My Thoughts on the 2019 Oscar Nominations

In case you weren't aware, the 91st annual Oscar Nominations were announced this morning and I've listed them all below for your convenience. Last night I published My 2019 Oscar Nominee Picks & Predictions where I put forth my hypothetical ballots and predictions for what would be announced this morning. I've put the nominees I correctly predicted in bold, gold text and the ones I picked in my ballot that were actually nominated in red text. For those curious, I predicted 3 categories exactly, and all but one of the nominees in 12 different categories.

My Thoughts

Whew... That was a peculiar bunch of nominees. For every frustrating inclusion of Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book, there was a pleasant mention of something unexpected. A very welcome surprise was seeing Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira recognized for their outstanding work in Roma. Well deserved nominations I wasn't necessarily expecting, but am overjoyed to see. I'll detail what I believe to be the major snubs and surprises in a moment, but the glaring omission of First Man's score from Justin Hurwitz is a travesty... Not to mention First Man or If Beale Street Could Talk missing Best Picture in favor of Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book... On a positive note, I'm honestly happy to see Black Panther secure a Best Picture nomination. I know that seems to be an unpopular opinion, but it's had a substantial impact on pop-culture and will pave the way for more blockbuster recognition. All in all, I've had a lukewarm reaction to the nominations, but still hope my favorites emerge triumphant.

Surprises: Love for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in Roma, Willem Dafoe for Best Actor in At Eternity's Gate, Sam Rockwell for Best Supporting Actor in Vice, Never Look Away for Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film, and Green Book for Editing?

Snubs: First Man in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score, If Beale Street Could Talk in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography, Won't You Be My Neighbor? for Best Documentary Feature, Suspiria (2018) for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Original Song, and lastly Annihilation, Eighth Grade, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Paddington 2, and Widows across the board for netting 0 nominations.

Nominations

*Best Picture*

"Black Panther"
"BlackKklansman"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"The Favourite"
"Green Book"
"Roma"
"A Star Is Born"
"Vice"

Best Director

Adam McKay, "Vice"
Alfonso Cuarón, "Roma"
Pawel Pawlikowski, "Cold War"
Spike Lee, "BlackKklansman"
Yorgos Lanthimos, "The Favourite"

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper, "A Star Is Born"
Christian Bale, "Vice"
Willem Dafoe, "At Eternity's Gate"
Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Viggo Mortensen, "Green Book"

Best Actress

Glenn Close, "The Wife"
Lady Gaga, "A Star Is Born"
Melissa McCarthy, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
Olivia Colman, "The Favourite"
Yalitza Aparicio, "Roma"

Best Supporting Actor

Mahershala Ali, "Green Book"
Adam Driver, BlackKklansman"
Sam Elliott, "A Star Is Born"
Richard E. Grant, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

Sam Rockwell, "Vice"

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, "Vice"
Emma Stone, "The Favourite"
Marina de Tavira, "Roma"
Rachel Weisz, "The Favourite"
Regina King, "If Beale Street Could Talk"

Best Original Screenplay

"The Favourite"
"First Reformed"
"Green Book"
"Roma" 
"Vice"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
"BlackKklansman"
"Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
"If Beale Street Could Talk"
"A Star Is Born"

Best Film Editing

"BlackKklansman"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"The Favourite"
"Green Book"
"Vice"

Best Cinematography

"Cold War"
"The Favourite"
"Never Look Away"
"Roma"
"A Star Is Born"

Best Costume Design

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"
"Black Panther"
"The Favourite"
"Mary Poppins Returns"
"Mary Queen of Scots"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

"Border"
"Mary Queen of Scots"
"Vice"

*Best Production Design*

"Black Panther"
"The Favourite"
"First Man"
"Mary Poppins Returns"
"Roma"

Best Visual Effects

"Avengers: Infinity War"
"Christopher Robin"
"First Man"
"Ready Player One"
"Solo: A Star Wars Story"

Best Sound Editing

"Black Panther"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"First Man"
"A Quiet Place"
"Roma"

Best Sound Mixing

"Black Panther"
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"First Man"
"Roma"
"A Star Is Born"

Best Original Song

"All The Stars" from "Black Panther"
"I'll Fight" from "RBG"
"The Place Where Lost Things Go" from "Mary Poppins Returns"
"Shallow" from "A Star Is Born"
"When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings" from "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"

Best Original Score

"Black Panther"
"BlackKklansman"
"If Beale Street Could Talk" 
"Isle of Dogs"
"Mary Poppins Returns"

*Best Animated Feature*

"Isle of Dogs"
"Incredibles 2"
"Mirai"
"Ralph Breaks the Internet"
"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse"

Best Short Film, Live Action

"Detainment"
"Fauve"
"Marguerite"
"Mother"
"Skin"

Best Short Film, Animated

"Animal Behavior"
"Bao"
"Late Afternoon"
"One Small Step"
"Weekends"

Best Documentary Feature

"Free Solo"
"Hale County This Morning, This Evening"
"Minding the Gap"
"Of Fathers and Sons"
"RBG"

Best Documentary, Short Subject

"Black Sheep"
"End Game"
"Lifeboat"
"A Night at the Garden"
"Period. End of Sentence."

Best Foreign Language Film

"Capernaum"
"Cold War"
"Never Look Away"
"Roma" 
"Shoplifters"