Completed Category: Directing

 Directing! This is a "big" category that everyone cares about. 

Let's get something straight. We'll be having absolutely none of this "Ohmgrdz do you think the movie directs itself?  How can it be nominated for Picture and not give the Director a nomination?" That is a terrible, terrible take, for two reasons: 

1. There are ten Best Picture nominees and five Director nomineees. Ten and five do not equal each other, no matter how bad you are at math. 

2.  The Oscars have made it a different award for a reason, just like with Screenplay, Cinematography, and everything else that goes into a motion picture. That means they are awarding two different things; otherwise it would be one award. 

All right? Good. Now that we've got that straight, let's check out the five nominees who did not steal anyone's nomination. 

JUSTINE TRIET, Anatomy of a Fall: This is probably the one that surprised the most people and sent them into paroxysms of "but Greta created a whole  Barbie world!" whereas I was like "Oh darn, no Celine Song for Past Lives."  But it's pretty sad that we all accept four nominated men and then argue about which woman the fifth spot should have gone to.  "When there are five!", amiright RBG?  Anyway, I still keep forgetting about Anatomy of a Fall until I have to write another category about it. There's no way she's going to win, but I did like how it was crafted and paced and how the actors played into different moments and you got little glimpses of their perspective while keeping everything so mysterious. Side note that she is three years younger than me, what the...!

MARTIN SCORSESE, Killers of the Flower Moon: I swear I am going to spell his last name wrong until the day he dies. I always want there to be two Cs in it. Anyway, sorry Marty, but I'm not sure your masterpiece is going to get you this award. You picked quite a year! I wish you and Leo had done this in time for last year and maybe you could have saved us from the sh!tshow of EEAAO. And this being your swan song possibly and everything. I am saddened that I don't think it is to be. 

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, Oppenheimer: Because Oppenheimer. Everyone is so ready to crown Christopher Nolan, finally -- you remember what that was like for you, eh, Marty? - and it is to be. 

YORGOS LANTHIMOS, Poor Things:  Which thank godz that means this psychopath won't win, good heavens. The scary thing is he probably has a small chance. Shudder. 

JONATHAN GLAZER, The Zone of Interest: And there will undoubtedly be a few folks who vote for this conceptual art project. Honestly it's hard to say which I think ruined this movie more, the Screenplay or the Directing. The premise was so potentially interesting (and so Martin Amis's) and I absolutely did not care for what he did with it in making this film. 

And so. Order I want them to win: 
Scorsese - Killers of the Flower Moon
Nolan - Oppenheiemer
Triet - Anatomy of a Fall
not those other two clowns

Order I think they will win: 
Nolan - Oppenheiemer
I can't even bear to think about the rest because it makes me think about how people are voting for...
Lanthimos - Poor Things
Glazer - The Zone of Interest
instead of Scorsese - Killers of the Flower Moon
hey, Triet! - Anatomy of a Fall, it's an honor to be nominated, eh? 

Only one more week!
Where does the Oscar time go?