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We had two films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Ghostbusters

At the Academy Awards for 1985, the original Ghostbusters secured two nominations. The first was for Best Original Song, the iconic theme “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. The other was for Best Visual Effects. Since the new film contains no original music, at least none that doesn’t heavily sample the original song, that category is out of the question. If the film were to only be able to compete for one category, we might just say Best Visual Effects was its only option. That may be true, but there are three others, one possibly a very controversial idea.

When I first saw the trailer for this rebooted Ghostbusters, the effects looked rather disappointing; however, once you get into the movie they are really something spectacular. Some of the elements of the effects, specifically the sliming, are a bit cheesy; however, the visual creations themselves are strong enough that I could see the film doing quite well in terms of precursor attention and ultimate Oscar nominations.

Going with Best Visual Effects, we often cite to tech categories as possible nominees. Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. Since the early 1990s, these three categories have been strongly intertwined for many special effects features. The original Ghostbusters predates that concept or might have been included. In recent years, the categories have been a bit more divorced and neither really appreciates a comedy, so the likelihood of this film picking up those two nods may not be great.

That leaves the category I think could play a spoiler if the stars align and the category is anemic this year. Best Supporting Actress. Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones both leave a remarkable impression on the audience, but most everyone will single out McKinnon for special praise. Her cheeky, crazy, brilliant Holtzmann is the glue that holds the film’s comedic fabric together. It could be her moment to shine and Feig certainly is no stranger to bringing a major big screen comedic talent an Oscar nomination…think Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids.

I also wouldn’t be too alarmed if there were some late-breaking chatter for Chris Hemsworth who steals the show far too often. The closing credits sequence might be just enough to give him a boost. Still, either of these two (or Jones) options would be a bit surprising in the end, but both would be a delight.

Cafe Society

If ever there was a case for a director whose longevity has hindered him, look no further than Woody Allen. When he first started making movies in the 1970s, Allen was a wunderkind. He could rarely do anything wrong and Oscar followed him everywhere, including a Best Picture win in 1977. While he’s found success over the years, his successes have been becoming increasingly separated by time while his failures are mounting up.

Allen releases a new film annually, perhaps one of the longest successive creative streaks in history. The last year that did not see one of his films release was 1981 and before that was 1976, 1974, 1970, 1968 and 1967. An uninterrupted streak of 37 years with a total of 46 films released across the last 50 years (he released two films in 1987).

His Oscar consideration in the early days was frequent, but he hasn’t had a film compete since 2013, before than in 2011, then in 2008 and before that 1999. After the 9 year streak, it appears that every other year or three, he puts out a film that gets an Oscar nomination. Typically, the film must be well received critically to do so. So far, Cafe Society has performed well with critics, which could mean that either of its stars, Jesse Eisenberg or Kristen Stewart, could be up for consideration and he could be in the running for a Best Original Screenplay nomination.

The problem is the 78% it currently supports on Rotten Tomatoes is quite a bit lower than his last two Oscar nominees, Blue Jasmine (91%) and Midnight in Paris (93%). It isn’t far behind the prior, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (81%) and is on par with the Oscar nominee prior to that, Sweet and Lowdown. It’s certainly possible as Mighty Aphordite managed nods even at 77%. The caveat is Match Point at 77%.

In 2005, Allen had followed a trail of weak and outright failing films with a return to form in Match Point. The film was earning strong notices and many thought Scarlet Johansson might pick up an Oscar nomination for her performance. Ultimately, the film didn’t succeed. The same thing could happen with this film. In a competitive year, I wouldn’t expect the film to do well. The problem is, we don’t know if it’s competitive for certain, so we’ll have to wait until later this year to know for sure.

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