- NO MATTER IF YOU'RE BLACK OR WHITE IN A MOVIE CREATED BY WOMEN
Director Dee Rees, a terrific cast composed by Mary J. Blidge, Jason Mitchell, Garrett Hedlund, Carey Mulligan, Jonathan Banks, Jason Clarke and Rob Morgan, Rachel Morrison (cinematographer), Angie Well (makeup), Tamar-kali (composer), Pud Cusack (sound) and Mako Kamitsuna (editing) - Rees really wanted to prove something with black & white cast and female creative professionals creating this story. And you know how great the final result is...!
Of course there's the Hollywood resistance that fights Netflix, which can hurt Mudbound's Oscar chances, but no matter what, this movie is already a winner. From a SAG Award nominated ensemble performance from its cast, to Mary J. Blidge's Oscar buzz for Best Supporting Actress, to Rees entering the Oscar race as a "maybe" Best Director nominee and a "very probable" Best Adapted Screenplay nominee, to Rachel Morrison's hopes to become the first female ever nominated for Best Cinematography or Tamar-kali scoring a feature film for the first time. And we can not forget to celebrate Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell's dynamite performances and how they represent the harmony between a white man and a black man, who both suffered the same horrors of war, who feel the same, who are no different from each other. They are the movies center and they represent the movie's central topic.
If AMPAS members were able to forget the Netflix brand, Mudbound would be this year's perfect Best Picture nominee: it would represent gender equity in the sexual harassment year and it would fit the #OscarNotSoWhite trend. It's not about the movie's bigger stars, it's about all crew involved.
- SUPERSIZING HONG CHAU
- A MEXICAN BORDER MADE OF WATER
Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is the man behind the Oscar favorite The Shape of Water: the sci-fi fairy tale about a mute woman who falls in love with an Amphibian Man, which also works as a social commentary about immigration. According to del Toro himself, The Shape of Water reflects "The idea of otherness being seen as the enemy. What I feel as an immigrant. What I feel is an ugly undercurrent not in the past — not in the origins of fascism — but now". Set in 1962, The Shape of Water comments the 21st century reality in a very smart (and beautiful) way. It's a movie of extremely beauty about two beings who are put aside in the society. More than an elegant Oscar contender, the Mexican director presents an important Oscar player in the Trump era.
- WITH A PAKISTANI HEART AND AN AMERICAN SMILE
Hilarious and heartbreaking, The Big Sick is about cultural (and generational) differences. About a Pakistani family and an American family, The Big Sick features Adeel Akhtar, Holly Hunter, Zoe Kazan, Anupam Kher (he's Indian), Kumail Nanjiani, Ray Romano and Zenobia Shroff: and the result is a comedy that feels genuine and down to earth that managed to get a surprising SAG Award nomination for Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast! Somehow the Golden Globes snubed The Big Sick (I mean, they just ignored the whole movie!), but I believe it stills a major Oscar contender specially in Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay categories, with a probable Best Picture nomination (this Ensemble SAG Award nom came to give traction to the movie's Best Picture buzz).
- STRONGER TOGETHER
He's one of the most respected working actors of his generation and she's a TV series' star with a big couple of distinguished performance in feature films: Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany both descend from immigrants and both deliver some of the year's best performances in Stronger. From a noble Swedish family from his father's side and with Polish and Russian ties from his mother's Jewish family, Gyllenhaal was born American but his cultural background is rich and diverse. Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany has Austrian, German, Polish, Romanian, and Ukrainian ancestry and she speaks English, French, German and Spanish. Well, I know it might look more as an excuse to include both Gyllenhaal and Maslany here, but their genetic heritage is just as interesting as their performances in Stronger. Critics associations nominated them in Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories and while both missed crucial Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations, I believe there stills hope for them to get Oscar nominated, specially Gyllenhaal. Stronger is a tear jerker and a movie that touches your heart deeply - and AMPAS members are much more sentimental than most critics! Don't forget it!- A WONDER CALLED GADOT
The Billion Dollar Girl of the year with the Million Dollar Face. Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress and model that conquered the world as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman in both Wonder Woman and Justice League, this year. She was able to sell a female superhero movie and she was the strongest element of Justice League, but Gadot's Oscar hopes for Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman seem to be more wishful thinking than an actual down to earth possibility. She excels in her solo movie - it's a winning charismatic performance and one of the very best in the superhero genre. Her character represents feminism / women empowerment and that's why people are still talking about her Oscar chances: it's a performance that serves as a social comment. Strong, nuanced, feminine and full of heart, Gal Gadot's turn in Wonder Woman might not win her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, but it will be seen as a major achievement in years to come, for sure!
- BLACK... IS IN FASHION!
Get Out is the independent production with a small budget that turned into a major box-office sensation and one of the most well-reviewd movies of the year. Jordan Peele is the creative mind behind the movie: the director, the screenwriter and the producer. And the result is a piece of social satire, with a big ton of hidden messages while he divinifies the black men and women in the most horrific way. Get Out is a movie about a black man that comes from a black mind in these dark times. The social relevance of the movie is also a major aspect when it comes to Oscar race. The early frontrunner in Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay Oscar races, the movie also has nice chances in Best Actor (breakthrough performance from Daniel Kaluuya, in a commanding leading performance), Best Director and Best Editing. With 2 key Golden Globe nods, 5 Critics Choice Awards noms and 2 SAG Award nominations including Best Ensemble: Get Out is the black movie we hope it gets a bright future.- AN ALL-STAR INTERGALACTIC DIVERSITY
And while no cast member seem to have actual Oscar chances (maybe Mark Hamill, but I don't see it really happening), The Last Jedi is a top contender in a big couple of tech categories like Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score, Best Production Design and (WHO KNOWS?) Best Picture. It might not be the year's Oscar player, but Star Wars' latest deserves a prize for pusing boundaries and embracing cultural diversity and gender equality.
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