It would not be Oscars season without people calling attention to the artists who were not nominated for the prestigious award. Here are some movies that got snubbed in certain categories.

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”: Best Score, Best VFX & Best Picture

For a film as critically-acclaimed, mesmerizing and creatively overloaded as “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, you would think it would be celebrated like any other critically-acclaimed film by the Academy. Best score seemed like a shoo-in nomination, but instead the Academy went the lazy route by voting for the “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” score that reuses elements of previous “Indiana Jones” film scores. Lovely. For the other awards, I would replace “Napoleon” for Best VFX and replace “Maestro” for best picture. This film deserved so much more. 

“Past Lives”: Best Actress

Greta Lee (“The Morning Show”) gave such a strong, subdued performance in this romantic drama about two childhood friends and their relationship over a 24-year period. Do not get me wrong, Carey Mulligan (“Saltburn”) was solid in “Maestro”, but it does not hold a candle to Lee and the relatable character she plays so gracefully.

“May December”: Best Supporting Actor

While I am pretty content with the Best Supporting Actor nominations, Charles Melton (“Riverdale”) was one many people were hoping to see. And I totally get it. He portrayed a difficult, complex, and broken character so unexpectedly well. At the very least, I hope Melton gets more prominent roles in movies to come. He is clearly very talented.

“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Best Adapted Screenplay & Best Actor

Despite being nominated in ten other categories, “Killers of the Flower Moon” still found itself snubbed in two categories. Best Adapted Screenplay was surprising considering the film was written so well with such care and attention given to the events and real-life people affected by those events. Even more surprising was the exclusion of Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”) for Best Actor. I knew his performance was one of the best of 2023 within the first 30 minutes of the film. Sorry to rain on Maestro’s parade, but Bradley Cooper’s (“A Star is Born”) performance was not even close to DiCaprio’s.

“Asteroid City”: Best Production Design & Best Cinematography

Yeah, no single nomination for “Asteroid City.” At the very least, it should have been recognized for how visually pleasing it was and for how lovely the sets were. It totally falls in line with Wes Anderson’s (“The French Dispatch”) other films and his style.

“Priscilla”: Best Cinematography, Best Actress & Best Production Design

“Priscilla” was a film I was particularly high on when I saw it last year. Pretty disappointing it did not receive a single nomination. The film had meticulously beautiful cinematography and production design with a subtle yet wonderful lead performance from Cailee Spaney (“Vice”). It told the story of Priscilla Presley’s relationship with Elvis with such respect and care that it left a considerable impression on me. It is a shame that the Academy seemingly forgot it came out.

2023 was a very competitive year for movies so there were naturally going to be some questionable exclusions (and inclusions). What matters at the end of the day is how well or not these films will hold up in the long run and live on in cinematic history.

Image from @SpiderVerse via X