Happy #OscarsNominations Day! I didn’t watch the live announcement as I was still in bed, LOL… hey, one has to work for a living and I had to be at work by 8:30. I work from home so my office is just a few steps away from my bedroom, but still.

In any case, the 94th Oscar nominations are now here!

Click here to jump to the full nominations list below. And here are my thoughts on the nominations:

Firstly…

Congrats #JaneCampion for being the first #femaledirector ever to be nominated twice in the directing category ⭐️🤩🏆💯 #ThePowerOfTheDog is an outstanding achievement.#Oscars2022 #OscarNoms https://t.co/0fmKrunS83

— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) February 8, 2022

Glad to see that The Power of the Dog dominated the Oscars with 12 nominations, the most of any film! Hey, there’s even a real life couple nominated together for the same film:

Happy #OscarNoms Day!!

There must be plenty of dancing in the #KirstenDunst + #JessePlemons household today!! Glad to see they’re nominated together this year.#ThePowerOfTheDog #Oscars #Oscars2022 pic.twitter.com/yA1YR8ocdd

— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) February 8, 2022

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For those of you who like to keep score…

Most nominated films at #Oscars

The Power of the Dog – 12
Dune – 10
West Side Story – 7
Belfast – 7
King Richard – 6
Don’t Look Up – 4
Drive My Car – 4
Nightmare Alley – 4
The Lost Daughter – 3
CODA – 3
Being The Ricardos – 3
Flee – 3
Encanto – 3
Licorice Pizza –3 pic.twitter.com/H0DsbF16up

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) February 8, 2022

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Here are 10 things I’m thrilled about …

Let’s start with the positive, as there are quite a few things the Oscars get right this year that are worth celebrating!

1. I’ve tweeted about it but I’ll mention it again… Woo hoo!! Jane Campion got a directing nod for her exceptional work in The Power of the Dog and became only the second female director to be nominated TWICE in the same category! Hopefully this means she’d direct more films in the future!
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2. CODA getting a Best Picture nod, plus two more nominations: Siân Heder nominated in the Adapted Screenplay Category and the fabulous performance of Troy Katsur being recognized amongst the Best Supporting Actors, woot!

#CODA star Troy Kotsur has become the first deaf man and the second deaf actor nominated at the #Oscars https://t.co/i7ddSVngR4 pic.twitter.com/doN1PcKU5G

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 9, 2022

3. In the Best Supporting Actress category, sooo happy for these four ladies in their first nomination (first of many I hope!): Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”), Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”) AND Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”). I’m especially glad that Ellis got in as I was afraid she’d get overlooked. All these ladies are amazingly talented so hopefully that means we’ll see more of them in more prominent roles!

4. Talk about wish granted!!

Woot!! #DriveMyCar gets a nod in #BestPicture plus #RyûsukeHamaguchi also landing Best Director nomination! 🥳#OscarsNoms #Oscars2022 https://t.co/65YtEKGSL5 pic.twitter.com/6WIG1j0F6j

— FlixChatter (@FlixChatter) February 8, 2022

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5. What a year for Andrew Garfield!! He’s got his second nomination for Tick, Tick… Boom! in the Best Actor category (his first was for Hacksaw Ridge), in the same year his Spider-man character gets the redemption he deserved, woo hoo!!
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6. Yay Ciarán Hinds!! He’s been churning out so many great performances over the years, glad the Academy finally recognized his work.

7. Glad to see Nightmare Alley being recognized in multiple categories, including Best Picture! It’s definitely a shoo-in for Best Production Design, Costume and Cinematography, awesome to see all of those get recognition they deserve!
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8. Now, normally I don’t rejoice for someone NOT being nominated but I really do not care for Jared Leto‘s caricature of a performance in House of Gucci. He’s already got Critics’ Choice Award and SAG Award noms anyway, which still baffles me to be honest. But hey, the hair & makeup people definitely deserved some kudos so I am glad they got nominated!

9. All hail King Denzel!! I was so impressed with The Tragedy Of Macbeth and Denzel Washington commands the screen like nobody’s business. He’s got such gravitas and regal-ness, but I love his subtlety in portraying the madness and ruthless ambition of Macbeth.

Denzel Washington has been nominated for an #Oscars in 5 different decades and is the most Oscar-Nominated Black actor of all time.

Cry Freedom
Glory
Malcom X
The Hurricane
Training Day
Flight
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Fences
Tragedy of Macbeth pic.twitter.com/nKSUkXZlTX

— FILM DAZE (@filmdaze) February 8, 2022

10. DUNE reigns at the top of my Best 2021 Movies list, so naturally I’m thrilled to see it nominated in 10 different categories! It’s truly an outstanding achievement in filmmaking, which brings me to…

The egregious snubs …

It wouldn’t be Oscars week without reading the word ‘snub’ all over social media and film sites. I’m generally pretty happy with this year’s nominations, but still I think a few people were overlooked.

• Let’s start with the obvious one… where is Denis Villeneuve?? So DUNE apparently directs itself?? The only consolation for me is that this is just part 1…

• I was REALLY hoping to see Kathryn Hunter‘s name in Best Supporting Actress category for The Tragedy of Macbeth. Her scene-stealing, haunting performance as the three witches was definitely a major highlight, alas…

• Adam Driver delivered three strong performances this year that are so different from each other, but not a single one was apparently good enough for the Academy

• Well it seems Adam’s female co-stars have also been snubbed at the Oscars. Jodie Comer was exceptional in The Last Duel, it’s perhaps one of my favorite female performances of 2021.
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• I know Lady Gaga‘s fans are furious that she was snubbed by the Academy after being nominated for practically every other major awards, Globes, BAFTAS, SAG, etc. But I think Ridley Scott is snubbed for his work in The Last Duel, which I think warrants at least a Best Director nod.
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• Another Best Supporting Actress snub is Caitríona Balfe in Belfast. I think she gave a wonderfully layered performance in that film. She probably doesn’t mind that her co-star, the venerable Dame Judi Dench, got a nod though, but I was hoping both of them would make the cut.

• Does the Academy have something against Passing?? I love Tessa Thompson‘s performance and I think award pundits think Ruth Negga would’ve gotten a nod.
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• There has been a few career-best performances from veteran actors this past year, and one of them has got to be Nicolas Cage in Pig as a former acclaimed chef turned reclusive truffle hunter. I wish he had been nominated instead of Javier Bardem in Being The Ricardos.

• One of the animated features I highly enjoyed last year was SING 2. Now, I usually love Pixar movies but LUCA is honestly not that great, so I was stunned to see it nominated. None of the fun songs from SING 2 got nominated either… oh well.
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• Lastly, what happened with C’mon, C’mon? I really thought Joaquin Phoenix deserved a nomination for his wonderful, emotional performance … Mike Mills was also snubbed in the Original Screenplay category.

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Full List of Oscar Nominees

In case you missed the live telecast of the nominees announced by Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross, here’s the video:

BEST PICTURE

1. Belfast (Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, Producers)
2. CODA (Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, Producers)
3. Don’t Look Up (Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers)
4. Drive My Car (Teruhisa Yamamoto, Producer)
5. Dune (Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, Producers)
6. King Richard (Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, Producers)
7. Licorice Pizza (Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers)
8. Nightmare Alley (Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, Producers)
9. The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, Producers)
10. West Side Story (Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers)

BEST DIRECTOR

Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”)
Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”)
Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”)
Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”)

Best Lead Actor

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”)

Best Lead Actress

Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”)
Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”)
Penélope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”)
Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”)
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”)

Best Supporting Actor

Ciarán 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”)

Best Supporting Actress

Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”)
Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”)
Judi Dench (“Belfast”)
Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”)
Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”)

Best Adapted Screenplay

“CODA,” screenplay by Siân Heder
“Drive My Car,” screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
“Dune,” screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth
“The Lost Daughter,” written by Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog,” written by Jane Campion

Best Original Screenplay

“Belfast,” written by Kenneth Branagh
“Don’t Look Up,” screenplay by Adam McKay; story by Adam McKay and David Sirota
“King Richard,” written by Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza,” written by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Worst Person in the World,” written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Best Cinematography

“Dune,” Greig Fraser
“Nightmare Alley,” Dan Laustsen
“The Power of the Dog,” Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Bruno Delbonnel
“West Side Story,” Janusz Kaminski

Best Animated Feature Film

“Encanto,” Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Luca,” Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren
“The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht
“Raya and the Last Dragon,” Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho

Best Animated Short Film

“Affairs of the Art,” Joanna Quinn and Les Mills
“Bestia,” Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz
“Boxballet,” Anton Dyakov
“Robin Robin,” Dan Ojari and Mikey Please
“The Windshield Wiper,” Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez

Best Costume Design

“Cruella,” Jenny Beavan
“Cyrano,” Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran
“Dune,” Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan
“Nightmare Alley,” Luis Sequeira
“West Side Story,” Paul Tazewell

Best Original Score

“Don’t Look Up,” Nicholas Britell
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer
“Encanto,” Germaine Franco
“Parallel Mothers,” Alberto Iglesias
“The Power of the Dog,” Jonny Greenwood

Best Sound

“Belfast,” Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
“Dune,” Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett
“No Time to Die,” Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor
“The Power of the Dog,” Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb
“West Side Story,” Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy

Best Original Song

“Be Alive” from “King Richard,” music and lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto,” music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down To Joy” from “Belfast,” music and lyric by Van Morrison
“No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
“Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days,” music and lyric by Diane Warren

Best Documentary Feature

“Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
“Attica,” Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie
“Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein
“Writing With Fire,” Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

Best Film Editing

“Don’t Look Up,” Hank Corwin
“Dune,” Joe Walker
“King Richard”, Pamela Martin
“The Power of the Dog,” Peter Sciberras
“Tick, Tick…Boom!” Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum

Best International Feature Film

“Drive My Car” (Japan)
“Flee” (Denmark)
“The Hand of God” (Italy)
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” (Bhutan)
“The Worst Person in the World” (Norway)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

“Coming 2 America,” Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer
“Cruella,” Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon
“Dune,” Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh
“House of Gucci,” Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras

Best Production Design

“Dune,” production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
“Nightmare Alley,” production design: Tamara Deverell; set decoration: Shane Vieau
“The Power of the Dog,” production design: Grant Major; set decoration: Amber Richards
“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” production design: Stefan Dechant; set decoration: Nancy Haigh
“West Side Story,” production design: Adam Stockhausen; set decoration: Rena DeAngelo

Best Visual Effects

“Dune,” Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer
“Free Guy,” Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick
“No Time to Die,” Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver
“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick

Best Live Action Short Film

“Ala Kachuu – Take and Run,” Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger
“The Dress,” Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki
“The Long Goodbye,” Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed
“On My Mind,” Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson
“Please Hold,” K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse

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The 94th Oscars ceremony will take place at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on March 27. The show will be televised live on ABC at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET

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Well, what are YOUR thoughts about the 2022 Oscars noms + snubs this year?

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