94th Annual Academy Awards - Oscar Picks by Reviews by Matthew

The 94th Annual Academy Awards will be held Sunday, March 27, 2022. And since this looks to be an interestingly turbulent and stat-breaking year, I had better cut the chit-chat and get to work.

Note: For those of you that are new to this write-up, there’s a section located on the very last page called, “Oscars At A Glance”. There you can find a quick list of the winners that I’ve chosen for every category. So, now the both of us can play without all the distracting words getting in the way of the bottom line.

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-m-'s: Oscars At A Glance:	How many will I get correct ?	Totals - 22 out of 24 picked
Category	-m-'s Picks	The Oscar goes to:
Best Picture –	CODA	CODA
Best Director –	The Power of the Dog” (Jane Campion)	The Power of the Dog” (Jane Campion)
Best Actor –	King Richard” (Will Smith)	King Richard” (Will Smith)
Best Actress –	The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Jessica Chastain)	The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (Jessica Chastain)
Best Supporting Actor –	CODA” (Troy Kotsur)	CODA” (Troy Kotsur)
Best Supporting Actress –	West Side Story” (Ariana DeBose)	West Side Story” (Ariana DeBose)
Best Animated Picture -	Encanto	Encanto
Best Screenplany (Original) –	Belfast” (Kenneth Branagh)	Belfast” (Kenneth Branagh)
Best Screenplay (Adapted) –	CODA” (Sian Heder)	CODA” (Sian Heder)
Best Cinematography –	Dune	Dune
Best Art Direction – Best Production Design	Nightmare Alley	Dune
Best Costume Design –	Cruella	Cruella
Best Makeup –	The Eyes of Tammy Faye	The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Film Editing –	Dune	Dune
Best Original Score –	Dune” (Hans Zimmer)	Dune” (Hans Zimmer)
Best Original Song –	No Time To Die” (“No Time To Die”)	No Time To Die” (“No Time To Die”)
Best Sound –	Dune	Dune
Best Visual Effects –	Dune	Dune
Best International Feature -	Drive My Car	Drive My Car
Best Documentary (Feature) -	Summer of Soul	Summer of Soul
Best Documentary (Short Subject) –	The Queen of Basketball	The Queen of Basketball
Best Short Film (Animation) –	Robin Robin	The Windshield Wiper
Best Short Film (Live Action) –	The Long Goodbye	The Long Goodbye

 

PICTURE –
“Belfast” – The big shock here is that the film lost the SAG ensemble award to CODA, making it’s “feel-good film of the year” win feel a lot less likely.

“CODA” – This feel-good story about a hearing teenager growing out of a deaf household is picking up steam as award season rolls on. I normally wouldn’t think it was enough to win this top honor, but this is a curve ball with some heat on it. With three total nominations, a win here would be ground-breaking, but I think the way has been previously paved with the surprises garnered by Whiplash, Sound of Metal, Moonlight, and Parasite. CODA is an easy-to-love type of film and one, I think, makes Oscar history this year.

“Don’t Look Up” – While I found the film thoroughly entertaining, the talk around it all seems to be divisive, at least descriptively so. With that in mind, there are other, more significant, front runners to look to.

“Drive My Car” – Typically a foreign language film nominated here, wins the international category. I’m expecting that win, thus alleviating the need to reward it a second time. Note: 2019’s Parasite is the only foreign language film to win International Feature and Best Picture. Drive My Car isn’t as strong or universally appealing as Bong Joon-Ho’s thriller was.

“Dune” – Director Denis Villeneuve took two and a half hours to do what David Lynch was able to in only one hour and forty-five minutes, and it’s still only one half of Frank Herbert’s celebrated sci-fi novel. Regardless of any other critical success or derision the movie received, none of what it produced is enough to garner this top award.

“King Richard” – The Academy loves a bio pic, and this would be a suitable addition to Oscar’s line, but really only suitable, not assuredly.

“Licorice Pizza” – Word on the street is that you need at least five total nominations in order to win Best Picture. Since the film only has three, I’m taking the easy out.

“Nightmare Alley” – Guillermo del Toro’s film-noir succeeds within its intended genre but bores the shit out of you while doing so. Don’t expect this one to be an upset winner.

“The Power of the Dog” – After seeing the film and having time to reflect upon its focus, details, and delivery, I find myself at a crossroads. There’s a healthy amount here to enjoy and an arguably equal amount to despise. Suddenly, I’m feeling an awful like Cumberbatch’s character, with a clear view, bitingly sharp and blind though it may be, to Oscar gold. You remember how well that worked out for him?

“West Side Story” – Everyone who’s seen the film Loves it, and rightly so. This is a masterclass in direction, style, and how to upgrade a remake. Outside of all the talk concerning The Power of the Dog and CODA, this is the rightful winner this year. I’d even go so far as giving the Directing Oscar to Steven Spielberg too, but without the Director or Producer’s Guild honors, wins seem less likely.

DIRECTOR –
“Belfast” – Kenneth Branagh is winning the original screenplay award (#FingersCrossed) so I think we can omit him.

“Drive My Car” – Ryusuke Hamaguchi is also nominated for an adapted screenplay award. His film will win the International Film award, but I think the accolades stop there.

“Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson has eleven total nominations and no wins in his career. This is not the category to end that streak. There are too many other options on the table.

“The Power of the Dog” – Jane Campion beat Spielberg for the DGA’s top honor. Arguably, she directed this film as good as Spielberg did West Side Story, albeit quite differently. Still, no one should bet against her here.

“West Side Story” – Steven Spielberg directed the shit outta this movie! He gets my vote, but we all know what that’s worth.

ACTOR –
“Being the Ricardos” – Javier Bardem gives as good as Nicole Kidman in Aaron Sorkin’s film, but it can’t match the power of Cumberbatch, the emotionally uplifting chaos that shines through in Garfield’s performance, or the SAG win by Smith.

“The Power of the Dog” – It looks to me like the Academy, and every other award-related branch, is showing Bendict Cumberbatch about as much love as the characters in the film do. #GetIntheBox

“Tick, Tick…Boom!” – Anderw Garfield won the Golden Globe but lost the SAG. I can’t see him besting the other competitors in this race, but this is easily my favorite performance of the category and one of my favorite films of the year.

“King Richard” – After winning a Golden Globe, the SAG award, and being a three-time Best Actor nominee, I find Will Smith hard to bet against. #HesPutIntheWork

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” – Denzel Washington, who’s always fantastic, is still “a least likely” actor to garner an award for his portrayal of anything Shakespearian. His performance is an improvement over his turn in Much Ado About Nothing, but still.

ACTRESS –
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” – Jessica Chastain loses herself in her performance of Tammy Faye Bakker, so much so that I lost sight of the actress myself. I don’t know that the character is one the Academy might associate with Oscar but the performance by Jessica, her two previous Academy Award nominations, and the SAG win, most assuredly are.

“The Lost Daughter” – I’m a fan, but the most captivating part of watching Olivia Colman in this film was trying to see Jessie Buckley, who performs Olivia’s younger character, in her performance.

“Parallel Mothers” – With four total nominations and one supporting actress win, Penelope Cruz is no stranger to the Academy Awards. However, her second Best Actress nomination, both from Pedro Amodovar films, is appearing with too little fanfare and award season support to be considered a threat.

“Being the Ricardos” – The problem I have with Nicole Kidman winning this award is that while her performance as Lucille Ball was competent, I never lost sight of the fact that I was watching Nicole pretend to be Lucille. And that’s just not gonna get it done this year.

“Spencer” – Kristen Stewart certainly looks the part of Princess Diana, and her acting skills have qualified her for this category, but it’s a first-time nod amongst a group of heavy hitters and in a slightly more obscure film. Kudos to Kristen, but a win just isn’t in the cards.

SUPPORTING ACTOR –
“Belfast” – First time nominee Ciaran Hinds garners some long overdue recognition from the Academy in a year that grants him a second runner-up position.

“CODA” – The Screen Actors Guild honored Troy Kotsur with the supporting actor award and CODA with the best film ensemble; BAFTA and the Critic’s Choice followed. Even before that, this felt like the right choice for the Academy to support. #WeHearYou

“The Power of the Dog” – Jesse Plemons is an actor who will win an Oscar, but not for this performance.

“Being the Ricardos” – J.K. Simmons and his levity deliver, arguably, the most entertaining performance in the film, but bottom line, he’s a safe choice this year, and I think the Academy is going to stretch its inclusiveness a bit instead.

“The Power of the Dog” – Kodi Smit-McPhee delivers a well-worn performance in a character and film that are a bit divisive. I’m not firmly set on either of those things being reason to grant or remove his chances of winning this award. Honestly, I think this is more about continuing the winning streak of “Sound of Metal” than it is about anything else.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS –
“The Lost Daughter” – Jessie Buckley gives a wonderful performance as a mother experiencing a tumult of emotions. Looking over the other nominees in this category, I love to think that this is one of the two Jessie’s nominated this year that’s going home with an Oscar, however, there’s history on this ballot tonight.

“West Side Story” – Twice in the history of the Academy Awards have different actors been honored for playing the same character in different films. Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro as Vito Corleone and Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker. Ariana DeBose will be the first actor(ess) ever awarded an Oscar for playing the exact same Academy Award winning character in a remake. Rita Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress award for playing Anita in West Side Story (1961), Ariana DeBose will win tonight for delivering as equitable a performance.

“Belfast” – It never hurts to give Judi Dench a nod, but the film is so little honored that I think a win here would be a true upset.

“The Power of the Dog” – Kirsten Dunst delivers the goods in a character that’s given seriously little more to do than drink and break down. Amongst the other nominees, she’s a long shot.

“King Richard” – Acknowledging, with this nomination, that Aunjanue Ellis is a fantastic anchor to Will Smith’s performance is about as far as things go here.

ANIMATED FEATURE –
“Encanto” – This is my least favorite of the three Disney films nominated in this category, but Oscar prognosticators just won’t shut up about it.

“Flee” – This is a tough movie to discount. The film has made Oscar history by being the only film ever nominated for Animated Feature, Documentary, and International Film. I personally didn’t care for the film that much and think it might have a better shot at Best Documentary.

“Luca” – The only Disney/Pixar film nominated this year. Of the three Disney films in this category, it’s my favorite, but I don’t get a vote.

“The Mitchells Vs the Machines” – Otherwise considered the “odd duck” whether in character, film, or this category. I don’t see how it can compete, unless there’s major voting division; which is actually possible, but pretty unlikely.

“Raya and The Last Dragon” – A way better film than audiences may have originally hoped for, and a shoo-in winner in almost any other year, but Flee has two other category nominations and Encanto has that blasted Bruno track; which wasn’t even submitted for nomination but is still gonna get air time. Grrr…

SCREENPLAY ORIGINAL –
“Belfast” – Kenneth Branagh has eight total nominations and no wins in his career. His film is in serious danger of being completely shut out this year as Branagh is in direct competition with Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), who has eleven nominations and no wins, himself. In the end, Belfast is the higher regarded and least quirky of the two films. Making it the one more likely to be honored? Kudos to Branagh, I’ve been a fan of his 4-evah!

“Don’t Look Up” – Adam McKay’s somewhat veiled satire on climate change is really a lot of fun to watch but apparently it bothers too many people* to talk about it much less vote for it.

*Either writers aren’t people, or it won the WGA award because, of course, writers would like it.

“King Richard” – Zach Baylin delivers a welcome biopic that’s sure to get Will Smith his long-deserved Oscar.

“Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson has eleven total nominations and no wins in his career. Licorice Pizza has three nominations vs Belfast’s dreaded seven. Eight vs eleven? Three vs seven? Split wins across award season. Crikey! At this point the numbers aren’t helping, so I’m gonna opt out of the quirky pseudo-romantic comedy, go with Branagh’s semi-autobiographical piece, and cross my fingers, legs, and eyes.

“The Worst Person In the World” – This year, it’s a game of numbers, and combined, Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, just don’t have them. I hear their movie is really really good though.

SCREENPLAY ADAPTED –
“CODA” – I’m fully feeling the award season love for CODA and Sian Heder’s script is a nice consolation prize unless the film pulls an historic Best Picture upset. #Whoa!

“Drive My Car” – Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe’s verbose script helps this film win the Best International Feature award. Thanks, Yos!

“Dune” – Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth don’t have a snowball’s chance on Arrakis (“also known as…Dune”) of winning this award this year.

“The Lost Daughter” – Maggie Gyllenhaal has delivered a script that warranted a serious look as a contender. As award season rolls on though, even with the DGA’s first-time director honor, winning looks less and less possible.

“The Power of the Dog” – When thinking about the work Jane Campion has done with this film, I feel like the Academy just might recognize how much better she directed the film. If that’s the case, then I’d expect all signs to point to CODA here.

PRODUCTION DESIGN / ART DIRECTION –
“Dune” – I think there’s a lot to be said about this film and what it achieved, so much so that it’s probably gonna win, even though I think it’s far less interesting than two other films in this category.

“Nightmare Alley” – If we’re looking at merit, then this is your winner. Dune is a juggernaut that blocks a lot of views but c’mon, man…Dune has to lose something, right?

“The Power of the Dog” – Arguably, the least interesting nominee of the category.

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” – A sparse and very angled look dominates the film. So much so that it was in danger of losing my vote for even a nomination in this category this year. Yet, when it leaves the confines of its soliloquy-minded theater the film steps into some fantastically created, albeit still small, landscapes. It won’t be enough to compete with the top three films, but it certainly surprised me.

“West Side Story” – A film that should be talked about way more than it is. That quiet may help in making Oscar picks but it’s also a frustrating aside for a production design that’s as good as this one is.

CINEMATOGRAPHY –
“Dune” – Greig Fraser is running Hot right now. Earning a BAFTA, an ASC guild award, and with The Batman currently in theaters, Fraser’s name is on everybody’s radar.

“Nightmare Alley” – I mentioned the film’s production design being a bit of a hard sell, and I think Dan Laustsen’s cinematography is up against even tougher odds.

“The Power of the Dog” – Ari Wegner won the Critic’s Choice award, which surprised a lot of people, but I can’t bet that it’s enough to flip this category. Don’t be surprised if Wegner upsets here.

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” – Similar to Nightmare Alley’s issue, Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography is a bit avant-garde and hasn’t gotten any award season love to speak of.

“West Side Story” – Two-time Oscar winner Janusz Kaminski is Spielberg’s Go-To guy, but nobody’s talking about what he achieved with West Side Story, and that stinks, Yo!

FILM EDITING –
“Don’t Look Up” – Hank Corwin does a masterful job of bringing the film’s varied storylines into cohesion, but realistically, I don’t think voters are even looking around, much less up.

“Dune” – Joe Walker’s work ranks third for me amongst these nominees but it’s a technical category and technically few people are looking past this sci-fi epic. #Whatever.

“King Richard” – Pamela Martin won the ACE award this year but failed to garner nominations at any of the other major award outlets. In a year begging for a surprise upset, this would a welcome one.

“The Power of the Dog” – Peter Sciberras scored both a Critics Choice and ACE award nomination, but didn’t win either. I can’t see him breaking through here.

“Tick, Tick…Boom!” – Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum do a stellar job of melding this story’s timeframes and driving the narrative forward. Ultimately, doing more than their share to make the film so lively, fun, and emotionally impactful. And yeah, I know, that didn’t work for The Trial of the Chicago 7 last year either.

COSTUME –
“Cruella” – Jenny Beavan has literally knocked it out of the park with this fun, inventive, and Oscar worthy use of costuming.

“Cyrano” – Massimo Cantini and Jaqueline Durran have delivered the kind of stunning Victorian garb that were favorites of Oscars gone by. Not to say that this is an automatic loss for the film, but since this is the film’s only nomination, and Cruella is so strong, I can’t with comfortable assurance pick it to upset.

“Dune” – Jaqueline West and Robert Morgan have helped clothe a universe that voters are thankfully oblivious to here.

“Nightmare Alley” – Luis Sequeira sells both the carnies of the Midwest and Metropolitan high society in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Within this wardrobe though, it’s a bit too passé.

“West Side Story” – Paul Tazewell delivers a series of brightly colored, tailored, and obviously distressed attire to the classic 1957 set film. Realistically, it’s a bit too pedestrian this year to pick.

MAKEUP –
“Coming 2 America” – A well-earned nomination that I don’t think audiences watching the film ever seriously considered. Amongst these far more dramatic nominees, I don’t think Oscar voters will consider it either.

“Cruella” – Wigs, Powder, and Rogue; Oh My!

“Dune” – Sure, the makeups there but the emotion delivered by the made-up actors isn’t. I think voters want both; unless it’s makeup that’s impactfully off the charts, and Dune doesn’t have that either.

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” – The eyes don’t lie. Neither does the hair, the fat suits, prosthetics, or make up. Gimme a reason to pick another film and I might, but until them…The Eyes Have It.

“House of Gucci” – Wins the honor for most complete visual transformation of an actor into character, but is that enough to win Oscar gold? Across award season the film has a total of seventy-three nominations, eleven of those are for makeup with none of them winning an honor, so I don’t think so.

ORIGINAL SCORE –
“Don’t Look Up” – Nicholas Britell delivers a lively jazz-influenced score here. Easily something to have on the turntable at home; certainly easier than beating Hans Zimmer this year.

“Dune” – I’ve complained about Hans Zimmer score prior to award season for its overused trailer notes of spiky peaks and wailing cries, but going back and actually listening to the isolated score in its entirety I found myself captivated. This is an incredibly body of music; one completely worthy of the Academy Award.

“Encanto” – Germaine Franco provides a Latin-influenced traditional score. I don’t think it stands apart enough to win the Oscar this year but it’s a thoroughly entertaining listen within and without the film.

“Parallel Mothers” – I can’t knock Alberto Iglesias work here, but I tried on multiple occasions to give this score a listen and each time I got distracted by something else. Trivial or prophetic? It’s a loss either way.
“The Power of the Dog” – From the moment I saw this nomination I wanted to pick it. Jonny Greenwood has been earning his stripes for the last few years and the score works well in the film, but as an isolated entity, this is obnoxiously repetitive and, literally, grates on the ears.

ORIGINAL SONG –
“King Richard” – “Be Alive” by Beyonce. Who doesn’t want to see Beyonce get an Oscar? So, I have to imagine this track is a strong contender but can’t convince myself that it’s Eilish-doing-Bond-strong.

“Encanto” – “Dos Oruguitas” by Lin-Manuel Miranda is an acoustic mid-tempo romantic piece that provides a moving transitional moment in the film. The problem is that it doesn’t have the insatiable name power of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”.

“Belfast” – “Down To Joy” by Van Morrison. This reboot track is based on his own 1971 song, “Coming Down to Joy” and has a nice throwback feel to it. However, the original never made an award push of any kind and I don’t think the reboot is strong enough to make any leaps beyond the original’s zenith.

“No Time To Die” – “No Time To Die” by Billie Eilish has already won a Grammy and Golden Globe. When I first heard she was producing a song for the then unreleased film, I thought this win was a total lock. Even going up against Beyonce, I still think that.

“Four Good Days” – “Somehow You Do” by Diane Warren. Even with Reba McEntire on vocals, this simply isn’t memorable enough to get thirteen-time nominee Warren her first Oscar. #RecoveryMusic

SOUND (Combined Sound Editing and Sound Mixing Categories) –
“Belfast” – The family drama will have a hard row to hoe if it wants to compete with the category’s two frontrunners.

“Dune” – “He who controls the spice, controls the universe”. #BOOM!

“No Time To Die” – The littler of the two biggest booms.

“The Power of the Dog” – There’s something to be said for silence, but I can’t hear it over all the bombast of Dune and West Side Story.

“West Side Story” – I’d grumble some more about the film here because I think it deserves the recognition but…

VISUAL EFFECTS –
“Dune” – The most likely winner and the most serious film of the bunch. A win here even makes the voters look good.

“Free Guy” – It won’t win but this is my personal favorite of the year and quite possibly, the busiest, effectually speaking.

“No Time To Die” – Nor is there any “time for Love, Dr. Jones”.

“Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings” – Of the two Marvel films nominated this year, this is the least likely to be shown any further attention. After almost thirty films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I think voters are looking for something different to be impressed by and this film delivers a lot of the same old same old.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” – This is basically a two-way race between Spider-Man and Dune with Marvel’s effects, and films, the most familiar and therefore easier to overlook.

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM –
“Drive My Car” – This Japanese drama has been nominated in both the Best International Film and Best Film category. I can’t possibly see how the film loses out on this International award.

“Flee” – The multi-categorical film from Denmark has made Oscar history by being nominated in three notably varied categories. Unfortunately, I don’t see this jack-of-all-trades being strong enough to win any of them.

“The Hand of God” – From Italy’s Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty), comes one of my favorite films of the year. How that stacks up against the two multi-category nominations of Drive My Car and Flee remains to be seen but divine intervention seems unlikely.

“Lunana: A Yak In the Classroom” – I didn’t get to see this film but if you watch the trailer, you’ll want to watch the film. It’s cinematography alone captures the beauty found in Bhutan, while the cast and storyline appear to be able to capture your heart. It won’t be enough to capture an Oscar but looks to be a very memorable film.

“The Worst Person In the World” – From Norway comes this romantic “I love him/I love him not” dramedy with an impressive vibe. Nominated for two Oscars this year, it’s at the top of my list to screen after the Oscars.

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE) –
“Ascension” – A bit of an education on the Chinese blue-collar work force. The ultimately narrative-less film looks great, is alternatingly interesting and dull but not noticeably impactful either way. I’m not sure exactly what the film’s point was, but I am sure it’s a long shot to win the Oscar.

“Attica” – This recounting of the Attica prison riot of 1971 is a sometimes difficult but fantastic watch. Loaded with archival footage and interviews with former inmates/participants, the film might currently rank around third place; but damn…

“Flee” – I’d have to think that if this film has a chance at scoring on one of its three nominations, it would be here. But I’m betting that splitting its genre type will have a splitting effect on voters.

“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” – According to IMDB, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompspn’s documentary showcasing the 1969 Harlem Music Festival has fifty-eight wins and a total of fifty-one nominations, that must mean at least one of those seven extra wins comes from the Academy.

“Writing With Fire” – This was one of the few films I didn’t get to see this year. I’m not sure that hurts me here though.

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT) –
“Audible” – Netflix’s first Short Subject award contender follows an entirely deaf football team at a Maryland high school. Through sports and interpersonal relationships Oscar voters learn about the struggles, strengths, and sadness of a group of youths that just might win Oscar gold.

“Lead Me Home” – Netflix’s second Short Subject award contender this year examines the homeless crisis in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle from 2017 to 2020. It’s a perfectly dour film with no basic narrative, relying instead on a host of talking heads and striking images that help create a confounding sense of hopelessness. #KudosForEmpathy but #OscarDontWannaFeelBadThisYear

“The Queen of Basketball” – This wonderfully surprising sports doc concerns Luisa Harris, a three-time A.I.A.W. winning and professional basketball hall-of-famer. Luisa is the only woman to have ever been officially drafted by an NBA team, the New Orleans Jazz, and the film clearly depicts why that’s the case. It’s a stunningly entertaining film loaded with archival footage and interviews with the endearingly humorous Olympic silver-medalist Lusia herself. It’s a shame they won’t be able to give her the Oscar in person.

“Three Songs For Benazir” – In a camp for people displaced by war in Kabul, Afghanistan the shy and giggle-prone Benazir, along with her equally playful husband, Shaista, eek out a living. The film fails to give its somewhat surprising plot points time to develop into a more fulfilling narrative, and thus award honors here. That’s a shame too because its characters are so interesting.

• Quote of Note:
“I will carry out a suicide attack on this food.”

“When We Were Bullies” – I wasn’t able to screen the film, and I didn’t hear enough, if any, good things to warrant the work to do so.

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATION) –
“Affairs of the Art” – The New Yorker favorite bears a wonderful pencil-animation style similar to the comics in the magazine. The story itself is life-affirmingly dark and concerns a woman’s memories about her creative fascination, bizarre family, dead animals, and missed opportunities. Worth the watch but I don’t expect it to win.

“Bestia” – Ummm…No.

“Boxballet” – Couldn’t find a copy to watch at the time of writing but there are other contenders to consider so…

“Robin Robin” – Aardman Animation studios (Wallace & Gromit) strike Oscar gold with this animated short that sees a family of mice raising a misplaced robin who suffers an identity crisis. With a handful of good songs and voice talent like Bronte Carmichael (Cristopher Robin), Emmy winner Gillian Anderson (The Crown), Academy Award nominee Richard E Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), and BAFTA film nominee Adeel Akhtar (Ali & Ava) this is the odds-on favorite.

“The Windshield Wiper” – To me, this is the best animated and most thematically delivered film of the bunch. It took me a bit to warm up to it, but once I did (and this was before the brilliantly used We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow by Soko), it was all love, love, love, Baby.

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) –
“Ala Kachuu – Take And Run” – I didn’t get to see the film concerning bride-kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and I’m a sadder man because of it. The trailers look riveting, and Maria Brendle is a talented filmmaker, but even with twenty wins on the festival circuit, I think The Long Goodbye is too tough to beat.

“The Dress” – Didn’t get to see it but I’m not really worried though. I mean, I’ve heard good things about it and the trailer showcases a story that warrants a watch, in my eyes, but this category is already decided.

“The Long Goodbye” – Riz Ahmed will find himself on the Oscar stage for this short film based on his own song/poem, Where You From. The film is un-denyingly as fast, chaotic, and impactfully sobering as Ahmed’s lyrics, and stands firmly as a direct and immersive award-winning statement.

“On My Mind” – This little ditty about life and death has a real bright spot, the kind that brings happy tears, but it doesn’t show up until the final minute of the film. Regardless, it rings true with a strong sense of hope in a hopeless situation, I’m not so sure it rings in Oscar gold though.

“Please Hold” – This timely satire of the criminal justice system was unavailable for viewing but is getting enough notable buzz that it should be on audiences, and ultimately voter’s, radar as one to see. I wouldn’t be surprised if most viewings took place after the ceremony though.

Wow! This was a better list of films than I had originally thought they were. Prior to screening many of the nominees I had missed throughout the year, I was struggling with picking a Top 5 worthy of listing. That’s all changed now, and barring a dud or two, I can now confidently recommend the heck out of some films from 2021.

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