What If Lisa Marie Picked The Oscar Nominees: 2022 Edition

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

With the Oscar nominations due to be announced tomorrow, now is the time that the Shattered Lens indulges in a little something called, “What if Lisa Marie had all the power.” Listed below are my personal Oscar nominations. Please note that these are not the films that I necessarily think will be nominated. The fact of the matter is that the many of them will not be. Instead, these are the films that would be nominated if I was solely responsible for deciding the nominees this year. Winners are listed in bold.

It should also go without saying that I’ve only nominated films that I’ve actually seen. So, if you’re wondering why a certain film wasn’t nominated, it’s always possible that may have not gotten the opportunity to see it yet. Of course, it’s also possible that I didn’t feel that a certain film was worthy of a nomination, despite what the critics may say. In the end, my best advice is not to worry too much about it. I’m not an Academy voter so ultimately, this is all for fun and that’s the spirit in which it should be taken.

You’ll also note that I’ve added four categories, all of which I believe the Academy should adopt — Best Voice-Over Performance, Best Casting, Best Stunt Work, and Best Overall Use Of Music In A Film.

(Click on the links to see my nominations for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010!)

And now, without any further ado:

2022

Best Picture

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

Emily the Criminal

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Fabelmans

Nitram

TAR

Top Gun: Maverick

Vengeance

Best Director

Edward Berger for All Quiet on the Western Front

Todd Field for TAR

Joseph Kosinski for Top Gun: Maverick

Baz Luhrmann for Elvis

Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin

BJ Novak for Vengeance

Best Actor

Austin Butler in Elvis

Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick

Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin

Caleb Landry Jones in Nitram

BJ Novak in Vengeance

Adam Sandler in Hustle

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett in TAR

Emma Corrin in Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Annie Hardy in Dashcam

Mia Goth for Pearl

Aubrey Plaza in Emily The Criminal

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actor

Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin

Val Kilmer in Top Gun: Maverick

Anthony LaPaglia in Nitram

David Lynch in The Fabelmans

Brad Pitt in Babylon

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actress

Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin

Essie Davis in Nitram

Judy Davis in Nitram

Nina Hoss in TAR

Nicole Kidman in The Northman

Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans

Best Voice Over Performance

Antonio Banderas in Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Jack Black in Apollo 10 ½

Steve Carell in Minions: The Rise of Gru

Mike Judge in Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe

Ewan McGregor in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Jenny Slate in Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Best Adapted Screenplay

All Quiet On The Western Front

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

Operation Mincemeat

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Original Screenplay

Apollo 10 ½

The Banshees of Inisherin

Emily the Criminal

Everything Everywhere All At Once

TAR

Vengeance

Best Animated Feature Film

Apollo 10 ½

Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe

The Bob’s Burgers Movie

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinoccio

The House

Mad God

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Minions: The Rise of Gru

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Turning Red

Best Documentary Feature Film

The Automat

Bitterbrush

Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel

Goodnight Oppy

Is That Black Enough For You?

My Old School

Selena Gomez: My Mind And Me

Send Me

Three Minutes: A Lengthening

Wildcat

Best International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front

Bardo

Battle: Freestyle

The Bombardment

Dark Glasses

How I Fell In Love With A Gangster

Into the Wind

My Best Friend Anne Frank

Restless

RRR

Best Live Action Short Film

A Little Dead

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Best Animated Short Film

The Flying Sailor

Ice Merchants

The Garbage Man

Steakhouse

Best Documentary Short Film

Elephant Whisperers

Her Majesty’s Queue

The Martha Mitchell Effect

Nuisance Bear

The Runner

Stranger at the Gate

Best Original Score

All Quiet On The Western Front

Babylon

The Banshees of Inisherin

Don’t Worry, Darling

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Original Song

“At the Automat” from The Automat

“Sunny Side Up Summer” from The Bob’s Burgers Movie

“Vegas” from Elvis

“Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

“Naatu Naatu” from RRR

“My Mind and Me” From Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me

“Hold My Hand” From Top Gun: Maverick

“Carolina” From Where The Crawdads Sing

“New Body Rhumba” from White Noise

“A Sky Like I’ve Never Seen” from Wildcat

Best Overall Use of Music In A Movie

The Banshees of Inisherin

Elvis

TAR

Father Stu

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Sound Editing

All Quiet On The Western Front

Avatar: The Way of the Water

The Bombardment

Elvis

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinoccio

Top Gun Maverick

Best Sound Mixing

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Batman

Elvis

TAR

The Northman

Top Gun Maverick

Best Production Design

Babylon

The Batman

Elvis

The Fabelmans

RRR

See How They Run

Best Casting

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Northman

She Said

TAR

Top Gun: Maverick

Vengeance

Best Cinematography

The Banshees of Inisherin

Bardo

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All At Once

RRR

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Costume Design

Babylon

Death on the Nile

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Elvis

The Fabelmans

See How They Run

Best Film Editing

All Quiet on the Western Front

Ambulance

The Banshees of Inisherin

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Fabelmans

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Make-Up and Hairstyling

Babylon

Elvis

The Fabelmans

The Northman

Terrifier 2

Best Stuntwork

All Quiet On The Western Front

The Batman

Bullet Train

Everything Everywhere All At Once

RRR

Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects

Avatar: The Way of Water

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Mad God

RRR

Terrifier 2

Top Gun: Maverick

Films Listed By Number of Nominations

15 Nominations — Top Gun: Maverick

11 Nominations — Elvis

10 Nominations — All Quiet On The Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin

8 Nominations — TAR

7 Nominations — Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Fabelmans

6 Nominations — Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, RRR

5 Nominations — Babylon, Nitram, Vengeance

4 Nominations — The Northman, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

3 Nominations — Apollo 10 1/2, The Batman, Emily the Criminal, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

2 Nominations — The Automat, Avatar: The Way of the Water, Bardo, Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, The Bombardment, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Mad Dog, Minions: The Rise of Gru, See How They Run, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, Terrifier 2, Wildcat, X

1 Nomination — A Little Dead, Ambulance, Battle: Freestyle, Bitterbush, Bullet Train, Dascham, Dark Glasses, Death on the Nile, Don’t Worry Darling, Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel, Elephant Whisperers, Father Stu, The Flying Sailor, Forgive Us Our Trespasses, The Garbage Man, Goodnight Oppy, Her Majesty’s Queue, How I Fell In Love With A Gangster, Hustle, Ice Merchants, Into the Wind, Is That Black Enough For You?, The House, Hustle, The Martha Mitchell Effect, My Friend Anne Frank, My Old School, Nuisance Bear, Operation: Mincemeat, Pearl, Restless, The Runner, Send Me, She Said, Steakhouse, Stranger at the Gates, Three Minutes: A Lengthening, Turning Red, Where The Crawdads Sing, White Noise

Films Listed By Number of Wins:

6 Oscars — Top Gun: Maverick

4 Oscars — All Quiet on the Western Front, Banshees of Inisherin

2 Oscars — Babylon, Elvis, TAR

1 Oscars — A Little Death, Avatar: The Way of the Water, Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Ice Merchant, Nuisance Bear, Three Minutes: A Lengthening, X

Will the Academy and I agree? Probably not! But we’ll find out for sure in just a few hours!

Film Review: Death on the Nile (dir by Kenneth Branagh)

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The main mystery at the heart of Kenneth Branagh’s adaption of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile is not who committed the film’s murders but just how seriously we, the audience, are meant to take what we’re watching.

In this much-delayed (by COVID and a cast full of actors who could not escape personal scandal) follow-up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, Kenneth Branagh again plays the eccentric detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot is again in an exotic land, this time Egypt. And again, circumstances have conspired to isolate him and a group of wealthy and glamorous suspects from the rest of the world. In Murder on the Orient Express, everyone was stuck on a train. Here, they are stuck on a boat. Admittedly, the boat provides a nice view of the pyramids but, eventually, even those testaments to engineering seem to be mocking the people stuck on the boat. The pyramids, after all, have survived for centuries. The same cannot be said for the people who have come to see them. Over the course of the film, there are several murders. (Indeed, Death on the Nile is significantly bloodier than Murder on the Orient Express and, unlike what happened on the Orient Express, the majority of the victims have done nothing to deserve their grisly fate.) Like Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is based on a novel by Agatha Christie. Branagh changes a few details from Christie’s novel, which is understandable since it’s important to keep the audience guessing. For instance, Bouc (Tom Bateman), who was Poirot’s assistant in Murder on the Orient Express, returns in Branagh’s film version and provides some continuity between the two films. It also provides a nice side-mystery as the audience tries to figure out how Poirot and Bouc could just happen to run into each other in Egypt. Fear not, the film offers up a solution.

As is to be expected, the victims and the suspects are brought to life by a cast of stars and familiar character actors, all of whom act up a storm. Some, of course, do a better job of embracing the melodrama than others. Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot play a glamorous couple and, regardless of how we feel about Hammer as a human being, it works because Gadot and Hammer both look they could have stepped out of a sophisticated, 1930s RKO comedy. (Hammer’s stiff line readings, which are totally appropriate for his character, would actually be a highlight of the film if he wasn’t Armie Hammer.) Russell Brand is oddly subdued as the doctor with the secret while Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders show up to keep all of the British comedy fanatics happy. Sophie Okonedo plays a jazz singer and how you react to her character will depend on how much patience you have for anachronistic musical numbers. (There’s a surprisingly large amount of them.) Annettte Bening plays Bouc’s mother and there’s really not a subtle moment to be found in her performance but again, it works because Death on the Nile is not a particularly subtle film. It’s a film that demands a certain amount of calculated overacting and Bening is enough of a veteran performer to deliver exactly what the film needs.

No, there’s nothing particularly subtle about Death on the Nile but then again, that’s always been a part of Kenneth Branagh’s appeal. Branagh’s endless (and often justified) faith in his own abilities as a director and an actor means that Branagh is willing to do things that others would avoid, whether that means making a 4-hour version of Hamlet or a black-and-white film about growing up in Belfast or, for that matter, a gaudy Agatha Christie adaptation in which he plays the lead detective. Death on the Nile is a celebration of melodrama, beautiful people, and nice clothes. Even the fact that the Egyptian backdrops are obviously phony works to the film’s advantage, giving the proceedings a bit of a retro, Hollywood studio system feel. At its best, Death on the Nile is an homage to old-fashioned camp..

And yet, there are hints that Branagh means for the film to be something more. The films opens with a prologue, one that is not included in Christie’s book or in anything else that Christie wrote about Poirot. The prologue, which is filmed in black-and-white, features Poirot getting terribly wounded during World War I and growing his famous mustache to cover his scars. We also discover that the great love of Poirot’s life was a nurse who died during the war. Later, while solving the murder, Poirot often talks about how he has shut himself away from the world, never wanting to risk falling in love again. There’s even a hint that Poirot has fallen for one of the suspects. Branagh’s a good actor and can obviously pull off Poirot’s inner turmoil but those little serious asides still feel out of place in a film that features Armie Hammer and Russell Brand as romantic rivals. It’s hard not to wonder if Branagh is in on the joke or if he’s seriously attempting to use Poirot as a symbol for an alienated and traumatized society.

One could argue that Poirot uses his mustache to hide from the world in much the same way that many people have spent the past two years using their masks to hide from COVID. Except, of course, Death on the Nile was actually filmed three years ago, before anyone had even heard of COVID-19. The film was first delayed by the theaters shutting down. It was delayed a second time by the scandals surrounded Armie Hammer. (Indeed, this film will probably be the last major studio release to feature Armie Hammer.) It was finally released in February of this year and, within a month, it was on Hulu and HBOMax. It didn’t exactly kill at the box office but I think Death on the Nile will be rediscovered over the years. It’s a minor entry in Branagh’s filmography but it’s still enjoyably silly, regardless of whether that was Branagh’s intention or not.

8 Things That I Am Looking Forward To In February

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ah, February!

February is usually one of my favorite months of the year. Not only do we usually have a lot of Oscar scenarios to which to look forward but it’s also the month of Valentine’s Day! This is the month of love, people! Admittedly, pre-COVID, this was also the month when I would usually take my vacation and get out of town for a while. My vacation’s going to be a little bit later this year, though.

What am I looking forward to this month? Well, there’s always a chance of snow! Of course, last year, it snowed in February and we ended up going without power for a week. That was a difficult time for a lot of people down here in Texas. It really wasn’t that difficult for me, though. I kind of enjoyed the snow. Even without the lights, I could still read a book late at night because of the light reflecting off of all the snow. That was kind of fun. But I should probably be careful about admitting that too loudly.

Anyway, here are eight things to which I am looking forward in February! What are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments and maybe I’ll send some snow your way. (And by snow, you mean cocaine, right? No, I mean metaphorical snow. Wait a minute, who am I talking to?)

The Oscar Nominations

The Oscar nominations will finally be announced on February 8th! With any luck, I will be posting my personal nominations on the 7th. I have a lot of movies left to watch and I know I’m probably going to miss out on a few because there’s only so many hours during the day. That sucks but I’m going to do my best, I promise.

2. The Winter Olympics

Am I looking forward to the Olympics? On the one hand, I am because I’m love ice skating and curling and all of that good stuff. On the other hand, I’m like, “This is the most problematic Olympics of my lifetime.” I know that some people believe that we should have totally boycotted the Olympics this year. I don’t agree with that because that wouldn’t accomplish much beyond punishing our athletes. Instead, as a proud Irish-Italian-Spanish-American, I will be cheering on all of our athletes, even the really obnoxious ones and I will also be hoping that the coverage of the games will be honest when discussing why they are so controversial this year.

3. Death on the Nile

Speaking of controversy ….. Death on the Nile is finally getting released! First, it was delayed by COVID. Then it was delayed by Armie Hammer. I’m just curious to see how it does at the box office. Personally, I like the idea of Kenneth Branagh playing Poirot and solving murders. To me, it’s interesting that he directed this film before Belfast but it’ll be opening at a time when it’s success or failure could effect Belfast’s Oscar campaign.

4. Cyrano

Cyrano is apparently going to finally get a wide release on February 25th. I guess the hope is that it’ll pick up some Oscar nominations and, when it opens, everyone will be like, “Finally! We can see what the Academy is so excited about!” I hate platform releases but I’m still looking forward to finally seeing Cyrano.

5. Marry Me

This looks like the best romantic comedy of 2004! Seriously, sometimes you see a trailer for a movie that is so destined to be bad that you just have to watch it.

6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

My Marry Me comments apply here as well, except for the romantic comedy part. Don’t worry. If this latest reboot/sequel doesn’t work, they’ll just try again in 2024. Many years ago, someone got mad at me because I pointed out that no one would care about a Vermont Chainsaw Massacre. I stand by that opinion.

7. Super Bowl Sunday

Yes, I watched a bit of football in January. It was an experiment to see if I could get into the sport. It turns out that I can’t. But I’m still looking forward to the Super Bowl commercials and the trailers and the tweets! Always, the tweets….

8. Valentine’s Day

I love Valentine’s Day and I never quite get the bitterness that it seems to inspire in some people. Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever been single on Valentine’s Day, either.

As for what I’m not looking forward to in February …. the return of Celebrity Big Brother. Ugh. I’ll watch it but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it.

Here’s The Trailer For Death On The Nile!

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Kenneth Branagh is back with another Agatha Christie adaptation and, again, he’s brought along an all-star cast. I will definitely see Death on the Nile because seriously, how can you go wrong with a murder mystery featuring Gal Gabot, Armie Hammer, and Russell Brand? It should be fun if nothing else.

The movie comes out on October 23rd and here’s the trailer: