The 92nd Academy Award Nominations: Ranking the Oscar Nominees

Best Picture

1. Parasite ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
2. Little Women ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
3. 1917 ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
4. The Irishman ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
5. Jojo Rabbit ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
6. Ford v Ferrari ⭑⭑⭑⭑
7. Marriage Story ⭑⭑⭑⭑
8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ⭑⭑⭑⭑
9. Joker ⭑⭑

A pretty great lineup with one ugly fly in the ointment. As expected the epic grandeur of The Irishman, and 1917 made it in, and I'm so glad as they're fantastic entries into the gangster and war film genre respectively. Parasite too got in with ease which I couldn't be more overjoyed about. South Korea's first ever successful Oscar venture results in a Best Picture nomination, talk about making a splash! If you haven't seen it, less said about what happens in it the better. Also love that Taika Waititi's unique brand of comedy is being recognised by the Academy for the wonderful, heartrending Jojo Rabbit.

In my humble opinion, Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are imperfect films, but I still liked both a great deal and it's nice to see them get recognition; and I'm definitely in the minority here but while Ford v Ferrari may not be as awe-inspiring or unique as some of the other nominees, as a racing biopic it more than does the job as a fun, entertaining flick. As for Joker...I wish I could say I wholeheartedly embrace this lineup but I'm afraid I can't, and Joker is the reason why. Be warned if you're a Joker/Todd Phillips stan, it's about to get ugly. 

Best Director

1. Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
2. Sam Mendes, 1917
3. Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
4. Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Todd Phillips, Joker

Four of these nominees were pretty much locks prior to nomination day, and all deserving of their nods. Bong's terrific, tone-bending work on Parasite that's easily the best of the year, Scorsese doing what he does best but in an altogether more sobering and contemplative rumination on the gangster genre, and Mendes' powerful epic rendition of WWI in 1917 creating such a pulsating non-stop journey through the horrors of WWI. QT's loving tribute to 60's Hollywood is far from my favourite directorial work of his but he does have some great scenes in it like the Charles Manson sequence and the Bounty Law sequences to make up for it.  Todd Phillips' direction of Joker is essentially a BTEC Scorsese film school project that gets by through blatant plagiarism and EdGInEss. Just a piss poor nomination especially when they could've nominated Greta Gerwig , Noah Baumbach, or Taika Waititi.

Best Actor

1. Adam Driver, Marriage Story
2. Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
3. Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory 
4. Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes 
5. Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

It's the Driver v.s. Phoenix showdown now for performances worlds apart in terms of style and intent. I vastly prefer Driver's powerful understated turn as a self-interested director struggling to come to grips with his impending divorce than Phoenix's overly actor-y and bombastic turn which frankly pales in comparison to Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning work in the same role. But the latter has the higher ground now in terms of awards wins so...fuck. 

Sad to see Taron Egerton miss out for Rocketman. and very surprised that Christian Bale wasn't the surprise nominee from Ford v Ferrari but Jonathan Pryce and Antonio Banderas certainly give two very good performances and aptly rewarded veterans of the silver screen, and Pope and film director struggling with addiction are two Oscar friendly roles to be sure. DiCaprio makes his return to the Oscars after winning last time round for The Revenant, this time for a decidedly more lighthearted, breezy turn courtesy of Rick Fucking Dalton. I'm glad he got in since I'm always a big fan of when Leo relaxes and nourishes his great talent for comedy. 

Best Actress

1. Saoirse Ronan, Little Women 
2. Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story 
3. Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
4. Renee Zellweger, Judy
5. Charlize Theron, Bombshell

You've got the biopic love for Madams Theron and Zellweger and Megyn Kelly and Judy Garland, respectively, with the latter being close to a runaway winner this awards season. They're good but not great performances, which I'm not displeased got in, but there were so many more deserving candidates, I'm particularly vexed that we were deprived of what I think would have been the first Asian American nomination in the category for Awkwafina in The Farewell. 

On the plus side, Scarlett Johansson was an expected nod but every bit as deserving as Driver for her powerful portrayal of an actress struggling to get out the shadow of a constraining, unhappy marriage of unequal compromises. Erivo was a surprise for her performance as Harriet Tubman but I'm glad she was a double nominee tonight, it's a strong biopic performance that deserves the acclaim and support she's gotten for it. And lastly, my favourite actress working today Saoirse Ronan once again knocks it out of the ballpark in Little Women and I couldn't be happier. She is perfection as Jo March. 

Best Supporting Actor

1. Al Pacino, The Irishman
2. Joe Pesci, The Irishman
3. Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
4. Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes 
5. Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 

Okay, so Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins are two actors I do like a great deal, but neither of them give performances which I'd rank among their best here. Pitt is funny and entertaining as a mysterious stuntman particularly in his tripping on acid scene, and Hopkins is his usual dependable self as one half of the duo of popes, with his 'confessional' scene being pretty great. They're good performances but in a year with as many strong contenders I need more than 'good' to be happy with the nominations.

Pacino and Pesci are both sensational in The Irishman, the former giving an incredibly bombastic, thoroughly entertaining yet pathos-filled turn as larger-than-life Jimmy Hoffa and the latter delivering such cold menace as mob boss Russell Bufalino. Then there's Tom Hanks opposite these morally corrupt turns as ultimate nice fella Mr Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Suffice to say he nails it and it's a welcome return to the Oscars after a nearly two-decades long drought. 

Best Supporting Actress

1. Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
2. Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
3. Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
4. Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
5. Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Laura Dern is going to sweep. Fine, it's a more than decent performance but I can't say it was my main takeaway from the film. Good performance, great actress, but there's so many other more deserving performances. I honestly wasn't that impressed by Robbie in Bombshell, a lesser turn from her even though she's still more than adequate. The writing is somewhat to blame for the haphazard writing behind her character, but it's definitely a far step down from her portrayal of Tonya Harding. Scarlett Johansson getting two nominations is something I'd have never predicted this time last year, but she definitely deserves it, anyone who's seen Jojo Rabbit will agree with me that she is just a wonderful motherly presence in the film and makes my heart just feel warm thinking about her performance. 

Equally pleased with breakout star Florence Pugh for Little Women, her tricky balancing act of young and older Amy March was just magnificent and I love to see her nominated for her terrific work here. Absolutely shocked that Jennifer Lopez missed out for Hustlers and have to say that Kathy Bates for Richard Jewell is just a very standard filler Oscar nom. Decent motherly portrayal but I would have much rather seen Lopez or Zhao Shuzhen for The Farewell get in.

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Little Women 
2. The Irishman
3. Jojo Rabbit
4. The Two Popes 
5. Joker 

All I have towards Joker's screenplay are negative thoughts so I'll just leave it at that. Irishman and Steven Zaillian making his way through this category once again. He's an awards darling and this is a brilliant screenplay, the fact it's not my favourite in the category is testament to the strength of Gerwig's work on Little Women which is just outstanding in her taking the wonderful, classic source material and making it her own with a unique narrative structure, a real understanding of the characters, and such beautiful little touches of her own style.

I'm so glad Taika Waititi is finally a nominee for one of his screenplays, especially one with a history as long and tumultuous as this one, and while it's not his best work to date, I'm glad its ambition and daring was acknowledged, as well as just being one of the funniest scripts of the year. And another year, another Anthony McCarten biopic screenplay, though I will say this one is more than decent as a very low-key character study/two-hander drama between, well, two popes. Looks like that little hand-slap fiasco didn't kill its chances in the end. 

Best Original Screenplay

1. Parasite 
2. Marriage Story 
3. 1917
4. Knives Out
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 

Hate that The Farewell got snubbed here and that's the last time I'll mention that film (still fuming though). Marriage Story and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the locks for category are strong works by Noah Baumbach and Quentin Tarantino, the former being possibly his best work despite the presence of some truly unfunny caricatures, granting a truly vivid, often funny and often heartbreaking, and most importantly even-handed look at divorce proceedings. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is actually rather on the lower tier of Tarantino screenplays, in my opinion. Having said that it's still well-written, punchy, plenty of colourful characters, but is somewhat forgettable especially when compared to say, The Hateful Eight which was snubbed couple of years ago. 

Knives Out is a fun mystery film that pieces together its tricksy little puzzle rather well and is full of laughs and memorable lines. It's not one of the all-time great mystery film screenplays but it's very good. Parasite's screenplay is a brilliant puzzle put together in such an unassuming way that's hysterical and haunting in equal measure though not in the way you'd expect, with such a strong vein of social commentary implemented so seamlessly into the narrative. So much life found not just in the characters themselves but in the margins of the plot, so much going on and is all pieced together in the end so beautifully. And lastly, 1917 is a film where it's easy to overlook the screenplay but it's great work in itself in granting such a vivid realism to the exchanges between the soldiers and its tight knit plotting which is essential to the film working as well as it does.

Best Cinematography

1. 1917
2. The Lighthouse
3. The Irishman
4. Joker
5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Just two years after winning for Blade Runner 2049, 1917 brings Roger Deakins back to the Oscars with a resounding bang. Marvellous work that like his work on 2049 is both beautiful to look at and essential to the film's storytelling technique. There's so much to commend firstly in the camera movements conveying the film's 'continuous shot' intentions, which always feels natural and immersive to the experience, and when he gets his chance to tip his hand a bit and 'show off' so to speak, we're conjured up with some downright gorgeous scenes. On that note I hated Joker but I will admit that Lawrence Sher's cinematography is absolutely outstanding, even if its purposed for some fairly unengaging scenes the colour palette is outstanding in every frame.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not Robert Richardson's finest hour, it's good don't get me wrong, but lacks a bit of that extra panache I've come to expect from Tarantino's work, especially in the use of colours and lighting which is definitely a step down from their previous collaborations in that it just doesn't feel as dynamic, like I'd say I much preferred the palette for Django Unchained and especially The Hateful Eight if I'm honest. Likewise for Rodrigo Prieto and The Irishman though his work on it is still very strong, particularly when it comes to the camera movements and some standalone shots like that final scene, but I'd say with both films the set design, costumes and really everything within the frame is what captures your attention more than how the film is framed itself. Lastly, The Lighthouse. I'll discuss this more in depth in the near future as so much of it ties into how well it amplifies the performances and the atmosphere of the film but here's an inspired nomination that beautifully shows just how to pull of the Gothic. 

Best Film Editing

1. Parasite
2. The Irishman
3. Ford v Ferrari
4. Jojo Rabbit
5. Joker

Parasite is easily the best edited film of the year, as is customary for Bong Joon-ho it's firing on all fronts in this regard particularly in each and every beautiful montage. 'Belt of Faith'. Each scene is just perfectly paced, constructed, goes together so well. Likewise for The Irishman which is deliberately paced very slowly through the nostalgic lens and it's really grand in that regard, I absolutely love some of Thelma Schoonmaker's more overt touches this time round with the jarring cuts which are often brilliant. Jojo Rabbit is a very well paced film, unshowy in this regard but very good, and Ford v Ferrari is sensational in its racing sequences particularly the Le Mans sequence entirely, even though the film on the whole definitely could've been trimmed down a bit. Again Joker is BTEC Scorsese and that extends to the editing which is BTEC Schoonmaker. Not good work. 

Best Costume Design

1. Little Women
2. Jojo Rabbit
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. The Irishman
5. Joker

I have to say this is a pretty good lineup, can't complain too much, particularly with the gorgeous period costumes of Little Women and the crazy zany takes on various outfits in 1940s Germany for Jojo Rabbit, which make for some great gags across the film as well as just looking splendid. Likewise Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, everything the characters wear 'in character' or in 'real life', and this is one unimpeachable element of every Tarantino film. Joker has good costumes too, his final outfit is pretty great. 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Bombshell
2. 1917
3. Joker
4. Judy

Haven't seen Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and nor do I intend to. That's that. 

Bombshell definitely deserves this for its very accurate recreations of Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson and Roger Alies from the team behind Gary Oldman's makeup in Darkest Hour. Joker's makeup is...fine I guess? As far as Jokers go I'll admit to always having an added bit of affinity for more daring takes that payoff like Heath Ledger's grungy makeup and hair design which this does feel a bit derivative of. At least Phoenix didn't have DAMAGED tattooed across his forehead and his final 'transformation' is well done. Judy is solid biopic work, I appreciate they didn't try to do too much to Zellweger like Rami Malek's mouthpiece last year for Bohemian Rhapsody, settling for some fairly straightforward but good makeup and hairstyling to recreate her likeness. And 1917 is just great straightforward war film work with the wounds and scars, great stuff. 

Best Production Design

1. 1917
2. Parasite
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. The Irishman 
5. Jojo Rabbit

The nominees all create their respective environments so wonderfully well, whether by set craftsmanship or location work. Adored 1917 in its amazing detailed look at warfare and the ruins of No Man's Land, the destroyed village, honestly everything the camera looks over is terrible, and I mean that in the greatest complimentary way. Parasite is all about creating that class divide between the impoverished basement and the wealthy house, and each is crafted magnificently by the set design, while The Irishman too has such memorable mobster hangouts in each locale.Once Upon a Time in Hollywood too is grand from the streets of Hollywood to the recreated sets, and I do have a particular affection for the creepiness created by the design of Spahn ranch. Jojo Rabbit's set design is probably the least impressive of this lot but still great, in particular the household of Jojo and the use of colours to contrast with the grey of the streets. 

Best Sound Editing

1. 1917
2. Ford v Ferrari
3. The Rise of Skywalker
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
5. Joker

Best Sound Mixing

1. 1917
2. Ad Astra
3. Ford v Ferrari
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
5. Joker

It's a shame that the amazing work in The Lighthouse couldn't get into the categories here but 1917 is more than an adequate recompense for that snub, as it goes beyond the call of duty for even a war film to grant such an immersive, thrilling ride through Schofield and Blake's ears. Likewise for Ford v Ferrari and how each race pulsates through your ears so wonderfully. Star Wars getting in agin, okay, fine, it's dependable Star Wars work as usual, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Joker have okay-ish sound work that's far from prime QT in this regard (nothing on par with the equivalent work in say Basterds or the Kill Bill films), and Joker I honestly think the awards in this regard have gone to its subway scene which is a great sequence in that regard, otherwise I don't see why it's nomination was needed. Ad Astra is a pleasant surprise as it achieves the usual expected excellence of a space film sound mix and nails it. 

Best Visual Effects

1. 1917
2. The Irishman
3. Avengers: Endgame
4. The Rise of Skywalker
5. The Lion King

1917's immaculate visual effects work is so good you couldn't tell it was there and you really feel you're in the war zone with every plane crash, and all that. It's great that The Irishman was recognised here for its excellent, if still not flawless, ageing/de-ageing effects, particularly for Pacino and Pesci. Endgame and Rise of Skywalker are all decent standard Disney visual effects levels with a few faults here or there but nothing I can criticise too much, and while I wasn't a fan of the overt photorealism of The Lion King but I do have to commend the VFX animators for trying it out. Much preferred the approach in The Jungle Book a few years previous. 

Best Original Score

1. 1917
2. Little Women
3. Marriage Story 
4. Joker
5. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

HELLO NEWMAN! (note: the only way I know this Seinfeld reference is from an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm). I swear, I swear if Thomas Newman doesn't win his well-deserved first Oscar for 1917, I swear...it's magnificent grandiose work, particularly in that amazing 'Sixteen Hundred Men', and the quieter tracks are all brilliant too. Marriage Story is pretty much a Randy Newman Toy Story score implemented into a live-action film. Now that could come across as overly saccharine but frankly I thought it was a great choice, as essentially 'comfortable' and often sweet music to accompany a range of emotions, and while I do think Noah Baumbach could've held back on its use in certain scenes it did give me an emotional kick. Hildur Guðnadóttir's work on Joker is undoubtedly a solid score, atmospheric and does actually help to convey a lot more substance than the film actually has. Having said that I don't think it's a great score, particularly when it comes to its implementation within the film, and I have to say it does pale a bit in comparison to Zimmer/Newton Howard's work on the Joker score in The Dark Knight. And Alexandre Desplat's work on Little Women is playful, fun, and just outright loveable and a very deserving nod in a great year, and drew a laugh, a tear, on several accords. As for Star Wars...okay. The main Star Wars theme is great as always and that's that. 

Need to see/hear more from Best Original Song (though so long as either Elton John and Bernie Taupin get to strut onstage, or Cynthia Erivo completes the EGOT, I'm happy. Both songs are just wonderful 'end credits' tributes to their respective films, catchy and vibrant and upbeat with regards to the former and rather powerful and heartrending with regards to the latter), Best International Feature Film, Best Animated Feature Film, Best Animated Short Film, Best Documentary Feature (though Apollo 11 was snubbed), Best Documentary Short Subject and Best Live Action Short Film before I can comment fully.