My Thoughts on the 2015 Academy Award Nominations (a.k.a Why Everything Isn't Awesome)

So yesterday the Academy Award nominations were announced. In case you didn't know this about me, I LOVE the Oscars! I watch them every year, it is essentially my superbowl. Anyway as I was saying the nominations were announced yesterday. As usual there were cries of snubs and racism. But what are the Oscars without a dash of controversy and a smidgen of racism? We wouldn't have anything to talk/complain about if the Academy was made up of more than just old white men (who all apparently grew up without playing with toy building bricks!!!). But I digress.

Now I should stop here and clarify that I haven't seen the majority of films nominated. In my defense, most of these films aren't even on DVD yet. So I think I should get a pass. Anyway, I can't really say a certain actor/actress or film shouldn't have been nominated, but I can tell you my general impressions about the nominations.

First things first, NO LEGO MOVIE?! WHY?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes the biggest (some might say the only real) snub of the 2015 Oscars: The Lego Movie didn't get a nomination for best animated film (although the song "Everything is Awesome" did get nominated for best song, so that's something I guess). I cannot express how upset I am by this. The Lego Movie was one of the best animated films in recent memory (especially surprising since it didn't have Pixar or Disney's names attached to it). And the fact that it didn't even get a nomination? Most people (including myself) thought it was a lock to WIN for this category. It is just so messed up. Especially considering last year the film The Croods got nominated in this category. And that film was pretty horrible! I just cannot imagine what the Academy was thinking. Are they robots? Because that is the only logical explanation. The Academy must be comprised of robots or some other creatures that never had a childhood. Because everyone, at some point as a child, PLAYED WITH FREAKIN' LEGOs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O.k. moving on (side note: I am happy that Big Hero 6 got nominated, it was a really cute film!).

The other big controversy regarding the nominations was the lack of diversity. All white actors and actresses nominated this year. I was surprised by the fact that David Oyelowo was not nominated for best actor for his portrayal as MLK JR. I have heard nothing but great things about his performance and was hoping he would get a nomination. But I'm not that surprised, the Academy has never been accused of being diverse. I mean only 1 woman has ever won in the best director category (and only 4 have ever even been nominated). And only one black actress has EVER won in the lead actress category. So yeah, diverse the Academy is not.

Anyway moving on to some of my other impressions about the nominations. I was disappointed that Ralph Fiennes didn't get nominated for lead actor for The Grand Budapest Hotel. He was incredible in that film! For once I didn't find him creepy, and that's saying something. But I wasn't all that surprised because the lead actor category was stacked this year. I am very happy that Benedict Cumberbatch received his first Oscar nomination (for lead actor in The Imitation Game). He is one of the best actors working today so bravo! I'm also really happy that Mark Ruffalo got his second Oscar nomination (for supporting actor in Foxcatcher). I have been in love with Ruffalo since I was about 10 years old, so yeah really happy about this. I am also very excited that Emma Stone got her first Oscar nomination (for supporting actress in Birdman). I think she is one of the best (and funniest) young actresses working right now, so yay for her!!!

Another thing that made me really happy was Wes Anderson's 1st nomination for best director for The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wes Anderson is one of my all time favorite directors, I LOVE his films! And The Grand Budapest Hotel is one of the only nominated films I've seen so I am allowed to have an opinion on this! Also The Grand Budapest Hotel got 9 nominations total including best picture!! So happy for this film, it was so unique and surprising that it deserves all this love and more! Wes Anderson is also nominated for best original screenplay for this film and I so hope that he takes home the bald gold statue for it!!!

Other thoughts on the nominations: Guardians of the Galaxy is up for best make-up! Deservedly so, considering someone had to paint Zoe Saldana's entire body green every day! Another thing that made me happy, 2 of my favorite composers are up for best score (Alexandre Desplat and Hans Zimmer)! Desplat is actually nominated twice in this category for The Imitation Game and The Grand Budapest Hotel! Yay, go Desplat!!  I also am very glad that at least the song from The Lego Movie (Everything is Awesome) got a nomination. It doesn't erase my anger about the animated feature snub, but it does make me smile to think that that song will be performed at the Oscars this year! I was slightly upset that Lorde wasn't nominated for her song in the film Mockingjay Part 1 (Yellow Flicker Beat is the song title). I really like that song. Oh well. I also wish the last Hobbit film had gotten more nominations (it only got one for sound editing). I also think the song from the last Hobbit film deserved a nomination. But what are you gonna do, am I right?

Anyway, those are my thoughts about the nominations for the 87th Academy Awards. In case you were wondering what other films were nominated, the full list of nominees is below. And don't forget the Oscars air February 22nd this year!

Best Picture
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Whiplash”

Best Actor
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”

Best Animated Feature Film
“Big Hero 6″
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2″
“Song of the Sea”
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“American Sniper,” by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game,” by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice,” by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything,” by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash,” by Damien Chazelle

Best Original Screenplay
“Birdman,” by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood,” by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher,” by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler,” by Dan Gilroy

Best Cinematography
“Birdman,” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Robert Yeoman
“Ida,” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner,” Dick Pope
“Unbroken,” Roger Deakins

Best Visual Effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
“Interstellar”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Best Documentary Feature
“Citizenfour”
“Finding Vivian Maier”
“Last Days in Vietnam”
“The Salt of the Earth”
“Virunga”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1″
“Joanna”
“Our Curse”
“The Reaper (La Parka)”
“White Earth”

Best Film Editing

“American Sniper,” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood,” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game,” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash,” Tom Cross

Best Original Song
“Everything Is Awesome,” from “The Lego Movie,” by Shawn Patterson
“Glory,” from “Selma, by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn”
“Grateful,” from “Beyond the Lights,” by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” from “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars,” from “Begin Again,” by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Best Production Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game,” Maria Djurkovic and Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar,” Nathan Crowley and Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods,” Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner,” Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts

Best Live Action Short Film
“Aya”
“Boogaloo and Graham”
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe au Beurre de Yak)”
“Parvaneh”
“The Phone Call”

Best Animated Short Film
“The Bigger Picture”
“The Dam Keeper”
“Feast”
“Me and my Moulton”
“A Single Life”

Best Sound Editing
“American Sniper,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman,” Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies,” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar,” Richard King
“Unbroken,” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Best Sound Mixing
“American Sniper,” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar,” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken,” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash,” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Best Costume Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice,” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods,” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent,” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive

“Mr. Turner,” Jacqueline Durran

Best Foreign Language Film
“Ida” (Poland)
“Leviathan” (Russia)
“Tangerines” (Estonia)
“Timbuktu” (Mauritania)
“Wild Tales” (Argentina)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Foxcatcher,” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Best Original Score
“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game,” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar,” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner,” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything,” Jóhann Jóhannsson