I roused myself at the crack of 8AM this morning, and waded through the annoying byplay of hosts Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish) and Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace) to hear the announcement of the 94th OSCAR nominations and was happy to see so many of this year’s best films and performances recognized by the Academy. Two of my favorite movies of the year DOMINATED: “The Power of the Dog” with 12 nominations– the most of any one film– including a nomination in every acting category! And “Dune” with 10 nominations, most of them in the technical categories plus adapted screenplay and score.

The winners will be broadcast live on MARCH 27, 2022 with the ceremony back in its home on Hollywood Boulevard at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. A complete list of the nominations is below, along with my take on what I loved and what was snubbed in the major categories:

BEST PICTURE

“Belfast”
“CODA”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Drive My Car”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“Licorice Pizza”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
LOVED: There are 10 Best Picture nominees this year after an Academy Board of Governor ruling committing to that number and setting new standards for inclusion and diversity. This year’s slate includes Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s profound and elegant “Drive My Car” and Kenneth Branagh’s black and white Irish beauty “Belfast,” Adam McKay’s American poli-sci-fi satire “Don’t Look Up,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedic coming of age panoply “Licorice Pizza”; there’s a remade musical classic “West Side Story” sidling up to a dark Western saga “The Power of the Dog” which to my mind is the most haunting, nuanced film of the year. And there was still room for the remarkably appealing, radically conventional “King Richard,” and an intimate, affecting family coming of age tale, “CODA,” featuring deaf actors Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur.
Half of these films were backed by streaming services– Apple, Netflix and HBO MAX –and ironically brought big pictures like Sci-fi epic “Dune” to small screens where they made huge impact, despite the pandemic keeping some folks from seeing them at theaters.
 SNUBBED: “The Lost Daughter” an extremely insightful and mysterious film about a taboo subject–the struggle to stay alive when motherhood threatens to overwhelm.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Judi Dench, “Belfast”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
LOVED: Kirsten Dunst– who’s never been nominated before–for her heartbreaking turn in “The Power of the Dog” opposite real-life fiance and fellow Oscar nominee this year Jesse Plemons! And then there’s Ariana DeBose who sang, danced, and acted her way through a bravura performance as Anita, trailing memories of Rita Morena’s iconic, Oscar-winning turn in this role a half century ago. They should have Rita — who co-stars here in the remake– waiting in the wings wearing her same Oscar gown ready to pass the torch and present Ariana with the Supporting Actress Oscar!
SNUBBED: I would have left out Dame Judi in favor of a chilling Cate Blanchett as Dr. Lilith Ritter, the Freudian psychoanalyst of your nightmares.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Ciaran Hinds, “Belfast”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
J.K. Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
LOVED: Kodi Smit-McPhee. Couldn’t take my eyes off this one-of-a-kind actor from the minute he wafted on screen, peeled off razor thin layers of character and finally stared us off into the middle distance in the film’s last moments… I’ll say no more.
And somehow J.K. Simmons’ Fred Mertz managed to upstage Nicole Kidman’s Lucy!  Loved Troy Kotsur as a warm, no nonsense father and first deaf actor nominated for an Oscar, here opposite the first deaf performer ever nominated for an Oscar–which she went on to win– Marlee Matlin!
SNUBBED: Bradley Cooper wild-eyed in a white jumpsuit as Barbra Streisand’s coke-fueled boyfriend, producer, and hairdresser to the stars–Jon Peters. Laughed myself silly.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick… Boom!”
Will Smith, “King Richard”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
LOVED: Javier Bardem gives dimension to Lucy’s recklessly charming musician husband Ricky Arnaz, despite the flack Bardem got as a Spaniard for playing a Cuban. And is there ANYTHING Benedict Cumberbatch can’t play? In “The Power of the Dog” he’s a cranky cowboy who just isn’t at home on the range. Will Smith somehow balanced withering ego and inescapable charm in a subtly difficult role as Venus and Serena Williams’ single-minded  dad and managerial tennis guru.
SNUBBED: Again Bradley Cooper– who may have cancelled himself out in one too many fabulous performances this year. In “Nightmare Alley” he’s a carny who outsmarts himself drifting from grift to grift until there’s no return. A haunting performance.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
Penelope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
LOVED: Kristen Stewart who shocked then mesmerized in a role I absolutely decided she wasn’t born to play– Lady Diana Spencer. Stewart embodies the young Royal’s raw inner life onscreen in all its chaos, loneliness, and desperation. Stewart turns the fraught emotional world of this troubled woman inside out for all of us who watched from the outside in.
SNUBBED: People say Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci” and Jennifer Hudson in “Respect.” I disagree. Both performances were fine, conventional, but nothing that surpassed or equalled the extraordinary work done by the exceptional actresses here nominated.

DIRECTOR

Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”
LOVED: Unbelievable as it sounds, Jane Campion is the first, two-time female nominee for BEST DIRECTOR, (also nominated for 1993’s THE PIANO) who I believe has directed this year’s BEST PICTURE.  Maybe one day we’ll stop counting women, and see women count.
SNUBBED: Maggie Gyllenhaal who wrote and directed the sublime “The Lost Daughter.”
Denis Villeneuve’s helming of the wondrous and sweeping “Dune” was masterful, and the film’s 10 other nominations make this oversight almost incomprehensible. I’d have happily left out Paul Thomas Anderson’s over-praised, adolescent pipe dream “Licorice Pizza.”

The rest of the nominations follow below:

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

“Drive My Car”
“Flee”
“The Hand of God”
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
“The Worst Person in the World”

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)

“Audible”
“Lead Me Home”
“The Queen of Basketball”
“Three Songs for Benazir”
“When We Were Bullies”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“Ascension”
“Attica”
“Flee”
“Summer of Soul”
Writing with Fire”

ORIGINAL SONG

“King Richard”
“Encanto”
“Belfast”
“No Time to Die”
“Four Good Days”

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

“Encanto”
“Flee”
“Luca”
“The Mitchells vs. The Machine”
“Raya and the Last Dragon”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“CODA”
“Drive My Car”
“Dune”
“The Lost Daughter”
“The Power of the Dog”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“Belfast”
“Don’t Look Up”
“King Richard”
“Licorice Pizza”
“The Worst Person in the World”

PRODUCTION DESIGN

“Dune”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
“West Side Story”

CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Dune”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“The Tragedy of Macbeth”
“West Side Story”

COSTUME DESIGN

“Cruella”
“Cyrano”
“Dune”
“Nightmare Alley”
“Westside Story”

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

“Belfast”
“Dune”
“No Time to Die”
“The Power of the Dog”
“Westside Story”

ANIMATED SHORT FILE

“Affairs of the Art”
“Bestia”
“Boxballet”
“Robin Robin”
“The Windshield Wiper”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

“Ala Kachuu — Take and Run”
“The Dress”
“The Long Goodbye”
“On My Mind”
“Please Hold”

ORIGINAL SCORE

“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune”
“Encanto”
“Parallel Mothers”
“The Power of the Dog”

VISUAL EFFECTS

“Dune”
“Free Guy”
“No Time to Die”
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
“Spider-Man: No Way Home”

FILM EDITING

“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“The Power of the Dog”
“Tick, Tick… Boom!”

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

“Coming 2 America”
“Cruella”
“Dune”
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
“House of Gucci”