From #OscarsSoWhite and low ratings in the past few years to all of this year's fiascos—like who's hosting (no one), the length of the broadcast (it's shorter) and the "best popular film" award (which was a thing and now it isn't)—the Oscars are already a mess. But we're discussing all of it and talking about the 2019 nominees because at the end of the day, we do think the Oscars matter.
We’re 88Nine’s Justin Barney and Milwaukee Film’s Kpolly. We’re buds, we like cinema—we’re Cinebuds.
Read more and listen to the full podcast episode below to hear about the Oscar nominees, our predictions on what will likely happen on Sunday (and what we wish would actually happen).
2019 Oscars roundup
Best Actor
The nominees: Christian Bale for “Vice,” Bradley Cooper for “A Star Is Born,” Willem Dafoe for “At Eternity’s Gate," Rami Malek for “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Viggo Mortensen for “Green Book”
What we think: We're underwhelmed. We don't like Christian Bale. Bradley Cooper is boring. Rami Malek was fine in “Bohemian Rhapsody." And Viggo Mortensen was a cartoon, not an actor in "Green Book." We generally like Willem Dafoe (not just because he's from Appleton, WI), but "At Eternity's Gate" is the only movie on this list we haven't seen. Even so, he might be our pick here. However, even though we thought "Bohemian Rhapsody" was very mediocre, everyone else loved it and went crazy for Rami Malek. We predict that he'll win.
Best Actress
The nominees: Yalitza Aparicio for “Roma,” Glenn Close for “The Wife,” Olivia Colman for “The Favourite,” Lady Gaga for “A Star Is Born” and Melissa McCarthy for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
What we think: Now this is a list of actors. The women really did the work this year. We'd be thrilled to see any of these actresses win. Honestly they all deserve the award. My pick is Lady Gaga. I was stunned by her performance. Kpolly's is Olivia Colman, but he thinks Glenn Close is going to win.
Best Picture
The nominees: “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Bohemian Rhapsody," “The Favourite,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” “A Star Is Born” and “Vice.”
What we think: Our money is on "Roma." And though it would be very upsetting, we think "Green Book" might have a chance too. Next in line we think would be the Oscar bait that is "The Favourite." Our last guess is "Black Panther," which is probably the movie that had the most cultural significance this year. Unfortunately, we can't really see the Academy picking a super hero movie.
Best Director
The nominees: Spike Lee for “BlacKkKlansman,” Pawel Pawlikowski for “Cold War,” Yorgos Lanthimos for “The Favourite,” Alfonso Cuarón for “Roma” and Adam McKay for “Vice”
What we think: Once again, it's probably going to be "Roma"—and it should be because this movie was the best. We think people will be studying at Alfonso Cuarón's style for years to come. And though we want Spike Lee to get his long overdue Oscar for directing, Cuarón really earned it this year.
Best Animated Feature
The nominees: “Incredibles 2,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Mirai,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet" and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”
What we think: We think it'll be “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” even though we loved “Isle of Dogs."
Best Foreign Language Film
The nominees: “Capernaum” (Lebanon), “Cold War” (Poland), “Never Look Away” (Germany), “Roma” (Mexico) and “Shoplifters” (Japan).
What we think: This is a really tough one. These are all masterpieces. Unbelievably beautiful. We think “Roma” might win, as long as the Academy doesn't unofficially disqualify it because it's also up for Best Picture. If that's the case, "Shoplifters" is our second choice and guess.
Best Documentary Feature
The nominees: “Free Solo,” “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Minding the Gap,” “Of Fathers and Sons” and “RBG.”
What we think: This was the year of the documentary. But all the popular ones didn't all make it into this list of nominees. Documentaries are not always popular, but this year people went crazy over "Won't You Be My Neighbor" and "Three Identical Strangers," which got snubbed. Out of this list though, I would chose "Minding the Gap." Kpolly thinks “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” deserves it. However, "Free Solo" and "RBG" were way more visible this year. Because of that timeliness, we think "RBG" has this locked in.
Best Adapted Screenplay
The nominees: “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,”
“If Beale Street Could Talk” and “A Star Is Born”
What we think: A lot of times, this category is a way for the Academy to make up for snubs in the Best Picture category. Because it wasn't nominated for Best Picture, we'd love to see “If Beale Street Could Talk” take this award home. But since “BlacKkKlansman" likely won't win Best Picture, we'd also like to see Spike Lee win this one.
Best Original Score
The nominees: “BlacKkKlansman,” “Black Panther,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Isle of Dogs,” “Mary Poppins Returns”
What we think: We're rooting for “If Beale Street Could Talk." Period.
Listen to the entire episode above for all of the nominees in all the categories—and of course, our takes on each.
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