Oscars Recap

The Oscars did nothing surprising. I can honestly say that I predicted every single thing that would be awarded so I am disappointed, but I am not surprised.

Leading Actor

Won: Michael B. Jordan

What Should Have Won: Michael B. Jordan

I am a little surprised that the Academy had the common sense to give him this. It was so clearly his, it truly wasn’t a competition. But I have so little faith in the Academy I thought maybe he might get screwed over, I’m glad I was wrong. Truly no one deserved it more.

Supporting Actor

Won: Sean Penn

What Should Have Won: Delroy or Benicio

What I find truly hilarious is that much of the discourse surrounding One Battle After Another is that the film treats people of color like props…and then they nominated a man of color and a white boy from the same movie. Add in how that discourse interacts with the Sinners discourse (namely how Sinners is an actual critique of race relations while One Battle is surface level at best) and we get Delroy's nomination…and we see both men of color lose to the white man in the white man movie…interesting.

Actress

Won: Jessie Buckley

What Should Have Won: Jessie Buckley

I’ve been saying it for months now that if she didn’t win this it would be a fucking daylight highway robbery and I was right. No one deserved any award that night more than Jessie deserved this.

Supporting Actress

Won: Amy Madigan

What Should Have Won: Anyone’s Game

This was sort of an open category, literally everyone did so amazing in their roles in their movies, I don’t think you can really say anyone deserved it more. This whole category was stacked.

Casting

Won: One Battle After Another

What Should Have Won: Hamnet

Sorry Sinners, the casting was, of course, fantastic but Hamnet wouldn’t have worked without this exact cast. I can think of dozens of actors that could have done incredible in Sinners, but Hamnet was so specific that if 1 singular person was different it would have been a different movie.

Adapted Screenplay

Won: One Battle After Another

Literally kill me, shouldn’t have even been in the conversation. The fact that this screenplay won against Hamnet and Bugonia is actually the most ridiculous thing that’s ever happened. I literally hate everyone involved in this decision. Disgusting.

What Should Have Won : Hamnet

People’s defense against the criticisms that One Battle After Another faced was that it's satire. Except for the fun fact that it wasn’t written well enough to be labeled satire. Hamnet however left no room for debate or discussion. And every single word was necessary and held emotion. I also would have accepted literally anything that wasn’t One Battle After Another so they made the only wrong choice.

Original Screenplay

Won: Sinners

What Should Have Won: Sinners

Seriously, how was anything else ever a question? Look last year was incredible for film, it really was, but Sinners was truly in a league of its own. The writing and direction especially was unparalleled.

I love the in memoriam section of the Oscars. Now don’t get me wrong it makes me extremely sad, but I believe it's the only honest section of the awards show. It's the only honest acknowledgement of the weight of film and the impact of the people that make it. The actual awards have biases that confuse the results. But the in memoriam section is the only one that genuinely celebrates creation and connection.

Production Design

Won: Frankenstein

I’m not actually super against this win, I think it was sort of inevitable that Frankenstein got some technical awards. And the production design for Frankenstein was incredible.

What Should have Won: Sinners

I just think Sinners deserved basically everything it was nominated for. The only movie that should have slowed it down was Hamnet so I am a little salty about it.

Visual Effects

Won: Avatar Fire and Ice

What Should Have Won: Avatar Fire and Ice

Look, the story sucks. James Cameron is an interesting guy who has absolutely revolutionized the film industry, he's not a good storyteller. The plot and dialogue of this franchise is horrendous however the VFX is the only thing it's good for.

Directing

Won: Paul Thomas Anderson

What Should Have Won: Ryan Coogler or Chloe Zhao

Obviously I think Ryan Coogler should win this one, the Juke scene alone should have won him this. I think it's ridiculous that they keep awarding people who are “overdue”. It also always happens at the expense of a more deserving person of color and that’s not a coincidence. Jamie Lee Curtis winning over Stephenie Hsu AND Angela Bassett…mkay. This feels the same to me.

Original Song

Won: Golden

What Should Have Won: I Lied to You

Golden wasn’t even the best song in KPop Demon Hunters so this category is literally a joke. This is a category that is wrong more often than it's right. No one voting in this category has any idea what they are doing.

Best Picture

Won: One Battle After Another

What Should Have Won: Sinners

I’m actually angry. Take out all of the other options, the only other film that could even be in this conversation is Hamnet and I think it was simply too cerebral for people and that’s fine. But for Sinners; the very clear, well executed racial commentary about how white people have historically stolen art from black people and then villainized them to be put up against One Battle After Another; the white man movie about and by and centered on white men that used poc as props and for this to win? It's not just a matter of which movie was better. This isn’t about my fav getting snubbed, it shows a seriously disturbing, truly harmful pattern of behavior from the academy and it's really gross.

And for those of you who are thinking "who cares, awards don't matter", this is your friendly reminder that they matter to the industry. Meaning they turn into funding and faith. If you've got awards behind you as a director or writer you are far more liekly to be able to fund and create future projects. Awards are EXTREMELY important to the people making these movies, so yes they are important to those of us that watch them as well.