dragons - the mental equivalent of dogs that have killed your villagers - over your first-born child ? Even if he logically understood his mother, which son would not feel any resentment? Then there's the climax where the villain just stands and watched Hiccup give Toothless a pep-talk to break free from the mind-control. Like why was he just standing there, it completely ruined any seriousness from the climax. All the supporting characters received zero development from the first movie, and they were identical to any episode of the TV show. I will admit its overall story-telling was sophisticated but all these flaws are really what makes me feel like animation might never lose its kiddy baggage.
Dominic Samaroo Hiccup a Gary Stu that never fails? What? His arrogance and unwillingness to listen literally lead to his father's death. How is that not a failure? As for the "perfect relationship" quote, you'd honestly rather have them force some shitty relationship drama into the movie?
Adam Lewis If I remember correctly Hiccup's arrogance has nothing to do with his father's death. Drago was going to invade them either way, it didn't really matter if they were at the nest or at Berk. As a typical Gary Stu, he tried to take responsibility for the whole thing however. Anyways you have a point about the perfect relationship - although a more realistic relationship needn't always involve drama, which usually manifests has humorous banter - none of which was shown in the film. I like debating film and I respect everyone's opinions, but I'm surprised those points were the only ones you wanted to counter.
The nominations are not bad at all. You cannot please everybody and nominate everything that deserves it. Overall nice nominations. There are a few things though: Jake Gyllenhaal, The Lego movie should have been nominated, they could have surprised us with some important nominations for Interstellar, Gone Girl or Planet of the Apes, but didn´t happen. Meryl Streep is the best actress of the last 50 years, but she didn´t need to be nominated again, and Bradley Cooper and American Sniper shouldn´t be there either. The Imitation Game getting as many is surprising, and so is the fact that Whiplash got nominated over Foxcatcher. I´m so happy for Whiplash!
The Lego Movie did get an original song nomination so it is still up for something. Have you noticed that this is an exact repeat of what happened to Tangled, original song nomination but shut out of animated feature.
Beyond The Trailer Not true? Interstellar got more number of talented actors but he certainly worked with talented actors in past. Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Leo Dicaprio, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Ellen Page, Al Pacino, Robin Williams??
AbhiShake Bale didn't have an Oscar when Nolan hired him. Hardy, Dicaprio, Page - no Oscars. I didn't say CALLIBER, I said winners - Nolan clearly tried to stack the deck with Oscar faves this time around.
Beyond The Trailer I know that's why I said Oscar calliber. But you got it wrong that putting Oscar winning people in the film will get you an Oscar. Learning from his numerous interviews I reckoned Nolan's filming process. He puts all his mind in story and doesn't want to spoon feed actors to how to do a scene, he just trusts them to do the job, that's the reason he picks great actors, not to start campagning for Oscars.
AbhiShake How about you read what she wrote? she isn't talking about that Oscar winning people will win an oscar for a movie but that he THOUGHT it would and bet on it
Can you believe Everything is Awesome got nominated for best song? It's barley even a real song! But no nomination for the lego movie in animation. I don't know what they're smoking at the academy but I want some
Brad Pitt: Hey Angie, it's a good thing we campaigned really hard to get Marion Cotillard, Rosamund Pike, Felicity Jones, Reese Witherspoon, and Julianne Moore Oscar nominations for actress in a leading role.... Angelina Jolie: Yeah babe...(sigh of relief)....we defiantly don't want any other actress's getting nominated....
Oh the drama. -The Imitation Game should not be on the best picture or best actor list. That is straight up favoritism. -Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea are both suppose to be amazing. So, maybe the Lego Movie is not that big of a snub. I need to see them. -Poor Jake Gyllenhaal.
I think the best animation films this year were definitely LEGO and Kaguya, but for different reasons. LEGO was great because it was a fun movie to watch. Kaguya was great because of its storytelling and impressive direction. Both have innovative and amazing art. If LEGO was in the running, Id be split in half over which one should win. But since LEGO is in there I fear Ghibli will once again be snubbed by the commercial darlings from Disney. Still cant get over Frozen beating The Wind Rises last year -_-
Hey Grace! I love your reviews! I'm from Argentina and would love if you watch "Wild Tales" (or in spanish "Relatos Salvajes"), our movie nominated for the Academy Awards. It's really good!
Gillian Flynn could've been nominated for best adapted screenwriting. I'm a writer myself ( I write mainly YA suspense/thriller novel) and know how difficult it is to write an original suspense story and she did it as an author and a screenwriter. She deserve, at least, a nom if not a win. Selma was another snub!!
And I think it's exciting that except for Robert Duvall and Meryl Streep no one else nominated has ever won an Oscar before. Idk, I just find that stuff really interesting.
I personally liked HTTYD2 & The Tale of Princess Kaguya (think that should win) more than the Lego movie but I still really liked it and think it's crazy its not nominated
Alex Meyer The "voters" are a jury though. I think that if they want the Oscars to be taken seriously, they should at least watch all of the contenders. But often times they don't... I know the foreign category especially gets chosen based on titles and prestige.
+Lucy Dalziel I'd hardly call 6,000 voters who live all over the world a jury. A jury is a small group that has to make decisions together. And while agree voters should watch as many contenders as possible, there are literally hundreds of films eligible for consideration each year, and even the most devoted voter probably does not have enough time to watch every single one.
Lego Movie not getting a best animated feature nomination is bullshit! Huge snub! but I like the fact that some Disney animators are expressing their disagreement ‘cause even they agree that Lego M. was one of the best movies! On the other hand I'm happy for Birdman and TGBH, well deserved nominations for those two movies.
MY OSCAR NOMINATIONS MORNING THOUGHTS: - Wow, 8 Picture noms. ANERICAN SNIPER overcame its lack of Eastwood for Directing and displaced FOXCATCHER. - THE LEGO MOVIE gets Song, but not Animated Feature. Damn shame. - On the other hand, HOORAY for SONG OF THE SEA & THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA getting Animated Feature noms! Now I only hope HTTYD2 doesn't win. That spotty film managed to become more overrated than LEGO MOVIE as the year progressed. - With LIFE ITSELF out of the way (Oscars snub HOOP DREAMS director Steve James again!? Did they not learn from 1994?? Screw you, Documentary Branch.), CITIZENFOUR should take this easily. - They nominate “Feast", but overlook the legendary Glenn Keane’s “Duet” for Animated Short. If either one failed to receive a nomination, I’d be pissed. And here we are. - Damn, Gyllenhaal missed out on Best Actor. At least NIGHTCRAWLER got a Screenplay nom. Really hope Keaton doesn't get upset by Redmayne. - Pike obtained GONE GIRL's only nom for Best Actress. Damn shame. Please just give it to Moore already. Pike winning would be awesome though. - Brolin couldn't upstage Duvall in Supporting Actor. Still doesn't change my opinion that Brolin was the best thing in the incoherent and needlessly-sexualized mess that was INHERENT VICE, or that THE JUDGE was underwhelming and needed a different director. - Dern made it past all the guilds to get a Supporting Actress nom. Too bad for Russo (NIGHTCRAWLER) and Swinton (SNOWPIERCER). Though this'll go to Arquette likely, I'm rooting for Emma Stone. - Voters will have the chance to give Lubezki his 2nd consecutive Cinematography Oscar or finally award Deakins for UNBROKEN. Probably the 1st option. - So much comic book cinema in Visual FX. I guess giant monsters and robots (GODZILLA and PACIFIC RIM from 2 years ago) were never in vogue. INTERSTELLAR or APES should take this. - Love the WHIPLASH love in Editing and Picture. Simmons will win Supporting Actor for sure. - BIRDMAN's absence in Editing shouldn't shut it down, according the long-held Editing/Picture trend. It is, after all, a film meant to be devoid of editing. The film made up for it in both Sound categories, which I wasn't expecting for my favorite film of 2014 at all. - SELMA was meagerly treated. Its Picture nom is an obvious consolation prize, especially in light of the FOXCATCHER/SNIPER displacement. At least Common and John Legend should get Song. - With Antonio Sanchez's percussive BIRDMAN score out of the running since it was (unfairly) ruled ineligible a few weeks ago, PLEASE just give Score to Alexandre Desplat, particularly for THE IMITATION GAME. Jóhannsson's okay score for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING only makes me pity more for last year's PRISONERS, which Jóhannsson also scored. (Makeup?). Just give it to Desplat, who did not just 2 but 5 GREAT SCORES for 2014. BRIEF TALLIES: - BIRDMAN & THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL with 9 noms - THE IMITATION GAME with 8 noms - AMERICAN SNIPER & BOYHOOD with 6 noms CONCLUSION: Let's see what happens. I really hope that BIRDMAN and/or THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL clean up in the end. THE IMITATION GAME would be a boring victor if the voters go for it. BOYHOOD, a fine film, is the obvious winner, but being tied for 3rd most noms might hurt its chances given the trends. If it claims Picture/Director victory in the end, that means the Academy had gushing love for Linklater's 12-year tale. And that's completely fine in my book. I'd rather have that win than the solid but by-the-numbers IMITATION GAME. Still, that was a good nominations morning. BIRDMAN and/or THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL for the win!! :D
Much Doge At first, it was LEGO MOVIE that was overrated while still being the freshest and wittiest animated film of the year. But then, people just started calling HTTYD2 a masterpiece, something I didn't understand at all after seeing the film twice. The sequel doesn't reach the heights of the first film, even after trying its best to make everything bigger. HTTYD2, for me, has overtaken LEGO MOVIE in the overrated department. But I'm putting aside all that because THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA should win the Oscar in my opinion. It's my favorite animated film of the year.
Much Doge It's overrated, sure, but HTTYD2 is of a lesser quality and its supporters don't even want to acknowledge the major flaws in the story, going so far as to call it a masterpiece. That, to me, not only made my okay opinion with film downgrade to disappointing, but also pushed it ahead of LEGO MOVIE in the overrated department. It's a gradual development. THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA is the best animated film of 2014 and should win. It probably won't, so I'm rooting for everyone else (save for HTTYD2) equally. It worries me that HTTYD2 might actually win in the end because it doesn't deserve it compared to its fellow nominees, not to mention non-nominees (read: LEGO MOVIE).
BlueFox94 I disagree I can admit the flaws , definitely the villain has problem. but i still think its a masterpiece. Every masterpiece has its flaw. but lego, I think it had way more flaws. as for princess Kaguya, I haven't seen it but it looks amazing! So I wouldn't mind if it wins..
While I thoroughly enjoyed the Lego movie (thought it was fun and with a good moral) I have to admit that it lacked any sense of subtlety. I mean GOTG and Hunger Games aren't nominated for Oscars and it doesn't detract from those films. Lego can be remembered as great without this nomination. I just hope Big Hero 6 wins now, because I'm not really a fan of HTTYD2 (I find Hiccup too much of a Gary Stu for my tastes - although the film is objectively good I believe)
I think that Christopher Nolan should keep making movies because he's interested and cares about them. Not for money, and not for what people want him to make
Nolan has never made movies for the masses. All his movies are his personal perceptions of the world in grand scope. I don't know what the fuck she's talking about.
***** If you watched the film in IMAX, there was such a big issue with the sound mixing to the point where it was really hard to hear some of the dialogue.
I am pretty sure the studio provides the 'sound'. Also, there have been dozens of complaints about it, I have seen there all over the place. Also, why were these complaints only given about Interstellar and not about all movies if it has to do with the theater and not the movie? I am not claiming the movie or it's sound were bad. I haven't seen it. I was just under the impression that made people complained about the sound. Here's an article about the issues: www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/11/18/why-chris-nolans-interstellar-sound-mix-is-a-problem/
Bradley Cooper has a big friend in Hollywood, doesn´t he? Every year a nomination is too much in this case imo. About the Animated feature: I just hope How to Train your Dragon wins seeing what is nominated. I´m surprised that Marion Cotillard got nominated. Nice surprise.
American Sniper: It’s a solid movie. It is not Hurt Locker. It is not Zero Dark Thirty. There’s a lot of differences between movie and book and not the kind you want. It’s not a movie I would want to represent either. It’s fine. A lot of these movies are just fine. It was just a high profiled war movie directed by Clint Eastwood and if it got above average reviews, watch out for voters to go all over that. Glad they didn’t nominate him for Best Director.
You know if these films had a much wider release and a bigger advertising maybe they would have had a better opening. Ive been dying to see Whiplash but is still know where near me
It would be good if someone could do a documentary on what the politics is to first to get nominated and then the process on how to secure votes like Grace had mentioned what actors do to potentially do to get an oscar.
No Gillian Flynn for adapted screenplay that snub really hit me. I saw a tweet about how there was no woman or non-white nominees outside of actress. And of course Bradley cooper gets a nomination over jake gyllenhull. The academy continues to prove that it is old, white, nationalist and out of touch.
i have no doubt that the academy didn't nominated Gillian Flynn because its adaptation of her own book, that is what i think and that gyllenhaal not getting a nomination got me pissed
poppingadandub Sometimes authors who write the scripts to film versions of their novels do win Oscars. John Irving won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for writing the script to the film adaptation of his book The Cider House Rules. Plenty of playwrights have won Oscars for adapting their plays into film scripts. Peter Shaffer for Amadeus is a good example.
So fucking happy that Keaton is nominated for Birdman. I hope Keaton wins Best Actor. I hope and pray Michael walks away with that much-deserved Oscar. Boyhood will win Best Picture.
Hi Grace I too am really upset on the snub for Lego Movie. By far the Best Animated Movie this year. Also Ava DuVernay snub was shocking, let's not forget why was Channing Tatum not nominated as Supporting Actor for Foxcatcher? I see him more as a best supporting than Robert Duval
Got to catch up on these movies (yes we do like good thoughtful films but dont always have to see them first run),really surprised Lego Movie not nominated, really thought they captured what it's like to imagine and play with legos. Wonder if Alexandre Desplat will cancel himself out with his double nom for original score.
Pissed that Nightcrawler and Gone Girl only got one nomination each and that A Most Violent Year had none -- the nominations were mostly good, but those misses are HUGE mistakes
Best Actor: If there is one thing I am kicking myself over, it’s not predicting Bradley Cooper (zero campaigning). I don’t even like American Sniper but what does that matter? Never put personal or bias reasons in who gets nominated. Academy loves him, 3 consecutive noms in 3 completely different performances. It was the best performance Cooper has done so far. He’s very consistent in the movie, stays the same level. Much like Steve Carrel, except so much better in my mind. I predicted Ralph Fiennes to take Carrel’s spot because it is like Christian Bale last year. A high number nominated movie and its star being the best part of it. Keaton (zero campaigning) / Redmayne (Voters can't get enough of) / Cumberbatch (Worlds most popular actor) were as safe as it could be.
Lego Movie, Jake Gyllenhaal/nightcrawler ,David Oyelowo for Selma, Interstellar for cinematography all got snubbed. Screw How to train your dragon 2, all i want now is for Michael Keaton/ Birdman to win their categories . But i have this feeling Boyhood will win
I doubt that Nolan was shooting for gold with Interstellar. He should know what he could expect from the academy with a sci-fi movie. With his choices in movies he seems to have a good chance of joining the club of highly influencial directors the academy couldn't recognize, and he'd be in great company: Hitchkok (1, IGT Memorial Award), Kubrik (Special Effects Award), Bergman (IGT Memorial Award), Welles (Honorary Award), Godard (Honorary Award), Kurosawa (Honory Award), Leone (1 Nom.), Chaplin (Best Music & Honorary Award), Fellini (Honorary Award), Lang, and the list goes on. Rule of thumb: If you learn about a director in film school, he probably never got an oscar for it. I think the academy is losing more and more credit with the audience every year, if they keep ignoring popular opinion, while history keeps proving their own opinion wrong along the way. A hollywood inhouse-popularity-contest simply doesn't cut it anymore, especially in a time when people put more trust in Imdb, Rotten Tomatoes and Grace Randolph to tell them what's worth watching.
Hi, Grace! First of all, I want to say that I love your reviews and every time I want to watch a movie, I try to find your thoughts about it. I love Movie math, every tuesday morning (that's when it's available here in Romania) I watch it at the office :D Now, I have a tiny little problem with what you say about the Best animation category. The lego movie was fun, in my oppinion it should have been nominated instead of The boxtrolls (great stop-motion, but nothing else), but that's it. It was just fun. The animation was great, but not groundbreaking or something like that and the story was simple and full of cliches. But my main issue with your thoughts in the past week regard Dragon 2. I remember that in your review, you said that it was a near perfect movie, that your only compliants about it were the villain (we can all agree that's the weakest point of the movie) and what they did with Toothless, and you also said that it will be though to beat at the Oscars. And Dragon 2 came out after The lego movie, so you've seen both of the movies and then favored Dragon. But now, all I hear is Lego movie, Lego movie, Lego movie and what a shocker it was that Dragon won at the Golden globes. Why that sudden change of thought? It's your oppinion, I respect it, but it still scratches my brain every time I hear complains about Dragon 2 coming from you, a person whose reviews of the movie were enthusiastic and full of praise. Best regards, Razvan :)
Hi Grace! Are you going to watch and review Wild? I think it does a great job of displaying a strong but flawed female lead, and would love to hear your thoughts on the film!
Grace, out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the fact that all but one of the women in the best actress category are in movies that haven't been nominated for best picture/most other categories, while every single one of the men in the corresponding category is in a film that HAS been nominated for best picture and in many other categories? Do you think this essentially sheds light on how the academy is still afraid of honoring films dealing with the stories of strong, powerful women or were the movies just subpar compared to the performances of the lead actress? I've just noticed this discrepancy and it has me a bit confused.
Marion Cotillard in "2 jours 1 nuit" is AMAZING ! Grace, you are really unfair saying that she's here because she's a good campaigner, she didn't even do any talk show about it, she barely promoted the movie in the US and the movie is in French. You CAN'T say she is nominated because she's a good campaigner. I can't disagree more with you !
Probably in my opinion to nominate the Lego movie i would snub big hero 6 because BH6 was a good film it just was not as great as others or even as great as it could have been mostly just lay good groundwork for a superior sequel
personal opinion: Into The Woods got snubbed big time (keep in mind that I'm a theatre person and extremely biased). Best Supporting Actress and Costume Design. that's it (there could be more, I don't remember). I was so mad when it didn't even get nominated for best original song (okay, maybe it's because the songs were adapted from the stage show, idk). and why not best adapted screenplay? it's adapted from stage to screen (is that how it works?)! and to be honest, Emily Blunt and James Corden probably got snubbed the most, since apparently Meryl Streep is a "supporting actress" (even though the witch is the lead in the flipping show). no best actress for Emily or best actor for James? really? I feel really bad for them. they had undeniable chemistry and we're both really good. and they were probably the supporting actors to Meryl, in my opinion. *END OF RANT*
I can count on the the animation category to piss me off every year. I still remember how angry I was when "Brave" won against: "Frankenweenie", "Paranorman", "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Pirates! Band of Misfits" Ugh! -.-
Oh yeah... Brave didn't even deserve it's nomination... heck, Rise of the Guardians wasn't even nominated at all..
never saw brave was it any good?
There are people who hate it, people who like it, people who love it, and people who... eeehh...
the general sentiment towards the movie at the end was "man, she was so cruel to her mother". I dont know many people who liked it.
Well, I don't think it's an awful flick. There are some good stuff in it. But I don't think it's very original or anything outstanding or award-worthy. In my opinion, every other movie in the category deserved the Oscar more.
I'm so glad that "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" was nominated!
The Wind rises got snubbed last year by Frozen, Hopefully The Tale of Princess Kaguya will win . that last anime that won was Spirited Away.
Me Too!
Ye, considering The Wind Rises didnt win last year against Frozen, I wouldnt feel too confident for Princess Kaguya....I would say its between HTTYD 2 and Big Hero 6 and from these two I really hope HTTYD 2 wins, finally bringing Dreamworks their first Oscar since Shrek in 2002.
Balnazzardi the wind riss wasn't as good as other studio ghili films, but kaguya might in as it is one of their best.
Wow! I never heard of that movie.
I'm happy for Whiplash & Birdman in the best picture category! I still need to see Boyhood. On a separate note, you're the first youtuber, that I follow, to post a review on the Oscar noms & snubs; good job!
Austie buddy Who-hoo! It was a mad dash, I'll tell ya... :)
Beyond The Trailer Grace, when you put up the BTT vote, will you include the new categories you introduced last year like original and adapted screenplay, as well as song?
9:56 Grace, it was 'The Way Way Back'.
Animation: There are always 1 or 2 outside North American releases that get in. Of course the best Studio Ghibli movie since Howls Moving Castle was getting in and that is Tale of Princess Kaguya. Of course Box Trolls (production company Laika is small private company so not only is marketing hard, but finding a consulting team for award season is harder), yes it would get nominated. Big Hero 6, a solid Disney animation movie. It’s as safe as it could be. Now, Song of the Sea. This was my 4th favorite movie last year. Holy shit!! I am so happy. It is an Ireland animation studio. I have been asking Grace to review it, maybe she might. It is the closest thing to a kids book coming to life. It is a hidden masterpiece, I’ll go that far.
- Lego Movie: My theory is it’s too silly. There’s a lot going on and that’s normally something filmmakers try to resist doing. I have no problem saying Tale of Princess Kaguya is better than Lego in it's own way and Song of the Sea is no doubt, the best animated movie I've seen in recent memory.
Agree, but imo HTTYD 2 is the best, I havent seen song of sea but I realllllyy want to see it.
But I do think lego was just too silly to be nominated.
Oh yeah, forgot to comment on HTTYD. I still loved it. It was my 6th fav movie of last year. Animation and everything else with it lol was really impressive. Yeah, I think it's going to win to.
Why the fuck is meryl streep even nominated? The Oscars just fkn adores Meryl, she could act as an transformer and still get that fkn Oscar, I think it's bullshit when there are better performances 2014.
LOL - too true! In general I like Streep as an actor but agree with your sentiment. She too is probably tired of being nominated for everything. Still having said that Michael Bay should cast Streep in Transformers 5 and finally get the Oscar nod he covets.
I have seen it but i really don't think its Oscar worthy. Lynn Lynn
She´s the best actress of the last 50 years, but her place should have been for somebody else this year.
sanyrub Agreed. Also funny how they just nominate her out of respect even if there was one person better than her yet they refuse to nominate Jake. Jake is a proven actor and has done so many good movies and he just performs better every time. He completely transformed himself in the role to the point that if youve never seen him before you would think thats him yet actors with good but not amazing performances get nominated... I cant even.
Skyebright1 Exactly!
Although, I think Dragon 2 is a better film it's stupid that they didn't nominate The Lego Movie. It's better than Big Hero 6 and The Boxtrolls. Not saying those are bad films, but I would pick Lego movie over those two.
I 100% agree with you, I like Boxtrolls but in my opinion that one should be taken down and The Lego Movie should be up there
I agree completely, the academy doesnt give shit about animated films and its proven in their reason for voting.
My order is
1. httyd2
2. lego movie
3. big hero 6
I havent seen Tale of Kaguya and I LOVE Ghibli so Im sure it would be high on my list, and I enjoyed bh6 but I dont think it was as creative and well executed as lego and dragons
Lego movie is a great film one of the best of the year, but I think Lego movie is not better than big hero 6 these are both amazing movies but Lego movie is more of a comedy, and big hero 6 is just a strong, independent film, although it is disappointing Lego movie did not get nominated, but these are both very good films nonetheless.
I think they didn't because it didn't have as much emotion as the other movies. it is the same thing with other movie awards they don't choose a comedy with a little bit of emotion. they don't even choose movies like that for comedy musical award
I think Princess Kaguya is better than the Lego Movie. Haven't seen Song of the Sea yet. I also don't think I can say that the Lego movie is "better" than the other nominees. I did like it better than Big Hero 6 and Boxtrolls, but to say that it is better is a whole different story.
Agreed. I thought Princess Kaguya was better than the lego movie. You gotta see Song of the Sea, especially if you enjoyed the Secret of Kells.
Ultimately it's just opinion anyway, but I'm glad to see traditional animation still has a place in the industry.
Dude! I'm fucking dying to see Song of the Sea. It comes to my indie theatre in Nashville sometime in March.
Jean Dezem
Yeah, I just wish there was more traditional animation out there.
Nathaniel Hulme How old are you Seven!Nathaniel Hulme
You gotta be gay!!
Hey, Grace
I just want to know when will you start your coverage of the Oscars? I enjoy watching your oscar coverage. Hope to see them soon.
Hello Grace, great review. Do you think they should extend the number of nominations since there are more movies made nowadays? And when do you think they will have a motion capture category or somewhere in that room?
Is the carrell film your talking about The way way back?
Yes it is.
Best animated feature? Grace have you even SEEN Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea? It bugs me so much when people call it the best when that's all the saw besides BH6 and Dragon 2. They are FAR superior to LEGO even though they're not popular. LEGO is simply far too commercialized for The Academy - I was expecting it. And it is no secret that they don't really care about animation besides Pixar, with Disney as back up. Same with last year where the voters admitted to not even see most of the features besides Frozen, or simply just voted for it because of its popularity.
If it was about best movie Princess Kaguya should win. Animation AND storytelling wise.
Was Spirited Away the last anime movie to win an Oscar ?, love that film and all the other Studio Ghibli films your right the oscars have a soft spot for disney , Last year The Wind Rises should have beaten Frozen
Young John Yes. Also never to a non-american production besides this one and wallace & gormit.
Yeah. Although i do like Aardman animation, it has a unique style
I can't wait to see Princess Kaguya this week. but I know it has no chance against disney just because of it's reputation alone : (
is princess kaguya that good? In the Naruto manga she was a witch XD
Jokes aside isn't ghibli going bankrupt?
I think that before we criticize the lack of nominations for "The Lego Movie", you first need to watch all the movies that were nominated in the category of best animation, and then to decide whether the Lego movie deserved nomination or not.
Kaguya all the way one of ghiblis best
Also, it's so interesting that every actor in the leading actor category has their first oscar nomiation ever this year (and frist golden globe nomination for a movie too) - except bradley cooper of course, who started getting nominated every year since silver linings playbook.
I loved the Tale of Princess Kaguya! When we went our theater was packed. I would say i definitely felt more moved by tToPK than the Lego Movie, i thought the storytelling was richer and more complex. It is a much more adult film though, and less fun. I wouldn't like to say which was better because they were so different. I can't believe the Lego Movie wasn't even nominated though! As an animation fan its so frustrating to see the academy, year after year, appear to pick Oscar winners without even seeing them!
Of all the things Birdman should of been nominated for, editing should have been that category since one of the biggest selling point was the continuous shot trick and the way it was integrated in storytelling.
wooo! oscar season!
I loved the imitation game! I usually agree with you but I feel like you are really wrong about this. I think Cumberbatch was excellent in the role and even Knightley did a good job, although I don't feel she deserves the best sup. actress nomination. I feel that Gylanhall was once again snubbed and I think the theory of everything deserves more recognition than it is getting. I am excited about Whiplash though. I hope they win something for it :)
Also, the lego movie (which I loved) is not entirely animated and I feel that it was the none animated part really elevated it from an ok movie to a great one. It might be snubbed but maybe this is the reason why?
I totally agree with you about The Imitation Game! Maybe I'm biased because it deals with two of my favorite topics (computer science and LGBT issues), but I absolutely loved it. I'm having trouble understanding why Grace dislikes it so much. I think some people might have trouble connecting emotionally to it because of Turing's personality. He clearly has Asperger's, and maybe some people have trouble connecting to a character who acts that way. (I think this was also the case with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close from a few years ago. I loved it, but many people complained that the protagonist was "whiny and annoying".)
Steve Carell was a step dad in "The Way Way Back".
Really neat movie btw.
I haven't seen Lego Movie but The Tale of Princess Kaguya is the most stunning animated movie that I have seen. Also it has a nice story and a beautiful soundtrack. It definitely deserves its nomination and I really hope that it wins!
keep song of the sea and princess kaguya but remove boxtrolls for lego movie
The biggest snub in my eyes was Jake Gyllenhaal not getting into the Best Actor category for Nightcrawler! Also shocked and annoyed Ava Duvernay didn't get a Best Director nomination, Gone Girl was left off Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, Wild ignored for adapted screenplay and Lana Del Rey gets snubbed for the second straight year for Best Original Song!
As for Lego, I liked it but am not a huge fan. How to Train Your Dragon 2 was one of my fave movies of the year and has been my choice for Best Animated Film the entire way. I am stunned Lego didn't make the list however and from a technical standpoint, it deserved a nomination for sure.
I'm pleasantly surprised at the HUGE support and recent surge of The Grand Budapest Hotel! I'll be rooting for it to pull some upsets come awards night!
Pondering, whether I should check out American Sniper. Besides The Imitation Game, which I am going to see soon, the only Best Picture nominee, I haven't seen yet.
Does anyone honestly think that American Sniper deserved any noms?
I'm sad to see that glorification of a brainwashed mass murderer get so much recognition.
The vast majority of reviewers I have read have said this film is competent but falls flat. Only a handful say it is exceptional but I guess they were the loudest voices.
yes yes and yes
I'm seeing it tomorrow morning so I'll get back to you on that.
Nope, it was alright but played out like a propaganda movie. Cooper was good but gyllenhall was better
Grace, I think the movie with Steve Carrell that you were thinking of is The Way Way Back (and he was great in it).
Personally, I loved The Imitation Game and really don't think the inaccuracies were particularly grievous (though the director really didn't deserve a nomination). There are inaccuracies, but this is largely to add drama and keep tension up and make it easier to tell the story in general. Besides, it did what it was supposed to do, which was get people interested in Alan Turing (or if you're cynical you could say it was supposed to win Oscars). I haven't seen all of the other actors nominated, but I would be quite happy with Benedict Cumberbatch winning. I thought he was great, as usual. Keaton will probably win, though.
Also, I would have liked to see Emily Blunt get a nomination. I liked her performance more than Meryl Streep's, though she was good too.
Hitchcock's Rebecca won Best Picture in 1940
But Hitchcock himself never won a Best Director Oscar.
I cannot describe how upset I am with the Academy for the Gone Girl snub. Rosamund Pike was at least recognized, but David Fincher's direction, Gyllian Flynn's script and Trent Reznor's score were truly spectacular, Gone Girl deserved better
Actually I wasnt upset at all....The Lego Movie WASNT THAT GREAT PEOPLE!!! I mean was it worthy of Oscar nominations? propably, but I simply cant understand the huge fuzz about it. For sure I was surprised it didnt get even nominated, but HTTYD 2 was by far the best animated movie of 2014. It rightfully won Golden Globe and hopefully also brings Dreamworks their first Oscar since Shrek and 2002.
Honestly you are completely dismissing the fans of these other animated movies, which I found rather rude....I bet the HTTYD fans and BigHero 6 fans and the fans of the other 3 nominated animations are going to watch the show with great interest. So just because your favorite didnt even get nominated, DONT go dismissing it like that "well now people have nothing to be excited about"....I mean sure I can understand that you are angry about Lego Movie not being part of the competition, but try to show atleast some respect to the other nominees and fangroups
Exactly! she did come off as very rude.
i think the movie you were talking about with steve carell was The way way back
Wow, we need more diversity in Hollywood! Of all 25 nominated people, all were white! :O
That is racist. I even did not look skin colour. May aswell be pink. Who cares.
goran77ish I agree your "colorblindness" is racist. Ignoring people's racial identity to make yourself feel progressive, while people of color suffer.
Tebigong101 How many black haired people are nominated? People closing just to one group are as racist as people they fight against. Then again, I'm not American and we don't have that skin colour and slavery probblems.
goran77ish There are so few place in the world that don't have their own ethnic issues or are not influenced by white supremacy.
Europe is a touched by the sin of slavery and bathed in the blood of colonialism. Canada and Australia have their own issues with marginalizing their native people.
17 people died in Paris last week and we are still reporting about it and there was a gathering of international leaders. 2000 people died in Nigeria, we are only now finding out about it and talking about it and there will be no outcry for those Nigerians let alone a march. But both were "terrorist" attacks...
Ugh!
To be fair the only good movies with Black people in them were Selma and Top Five. Top Five is a comedy so that goes out the window. I'm going to guess the reason why Selma didn't get any love is because the academy feels like it's the same as 12 Years a Slave which is just untrue.
I know everyone is upset the Lego movie wasn't nominated, and frankly I myself can't believe it, but I'd just like to say that I'm glad Song of the Sea and Princess Kaguya made the cut. Great stories and very uniquely animated. Traditional animation has kinda fallen by the wayside these days in cinemas, so it's encouraging to see the Academy recognize the work that was put into these movies, which don't get as much attention as the ones made by big studios.
On the other hand Nightcrawler just can't catch a break. I thought it was better than Whiplash, and Gyllenhaal absolutely KILLED in that role. After the McConaissance, it's time for the Gyllenhaaling !
When is the BTT Oscar Vote coming out ?
No best actor nom for Selma? Hmm... also The Animation Oscar category is interesting because unlike for best picture it seems that most of the winners have to be hit films. And all but two of the winners were CGI films. So the winner will either be "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2(most likely) or BIG HERO 6(only if it pulls a "BRAVE")
Selma not getting that many nods is a bit of surprise. But I've seen some backlash start to come about as a lot of historians are saying they changed some key facts.
The great thing about The Oscars is that they celebrate the art of filmmaking. The Imitation Game was an incredible film and I am so happy to see it being celebrated like it should be
ALSO Haven't seen Kaguya YET but I'll admit, I want Kaguya to win sort of as an apology for robbing the Wind Rises last year, and from what I've seen at least it'd deserve the oscar. In terms of it being better than the LEGO movie, idk, very tough choice. . . too bad huh? ;)
I FEEL THE SAME! I haven't seen it yet, but Ghibli deserves it, they make beautiful movies!
I know it is an unpopular opinion, but I am very glad "The LEGO Movie" didn't get a nomination. I tried to get through the movie, but I just couldn't. In fact, I found it difficult to get through the trailer. However, I also never played with legos as a kid. Hhmm...
I hope Dragons wins, the true animated masterpiece of the year. I continue to be impressed with Dean Deblois's incredible, sophisticated storytelling. Not to mention, it has the best use of CGI to date (the facial expressions are what pulls it forward), and a score that is up there with the work of Hans Zimmer, etc.
Fingers crossed for Dragons...
Agreed :D Dragons is amazing! the cgi is amazing, Its better than disney! the facial expression have every single detail. and the score was amazing! I'm crossing my fingers too.
KabbalahSherry yea true. they love Disney and pixar way too much!
Can I peacefully get into this debate and say I hated HTTYD2. Personally I found Hiccup to be too much of a Gary Stu, he's talented, good-looking, everyone loves him, he never fails, he's morally flawless, he's smart and physically capable, he's in the perfect relationship, he even has the most cliched 'chosen one' storyline going on. His mother's inclusion was such a gimmick and it was unbelievable that he didn't feel a shred of animosity. Oh yeah, you chose a life with these dragons - the mental equivalent of dogs that have killed your villagers - over your first-born child ? Even if he logically understood his mother, which son would not feel any resentment? Then there's the climax where the villain just stands and watched Hiccup give Toothless a pep-talk to break free from the mind-control. Like why was he just standing there, it completely ruined any seriousness from the climax. All the supporting characters received zero development from the first movie, and they were identical to any episode of the TV show. I will admit its overall story-telling was sophisticated but all these flaws are really what makes me feel like animation might never lose its kiddy baggage.
Dominic Samaroo Hiccup a Gary Stu that never fails? What? His arrogance and unwillingness to listen literally lead to his father's death. How is that not a failure? As for the "perfect relationship" quote, you'd honestly rather have them force some shitty relationship drama into the movie?
Adam Lewis If I remember correctly Hiccup's arrogance has nothing to do with his father's death. Drago was going to invade them either way, it didn't really matter if they were at the nest or at Berk. As a typical Gary Stu, he tried to take responsibility for the whole thing however.
Anyways you have a point about the perfect relationship - although a more realistic relationship needn't always involve drama, which usually manifests has humorous banter - none of which was shown in the film.
I like debating film and I respect everyone's opinions, but I'm surprised those points were the only ones you wanted to counter.
Stunned that lego movie didn't get nom and after seeing Selma I really wish David O woulda got a nom
The nominations are not bad at all. You cannot please everybody and nominate everything that deserves it. Overall nice nominations.
There are a few things though: Jake Gyllenhaal, The Lego movie should have been nominated, they could have surprised us with some important nominations for Interstellar, Gone Girl or Planet of the Apes, but didn´t happen.
Meryl Streep is the best actress of the last 50 years, but she didn´t need to be nominated again, and Bradley Cooper and American Sniper shouldn´t be there either. The Imitation Game getting as many is surprising, and so is the fact that Whiplash got nominated over Foxcatcher. I´m so happy for Whiplash!
Garfield gonna get his career back, he's in a Scorsese film
The Lego Movie did get an original song nomination so it is still up for something. Have you noticed that this is an exact repeat of what happened to Tangled, original song nomination but shut out of animated feature.
I watched the imation game last night. It started well but did stick the landing.
Jake Gyllenhaal and The Lego Movie both got royally shafted.
Nolan always worked with Oscar calliber actors in the past.
AbhiShake Not true - he's got a full house here: McConaughey, Hathaway, Chastain and Damon.
Beyond The Trailer Not true? Interstellar got more number of talented actors but he certainly worked with talented actors in past.
Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Leo Dicaprio, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Ellen Page, Al Pacino, Robin Williams??
AbhiShake Bale didn't have an Oscar when Nolan hired him. Hardy, Dicaprio, Page - no Oscars. I didn't say CALLIBER, I said winners - Nolan clearly tried to stack the deck with Oscar faves this time around.
Beyond The Trailer
I know that's why I said Oscar calliber. But you got it wrong that putting Oscar winning people in the film will get you an Oscar. Learning from his numerous interviews I reckoned Nolan's filming process. He puts all his mind in story and doesn't want to spoon feed actors to how to do a scene, he just trusts them to do the job, that's the reason he picks great actors, not to start campagning for Oscars.
AbhiShake How about you read what she wrote? she isn't talking about that Oscar winning people will win an oscar for a movie but that he THOUGHT it would and bet on it
Can you believe Everything is Awesome got nominated for best song? It's barley even a real song! But no nomination for the lego movie in animation. I don't know what they're smoking at the academy but I want some
Brad Pitt: Hey Angie, it's a good thing we campaigned really hard to get Marion Cotillard, Rosamund Pike, Felicity Jones, Reese Witherspoon, and Julianne Moore Oscar nominations for actress in a leading role....
Angelina Jolie: Yeah babe...(sigh of relief)....we defiantly don't want any other actress's getting nominated....
Lol
Oh the drama.
-The Imitation Game should not be on the best picture or best actor list. That is straight up favoritism.
-Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea are both suppose to be amazing. So, maybe the Lego Movie is not that big of a snub. I need to see them.
-Poor Jake Gyllenhaal.
I think the best animation films this year were definitely LEGO and Kaguya, but for different reasons. LEGO was great because it was a fun movie to watch. Kaguya was great because of its storytelling and impressive direction. Both have innovative and amazing art. If LEGO was in the running, Id be split in half over which one should win. But since LEGO is in there I fear Ghibli will once again be snubbed by the commercial darlings from Disney. Still cant get over Frozen beating The Wind Rises last year -_-
Hey Grace! I love your reviews! I'm from Argentina and would love if you watch "Wild Tales" (or in spanish "Relatos Salvajes"), our movie nominated for the Academy Awards. It's really good!
Gillian Flynn could've been nominated for best adapted screenwriting. I'm a writer myself ( I write mainly YA suspense/thriller novel) and know how difficult it is to write an original suspense story and she did it as an author and a screenwriter. She deserve, at least, a nom if not a win. Selma was another snub!!
I'm still mad Shailene hasn't gotten nominated for any major awards for Fault in Our Stars. One of the years best performances.
And I think it's exciting that except for Robert Duvall and Meryl Streep no one else nominated has ever won an Oscar before. Idk, I just find that stuff really interesting.
Marion Cotillard won Best Actress in 2008 for La Vie en rose
Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress in 2005 for Walk The Line
I personally liked HTTYD2 & The Tale of Princess Kaguya (think that should win) more than the Lego movie but I still really liked it and think it's crazy its not nominated
"Pride" was amazing, it should have gotten a nomination. :(
I don't think enough voters saw it though. It didn't really make any waves here in America.
Alex Meyer
The "voters" are a jury though. I think that if they want the Oscars to be taken seriously, they should at least watch all of the contenders. But often times they don't... I know the foreign category especially gets chosen based on titles and prestige.
+Lucy Dalziel I'd hardly call 6,000 voters who live all over the world a jury. A jury is a small group that has to make decisions together. And while agree voters should watch as many contenders as possible, there are literally hundreds of films eligible for consideration each year, and even the most devoted voter probably does not have enough time to watch every single one.
Lego Movie not getting a best animated feature nomination is bullshit! Huge snub! but I like the fact that some Disney animators are expressing their disagreement ‘cause even they agree that Lego M. was one of the best movies! On the other hand I'm happy for Birdman and TGBH, well deserved nominations for those two movies.
MY OSCAR NOMINATIONS MORNING THOUGHTS:
- Wow, 8 Picture noms. ANERICAN SNIPER overcame its lack of Eastwood for Directing and displaced FOXCATCHER.
- THE LEGO MOVIE gets Song, but not Animated Feature. Damn shame.
- On the other hand, HOORAY for SONG OF THE SEA & THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA getting Animated Feature noms! Now I only hope HTTYD2 doesn't win. That spotty film managed to become more overrated than LEGO MOVIE as the year progressed.
- With LIFE ITSELF out of the way (Oscars snub HOOP DREAMS director Steve James again!? Did they not learn from 1994?? Screw you, Documentary Branch.), CITIZENFOUR should take this easily.
- They nominate “Feast", but overlook the legendary Glenn Keane’s “Duet” for Animated Short. If either one failed to receive a nomination, I’d be pissed. And here we are.
- Damn, Gyllenhaal missed out on Best Actor. At least NIGHTCRAWLER got a Screenplay nom. Really hope Keaton doesn't get upset by Redmayne.
- Pike obtained GONE GIRL's only nom for Best Actress. Damn shame. Please just give it to Moore already. Pike winning would be awesome though.
- Brolin couldn't upstage Duvall in Supporting Actor. Still doesn't change my opinion that Brolin was the best thing in the incoherent and needlessly-sexualized mess that was INHERENT VICE, or that THE JUDGE was underwhelming and needed a different director.
- Dern made it past all the guilds to get a Supporting Actress nom. Too bad for Russo (NIGHTCRAWLER) and Swinton (SNOWPIERCER). Though this'll go to Arquette likely, I'm rooting for Emma Stone.
- Voters will have the chance to give Lubezki his 2nd consecutive Cinematography Oscar or finally award Deakins for UNBROKEN. Probably the 1st option.
- So much comic book cinema in Visual FX. I guess giant monsters and robots (GODZILLA and PACIFIC RIM from 2 years ago) were never in vogue. INTERSTELLAR or APES should take this.
- Love the WHIPLASH love in Editing and Picture. Simmons will win Supporting Actor for sure.
- BIRDMAN's absence in Editing shouldn't shut it down, according the long-held Editing/Picture trend. It is, after all, a film meant to be devoid of editing. The film made up for it in both Sound categories, which I wasn't expecting for my favorite film of 2014 at all.
- SELMA was meagerly treated. Its Picture nom is an obvious consolation prize, especially in light of the FOXCATCHER/SNIPER displacement. At least Common and John Legend should get Song.
- With Antonio Sanchez's percussive BIRDMAN score out of the running since it was (unfairly) ruled ineligible a few weeks ago, PLEASE just give Score to Alexandre Desplat, particularly for THE IMITATION GAME. Jóhannsson's okay score for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING only makes me pity more for last year's PRISONERS, which Jóhannsson also scored. (Makeup?). Just give it to Desplat, who did not just 2 but 5 GREAT SCORES for 2014.
BRIEF TALLIES:
- BIRDMAN
& THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
with 9 noms
- THE IMITATION GAME
with 8 noms
- AMERICAN SNIPER
& BOYHOOD
with 6 noms
CONCLUSION:
Let's see what happens. I really hope that BIRDMAN and/or THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL clean up in the end. THE IMITATION GAME would be a boring victor if the voters go for it. BOYHOOD, a fine film, is the obvious winner, but being tied for 3rd most noms might hurt its chances given the trends. If it claims Picture/Director victory in the end, that means the Academy had gushing love for Linklater's 12-year tale. And that's completely fine in my book. I'd rather have that win than the solid but by-the-numbers IMITATION GAME.
Still, that was a good nominations morning. BIRDMAN and/or THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL for the win!! :D
HTTYD 2 is still underrated..
Much Doge At first, it was LEGO MOVIE that was overrated while still being the freshest and wittiest animated film of the year. But then, people just started calling HTTYD2 a masterpiece, something I didn't understand at all after seeing the film twice. The sequel doesn't reach the heights of the first film, even after trying its best to make everything bigger. HTTYD2, for me, has overtaken LEGO MOVIE in the overrated department.
But I'm putting aside all that because THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA should win the Oscar in my opinion. It's my favorite animated film of the year.
BlueFox94 hm weird, because I after seeing all the reactions from lego not being nominated, still seems like lego is the overrated one. just sayin.
Much Doge It's overrated, sure, but HTTYD2 is of a lesser quality and its supporters don't even want to acknowledge the major flaws in the story, going so far as to call it a masterpiece. That, to me, not only made my okay opinion with film downgrade to disappointing, but also pushed it ahead of LEGO MOVIE in the overrated department. It's a gradual development.
THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA is the best animated film of 2014 and should win. It probably won't, so I'm rooting for everyone else (save for HTTYD2) equally. It worries me that HTTYD2 might actually win in the end because it doesn't deserve it compared to its fellow nominees, not to mention non-nominees (read: LEGO MOVIE).
BlueFox94 I disagree I can admit the flaws , definitely the villain has problem. but i still think its a masterpiece. Every masterpiece has its flaw. but lego, I think it had way more flaws.
as for princess Kaguya, I haven't seen it but it looks amazing! So I wouldn't mind if it wins..
Grace Apparently Marion Cotillard is breathtaking in Two Days One Night. You should check it out.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the Lego movie (thought it was fun and with a good moral) I have to admit that it lacked any sense of subtlety. I mean GOTG and Hunger Games aren't nominated for Oscars and it doesn't detract from those films. Lego can be remembered as great without this nomination. I just hope Big Hero 6 wins now, because I'm not really a fan of HTTYD2 (I find Hiccup too much of a Gary Stu for my tastes - although the film is objectively good I believe)
I think that Christopher Nolan should keep making movies because he's interested and cares about them. Not for money, and not for what people want him to make
Nolan has never made movies for the masses. All his movies are his personal perceptions of the world in grand scope. I don't know what the fuck she's talking about.
I actually hoped even before the nominations were announced that princess kaguya would win.
Wait, interstallar is nominated for sound? I thought that was a huge complaint for that film?
People were high on something because i never had a problem with the sound in the film.
***** If you watched the film in IMAX, there was such a big issue with the sound mixing to the point where it was really hard to hear some of the dialogue.
ihateu890 then that's the theater's issue, not the film's.
I am pretty sure the studio provides the 'sound'. Also, there have been dozens of complaints about it, I have seen there all over the place. Also, why were these complaints only given about Interstellar and not about all movies if it has to do with the theater and not the movie?
I am not claiming the movie or it's sound were bad. I haven't seen it. I was just under the impression that made people complained about the sound.
Here's an article about the issues:
www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/11/18/why-chris-nolans-interstellar-sound-mix-is-a-problem/
***** Then you must have been one of the lucky ones, because even multiple critics complained about the sound mixing.
Bradley Cooper has a big friend in Hollywood, doesn´t he? Every year a nomination is too much in this case imo. About the Animated feature: I just hope How to Train your Dragon wins seeing what is nominated.
I´m surprised that Marion Cotillard got nominated. Nice surprise.
American Sniper: It’s a solid movie. It is not Hurt Locker. It is not Zero Dark Thirty. There’s a lot of differences between movie and book and not the kind you want. It’s not a movie I would want to represent either. It’s fine. A lot of these movies are just fine. It was just a high profiled war movie directed by Clint Eastwood and if it got above average reviews, watch out for voters to go all over that. Glad they didn’t nominate him for Best Director.
You know if these films had a much wider release and a bigger advertising maybe they would have had a better opening. Ive been dying to see Whiplash but is still know where near me
THE WAY WAY BACK!
My fav animated is still How to train your dragon two, if fricking big hero 6 wins ill be pissed
Emily blunt was amazing in Into The Woods! Why wasn't she nominated!
It would be good if someone could do a documentary on what the politics is to first to get nominated and then the process on how to secure votes like Grace had mentioned what actors do to potentially do to get an oscar.
No Gillian Flynn for adapted screenplay that snub really hit me. I saw a tweet about how there was no woman or non-white nominees outside of actress. And of course Bradley cooper gets a nomination over jake gyllenhull.
The academy continues to prove that it is old, white, nationalist and out of touch.
i have no doubt that the academy didn't nominated Gillian Flynn because its adaptation of her own book, that is what i think and that gyllenhaal not getting a nomination got me pissed
poppingadandub Sometimes authors who write the scripts to film versions of their novels do win Oscars. John Irving won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for writing the script to the film adaptation of his book The Cider House Rules. Plenty of playwrights have won Oscars for adapting their plays into film scripts. Peter Shaffer for Amadeus is a good example.
Alex Meyer Thanks for the info, but still Gillian Flynn getting snub hurts!
They should put up another award for Best Movie Poster!
So fucking happy that Keaton is nominated for Birdman. I hope Keaton wins Best Actor. I hope and pray Michael walks away with that much-deserved Oscar. Boyhood will win Best Picture.
Hi Grace I too am really upset on the snub for Lego Movie. By far the Best Animated Movie this year. Also Ava DuVernay snub was shocking, let's not forget why was Channing Tatum not nominated as Supporting Actor for Foxcatcher? I see him more as a best supporting than Robert Duval
Got to catch up on these movies (yes we do like good thoughtful films but dont always have to see them first run),really surprised Lego Movie not nominated, really thought they captured what it's like to imagine and play with legos. Wonder if Alexandre Desplat will cancel himself out with his double nom for original score.
Gone girl and The Lego Movie were definitely the most robbed movies this year.
Amen!!
Some people add Interstellar, but i really agree that Lego Movie was robbed
have you seen la vie en rose?
david oyelowo not nominated so close to martin luther king day, they got some balls.
I think Boyhood deserves it the most , its the first of its kind and to make a movie over 12 years is amazing.
Darn, I was looking forward to The Lego Movie vs. How to Train Your Dragon 2
We should Kragle the Academy's eyes open, and make them watch the Lego Movie over and over again. Should've been nominated for best animated film
Pissed that Nightcrawler and Gone Girl only got one nomination each and that A Most Violent Year had none -- the nominations were mostly good, but those misses are HUGE mistakes
Big Hero 6 hasn't even been released in all countries yet.
Love how you just assume that whatever you like is the "Audience favorite"..
Best Actor: If there is one thing I am kicking myself over, it’s not predicting Bradley Cooper (zero campaigning). I don’t even like American Sniper but what does that matter? Never put personal or bias reasons in who gets nominated. Academy loves him, 3 consecutive noms in 3 completely different performances. It was the best performance Cooper has done so far. He’s very consistent in the movie, stays the same level. Much like Steve Carrel, except so much better in my mind. I predicted Ralph Fiennes to take Carrel’s spot because it is like Christian Bale last year. A high number nominated movie and its star being the best part of it. Keaton (zero campaigning) / Redmayne (Voters can't get enough of) / Cumberbatch (Worlds most popular actor) were as safe as it could be.
Im seeing American Sniper tomorrow :)
Lego Movie, Jake Gyllenhaal/nightcrawler ,David Oyelowo for Selma, Interstellar for cinematography all got snubbed. Screw How to train your dragon 2, all i want now is for Michael Keaton/ Birdman to win their categories . But i have this feeling Boyhood will win
I doubt that Nolan was shooting for gold with Interstellar. He should know what he could expect from the academy with a sci-fi movie. With his choices in movies he seems to have a good chance of joining the club of highly influencial directors the academy couldn't recognize, and he'd be in great company:
Hitchkok (1, IGT Memorial Award), Kubrik (Special Effects Award), Bergman (IGT Memorial Award), Welles (Honorary Award), Godard (Honorary Award), Kurosawa (Honory Award), Leone (1 Nom.), Chaplin (Best Music & Honorary Award),
Fellini (Honorary Award), Lang, and the list goes on. Rule of thumb: If you learn about a director in film school, he probably never got an oscar for it. I think the academy is losing more and more credit with the audience every year, if they keep ignoring popular opinion, while history keeps proving their own opinion wrong along the way. A hollywood inhouse-popularity-contest simply doesn't cut it anymore, especially in a time when people put more trust in Imdb, Rotten Tomatoes and Grace Randolph to tell them what's worth watching.
Hi, Grace! First of all, I want to say that I love your reviews and every time I want to watch a movie, I try to find your thoughts about it. I love Movie math, every tuesday morning (that's when it's available here in Romania) I watch it at the office :D Now, I have a tiny little problem with what you say about the Best animation category. The lego movie was fun, in my oppinion it should have been nominated instead of The boxtrolls (great stop-motion, but nothing else), but that's it. It was just fun. The animation was great, but not groundbreaking or something like that and the story was simple and full of cliches. But my main issue with your thoughts in the past week regard Dragon 2. I remember that in your review, you said that it was a near perfect movie, that your only compliants about it were the villain (we can all agree that's the weakest point of the movie) and what they did with Toothless, and you also said that it will be though to beat at the Oscars. And Dragon 2 came out after The lego movie, so you've seen both of the movies and then favored Dragon. But now, all I hear is Lego movie, Lego movie, Lego movie and what a shocker it was that Dragon won at the Golden globes. Why that sudden change of thought? It's your oppinion, I respect it, but it still scratches my brain every time I hear complains about Dragon 2 coming from you, a person whose reviews of the movie were enthusiastic and full of praise. Best regards, Razvan :)
How did Jake not get any noms? 2014 was like his year...
Hi Grace! Are you going to watch and review Wild? I think it does a great job of displaying a strong but flawed female lead, and would love to hear your thoughts on the film!
Grace, out of curiosity, what's your opinion on the fact that all but one of the women in the best actress category are in movies that haven't been nominated for best picture/most other categories, while every single one of the men in the corresponding category is in a film that HAS been nominated for best picture and in many other categories? Do you think this essentially sheds light on how the academy is still afraid of honoring films dealing with the stories of strong, powerful women or were the movies just subpar compared to the performances of the lead actress? I've just noticed this discrepancy and it has me a bit confused.
Come on, Academy, how on Earth can you NOT nominate Finches? I'm not saying he should win, but a nomination is the least you can do for Gone Girl.
KabbalahSherry I wouldn't say they're irrelevant, but I don't know what an actor/director has to do to impress them :/
I usually try to watch the Oscars even if they aren't always that interesting but I'll pass this year.
*The Lego Movie* had 96% on Rotten Tomatoes & was an audience darling, so this makes no sense whatsoever...
the 96% was from critics
But HTTYD 2 and BH6 had better audience scores and better IMDB scores than Lego.
Marion Cotillard in "2 jours 1 nuit" is AMAZING ! Grace, you are really unfair saying that she's here because she's a good campaigner, she didn't even do any talk show about it, she barely promoted the movie in the US and the movie is in French. You CAN'T say she is nominated because she's a good campaigner. I can't disagree more with you !
I think that Into the Woods deserve the same glory that Les Mis had
Probably in my opinion to nominate the Lego movie i would snub big hero 6 because BH6 was a good film it just was not as great as others or even as great as it could have been mostly just lay good groundwork for a superior sequel
personal opinion: Into The Woods got snubbed big time (keep in mind that I'm a theatre person and extremely biased). Best Supporting Actress and Costume Design. that's it (there could be more, I don't remember). I was so mad when it didn't even get nominated for best original song (okay, maybe it's because the songs were adapted from the stage show, idk). and why not best adapted screenplay? it's adapted from stage to screen (is that how it works?)! and to be honest, Emily Blunt and James Corden probably got snubbed the most, since apparently Meryl Streep is a "supporting actress" (even though the witch is the lead in the flipping show). no best actress for Emily or best actor for James? really? I feel really bad for them. they had undeniable chemistry and we're both really good. and they were probably the supporting actors to Meryl, in my opinion.
*END OF RANT*
Interstellar didn't deserve a nod for anything but effects
I honestly thought The Lego Movie would win best animated feature. Wow, just wow...
I have no qualms about saying that these are the worst Oscar nominations in years.