The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations for the 95th Oscars on Tuesday. There wasn’t a whole lot to get too mad about. Seven of the 10 Best Picture nominees made my own top 10 list, a first. I still don’t understand voters’ obsession with Elvis, but at least they didn’t nominate Tom Hanks for his baffling turn in it. And before you come for me on Twitter, I haven’t seen Till or The Woman King, so I can’t speak to how much of a travesty it is that neither leading lady was nominated. I also don’t know if To Leslie‘s shocking nomination for Best Actress is honoring a hidden gem or merely succumbing to peer pressure.
Biggest Snubs (in order from most to least egregious)
Decision to Leave – Picture, Directing, Actress, Original Screenplay, International Feature, Cinematography
Park Chan-wook’s thriller was one of the best movies from any country in any language last year. While it faced an uphill battle to break through in the major categories (and Cinematography), I’m absolutely baffled as to how it was shortlisted for International Feature but didn’t make the final five. It’s better than every movie in that category!
Triangle of Sadness – Supporting Actress
Ruben Östlund’s class satire got three deserving nominations. While many voters have clearly seen it and loved it enough to put it in Best Picture, they didn’t nominate Dolly de Leon, easily the best part of the movie.
Nope – Picture, Directing, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Visual Effects
Jordan Peele struck gold right out the gate with Get Out, picking up nods for Picture and Directing and a win for Best Original Screenplay. But his last two movies have blanked, despite no-brainer nominations like Best Actress for Us and those here for Nope. The lack of technical consideration, when this was one of the most expertly crafted movies of the year, especially hurts.
RRR – Picture, Directing, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound
We already knew it wasn’t going to get into the International Feature category, since India submitted Last Film Show instead. But the groundswell of support the film had throughout 2022 only resulted in one (well-deserved) nomination for Original Song.
Top Gun: Maverick – Cinematography
Easily the most head-scratching category of the day. Bardo and Empire of Light picked up their lone nods here. Both are from respected international DPs. I don’t think anyone was predicting Tár, either. But Maverick has shots I’ve been thinking about for years (since those first trailers dropped back in 2020), which is more than I can say for any of these nominees.