Oscar Snubs and Surprises

Hot Takes on the Academy Awards

By Colin Macgillivray, Staff Writer

Ladies and gentleman, I have a bone to pick with the Academy Awards. I am full of piss and vinegar. My blood is boiling, and I feel the need to complain. For some unfathomable reason, quite possibly the worst film of 2016, Suicide Squad, has been nominated for an Oscar. Suicide Squad could possibly be one of the worst films of the decade, yet somehow it managed to garner the same amount of nominations as Martin Scorcese’s religious epic Silence. I will not stand for this. So here are my Top 5 Objective Snubs and Surprises of the 89th Academy Awards.

This is the one that hurts me the most. Martin Scorcese’s passion project that had been in development for 26 years only managed to secure one nomination this year for Best Cinematography. Not only was the film’s cinematography superb, but its direction, acting and writing were all top tier. Silence stands up against some of Scorcese’s finest works, as the film is a thoughtful, compelling, emotional story that can basically be summed up into “What does it mean to do the right thing?” Andrew Garfield’s nuanced performance as a broken jesuit priest went miles above his corny accent and teary eyes in Hacksaw Ridge, the film he was actually nominated for. In turn, both Adam Driver and Liam Neeson could have gotten nods from the Academy for their performances, but perhaps the biggest snub was Japanese actor Issey Ogata, for his haunting and flamboyant performance as the Japanese Inquisitor. Silence may have been a slog to get through and seem repetitive at times, but it was on par with some of the best films this year, and it is incredibly disheartening to see that it was largely ignored by the Academy.

I’m not mad at the Academy for this one, I’m just disappointed. Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge has been raved about since its release. Sure, it’s not a bad movie. The story is interesting, it has a positive message, but when compared to the other Best Picture nominations this year, it’s hard not to see Hacksaw Ridge as nothing more than a B-grade Oscar bait flick. Unfortunately, the films inclusion in both the Best Picture and Best Director category are seemingly nothing more than a disappointing act of forgiveness from the Academy towards Gibson and the despicable things he has said in the past. Barring all that, both Mel Gibson and Hacksaw Ridge won’t win any awards this year, and their spots could have easily been traded with the aforementioned Silence.

As bumbling baboon and overall terrible man Donald J. Trump once said, “Meryl Streep is one of the most overrated actresses of all time.” Donny is definitely wrong on that one, but Meryl Streep’s inclusion to the Best Actress category once again was not needed. She is the best actress of all time. We get it. With Streep now receiving her 20th nomination for her role in Foster Florence Jenkins, I think it is safe to say that the Academy could give someone else a chance? How about the incredibly talented Amy Adams? Now Adams has been nominated for an Oscar five times herself, but she has never won the big one. If Jennifer Lawrence has an Oscar, Amy Adams deserves at least 10. She could have been easily nominated for her performances in either Arrival or Nocturnal Animals, yet she was unfortunately pushed aside once again. It’s a classic case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride, but I truly believe Amy Adams has more than earned her shot at walking down the aisle.

Let me make something clear. Deadpool is an incredibly overrated movie. The writing was lazy, the action was underwhelming, and it became exactly what it said it wasn’t by the time the end credits rolled. But, whoever in the makeup department made Ryan Reynolds, one of the most handsome men on the planet, ugly deserves an Oscar nomination. Suicide Squad, on the other hand, doesn’t even deserve the time and effort I am putting into type this write now. The fact that a film that heinous made over 745 million dollars is sickening. The fact that it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling? Now that is downright criminal. But, if Suicide Squad wins an Oscar, I’ll be living in a world where one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen has the same amount of Oscars as Citizen Kane, and that’s pretty funny.

Snub: Silence for almost every category

Surprise: MEL GIBSON?!?

Snub/Surprise: Amy Adams and Meryl Streep

Snub/Surprise: Suicide Squad and Deadpool.