2020 Oscar Nominations

My 2019 showing (11 of 19), and most notably, 5 for 5 in the Best Picture and acting categories was one of my best years for predictions. It’s been a slow year for movie watching as I continue to struggle with a literal pain in my neck, and with only about a month a only a handful of nominated films already watched, I have my work cut out for me. As in most years, I plan to be posting reviews, my favourites and my picks to win in most of the major categories.

At broadcast time, you can also follow me on Twitter at MiNG Movie Reviews. I’ll be tweeting live from the JAG Hotel, to see what, if any, of my predictions come to pass. Check back to this post periodically for updates, and feel free to post any criticisms, or your own picks. The 2020 Academy Awards airs Sunday February 9th, 2020 (Klaus Ming January 2020).

Picture
FORD V FERRARI – the “kid” subplot was unnecessary
THE IRISHMAN – too long and rambling
JOJO RABBIT – my favourite film of the lot
JOKER – The film that should win
LITTLE WOMEN – pretty film, but not my cup of tea
MARRIAGE STORY – No! A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood deserved this nomination.
1917 – My Pick to Win
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – entertaining but a bit silly
PARASITE – an original and entertaining film – Winner! 0/1

Director
THE IRISHMAN – Martin Scorsese
JOKER – Todd Phillips – The Director that should win
1917 – Sam Mendes – My Pick to Win
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE – Bong Joon Ho – Winner! 0/2

Actor
Antonio Banderas in PAIN AND GLORY – a subtle performance
Leonardo DiCaprio in ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD
Adam Driver in MARRIAGE STORY – does his best with what he’s given.
Joaquin Phoenix in JOKER – Easily the best performance and My Pick to Win – Winner! 1/3
Jonathan Pryce in THE TWO POPES – great performance – but why not Hopkins?

Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks in A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD – a great performance, but stiff competition.
Anthony Hopkins in THE TWO POPES – a big role that should have been nominated as Best Actor
Al Pacino in THE IRISHMAN
Joe Pesci in THE IRISHMAN
Brad Pitt in ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – my favourite and My Pick to Win – Winner! 2/4

Actress
Cynthia Erivo in HARRIET – a heartfelt performance
Scarlett Johansson in MARRIAGE STORY – I hope not!
Saoirse Ronan in LITTLE WOMEN – underwhelming
Charlize Theron in BOMBSHELL – very strong
Renée Zellweger in JUDY – seems to be the favourite and My Pick to Win – Winner! 3/5

Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates in RICHARD JEWELL – a fine sympathetic performance
Laura Dern in MARRIAGE STORY – argh! – Winner! 3/6
Scarlett Johansson in JOJO RABBIT – My Pick to Win
Florence Pugh in LITTLE WOMEN
Margot Robbie in BOMBSHELL

Cinematography
THE IRISHMAN – Rodrigo Prieto
JOKER – Lawrence Sher – a great retro look and feel
THE LIGHTHOUSE – Jarin Blaschke – reminds me of a Guy Maddin film and the film and is my favourite
1917 – Roger Deakins – a great looking film with plenty of realism and My Pick to win – Winner! 4/7
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – Robert Richardson

Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari – Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker – Winner! 4/8
The Irishman – Thelma Schoonmaker
Jojo Rabbit – Tom Eagles – should win
Joker – Jeff Groth
Parasite – Yang Jin-mo – My Pick to Win

Production Design
THE IRISHMAN – Production Design: Bob Shaw; Set Decoration: Regina Graves
JOJO RABBIT – Production Design: Ra Vincent; Set Decoration: Nora Sopková
1917 – Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales – the film that should win, and My Pick to Win
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – Production Design: Barbara Ling; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh – Winner! 4/9
PARASITE – Production Design: Lee Ha Jun; Set Decoration: Cho Won Woo

Costume Design
THE IRISHMAN – Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson
JOJO RABBIT – Mayes C. Rubeo
JOKER – Mark Bridges
LITTLE WOMEN – Jacqueline Durran – the film that should win, and My Pick to Win – Winner! 5/10
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – Arianne Phillips

Adapted Screenplay
THE IRISHMAN – Steven Zaillian – attempts to do too much
JOJO RABBIT – Taika Waititi – this should win – but will be a close second to LW – Winner! 5/11
JOKER – Todd Phillips & Scott Silver – interesting take
LITTLE WOMEN – Greta Gerwig – what a mess! but is My Pick to Win
THE TWO POPES – Anthony McCarten – I never would have thought that this would make for a good movie

Original Screenplay
KNIVES OUT – Rian Johnson – lots of fun
MARRIAGE STORY – Baumbach – Yeah, not so much.
1917 – Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns – surprised at this nomination – not much to see here.
ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD – Quentin Tarantino – unusual
PARASITE – Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won – should win and My Pick to Win – Winner! 6/12

Documentary
AMERICAN FACTORY – Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert – My Pick to Win – Winner 7/13
THE CAVE – Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær
THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY – Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris and Tiago Pavan
FOR SAMA – Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
HONEYLAND – Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Atanas Georgiev – the doc that should win