10. Ava DuVernay for Selma
Before the nominee announcement, it seemed like DuVernay had a secure position on the list. Even though I agree with the snub, it would have been nice to have a female in one of the "big" categories, and she would've been the first black woman to be nominated for Best Director. Oh, well.
9. Amy Adams for Best Actress in Big Eyes
Amy Adams is usually an Academy-favorite, and her subtle performance in Tim Burton's Big Eyes was deserving of some love in this category. Since she won for this at the Golden Globes, it's surprising not to see her here.
8. Edge of Tomorrow for Best Editing
OK, maybe this didn't have a chance in hell, but why not? The entire reason this movie works is because of its ingenious use of editing techniques, for both humor and dramatic purposes. The "Groundhog Day" template of Edge of Tomorrow could've grown stale real fast, but the pacing and writing really saved it.
7. Force Majeure for Foreign Film
I can't say whether this is a merited snub or not (I haven't yet seen it or the other nominees yet), but Force Majeure seemed to be one of the major contenders in this category. But it's nowhere to be seen! Even with moral quandaries involving an avalanche!
6. Ralph Fiennes for Grand Budapest Hotel
I wasn't the biggest fan of the flick (Wes Anderson's just not my bag), but Fiennes was fine in the lead role, and it was about time his talent was recognized again. He hasn't been nominated since The English Patient in 1997, and to look at that performance in comparison to this, his range as a performer is astounding. Yet again, another comedic performance being overlooked.
5. Gone Girl for Adapted Screenplay
The fact that it wasn't nominated for Best Picture or Director I can sort of imagine, but I just assumed Gillian Flynn had the Adapted Screenplay award game, set, and match. Guess the voters liked the book better.
4. Interstellar for Cinematography
Regardless if you hated the movie, you have to admit the visuals were beautifully captured. I thought Nolan and co. deserved a spot on the Director and Picture list as well, but unfortunately it was yet again not Nolan's year at the Oscars. Maybe some day.
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3. Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Actor in Nightcrawler
If you keep up with my blog, you know this one hurts for me. Gyllenhaal's performance was amazing, but he does play an unsympathetic sleaze-ball, which might have turned off the voters. BUT, then again, Steve Carell was nominated for Foxcatcher. There's no excuse, he should've been on there.
2. Life Itself for Documentary Feature
Wow. Yet another movie I thought would win that wasn't even nominated. It has all the right ingredients for an "Academy" winner: it's a mind-over-body tale, it's an "American dream" story, it's a story about interracial love, and most obviously, it tracks the career of the most well known film critic ever. I guess the Academy voters might've been burned on some of his scathing reviews before.
1. LEGO Movie for Animated Feature
This came as the biggest shock to me. I thought it would flat out, no-contest win the category, and it's not even nominated! I really don't know how to explain this one. The only reasoning might have been that it features one tiny little scene that's live action, and if that's the case, this snub comes off as the "snubbiest" of them all.
So whomp...there it is. I'll probably post my Oscar predictions closer to the air date (that blog post always takes forever since there's so many categories). Sad as these snubs may be, I'm overall just fine with the nominees, especially seeing Whiplash getting more love than I'd expected. We'll see how it all turns out in February!
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