2017 Oscars – Dear Oscar, Please Don’t Forget…
The ballots have officially been sent out to members of the Academy for them to vote on what they think are the best movies and performances for the 2017 Oscars. So, I am going to take the time to remind the Academy of some performances and movies they should remember before they send in their ballots. These are going to be movies that have actual awards potential and not just random movies I loved. So here we go, here are some movies and performances I would love to hear get a nominated at the 2017 Oscars.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – THE NICE GUYS
This is one of the biggest travesties of 2016. The Nice Guys is a brilliant movie in every way and is not getting the recognition is deserves. It is smart, funny, intense, and perfectly written. Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi made a perfect neo-noir, filled with twists and turns and a perfect balance of action and comedy. The Nice Guys is one of the best movies of the year and its script is easily worthy of awards consideration.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
Nocturnal Animals is one of the wildest, darkest movies of 2016. The way Tom Ford made the film, along with the great editing, makes for a chilling, unforgettable film. With how this movie plays out, jumping back and forth between current time and the book our main character is reading, is probably easier to layout, but still complicated, so the fact that Ford made is seem so effortlessly shows true genius.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – KATE MCKINNON in GHOSTBUSTERS
The Academy has rewarded supporting comedy turns before, most recently in 2011 with Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids. Ghostbusters get solid reviews and made decent money at the box office, even with all the hate surrounding it around the internet. Though the movie did have it’s haters, one thing everyone agreed on was Kate McKinnon’s performance as nuclear engineer, Jillian Holtzman. McKinnon, who’s been a standout on Saturday Night Live! for years now, steals this movie. Holtzman is as weird as she is brilliant and McKinnon rocks it with both physicality, great timing, and hilarious facial cues. I doubt a lot of Academy members will even give Ghostbusters a look, but they’re missing out on comedy greatness.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – ALDEN EHRENREICH in HAIL, CAESAR!
The Coen Brothers are known for their iconic characters. From The Dude, to Anton Chigurh, to Llewyn Davis, they write brilliant, unique characters and perfectly cast them. Hobie Doyle is destined to become one of those characters, and that is in large part thanks to the star-making performance of Alden Ehrenreich. This was the first film I saw Ehrenreich in, so I didn’t know how much of stretch Doyle was for him. But then I saw him in the dreadful Rules Don’t Apply and seeing him in that movie only made this performance that much better. Ehrenreich plays the dimwitted Doyle perfectly, giving us an unlimited charm and sweetness. He always wants to do his best and help where he can, even if he can’t do everything. I was laughing my ass of watching this performance and would love to see more Hobbie Doyle in the future.
BEST ACTRESS – JESSICA CHASTAIN in MISS SLOANE
Jessica Chastain, you’ve done it again. Miss Sloane has gone criminally unseen this year, and that is a shame, because you’re missing out on one of the best performances from one of the best actresses working today. Chastain is ferocious. She makes Elizabeth Sloane is a sharp, brutal, cold lobbyist, similar to that of a spear in the winter. She’ll go right for the throat in order to win. She’s strong, smart, and will not be bullied by anyone and Chastain owns all of her. Sloane is easily one of the best performances of the year and one of the best characters to grace the screen in 2016.
BEST ACTOR – RYAN REYNOLDS for DEADPOOL
Yeah, that’s right, Ryan Reynolds. He’s already nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical, so why can’t he grab an Oscar nomination? He deserves it, after all. Nobody in 2016 owned a role or a movie more than Reynolds did with Deadpool. This was a passion project for Reynolds for almost a decade and it was worth the wait, because the movie is perfect. They got everything right, from the breaking of the fourth wall, to the sarcasm, to the bloody violence. But all of that wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Reynolds. He is everything Deadpool should be and makes you love the cursing, violent, insane Merc with the Mouth. I can’t wait to see Deadpool sequels and think Reynolds easily gives one of the best performances of 2016.
BEST DIRECTOR – JEFF NICHOLS for LOVING or MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
This was a tough choice, as I almost went with Nate Parker for The Birth of a Nation. But, Nichols deserves some long overdue recognition for his excellent work in 2016. It’s rare for a director to drop two directorial efforts in one year. It’s even more rare for both of the films to be great, and that’s exactly what we got with Nichols, two great, different movies. Both films prove why Nichols is one of the best today. They are assured, calculated, technically perfect films that are big on scale, yet intimate in story. Loving, Nichols best bet at a nomination, is about simplicity of love between a man and a woman in the middle of a civil rights case that changed America forever. Midnight Special is about family and doing what’s best for them against a sci-fi background with government agents and alien children. These are both great efforts and Nichols should, no, NEEDS to be rewarded for them.
BEST PICTURE – THE BIRTH OF A NATION
What has happened to The Birth of a Nation is a cinematic tragedy. Since it’s rocking debut at Sundance, Nate Parker’s hot-blooded directorial debut was one destined for Oscar gold, and rightly should. However, due to controversy over Parker’s past, the movie has all but been forgotten, and that is a shame, because this is easily one of the best movies of the year. This is a powerful, moving, thrilling film and an astounding debut. It tells a story that needed to be told and tells it with such passion and technical skill. The Academy was able to look over Roman Polanski and Woody Allen’s past to give them Oscars, but will they do it for Parker? No, because he’s not “one of the boys”. The Birth of a Nation is one of the greatest debut films I have ever seen and deserves a Best Picture nomination.
What movies and performances do you think deserve recognition at the 2017 Oscars? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook and YouTube by searching Kevflix.