2015 Oscars

I thought Jake Gyllenhaal should have been nominated for best actor for his role in Nightcrawler but what the heck... not the kind of movie the Academy typically appreciates.

Oscar Nominations 2015: See The Full List

 

I'm surprised Selma got nominated for Best Picture but David Oyelowo didn't receive a nom for Best Actor. It's kind of incredible that the film could be considered for best picture when the actor playing Martin Luther King Jr. did not turn in a performance worthy of a best actor nod. Seems like the film would kind of hinge on his performance.

I haven't seen a single best picture nominee, which is kind of depressing. As for the animated feature category, I was surprised to see The Lego Movie snubbed, particularly since I haven't even heard of two of the films nominated. "How to Train Your Dragon 2" was the best animated feature I saw this year pretty handily.

 

I wonder if "The Lego Movie" was ineligible because there was too much live action?

 

Dick Poop is going to win for cinematography.

 

It will be interesting if there are any upsets in the acting categories...

It sure seems like Moore, Keaton, Arquette and Simmons are the overwhelming favorites to win.

 

I thought Selma was a disappointment and Oyelowo was the reason.

Playing MLK is a insanely tough role, but he didn't pull it off, IMO. I don't know if anybody could, but I didn't buy him as MLK for a second.

 

I really liked Nightcrawler. But of the performances I've seen in that category (Carell, Cooper) they were certainly deserving of nominations.

 

Whiplash is the best of the four best picture nominees that I've seen.

American Sniper is tremendous as well, but I would have a hard time believing that the Academy would vote Eastwood another Oscar. I could be wrong.

I found Selma disappointing (still good, but disappointing).

I see Boyhood as more of a tremendous accomplishment than a great film.

I'm looking forward to seeing the others.

 

I've heard similar takes (although, to be fair, I've also heard he was excellent), but regardless, it seems incongruous that a biopic about Martin Luther King Jr. could be nominated for best picture while the actor portraying him does not get nominated. How does the film overcome a lackluster performance by the guy playing MLK to be among the best eight films of the year? Seems like they either should have both been nominated, or both been snubbed.

The explanation might be as simple as Selma was the sixth-best movie, and Oyelowo was the sixth-best actor, thus the film was nominated, but he was not. Still, it's just odd to see the lead actor in an Oscar-nominated biopic not get nominated.

 

So if you're not nominated for an Oscar than your performance was "lackluster"?

 

then

 

I wonder if there is a recent instance where a biopic was nominated with no actors or the director from it were nominated. Very strange.