2017. . . what a hell of a year for cinema! We laughed, we cried, we cheered for kinky fishman sex. Being a huge Lovecraft mark, that last one really warms This Guy’s heart. Overall, a pretty offbeat year, with a lot of genre flicks and niche directors finally getting a lot of great recognition. This year the Academy Awards opted to acknowledge the weird and the curious, monsters and madmen alike. It’s one of the most diverse fields for awards season in a long time. Now, there are a few obvious (and not so obvious) snubs, but if we’re lucky, this Oscar night could be a terrific time for Hollywood and film goers alike.

 

Netflix has not, and will not, be properly appreciated by The Academy for some time. A true shame, because they are putting out some of the best “television” available today, and with their ever expanding interest in original films and distribution, Netflix is on its way to becoming a real giant. This year, they opted for two Stephen King adaptations, both deep cuts that struck gold. Gerald’s Game told a tight, intense, and deeply thoughtful and powerful story (infinitely more timely given the female revolution underway in Hollywood). It’s not without flaws, but its performances are as strong and deserving as any of the Academy’s nominations. Carla Gugino’s performance carries the entire film, as she spends half the runtime playing off herself. While there’s relatively stiff competition in the Lead Actress category this, perhaps Gugino’s nuanced performance could be seen as more deserving than the latest Meryl Streep outing (don’t get This Guy wrong, she’s great, but Jesus Christ, 21 nominations!).

 

The biggest snub of the year, hands down, goes to Taylor Sheridan’s Wind River. The dark murder mystery set in the Wyoming mountains blew This Guy away, especially considering Sheridan only came out as a kickass writer in the last, like, 3 years. It’s Sheridan’s first time directing his own script, and it is a masterclass in storytelling, building tension, and evoking real emotion. Unfortunately, it’s been completely ignored throughout award season. Any other year it would’ve been a shoe-in for a Best Picture/Director nod, and Jeremy Renner (as usual) knocks it out of the park with his endless supply of understatement. Years from now, there will be classes taught on modern Westerns, and Taylor Sheridan will have his own curriculum.

 

Among the pleasant surprises in this year’s awards field, is Logan, our lovely, near-perfect farewell to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. It’s nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay is the first major nomination from the Academy Awards for a superhero/comic book movie since Heath Ledger’s Supporting Actor win for The Dark Knight. Now, is it one of the best written movies of the year? It’s arguable, and This Guy would gladly support the claim. Is it one of the best comic book films in history? Absolutely. Does it deserve the win here? Perhaps not. Honestly, looking at the competition in its category, the only real rival would seemingly be the universally acclaimed Call Me By Your Name. But, would it be pretty fucking sweet to see Wolverine take home an Oscar? You bet your ass, bub.

 

Oh Nolan, you beautiful, weird, unnecessarily complicated bastard. The Best Director nod has always been just out of reach for the man who made us take Batman seriously again. Oddly enough, even though his most deserving outing was likely The Prestige, it wasn’t until The Dark Knight that people started getting up in arms over his lack of Oscar recognition. The film is credited by many as having influenced the Academy’s decision to expand the Best Picture race, leading to the diverse field of outsider films we enjoy today. It was just last year that Mad Max Fury Road was nominated for Best Picture; imagine saying that 10 years ago. Though even when his cerebral actioner Inception was up on the grand stage, the directing nod still illuded him. Finally, with his nonlinear WWII epic, Dunkirk, Nolan will hear his name listed off among other great directors. An overdue opportunity for a very talented, if a bit overly hyped artist. Unfortunately for Mr. Nolan, fortune seems likely to favour an even weirder creature this year.

 

This is where things go from strange, to just fucking insane. Guillermo del Toro, who no one would ever call anything but a terrific filmmaker with miles of imagination, had seemingly resigned himself to the odd passion project, between years-long dry spells of failed productions, and abandoned scripts. But when the Monster Man himself decided to turn it back on, the resulting fever dream of mystery, friendship, romance, and gills is truly something to behold. The Shape Of Water leads the Academy Awards nominations with 13 (that’s the same as Titanic), and seemingly has at least a few sewn up already.

For This Guy, it was a true inner struggle to rank del Toro’s film and McDonough’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. But, when ush came to shove, The Shape Of Water just has that extra spark of cinematic joy. You can feel love and passion in every shot, emanating from del Toro’s utter love for the weird and the grotesque. It’s a love letter to every misunderstood monster in history, and it is truly the best film of the year. It’s also likely to snatch away Nolan’s chance at a Best Director Oscar. Sorry, Chris, but it’s our man GdT’s year.

 

And finally, we have the greatest living actor, playing one of the greatest historical figures, during the greatest global struggle of the last century. Sounds like a lock already, right? And it damn well should be. Gary Oldman has made a career of disappearing into the roles he’s given. If This Guy had a nickel for every friend he’s had praise “that guy from that flick,” only to explain to them that it’s Gary Oldman doing his thing, he’d have a site that looks like it cost real money. The man has been paying his dues for almost 40 years, and he’s been batting a thousand the entire time. Find someone who hasn’t quoted his maniacal crooked cop from Leon. Or showed you their Zorg impression. Someone who hasn’t watched True Romance and truly had a spiritual crisis, certain beyond almost any doubt that Gary Oldman might actually be a dreadlocks-wearing gangster pimp.

He received his first and only other Oscar nomination just 6 years ago. If he is to finally have his day, let it be this year. He’s more than earned it. Hell, John Wayne got an Oscar eventually just for being John Wayne for so goddamn long. And Oldman’s “whitewashing” role is SO much better than The Duke’s.

This Guy’s Official Academy Awards Predictions:

Best Picture: The Shape Of Water

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro

Best Actor: Gary Oldman

Best Actress: Frances McDormand

Best Supporting Actress: Mary J. Blige

Best Supporting Actor: Sam Rockwell

Best Original Screenplay: Get Out

Best Adapted Screenplay: Call Me By Your Name

Agree? Disagree? Comment below, or follow on Twitter @This_Guy_Writes! You can talk movies, games, and have a chance to win a some awesome digital downloads and gaming prizes!