2022 Awards Season

[Ms Blue Jay]

Can we get this started?

December is almost over!

There are too many movies to watch and I'd like to get it a bit narrowed down by knowing what acting performances are getting the most accolades!

Will Smith in "King Richard"?  Denzel Washington in "The Tragedy of Macbeth"?  Kristen Stewart in "Spencer"?

[starri]

While I think Ariana DeBose will deservedly win Best Supporting, I'm going to be shocked if the AMPAS doesn't also nominate Rita Moreno.  Leaving aside that she's definitely worthy of it, there are too many feel-good narratives for them to ignore--oldest nominee, longest time between nominations, nominated for two versions of the same movie--and that would generate some hype.

[Shannon L.]

I haven't seen a lot of the movies generating Oscar buzz, but when I saw King Richard I thought Will Smith deserved an nomination,  as well as the actress who played his wife. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home and Free Guy should be a no brainer for Special Effects. 

Call me crazy, but I think if Black Panther got a nomination for Best Picture,  then so should No Way Home and Free Guy should get one for Best Original Screen Play. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Oh my god you guys, "King Richard" is so good 😭😭😭😭😭

[AngieBee1]

As usual films/performances that I assumed would be front runners have burnt out. When I saw "House of Gucci" in November, I assumed Gaga and Jared Leto would get a lot of love from critics, but right now Kristen Stewart has won the most awards (16), as has Kodi Smit-McPhee (14. Supporting, Power of the Dog) Ariana DeBose (8. Supporting, West Side Story), Benedict Cumberbatch (13, Best Actor, The Power of the Dog). I'm rooting for DeBose and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard), Andrew Garfield (Tick...Tick..Boom!) Ciaran Hinds (Belfast).

I don't take much stock in critics circle wins because Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) and Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) racked up wins but it didn't garner them an Oscar nomination.

I'm very surprised how little THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH is being discussed. I suppose because there is nothing cinematic about it; although the set design is impressive. I was more impressed by the supporting cast namely Kathyn Hunter, Henry Melling and Corey Hawkins.

Same with NIGHTMARE ALLEY. I thought Guillermo Del Toro would get more attention.

CYRANO deserves a Best Song nomination but little else.

Edited December 26, 2021 by AngieBee1

[katha]

I think "House of Gucci" is dragged down by the fact that the movie and its tone are so uneven. It doesn't know what it wants to be and so the performers seem stuck in different genres. I also thought Leto was atrocious, almost a parody of the selfish "look at me ack-ting!" awards bait that pays no attention to scene or co-stars, but that's my personal take, of course. ;-) I actually thought "The Last Duel" was the stronger Scott movie, but that has such a grim subject matter, was a total flop and doesn't offer its performers the showy displays that are usually needed to garner acting noms (I thought all of them were very good, the men in roles that just had them play assholes and not of the "charismatic cartoon villain" kind, that takes a certain willingness to leave your ego at the door). 

I thought the Ricardo movie totally misguided and a waste of everyone's talent. It shouldn't be in any kind of awards contention just because of past portfolios. MacBeth might be seen as too conventional to garner much awards momentum. Sometimes I also think great movies wrongly sweep in nods for everyone associated with it. My UO is that I thought Smit-McPhee not particularly convincing in the "Power of the Dog", Cumberbatch, Dunst and Plemons were much better IMO. Yet he's getting all these noms, while for me he was the weak link in the movie. 

[starri]

On 12/22/2021 at 9:32 AM, Shannon L. said:

Call me crazy, but I think if Black Panther got a nomination for Best Picture,  then so should No Way Home

Sony and Marvel are giving it a For Your Consideration campaign.  So it won't be for lack of trying if it doesn't score one.

[Shannon L.]

I just remembered Tick, Tick, Boom. O think at least Andrew Garfield and LMM deserve nominations for that. I'm sure it will get more.

[Avabelle]

With the critics choice being delayed when is the first awards show?

[PepSinger]

8 hours ago, Avabelle said:

With the critics choice being delayed when is the first awards show?

From my Internet sleuthing, it seems as if the Golden Globe Award winners will be announced on January 9th, despite not having an award ceremony. Critics Choice seems to really want an in-person event, which is why they are postponing their announcement of the winners. 

[jah1986]

On 12/24/2021 at 2:35 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Oh my god you guys, "King Richard" is so good 😭😭😭😭😭

Seriously, if Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis are not at least nominated I'll be furious, but, sadly, not shocked.  The story of Richard not wanting his daughter to look up and see him running away. And Oracene telling Richard that he didn't do it all by himself? Those scenes were so powerful.

[Spartan Girl]

If Joaquin can win the awards for playing a mediocre version of the same character Heath Ledger won the Oscar for, then Ariana DeBose can (and should) win for playing Anita in West Side Story, even though Rita Moreno already won the Oscar for that part.

[lasu]

On 12/25/2021 at 12:18 AM, AngieBee1 said:

I'm very surprised how little THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH is being discussed. I suppose because there is nothing cinematic about it; although the set design is impressive. I was more impressed by the supporting cast namely Kathyn Hunter, Henry Melling and Corey Hawkins.

FWIW, I disagree about it not being cinematic.  I actually think it will get nods for cinematography.  Although in a lot of ways, it's incredibly sparse and obviously in B&W, I thought some of the shots were phenomenal and then huge sweeping architectural designs were breathtaking.  I thought it did an excellent job of making it feel like I was watching a play on the biggest stage known to man.  Very little of what was done couldn't have been designed for a stage, but at incredible scale.

As far as the acting, I don't see how Frances and Denzel don't get Lord and Lady Matching Set Oscars, but it's also a boring choice.  I am rooting for other actors over them, but if it was just on strength of performance and nothing else, I haven't seen better performances.  (I haven't seen everything in contention, to be fair.) 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think we aren't discussing it because it hasn't become  available on Apple TV!  That's not until January 14.  Here where I am, because of COVID, theatres are shut down anyway.  Before they were shut down, I was too scared to go.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Milburn Stone]

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I think we aren't discussing it because it hasn't become  available on Apple TV!  That's not until January 14.  Here where I am, because of COVID, theatres are shut down anyway.  Before they were shut down, I was too scared to go.

I agree that's the reason. I'm really eager to see it. And as soon as I can see it in the sanctity of my own home, I will.

[AngieBee1]

Quote

I'm very surprised how little THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH is being discussed. 

I meant not being discussed by critics and many awards prognosticators as possible nominees. 

[absnow54]

Golden Globe Winner. They seemed to really like The Power of the Dog. Other notable win would be Nicole Kidman landing the first major Best Actress award in what will be one of the more competitive fields this season. Her and Rachel Zegler will be the early frontrunners.

[Ms Blue Jay]

^ West Side Story was a big winner yeah.

I was shocked that Nicole won instead of Kristen Stewart.

Will Smith DID win instead of Benedict Cumberbatch, so that's huge and good for him.  I guess Denzel was the only nominee from MacBeth, so maybe it is not getting that much traction.

I was cheering for Kieran Culkin and Uzo Aduba, but O Yeong-su and MJ Rodriguez winning instead is really cool.  

Edited January 11, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[BetterButter]

Here are the nominees for the 2022 SAG Awards

[absnow54]

Looks like Kristen Stewart's Oscar run is DOA.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, absnow54 said:

Looks like Kristen Stewart's Oscar run is DOA.

Not even a SAG nomination, I'm really surprised.

Jared Leto for Gucci?  All I know about that movie is all of the tweets making fun of his performance!

Edited January 12, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[AngieBee1]

I loved Jared Leto's performance in HOUSE OF GUCCI because he swung for the fences. Love it or hate it his performance was entertaining.

Stewart's award season looks like it's going to follow Ethan Hawke's path with FIRST REFORMED. He won numerous critics circles and various associations' awards but no SAG and no Oscar nomination. Unlike Hawke, Stewart did get a Golden Globes nod.

[katha]

Stewart is in the classic critic's darling movie that doesn't really translate to industry love, we've seen it before. And since critics live in their own bubble, a narrative got underway that she was a sure thing. Perhaps she's able to regain momentum, though. I thought HoG was patchy, with only Gaga warranting awards attention, but even with her the script/pacing really undercuts the performance IMO. But it's the sort of crowd friendly, easily accessible stuff the academy likes. I also thought Bardem and Kidman were miscast, doing the best they could with roles all wrong for them. 

I could name plenty better performances than the ones that were nominated in some cases, but not in "awards fare". It's the yearly reminder that the campaign trail is very, very limited in its scope and consideration of movies IMO.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, katha said:

Stewart is in the classic critic's darling movie that doesn't really translate to industry love, we've seen it before.

Yeah I'm still surprised because Natalie Portman and "Jackie" were a very similar situation.  Same director, a biopic about a very famous woman, starring a very famous actor, etc.  But at least Natalie got the SAG (and Oscar) nomination! 

I thought the movies were on par.  Decent movies with a great starring performance.  "Judy" was another similar situation.  There's a lot of these biopics that aren't fantastic movies but the starring performance is often very good.  I thought Renee should have won the Oscar, and she did, but that was pretty much determined from release (or maybe even before, I don't know how far back these things go!)

It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Oscars.  If Kristen is snubbed again, after the Clouds of Sils Maria debacle, well...... I mean that's pretty shady!

Kristen has already won 14 critics awards for "Spencer" - holy jesus.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[kiddo82]

I haven't seen The Lost Daughter or Respect yet but I feel very underwhelmed by the best actress contenders I have seen so far, including Kristen Stewart.  This is like the opposite of last year when at any moment I could have convinced myself to vote for (almost) any of the five. It makes me wish that Caitriona Balfe, Aunjanue Ellis, and/or Cate Blancehtte had a realistic argument to campaign in lead because I think all 3 of them did much more interesting work than those actually in lead.*

*Ariana DeBose as well but by virtue of playing Anita she's locked into a supporting role from the jump.  Unless Kushner/Spielberg had decided to really go off book.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I thought Aunjanue was very good; I just wished that her part was bigger.  Saniyya Sidney crushed me the most from King Richard but she doesn't even seem to be in the conversation.  At least she is getting some critics' awards.

[AngieBee1]

Stewart's tally is 22 awards this season. And there are still more critics associations awards that will be announced.

[absnow54]

BAFTA Nominees were announced. Kristen Stewart was shut out again, and Nicole Kidman this time too. Not a lot of overlap with acting nominees this year.

[AngieBee1]

I could see the BAFTA committee not being in love with Kristen Stewart's performance, especially considering Prince William serves as BAFTA president. I wonder if they didn't have this seeming bias against the film would she have received the nod. I hated her performance, but all of those other critics bodies have to have seen something of value in her performance.

BAFTAs really went their own way on the Supporting Actor category. Plemons, Norman, Faist, but no Leto or Dornan. No Andrew Garfield. 

People are shocked by no nomination of Denzel Washington but other than a Brittania Award for excellence, the BAFTAs has never nominated him. 

I am absolutely thrilled for Stephen Graham's nomination. He's a superb actor and was incredible in BOILING POINT.

Edited February 3, 2022 by AngieBee1

[BetterButter]

Here are the nominees for the 2022 Oscars

[Simon Boccanegra]

This is the point when, traditionally, the complaining about what didn't get Oscar-nominated starts, but I'll accentuate the positive for starters. The nomination that was no sure thing and makes me happiest is Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers. I thought the movie was good-not-great Pedro (some breathtaking stretches, including the final scene, but the pieces didn't line up as well as in, say, Talk to Her or Pain and Glory), but she was astounding, as good as she's ever been. And while I'm already seeing comments from Gaga fans about how it proves the Academy members are idiots and don't actually watch the movies, I saw Parallel Mothers and House of Gucci as attentively as I see anything, and I know which performance impressed me more. (Also, which film framing the performance was vastly better.) 

Jesse Plemons making the cut for the least showy of the four superbly acted central roles in The Power of the Dog is another nice surprise. I was also happy for Jessie Buckley as the younger version of the protagonist in The Lost Daughter. 

I was sorry to see Denis Villeneuve left out of the overall Dune love. Also, Judi Dench was fine as the grandmother in Belfast, but I think her selection over her costar Caitriona Balfe is a bit of the "living legend" effect. Like, "We love the movie itself, and she was in it, so why not nominate her?"

[absnow54]

Award season is going to be crazy this year. Lady Gaga left out of Best Actress, when she'd been a pretty consistent nominee before that, and Kristen Stewart makes it back into the pack, but it'll be hard to build any momentum if she doesn't snag the Critic's Choice (since that's the only other "big" award she was nominated for.)

I'm surprised Steven Spielberg got in over Denis Villeneuve.

And I know Supporting Actress is Ariana DeBose to lose, but bummer to Catriona Balfe, who had been a pretty consistent nominee this season.

Edited February 8, 2022 by absnow54

[AimingforYoko]

Villeneuve will get a nom for the Dune sequel. 

Big day in the Dunst-Plemons household.

[Ms Blue Jay]

So far I am pretty happy!  I am so happy about all of the King Richard love and the nomination for Kristen Stewart!

I wanted KR to be nominated for Best Picture - I didn't know it would really happen! 

So happy for Will, Denzel, Aunjanue, Penelope, and others!  

I was sooooooooo underwhelmed by Dune, just personally.

I thought Gaga was overrated as an actor in ASIB - not as a singer, though! - so I'm really curious to see these performances in House of Gucci.  People were making arguments online that Jared will or should be nominated.  LOL.  I can't wait to see what I think but I kind of think I won't agree.

I heard Drive My Car was great and I read arguments online that it should be nominated for BP.  I am finding this all very exciting!  I also heard that "The Worst Person in the World" is very good too.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[absnow54]

Even though Andrew Garfield is a long shot, he's having a great year!

[Shannon L.]

I'd like to have seen LMM nominated for Best Director.  The style of movie that he took on with Tick, Tick, Boom! can't be easy and he pulled it off beautifully.  That's impressive for a first time movie director.

I need to sign up for the free week of Apple TV+ so I can see CODA. 

[absnow54]

Speaking of LMM, I love Dos Oruguitas, and think it's a gorgeous song, but I'm kind of bummed they didn't leverage the popularity of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and use it as their entry instead. The live performance would have been so much fun! 

[angora]

I haven't been able to see too many of the films yet, but I'm looking forward to a lot of them so that's a good sign. I especially want to see West Side Story (happy for DeBose,) Belfast, CODA (great to see an actual Deaf actor nominated for this year's Deaf movie,) The Lost Daughter, and Drive My Car (always glad when an International Feature nominee can snag some other spots on the board.)

The comparison between the Best Picture nominees and the acting nominations is interesting--while both of the supporting categories heavily favor performances from Best Picture nominees, none of the Leading Actresses were in Best Picture films and only two of the Leading Actors were (Benedict Cumberbatch and Will Smith.) Lots of people up for leading acting nominations from films that didn't really get any other major nods.

I am looking forward to seeing Dune, but after all of Denis Villeneuve's talk about the importance of watching a movie only on the big screen during a pandemic, I'm amusing myself at the mental image of him blaming HBO Max for him not getting a Best Director nomination.

For grievances, I really wanted to see more for tick, tick...BOOM!, even though I'm happy for Andrew Garfield. It feels like West Side Story was the "chosen" musical for this year, but tick, tick...BOOM! is truly fantastic too. I'm bummed that it didn't snag a Best Picture nod, and I was rooting for Lin-Manuel Miranda to score a Best Director slot. I'd have liked to see Encanto get a Best Picture nomination as well.

And as far as LMM/Encanto goes, "Dos Oruguitas" is beautiful song, but I'm a little worried that LMM still isn't going to get his EGOT this year. For one, I feel like the Academy might not pay as much attention to a song that's in Spanish, and two, "We Don't Talk about Bruno" emerged as such a monster hit that people might perceive "Dos Oruguitas" as a "lesser song" in comparison. And ITA, @absnow54, a "We Don't Talk about Bruno" live performance would've been epic!

Lastly, I knew it was a long shot, but I was really pulling for Tony Leung Chiu-wai to be the one to crack the acting categories for Marvel. Given his hugely-acclaimed body of work back in Hong Kong, would it have been ridiculous for him to finally get his first Oscar nomination for Shang-Chi? Sure, but it would've been no less deserved. He tore it up in that movie.

[PepSinger]

I agree with @angora and @Shannon L. regarding tick, tick…BOOM! While I am THRILLED Andrew Garfield was nominated, I really felt the film warranted Best Picture and Best Director nominations as well. The film was completely different from anything else released this year, translated from stage to screen flawlessly, and LMM did a phenomenal job with such unconventional material. Totally baffled by the movie not being nominated in either category. Sometimes, it is really hard to make a stage play/musical translate to the screen without it coming off as a filmed stage performance. TTB felt and looked like a movie, but it had the soul and heart of the stage. So disappointed.

[absnow54]

3 minutes ago, angora said:

And as far as LMM/Encanto goes, "Dos Oruguitas" is beautiful song, but I'm a little worried that LMM still isn't going to get his EGOT this year. For one, I feel like the Academy might not pay as much attention to a song that's in Spanish, and two, "We Don't Talk about Bruno" emerged as such a monster hit that people might perceive "Dos Oruguitas" as a "lesser song" in comparison. And ITA, @absnow54, a "We Don't Talk about Bruno" live performance would've been epic!

I think the general hype around Encanto will help boost its chances, but they already lost to "No Time to Die" at the Golden Globes, so they're going in at a disadvantage. I'm not sure when they had to submit for consideration, but I would have switched to Bruno as soon as it started blowing up. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Because of Twitter, I am putting it together that this is the first nomination for Kirsten Dunst.  That's kind of awesome, I'm one of millions who has always liked her for decades.  And Kristen Stewart, obviously.  I'm sure there's many more I am missing.

The rest are not as shocking - except for maybe Beyonce!
https://people.com/movies/oscars-2022-first-time-nominees/

I get that Billie Eilish is talented and I have nothing against her personally but she could put out anything and an awards body would nominate her for it.

Jane Campion is the first woman to be nominated twice for Best Director!

I remember reading a tweet about how Belfast is really bad.  LOL.  Just one critic's opinion so don't shoot the messenger.

Here are some amazing photos from Caitriona's runway career:

https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/highlights-from-outlander-star-caitriona-balfe-modeling-days

One big snub seems to be "Passing".  I haven't seen it though.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Simon Boccanegra]

Belfast is sweet. It wasn't my favorite of the year or my favorite example of the "I remember when I was a little boy in turbulent times" genre we've had from several esteemed filmmakers (Amarcord, Radio Days, Hope and Glory, Roma, and so on), but it's something I could see winning in a preferential-ballot situation, because it won't have a strong "anti" contingent. It's barely more than an hour and a half long, easy to grasp, visually beautiful, and it's about a likable and loving family. And Oscar does love nostalgia. All the Van Morrison on the soundtrack will be catnip to a lot of the Boomer members. 

6 hours ago, angora said:

I am looking forward to seeing Dune, but after all of Denis Villeneuve's talk about the importance of watching a movie only on the big screen during a pandemic, I'm amusing myself at the mental image of him blaming HBO Max for him not getting a Best Director nomination.

Ha! I remember a few years ago when his frequent cinematographer Roger Deakins boxed his ears for watching a "big" movie on his phone. (“Roger made jokes about my iPhone. For people who don’t know. Roger was traumatized that I had The Thin Red Line from Terrence Malick on my iPhone and Roger thought it was horrific. Me, I thought it was cool because I could take the movie with me. It’s not the same, but the thing is, I want to fight for the big screen, but a lot of my cinematic experiences have actually been on television.”) 

I do like DV, both in terms of his films and from what I've heard of how he is on the set. 

[scarynikki12]

7 hours ago, angora said:

And as far as LMM/Encanto goes, "Dos Oruguitas" is beautiful song, but I'm a little worried that LMM still isn't going to get his EGOT this year.

If he doesn't win I will ride at dawn.

Seriously, though, Dos Oruguitas is a beautiful song that deserves every award it can win. 

[shoregirl]

1 hour ago, scarynikki12 said:

If he doesn't win I will ride at dawn.

Seriously, though, Dos Oruguitas is a beautiful song that deserves every award it can win. 

I think he should have one for How Far I'll Go. I still it's a better song than the LALA Land song.(Any chance they read the wrong name in that category too ?!? 😉)

I am thrilled that Andrew Garfield got the mom for Tick Tick...Boom. I wish Robin Takes us would have got recognized too as well as a Best Picture nomination it was my favorite film last year.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by shoregirl

[katha]

Everyone said that the 2022 film season would be clogged up and in some ways it is, but it also feels weirdly underwhelming? I don't know if it was because some movies disappointed or the awards bodies have such a narrow focus, but it feels strangely meh.

Also, I just think some of the acting contenders in particular are just not particularly impressive or well chosen. Bardem should not be up there IMO and it's a mix of reputation and being in a prestigious movie that got him the nod. He was miscast and also didn't deliver against that as well as Kidman, who was also miscast but IMO really offered something despite that. Various other performers like Isaac, Cage or hell even Driver in that weird French musical presented more interesting work. 

The best actress category is just a mess. I'm barely convinced by any of the performances there. They're either hindered by weak scripts, shaky concepts, being wrong for the role, extensive prosthetics masquerading as acting and so on. I guess Cruz by default? I will say that I agree with Lady Gaga not getting a nom and "House of Gucci" getting shut out. It was entertaining, but also messy. The accents were all over the place and the script was too weak to allow any of them to really deliver exceptional work. Gaga, Pacino and Driver did well with limited material IMO, but it was too muddled. Gaga had the flashy role, but there was not much there there. "The Last Duel" was the better Scott movie, but also a total flop that was dumped by Disney, so...

And I'm really glad that Leto's antics weren't rewarded. He was terrible IMO. I'm glad that his awards run ended with a Razzie nom LOL. 

Edited February 9, 2022 by katha

[AngieBee1]

My dream nominees happened- Jenny Beavan, Jonny Greenwood, Aunjanue Ellis and Ciarán Hinds. Though I would have loved for Ben Affleck and Jared Leto getting best Supporting nods, not surprised that didn't happen.But either one of them would be more deserving than J.K. Simmons. I thought BEING THE RICARDOS was clunky,  but at least Bardem and Kidman had one great scene apiece. Simmons had nothing. 

First time all 10 Best Picture slots have been filled since 2010.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, AngieBee1 said:

First time all 10 Best Picture slots have been filled since 2010.

Interesting, especially because I would in no way think of 2021 as a great year for movies.  LOL!  My favourite movie this year was Barb and Star.  Which I still love but it was hard for me to even form a top 5 let alone a top 10!

My favourite movie years recently were 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, and definitely, 2018.  2021 has not been great so far, but I guess I have to see a few more films to really feel caught up. 

I noticed that Shang Chi and Spiderman got a nom each.  I think some people were arguing Spiderman should get a BP nom (I haven't seen it).  I really loved A Quiet Place II but I'm not naive enough to think it would be nominated for anything.  I'm glad it won a few small awards at least.

Here's the full list of nominations, I think the link upthread only covered the big 6 or something:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/94th_Academy_Awards

Excited about the Honorary Academy Awards listed there!

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Simon Boccanegra]

12 hours ago, AngieBee1 said:

First time all 10 Best Picture slots have been filled since 2010.

 

11 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Interesting, especially because I would in no way think of 2021 as a great year for movies. 

A rule change took effect this year, with a guaranteed ten. In prior years, there could be as many as ten, but they all had to clear a certain statistical threshold.

I preferred the days when there were five, personally. The way it's been since they (re-)expanded the field, we all know several nominees have no chance. So as soon as the nominations are announced, everyone's saying, you know, "This one will win technical awards at most, and that one has a chance in acting and screenplay, but the only legitimate Best Picture candidates are X, Y, and Z." Maybe that was true even when there were five nominees -- no one was betting on The Mission for 1986; it was clearly between Platoon and Hannah and Her Sisters, with an outside chance for A Room with a View -- but it's even more true now.  

It just gives more films the opportunity to advertise that they're "Best Picture nominees," and once in a while a big box-office hit can get into the list and boost television ratings of the ceremony.  

About whether 2021 was a good or mediocre year: I think it was about average. There were films I really liked, some that will likely fade, some that were worthwhile but a little disappointing given the expectations and talent (this is where I'd put The Tragedy of Macbeth), and as always, biopics that seem to have been made mostly to get someone acting awards (looking right at Tammy Faye).  

Sometimes it takes a few years for me to be able to look back and see that a year was special. The chatter dies down and I'm always finding small films a little later.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Room for 10 instead of 5 SOUNDS good because we think, oh good, now the best genre pictures will get in there!  Of course, it doesn't always work as expected.

I prefer room for 10 but not a REQUIREMENT that 10 be nominated.  It should be the best 10 regardless of genre, but of course, the Academy is not there yet.

[BlackberryJam]

Well, the SAG awards were surprising. Glad I wasn’t in a pool this year. I had everything wrong.