My rant against the Academy (2013 edition)

Well, the Oscar nominations were announced today, and once again, the Academy made a lot of snubs in each category. It’s no surprise, since this happens every year, but I feel this year is a lot more noticeable. Sure, we don’t have the nomination of pretentious junk like “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” in the Best Picture category, but, good lord, the Academy got so much wrong.

For the second year in a row, my favorite film of the past year was not nominated for Best Picture. I’m glad to see “The Master” get some acting nods, but leaving it out of the Best Picture category is a complete joke. The fact that P.T. Anderson wasn’t nominated for directing is a joke, too. I didn’t think I’d have to write this since they loved Anderson in the past (“There Will be Blood”), but I guess I’m wrong again. Thanks, Academy.

Unlike the snub for “Drive” last year, the snub for “The Master” may not come as much of a shock to many people. It’s a very divisive film, and fellow Examiners Jason Roestel and Joe Belcastro were among those who didn’t like it. So, I might be the odd one out in this category.

As for the Best Picture nominees, it looks like they stuck with nine for the second year in a row. They could do 10, but they chose to go with nine. I do like the list of nominees, but I haven’t seen “Amour” or “Silver Linings Playbook.” I could also do without “Les Miserables.” It was good, but it wasn’t great.

I’m a little upset that “Moonrise Kingdom” didn’t get any love in the Best Picture category, nor did it get any attention in other categories. The Best Original Screenplay nod was nice, but it deserved more than just that nomination.

“Django Unchained” and Christoph Waltz were both nominated and rightfully so. But where the hell are the nominations for Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jamie Foxx? They were all incredible, and they deserve some kind of recognition. DiCaprio, especially, has gotten the shaft by the Academy in the past five years. They nominate him for “Blood Diamond” (not his best film), but they don’t even bother when he gives his best performance to date. It’s completely absurd.

The biggest snub would have to be Ben Affleck. His latest film, “Argo,” got nominated for Best Picture, but, like Tarantino, he was left out of the Best Director category. He’s not the only one. Kathryn Bigelow did a fantastic job with “Zero Dark Thirty,” and she got nothing. Tom Hooper made “Les Miserables” look absolutely stunning, even if it was far from great. He got nothing. The picture got nominated, but the Academy didn’t bother to nominate him.

I didn’t see very many movies, but I feel I made a valid argument for how badly the Academy screwed up this year. It happens every year, and it is starting to become rather obnoxious. This rant isn’t as lengthy as my previous one, because I feel I’ve already vented enough. If I continue, I'll probably pop a blood vessel.

The Oscars are a complete joke.

Detroit Movie Examiner Tom Santilli goes into greater detail, since he has seen more movies. Read his article here.