The 91st Academy Awards just passed, and it was an exciting night of musical performances, witty on-stage banter, and little golden statues being handed out. Many of us played along on bingo sheets or made predictions on Oscar ballots. Some of the night was rather predictable, but there were definitely some big surprises thrown in. I have to say, my absolute favorite moments from the big show were Melissa McCarthy wearing the most interesting wardrobe ever while presenting the award for Costume Design and the back-and-forth that Awkwafina and John Mulaney had when presenting Best Animated Short Film about their joint panic attacks. Before Hollywood’s biggest night, I made my own Oscars predictions for each category that you can see here: https://nonstopnerd748323109.wordpress.com/2019/02/05/nonstop-nerds-2019-oscar-picks/

Now that the show is over and done with, and the winners were all announced. I’d like to reflect on how I felt about each category and how all my picks did.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

My Choice: Amy Adams

Winner: Regina King

I may have been wrong about this one, but I’m not at all surprised. Regina King is incredibly talented and was great in If Beale Street Could Talk. This is Amy Adams’ sixth nomination for an Academy Award and she still has not won. I don’t doubt that she will get her’s in the future.

 

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:

My Choice: Mahershala Ali

Winner: Mahershala Ali

The story of Green Book is more about Mahershala Ali’s character Don Shirley, so his role was crucial to the film. He definitely delivered on this major role, so I figured he was the safest bet for this category. Plus, some of the other nominees weren’t in their movies enough to really judge their acting.

 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

My Choice: Roma

Winner: Roma

Roma is one of the only two foreign language films to be nominated in ten categories, so it’s obviously really good. It’s well-written, perfectly-directed, and will go down in movie history as a classic. There was no doubt for me that this one would win.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:

My Choice: Lifeboat

Winner: Period. End of Sentence

This was a really tough category since there were plenty of fantastic films nominated. I felt that Lifeboat would win for opening up people’s eyes to such an important problem, but it seems Period. End of Sentence won for doing just the same. It’s an important film about menstrual health.

 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

My Choice: RBG

Winner: Free Solo

I was really thrown off by this one. RBG is such an important movie that shows that one can do anything they want regardless of their gender or whoever they are. If RBG didn’t win, I assumed it would have to go to Of Fathers and Sons which is just as powerful and important, but for different reasons. Free Solo is a documentary about mountain climbing. I get that this guy was the first person to “free solo” this specific mountain, but I bet there’s tons of footage of mountain climbing out there. I admit it is great from a production standpoint, with all the shots from the sides of the mountain, and it’s suspenseful seeing him climb. However, I didn’t think this was enough to receive the win over the other nominees.

 

ORIGINAL SONG:

My Choice: “Shallow” from A Star is Born

Winner: “Shallow” from A Star is Born

“Shallow” was definitely the clear winner here. I honestly would have been pretty upset if it didn’t win. The other songs nominated were good, but nowhere near as emotional or powerful as “Shallow.” Even watching them performed live during the Oscars gave us a comparison of how much better “Shallow” is.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM:

My Choice: One Small Step

Winner: Bao

I’m a little bothered by this one. Don’t get me wrong, Bao is great like all the other Disney animated short films. However, I still feel like the top two in this category this year were One Small Step and A Long Afternoon. Both used impressive, unique animation styles, and both were so emotional and well-written that they made me cry. Bao isn’t even Disney’s strongest animated short film. I feel as though the only reason why Bao won this year was because Disney has access to more expensive animation equipment, which isn’t fair.

 

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

My Choice: Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Incredibles 2 or Isle of Dogs had won, however I’m glad Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse did. It was definitely between these three out of all the great nominees for this category, but Spiderverse was definitely the strongest in my opinion.

 

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM:

My Choice: Skin

Winner: Skin

No surprise here. Skin portrayed some powerful themes that are still important today while also being an entertaining film.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

My Choice: BlacKkKlansman

Winner: BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman is a truly incredible movie that everyone should go see. It’s entertaining, powerful, and will absolutely withstand the test of time. I’m not surprised at all that this won.

 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

My Choice: Roma

Winner: Green Book

I’m a little surprised with this one. I felt like Roma was the obvious choice. Alfonso Cuarón wrote this story based on his personal experiences, and it shows. His emotions about where he grew up show through vividly in the beautiful movie. Given the controversy around Green Book, I’m surprised it would be considered the best for its writing.

 

PRODUCTION DESIGN:

My Choice: Mary Poppins Returns

Winner: Black Panther

I originally felt that Black Panther was mostly just green screens. However, after looking back, it does have some pretty impressive sets. That being said, I still feel as though Mary Poppins Returns deserved this win for building an upside down room and a slide through a bathtub.

 

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

My Choice: A Star is Born

Winner: Roma

I still stand by my choice for this one. The cinematography for A Star is Born is absolutely amazing. Roma is also especially great, so I’m not too surprised.

COSTUME DESIGN:

My Choice: Black Panther

Winner: Black Panther

I think it would have been totally foolish for the Academy to not award this one to Black Panther. If you have to ask why, just go back and look at the costuming in those “winner-to-be-king” fight scenes.

 

SOUND EDITING:

My Choice: A Quiet Place

Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody

I still stand by A Quiet Place being the best choice for this category, but I’m not too shocked by Bohemian Rhapsody winning. The sound editing for it was impressive.

 

SOUND MIXING:

My Choice: Bohemian Rhapsody

Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody

Again, no one should really be surprised by Bohemian Rhapsody winning for either of the sound categories. The movie is heavily about making something that sounds different and new. The sound is a part of the story, and they did an amazing job with it.

 

ORIGINAL SCORE:

My Choice: Black Panther

Winner: Black Panther

There were a lot of great music scores in films this year, but Black Panther’s was at the top. I was torn between choosing this or Isle of Dogs. Both were memorable and will be scores that film buffs will listen to for years. However, I think the score in Black Panther was just a bit more impactful.

VISUAL EFFECTS:

My Choice: Ready Player One

Winner: First Man

I’m completely shocked by this one. My top three for this category were Ready Player One, Christopher Robin, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Ready Player One had nonstop outstanding visual effects throughout the entire movie. First Man did have great effects, but only in certain scenes. When it did show off its effects, it was nothing new.

 

FILM EDITING:

My Choice: Bohemian Rhapsody

Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody

I figured this would be the winner. Throughout Bohemian Rhapsody, there were a lot of cool editing tricks to seamlessly show passage of time. Plus, the editing during the musical performances kept the film’s tone exciting.

 

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING:

My Choice: Vice

Winner: Vice

Vice was the clear choice. There were only two other nominees, and both did not have makeup that was nearly as impressive as Vice. Neither Christian Bale nor Sam Rockwell were recognizable in their roles.

 

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:

My Choice: Rami Malek

Winner: Rami Malek

I honestly would have been irrationally upset if Rami Malek lost in this category. If you saw Bohemian Rhapsody, then you would most likely agree with me. He flawlessly played one of music’s biggest icons and turned him into a memorable movie character. His acting could have carried the movie alone.

 

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:

My Choice: Melissa McCarthy

Winner: Olivia Colman

I went with the underdog for my pick, so I’m not too surprised that Melissa McCarthy lost (unfortunately). However, I’m surprised Olivia Colman won. The Favourite is more about the two supporting roles rather than her own. I would have thought that Lady Gaga would have won for her role as Ally in A Star is Born over Olivia Colman. I still think Melissa McCarthy will get her opportunity in the future. She’s a talented actress who deserves it and doesn’t need to be misused by filmmakers who think she’s only good for slapstick.

 

DIRECTOR:

My Choice: Alfonso Cuarón for Roma

Winner: Alfonso Cuarón for Roma

This is another clear choice. Alfonso Cuarón’s directing in Roma is so perfect that it should be used in filmmaking classes as an example of how to direct.

BEST PICTURE:

My Choice: BlacKkKlansman

Winner: Green Book

This was easily the biggest surprise of the night. Green Book wasn’t even in my top 4 out of the 8 nominees. Given the fact that there was so much controversy around Green Book, I’m shocked that members of the Academy were still willing to vote for it. I do still think the award should have gone to BlacKkKlansman, but I certainly would not have been surprised at all if Roma took home the win since it was nominated for a whopping 10 categories.

Overall, the Academy Awards were pretty exciting this year, and I predicted 13 of the 24 categories correctly, which is over half. Perhaps next year I will do even better. Let me know how your predictions did if you made your own list, or what you thought of the show or the night’s big winners.