The Academy finally announced their Oscar nominations for 2015, and they certainly created a lot of controversy. With plenty of surprise nominations (American Sniper?!), snubs (Selma), and surprises (Marion Cotillard!), there was plenty to like (and plenty more to dislike). On this edition of the Way Too Indiecast, editor-in-chief Dustin Jansick sits down with C.J. Prince to discuss the most interesting and surprising nominees. Topics include what might be the biggest snub of the year (hint: this snub was definitely the opposite of awesome), why people love nominating Meryl Streep for everything, a strange choice in Best Director, the success of The Grand Budapest Hotel and more.

Topics

• 2015 Oscar Nominations (0:35)
• Biggest Snubs (13:15)
• Best Foreign Films (18:30)
• Grand Budapest Hotel (24:25)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

2015 Oscar Nominations List

American Sniper Review

Selma Review

Into the Woods Review

Subscribe to the Way Too Indiecast

• Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes
• Subscribe to the podcast on Stitcher
• and don’t forget to leave us a rating and quick review!

Over four tours of duty during the Iraq War, Navy SEAL Chris Kyle became the most legendary sniper in U.S. history, racking up 160 kills (earning him the fitting nickname “Legend” among his fellow soldiers). Clint Eastwood‘s haunting  American Sniper at first chronicles the damage Kyle (played by a bulked-up, Southern twangy Bradley Cooper) inflicts upon enemies centered in the scope of his rifle, playing out like a slightly less-suspenseful Hurt Locker. But as the film drifts into its second half, it does something better than Hurt Locker did: we see the damage those 160 kills have on Kyle’s psyche, as Eastwood’s ground combat thriller transforms into a riveting paranoia piece and an intimate cautionary tale about the dehumanizing and mentally deteriorative effects of the horrors of the battlefield.

Cooper at first plays Kyle (who died before the film’s completion) like a big, burly bundle of stereotypes; he’s a beer-swiggin’ rodeo cowboy, a Southern charmer (we see him pick up dubious girl at a bar, Taya, played by Sienna Miller, later his wife), and a bigoted patriot (he calls Iraqis “savages”). He’s the poster child for down-home Americana, but what’s interesting about Kyle is how all of these traits inform his role as a sniper. We follow him from the moment he enlists in the military, and what’s immediately evident is that his single-minded dedication to his country makes him perfect behind the rifle; his scope is as unshakeable and narrow as his worldview and patriotism.

The series of raids, gunfights, and rooftop stakeouts that make up the first half of the movie are well-made, if a bit repetitive. Several times we see Kyle line up victims in his sights as the question of “to kill or not to kill” chews up his insides. Cooper is fantastic at communicating the unbearable weight of playing god with people’s lives; on two separate occasions he’s finds a child at the end of his barrel. He spares one, pulls the trigger on the other. He trembles and holds back tears for both. A somewhat overarching narrative eventually emerges about a deadly street boss called “The Butcher” and an Iraqi sniper with skills that rival Kyle’s, but the truth of the matter is, everything we see in Iraq is ultimately only meant to set up the real meat of the story, which is what we see when Kyle returns home to Taya and his son.

Eastwood and Cooper’s depiction of post-traumatic stress disorder is superb; back at the Kyle household we see the war-torn soldier sitting in front of his TV, staring blankly at the screen as people bustle in the backyard for his young son’s birthday party. Eastwood cuts to behind Kyle’s back to reveal that the TV is, in fact, not even turned on. It’s a chilling image of a lost soul dismantled. Late in the film we see a massive dust storm  swallowing the streets of Fallujah, an injured Kyle racing to catch up with his comrades as they speed away in a Humvee. In a jaw-dropping shot from the perspective of the vehicle we see Kyle desperately reaching his arm out to his friends, barely visible in the dark cloud of dust. His humanity is hanging by a thread, nearly swallowed up by the void. The effect Kyle’s four tours have on his family isn’t handled as well. The film is told exclusively from his perspective, so while his high anxiety is expressed incredibly well cinematically, Taya’s anguish is communicated through rote dialogue about her husband not really being there, even when he’s present in the household.

As in Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, Eastwood explores the complexities and ambiguities of violence and the toll taking lives takes on the mind. Avoided are the intricacies of war politics; this is a story about one soldier, what he did and what he saw. The biggest thing Eastwood and screenwriter Jason Hall get right is how honest they are about the more unflattering aspects of Kyle’s character. He’s portrayed in a less than flattering light quite often, though his heroism is beyond question by the end of the film.

But American Sniper questions popular ideas about heroism in interesting ways most military movies don’t. While Kyle’s brothers in his platoon praise him as a hero for thinning enemy numbers, he clearly isn’t proud about that accomplishment; those 160 lives follow him around every day. What’s heroic about Kyle is his refusal to lose himself completely. Prior to his death last year, he had rebuilt himself to where he could be an attentive, loving father and husband, and even offered his services to aid fellow veterans in need of mental rehabilitation themselves. Tragically, Kyle’s life was taken by one of the veterans he was trying to help, a moment we don’t see on screen in good taste.

Originally published on Dec. 23, 2014.

Like them or not, the 2015 Oscar nominations are in.

Snubbing seems to happen every year, apparent front-runners don’t receive nominations and the list of nominations are questioned. No The Lego Movie in Best Animated Film. No Life Itself or The Overnighters in Best Documentary Feature. Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo walk away empty-handed. Gone Girl left out of Best Picture, Best Director, and (strangest of all) Best Adapted Screenplay. Foxcatcher has good enough direction, acting and screenplay, but not good enough for a Best Picture nomination.

Sometimes the list of snubs can shine a light on a great year, which by all means 2014 was (or at the very least, 2014 was better than people think). We all knew that categories like Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, etc. were going to be tight races, so it’s too easy for one of our favorites to just miss the cut (like Jake Gyllenhaal).

Shifting to a positive note, Way Too Indie favorites Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel led the nominations with nine each. Boyhood received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and both supporting acting categories. Despite its snubs in all the other major categories, Selma was recognized with a Best Picture nomination. Ida, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, also received a nomination for its stunning black-and-white cinematography. While we expected to see Force Majeure and Two Days, One Night on the list for Best Foreign Language Film, we’re equally happy to have Wild Tales and Leviathan. Meanwhile, Whiplash hauled in a whopping six nominations including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

Finally, American Sniper, a film that didn’t seem to have much buzz, received six nominations. And somehow the dismal Angelina Jolie film Unbroken wound up with three nominations. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Full list of 2015 Oscar Nominations

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu – Birdman
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Bennett Miller – Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida – Poland
Leviathan – Russia
Tangerines – Estonia
Timbuktu – Mauritania
Wild Tales – Argentina

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Everything Is Awesome” – The Lego Movie
“Glory” – Selma
“Grateful” – Beyond the Lights
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” – Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
“Lost Stars” – Begin Again

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

BEST EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

Let’s talk about FOMO.

You know what I’m talking about. That feeling you get when a friend posts online that they just saw the film you’ve read about for months and haven’t seen yet. It’s avoiding social media the entire weekend a new movie opens for fear of spoilers. It’s knowing that awards season is just around the bend and there’s more films to be seen than time to see them in. It’s Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) and in some way, shape, or form it’s been eating at you for months during the busy-ness of fall. But the light at the end of the tunnel has arrived: the Holidays.

Full, work-free days where you are practically mandated to eat a lot of food and catch up on movies. But unless you’re in college, you don’t have ALL the time in the world, so here’s your Holiday Movie Preview, just in time to help you figure out what’s coming out so you know where best to put your energy. You may return to work from the holidays 5 pounds heavier, but you’ll ace any water cooler movie pop-quizzes.

Must-Sees

Mockingjay: Part 1

It’s the beginning of the end for what is arguably the best YA film adaptation series of all time. Of course you’ll feel incomplete having to wait a year for Part 2, but this will be the one all your friends are talking about. (11/20)

The Imitation Game

The Oscar buzz around Benedict Cumberbatch will make this one worth being able to talk about. (11/27)

The Babadook

Perfect for those who like balancing savory and sweet, family time and fright time. Nothing makes you more grateful for family than a horror film about a mother and her son fighting to reconnect as they are haunted by a kid’s book character. (11/28, limited)

Wild

Skip the book, see the movie, bring tissues. Reese Witherspoon is phenomenal in the film, and Laura Dern adds emotional veracity. (12/4)

Still Alice

It’s been a slow year for decent female-led films. Julianne Moore has been building buzz around her role as a woman who discovers she has early-onset alzheimers. (12/5, limited)

Top Five

Animated films and Grown Ups movies aside, Chris Rock hasn’t been on our radar for a while, but when Top Five debuted at TIFF this year it was immediately what everyone was talking about. Chris Rock taps his best stand-up while exploring being black and famous. (12/11)

Exodus: Gods and Kings

If you’re over Middle Earth but still want some big screen epic action (with Christian Bale no less), this film’s got your back. And if it means Ridley Scott is getting back to Gladiator-level awesomeness, it should be a satisfying watch. (12/11)

Inherent Vice

The loopy, cool movie you’re film-geek friends will want to discuss. With a bit more humor than his usual, Paul Thomas Anderson weaves a groovy stoner-style mystery starring Joaquin Phoenix. (12/12, limited)

Mr. Turner

A British biopic of the eccentric painter J.M.W. Turner. Timothy Spall will be among award contenders playing the impassioned artist in director Mike Leigh’s latest. (12/18)

Big Eyes

This one might be iffy as the historical art drama hasn’t garnered a whole lot of accolade as of yet, but we’re willing to take a bet on Tim Burton, Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams almost any day. (12/24)

Unbroken

Angelina Jolie’s inspiration tale of war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell,) who was taken as a prisoner-of-war in WWII after surviving in a raft for a month and a half. Take Grandma, it’s almost guaranteed to be the inspirational tale of the year. (12/24)

The Interview

Intriguing due to the controversy around it and Kim Jong-Un’s apparent hatred for it. Basically after seeing Rogan and Franco in This Is the End we’re betting this could be just as hilarious. A good one to catch with friends once the family has cleared out. (12/25)

American Sniper

It’s not a true end of the year awards race without an entry from Clint Eastwood. Starring Bradley Cooper as America’s best sniper, coping with life in war, and outside of it. (12/25, limited)

Selma

If you live near a city you’ll likely be able to see this one before it goes nationwide in January, marking the 50th anniversary of the organization of the march from Selma to Montgomery, a turning point in the American Civil Rights movement. Critical consensus thus far is that director Ava DuVernay makes a name for herself with this timely historical drama. (12/25, limited)

A Most Violent Year

Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are the new wave of hollywood elite, of the DeNiro and Streep variety. It’s a crime-thriller set in dirty 1981 NYC where an immigrant family attempts to capitalize on the American Dream. Might be the perfect grit to go with all that dessert you’ve been eating. (12/31)

Leviathan

Alright, this is for the arthouse families willing to find small theaters and in the mood for a more serious foreign film. But this drama around a family in a small fishing town has garnered serious praise thus far. (12/31, limited)

With the Family

Family-safe for when the small-talk AND the food has run out.

Penguins of Madagascar

The other Benedict Cumberbatch movie opening Thanksgiving week, and while this franchise seems overdone, from what we saw at Comic-Con it’s quite clever. Take your little sister. She’ll love you. (11/25)

The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies

For the family member obsessed with Tolkien, or for those who always finish a book even if they don’t like it. At least you’ll feel you got closure by watching this last installment in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit series. (12/16)

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

It’s the third in the franchise, so no guarantees on quality. But the gang’s all back, Stiller, Wilson, Gervais, and even Robin Williams. Might be nice to see just to see the latter one more time. (12/18)

Annie

Understand that we’re only trying to give you options that the whole family might enjoy. But as a musical re-make of an already cutesy film, we make no promises. Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, and Rose Byrne lead the family friendly foray. (12/19)

Into The Woods

A film version of Sondheim’s musical of fairy tale characters with real world problems sounds great. With Disney behind it, we worry they may soften it a bit. Either way it’s got an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, and Chris Pine. (12/24)

Skip ‘Em

Trust us, these ones are likely not to be worth your precious time.

VHS: Viral (11/21)

Horrible Bosses 2 (11/25)

Extraterrestrial (11/28)

The Gambler (12/19)

The Mule (12/28)

Dying of the Light (12/5)

Though we are only a few months away from the Holiday film season, it’s still a pretty foggy picture on which films will be the biggest contenders for this year’s Oscars. Films like Into the Woods and Gone Girl may be considered favorites at this point, but the wide-open field just got another wildcard with Clint Eastwood‘s American Sniper, as it was recently announced that the film will open on Christmas Day.

Though Eastwood hasn’t directed a film that was nominated for Best Picture since 2007’s Letters from Iwo Jima, American Sniper may reverse that trend. His return to the war genre stars Bradley Cooper as real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose long military career included 150 confirmed kills, the most in American military history. Based on Kyle’s memoir, the film will most certainly play as a riveting epic with human interest appeal.

With the Christmas release, it should not only get the attention of awards voters, but also audiences — paired against comedies Hot Tub Time Machine 2, The Interview and family films Into the Woods and Paddington, it will fill the blockbuster slot on the schedule.