If I Was the Only One Who Voted for the Oscars
I want to write about the nominations and predictions for the upcoming Oscars this year, but I wanted this piece to be something that’s a little different, you know? Something a little more fun. So I decided to write something under the lens of what the 91st Academy Award nominations would have looked like if I was the only person who was a member of the Academy. (After all, the 2019 awards season and the 2019 movies I liked best synced up the least since probably the 1980s sometime. The divide is strong, my friends.) The categories I did not include because I have seen none of the contenders were Best Documentary — Short Subject and Best Live Action Short Film. I also did not include Best Foreign Language Film or Best Animated Short Film because I only saw one movie in each category, Roma and Bao, respectively. I would call these the Daves, but that sounds really stupid so I’m just going to stick with the incredibly wordy title instead. Oh, and my winner for each category will be in bold and I’m going to have two categories that should be at the Oscars here, Best Cameo and Best Voice Work. Other categories would be cool like Best Comedy and Best Action Movie, but those are pretty well-covered by the Critics’ Choice Awards already. Anyway, off we go!
Best Picture
Avengers: Infinity War
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Black Panther
Christopher Robin
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Mary Poppins Returns
Ocean’s Eight
The Old Man and the Gun
A Quiet Place
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
What would usually be the category that this writing would build up to is kind of rendered moot when you consider the fact that I already wrote about it. But I still did it anyway.
Best Acting in a Cameo Role
Elliott Gould as Reuben Tishkoff (Ocean’s Eight)
Ross Marquand as Red Skull (Avengers: Infinity War)
Joel McHale as Chevy Chase (A Futile and Stupid Gesture)
Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)
Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes, Jr. (Mary Poppins Returns)
First of all, Ross Marquand is exceptional as he basically channels Hugo Weaving while playing Red Skull in the surprise cameo of the year. But how could I deny my love of Dick Van Dyke, who returns to Poppins fifty-four years later to essentially play one of the same characters he did all that time ago. Streep and Gould are also welcome returns to beloved franchises. And watching McHale play his former Community co-star is a treat in and of itself and one of the main reasons why I loved that movie so much!
Best Acting in a Voice-Over or Motion Capture Role
Josh Brolin as Thanos (Avengers: Infinity War)
Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh (Christopher Robin)
Holly Hunter as Helen Parr (Incredibles 2)
Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Ben Whishaw as Paddington (Paddington 2)
As much as I love what Cummings does when pulling double duty as Pooh and Tigger and the wonderful work done by Whishaw in the Paddington franchise and Hunter deftly handled the shift in focus onto her character in the sequel to The Incredibles, Brolin cannot be denied. Even with one of the best vocal performances of all-time by Johnson. Brolin helped create one of the most iconic villains in the history of movies by giving an unprecedented depth to him. The way he embraced the motion capture aspect is the way all actors should keep an open mind when heading into a comic book event like this.
Best Visual Effects
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
This is a category that the real Academy mostly got right because three of their nominations are the same as mine. The gimmicks and fun shrinking and growing extravaganzas are always delightful in Ant-Man and the Wasp and I have no doubt that they must be incredibly tricky to pull off. Infinity War would be here on its own even if it didn’t have Thanos, one of the most amazing visual effects-based characters ever put to screen. First Man provided stunning visuals of outer space and the moon landing that not only blew away the eyes, but also let moviegoers feel like they had been transported. And how could I not include Mary Poppins Returns, which shows how amazing it is when Disney returns to two dimensional animation. But the way the characters came to life in Disney’s Christopher Robin was just so breathtaking and lovely and realistic that the Academy’s surprise nomination ends up being my victor.
Best Film Editing
Avengers: Infinity War
Bad Times at the El Royale
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Searching
I’m sure there’s a lot more that goes into film editing than simple cuts and transitions and the like, but I’m not a film editor so I don’t really know. All I know is that when I thought critically about the editing in these movies, there was no doubt that they had to be the nominees. Infinity War blew me away because there should have been no reason why that movie should have worked and I think it succeeded largely thanks to the editing of the film that allowed many of the storylines to breathe rather than constantly interconnecting them. Bad Times at the El Royale does something similar, but it also plays with timelines and nonlinear narratives, so that is definitely worthy of a spot here. As for Buster Scruggs, I think any movie that uses vignettes in the story deserves to be here because of how challenging that is to pull off cohesively. And Mamma Mia! is part-prequel and part-sequel so to splice those moments together in a narratively satisfying way (just wait until the end) is half the fun! But Searching is the movie I don’t even understand. How did they edit that? How did they create that? It impresses me so much and it must have been so challenging. Props to the team of Nick Johnson and Will Merrick!
Best Costume Design
Black Panther
Mary Poppins Returns
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Ocean’s Eight
A Wrinkle in Time
I really strongly considered Ocean’s Eight for this one because of how much I loved the dress Mindy Kaling wears at the Met Gala, but the end, I gave in to Mary Poppins, which has some stunning costume work from Sandy Powell that comes especially in the scenes when they go into the children’s bowl! I mean, the costumes pictured above on Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda should be more than enough to get nominations, but those aren’t even the only costumes they wear in that scene! I mean, wow! A Wrinkle in Time also had the benefit of Kaling wearing some awesome dresses and clothing. The Nutcracker kept the trend going of movies where costumes are just balls to the wall! I mean Keira Knightley looked like she was made of cotton candy! And Black Panther had some gorgeous ones that I even saw on display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Ocean’s Eight
Wildlife
A Wrinkle in Time
The Oscars traditionally only gives this category three nominations. I have no idea why this is the case, but I’m not going to question it too much because it works well enough for me as I have no idea what goes into the intricacies of makeup and hairstyling. The hair looked great for the period piece of Wildlife and, again, the Met Gala scenes steal the show for Ocean’s Eight. But the work done by Kim Kimble in A Wrinkle in Time steals the show for me. As soon as I saw those first teaser posters, I knew we were in for a treat.
Best Cinematography
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Christopher Robin
The Old Man and the Gun
Roma
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Catch me Googling, “what is cinematography?” for this category because I truthfully don’t really have a good idea of what it is. I still don’t really know except it seems to be something to do with the way certain shots are conceived of and filmed. Going off of that knowledge, this is the best I can do! Spider-Verse had some exceptionally well-conceived shots, especially for an animated film that had so many different styles to handle. The stand-out shot in my mind is the flipped angle of Miles Morales descending into New York City. There’s a lot to love about the shots in The Old Man and the Gun and the scenes when Robert Redford rides the horse net it a nomination on its own. Similar shots of beauty like that can be found in Christopher Robin which deserves to be here for the last act alone! And while Buster Scruggs is filled with visual candy, the “All Gold Canyon” segment is its crowning achievement. But I think Roma and Alfonso Cuaron should get this one. The thing I loved most about Roma is how real and lived-in the whole thing felt as every scene was textured and detailed beyond belief. If that counts as cinematography, then it deserves to be here!
Best Production Design
Bad Times at the El Royale
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary Poppins Returns
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
A Quiet Place
Production design is something I understand a little bit better than cinematography because, as far as I can tell, it mostly has to do with the way a movie is designed, planned, and orchestrated, as well as how the sets are decorated. With that in mind, I think The Nutcracker perfectly captured the feel of a Christmas story and a ballet. At least in the first half of the movie. The team behind A Quiet Place also did an amazing job creating an environment that felt both like a place where a family could live and a horrific setting. Bad Times at the El Royale created a masterful set that feels like a real place you could stay in without getting too flanderized with some of the twists and reveals. And I know a lot of people hate Bohemian Rhapsody. I was lukewarm on it myself. But the way they recreate a lot of these iconic locations has to be given credit. But again, I find myself gravitating towards Mary Poppins Returns, which is as excellent as feeling whimsical and portraying that whimsy as it is at showcasing the combination of dreariness and mystery surrounding London. John Myhre crushed it!
Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again/Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Mary Poppins Returns/Mary Poppins Returns
A Quiet Place/A Quiet Place
Roma/Roma
A Star Is Born/A Star Is Born
I definitely don’t understand the difference between these two categories so I just opted to nominate the same five movies in both of them and give A Quiet Place two victories in the category. I had to include the musicals here, especially since the way they all sounded was amazing and all of the singing voices (yes, even Pierce Brosnan and Ben Whishaw) were on point so shoutouts are due to Mamma Mia!, Poppins, and A Star Is Born. The way Roma plays with sound is also something to behold so definitely check that out on Netflix as soon as possible. But I have to give the nods to A Quiet Place because of how effectively the sound team of Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl edited and mixed the works. It’s quite impressive and made for the greatest sound-based movie experience, maybe ever? This category is a clear-cut, gray area one for me. A Quiet Place is the definite winner. It’s going up against these other movies the way the New England Patriots go up against the “competitors” in the AFC East.
Best Original Score
Black Panther
First Man
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Poppins Returns
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I have a lot of love for all of these scores, even though it’s been quite sometime since we’ve had an all-time iconic score (I’ll get to that in a minute). Black Panther uses the talents of Ludwig Goransson, a long-time collaborator of Childish Gambino and one of the foundational talents behind Community, and I loved it! I’m still hoping Avengers: Endgame will have the iconic score it deserves because I felt a little let down by Infinity War’s score. Black Panther definitely picked up the Marvel slack, though! Justin Hurwitz knocked it out of the park with another collaboration with Damien Chazelle on First Man. And Spider-Verse had a consistently cool feeling to the score throughout the film. I also know I’ll be the only one who advocates for Guernsey in a category like this, but I liked it! But yes, it has to be said. Mary Poppins Returns’s score has become an all-timer for me! I still hear it in my head all the time! Thank you Marc Shaiman for the score we deserved!
Best Original Song
“All the Stars” from Black Panther
“Goodbye, Farewell” from Christopher Robin
“Shallow” from A Star Is Born
“Trip a Little Light Fantastic” from Mary Poppins Returns
“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
This was definitely my favorite category from the Oscars nominations this year because, as you can see, my nominations match up with four of the five real nominations! I love it and I really hope they don’t skimp on the performances. But what am I going to do? Not include an entry from Richard M. Sherman? Of course not! Sorry RBG, but Christopher Robin deserves a spot here for its bouncy, yet melancholy entry into the Disney original song canon. The Scruggs song was a long shot at the nominations, but not for mine because I’ve re-listened to the country swoons of Tim Blake Nelson quite frequently since I saw that film. I’ve also listened quite a bit to the vocal performances from Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda in Mary Poppins Returns, but none have stayed in my head as much as Lin’s big number has. “Shallow” is the obvious winner at the real Oscars and I’m a big fan of it here, as well as the earlier “Maybe It’s Time.” But the nod has to go to “All the Stars,” which is one of my favorite new songs to come around in a long time. Kendrick Lamar and SZA, you created an anthem for this pop culture phenomenon of Black Panther. Hats off indeed!
Best Documentary — Feature
Have It All — The Movie
Love, Gilda
Quincy
RBG
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
I’ve gotten better at watching documentaries over the years and in 2018, I saw my favorite documentary ever. So of course it becomes the biggest snub in the history of the category (unseating last year’s Jane). But I’ll write more about that later. For now, it’s the runaway winner in my version of the Oscars. I loved Won’t You Be My Neighbor?! I rounded out the category with some other docs that might as well have been biopics with Jason Mraz’s Have It All, Gilda Radner’s Love, Gilda, Quincy Jones’ Quincy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s RBG, which is the only one in the category here to also get a real world nomination! But yeah, this one’s a no-brainer.
Best Animated Feature Film
The Grinch
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Huh, it’s interesting how this category shook out. Ralph and Spider-Verse were neck and neck for the victory and yet, I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to round the category out to five. Definitely was not a fan of The Grinch, but hey, here we are. (Wasn’t too high on Isle of Dogs either, certainly not the best Wes Anderson is capable of creating.) Incredibles 2 was really good, too, but this really just came down to a two-horse race. And as good and fun as the princess scene in Ralph is, I don’t know if anyone can knock the extraordinary achievement of Spider-Verse.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Juliet, Naked
The Old Man and the Gun
A Star Is Born
Wildlife
Wildlife and If Beale Street Could Talk were extremely close for my final spot on this nominations list, but I had to give it to Wildlife, which I thought did an expert job of adapting a work like that. Beale Street was close, but Wildlife was just pitch perfect. I was also a big fan of a lot of the sentiments written in A Star Is Born and I’m more than happy to go with the Academy on that one. I also went with them for Scruggs, which is only just barely an adapted screenplay, but a soaring one at that. Juliet, Naked is my favorite comedic screenplay of the year (The Death of Stalin was close!)and I thought it was really quite charming. But The Old Man and the Gun has to win. It’s so well-written and that’s a major part of why it was my favorite movie of the year so how could I not honor it here? Shoutout to David Lowery!
Best Original Screenplay
Bad Times at the El Royale
First Reformed
Game Night
A Quiet Place
Roma
I guess it wasn’t a particularly great year for original screenplays. (There were a number of adapted ones that I would easily put above First Reformed and A Quiet Place.) But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room for celebration! After all, First Reformed did have a lot of take your breath away lines of dialogue and A Quiet Place did a lot with a little. But the three standouts in this category are no secret to me. Game Night is probably the funniest script of the year and Roma is just about pitch perfect. And, undoubtedly, Bad Times at the El Royale takes the cake as an original idea that was written perfectly by Drew Goddard.
Best Supporting Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal as Jerry Brinson (Wildlife)
Michael B. Jordan as Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Black Panther)
Lin-Manuel Miranda as Jack (Mary Poppins Returns)
Tim Blake Nelson as Buster Scruggs (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush (Vice)
Don’t worry, this isn’t category fraud or anything. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs has no true lead. Each vignette has a lead, but the movie as a whole doesn’t. And I was just delightfully engaged all the way with Nelson’s portrayal of the title character. He knew exactly what that performance was supposed to be. I also have to give credit to Jake Gyllenhaal who turned in a subdued performance in Wildlife. Michael B. Jordan deserves some due for being one of Marvel’s best villains to date. Sam Rockwell earned a nod because of how hard it is to effectively portray a recognizable president. And Lin-Manuel Miranda is the delight of the whole year in Mary Poppins Returns.
Best Supporting Actress
Cynthia Erivo as Darlene Sweet (Bad Times at the El Royale)
Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong (First Man)
Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Who (A Wrinkle in Time)
Blake Lively as Emily Nelson (A Simple Favor)
Sissy Spacek as Jewel (The Old Man and the Gun)
Cynthia Erivo has some pipes! She turned in two great performances this year in Bad Times and in Widows. Sissy Spacek is an absolute treasure in my favorite movie of the year. Blake Lively knocked my socks off in A Simple Favor. And, of course, Mindy Kaling is a perennial candidate here, but she really was enchanting in A Wrinkle in Time. Claire Foy gets the victory here for me, even though she was inexplicably snubbed by the real Academy. She might just be the best young actor around as she goes toe to toe with Ryan Gosling and might just deliver the best performance of the whole movie. Seriously, she does so much more with a role that could’ve been the trope of “important man’s wife.” I couldn’t look away.
Best Actor
John Cho as David Kim (Searching)
Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine (A Star Is Born)
Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong (First Man)
Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin (Christopher Robin)
Robert Redford as Forrest Tucker (The Old Man and the Gun)
John Cho’s performance in Searching never seems forced or fake or awkward. Ryan Gosling masterfully embodies one of the all-time great American heroes with a depth and complexity hitherto unpopularized. Bradley Cooper is the runaway best actor in A Star Is Born. Ewan McGregor never misses a step in the wacky, yet sweet Christopher Robin. But it’s gotta be Redford. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you can feel the weight of his career and his legacy on this role and yet he makes it completely fresh and original. And it’s not just a legacy honor here since it will be his last film role ever. He really does deliver something incredible in this movie. I loved watching him on the big screen. One last time.
Best Actress
Yalitza Aparicio as Cleo Gutierrez (Roma)
Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins Returns)
Rose Byrne as Annie Platt (Juliet, Naked)
Lily James as Donna Sheridan (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)
Carey Mulligan as Jeanette Brinson (Wildlife)
Is anyone surprised? The only surprise for me is that Lady Gaga didn’t make the cut! Wowza! But yes, of course, Emily Blunt gave the best performance of any actress this year. To step into the shoes of Julie Andrews and knock it out of the park that much (not to mention she was also great in A Quiet Place) is a true feat. It has to be Blunt. But that doesn’t mean Byrne wasn’t fun to root for in Juliet, Naked or that Mulligan consistently does some of the best work of any living actor or that James might have outclassed Meryl Streep or that Aparicio comes out of nowhere to elevate Roma to the next level. It’s just that Blunt is that good. That lovely. That delightful. Not practically perfect in every way. Perfect in every way. Undoubtedly.
Best Director
Joel and Ethan Coen (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs)
John Krasinski (A Quiet Place)
David Lowery (The Old Man and the Gun)
Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns)
Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Infinity War)
Marshall and Christopher Robin’s Marc Forster could have been a coin flip, but I gave the edge to Marshall because of how daunting his job was. The Russo brothers’ job was also quite daunting and they managed to pull it off way better than even I could have expected, so that earns the a nod for sure. John Krasinski showed that he’ll be A-list for years to come with an impressive directorial efforts. The Coen brothers are some of the best that ever directed a movie and Buster Scruggs is another worthy entry into their filmography so of course they’re here. But David Lowery, who has made a lot of good movies in the past, might have made his masterpiece in 2018. He had to win this. He crafted a charming, engaging, moving story and he directed Robert Redford’s final performance. He delivered in every way.
Best Scene in a Movie
Thanos snaps his fingers (Avengers: Infinity War)
“Nowhere to Go But Up” (Mary Poppins Returns)
“Dancing Queen” (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again)
Forrest Tucker meets John Hunt (The Old Man and the Gun)
“Shallow” (A Star Is Born)
It felt a little weird to end this piece on Best Director, so I threw in another category here. Spoilers ahead! Three musical numbers delighted me this year to no end and there was a lot to smile about in The Old Man and the Gun. But how can I not pick Thanos’ snap? It’s a movie moment no one will ever forget.
Well, that was lots of fun! If you’re still reading this, which you aren’t, thanks for joining me!
Most Nominations
Mary Poppins Returns (13)
Avengers: Infinity War (7)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (7)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (7)
The Old Man and the Gun (7)
Christopher Robin (6)
A Quiet Place (6)
A Star Is Born (6)
Black Panther, Roma (5)
Bad Times at the El Royale, First Man, Ocean’s Eight, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Wildlife (4)
A Wrinkle in Time (3)
Incredibles 2, Juliet, Naked, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Searching, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?(2)
Ant-Man and the Wasp, Bohemian Rhapsody, First Reformed, A Futile and Stupid Gesture, Game Night, The Grinch, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Have It All — The Movie, Isle of Dogs, Love, Gilda, Paddington 2, Quincy, Ralph Breaks the Internet, RBG, A Simple Favor (1)
Most Wins
Mary Poppins Returns (5)
The Old Man and the Gun (4)
Avengers: Infinity War (2)
A Quiet Place (2)
Bad Times at the El Royale, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Black Panther, Christopher Robin, First Man, Roma, Searching, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, A Wrinkle in Time (1)
