2017 Oscar Noms

Oscar nominations came out this morning. There were some snubs and surprises, as everyone likes to call them since alliteration is fun. This year there are nine films up for Best Picture and I have seen five of them (so far). I feel pretty good about that. Here are a few random thoughts:

--Meryl Streep, really? I like her, I really do. But the Academy will nominate her for anything. I would have liked to have had Amy Adams nominated here instead.
--Hacksaw Ridge and Mel Gibson - where did this come from?! When it was nominated for some Golden Globes I didn't take it seriously, since it's the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. But now there are Best Pic, Director and Acting nominations for it! The first time I saw a trailer for this film, I found it rather telling that it was marketed as being from "the director of Braveheart",  never once mentioning Mel Gibson's name. He has baggage, definitely. Later on, though, trailers did use his name. I don't have any desire to see this film, even with my previous crush on Andrew Garfield
--fourteen noms for La La Land! Whoa! I like this movie, I really do. A lot. I just find it strange what movies get crowned Oscar favorites. If this film had been released in the summer we would not be talking about it now. That's not a dis, just a fact.
--Lin-Manuel Miranda could complete the elusive EGOT. I'm pulling for him, however I would really be fine if any song in this category won. Those two from La La Land are both great.
--I saw Hell or High Water a few months ago when it had been recommended to me by two different people. I did not care for it, so much that I didn't even bother to finish my blog review of it. I have no idea how this movie became an Oscar contender; critics really loved it, and apparently so did audiences. And even though I didn't like it, I'm always a bit pleased when a film that wasn't released in December gets Oscar traction.
--Manchester by the Sea's early buzz may be fading, as the buzz was just too early. Same thing happened with Up in the Air and The Social Network several years back. We'll find out on Oscar night if La La Land and it's ascent to front-runner status is legit.
--Viggo Mortensen get a Best Actor nod for Captain Fantastic, a film I haven't even heard of. Kudos to him.