Oscars 2019 mominatic ) Mof{eieoi Re compliance and defiance Bex Peterson Editor-in-Chief [i true to say nearly every year, but the 2019 Oscar nominations are absolutely a mixed bag. The Best Picture category contains classical critical darlings such as the fourth remake of A Star Is Born (the last two remakes, for reference, also received Oscar nods in their day, with the 1976 version receiving an Academy Award for Best Original Song), as well as some genre outliers such as Black Panther. One film to watch out for that the Other Press recently reviewed, Roma, is notable as a contender for Best Picture since—if it were to win—it would be the first primarily non-English language film and film produced by an online streaming service (Netflix) to do so. This would certainly change how traditional film institutions view productions by online streaming services, which could lead to fascinating developments in the film industry on the whole. The Lead Actor category is fairly predictable by Oscar standards. You have your “actor's actor” forcing himself to endure a full-body transformation into a well-known political figure (Christian Bale portraying Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice), something that nabbed Gary Oldman his long-awaited Academy Award last year for his take on Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Bradley Cooper is an obvious choice for a nomination give the critical and commercial success of A Star Is Born, as is Rami Malek’s turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. The Lead Actress category isa little more varied. Lady Gaga has certainly earned her accolades as an actor in her own right as well as a singer in A Star Is Born. It’s also refreshing to see more comedic actors such as Olivia Colman and Melissa McCarthy earn recognition for their brilliant blend of comedy and drama in The Favourite and Can You Ever Forgive Me? respectively. It’s worth noting that the Lead Actor and Actress categories exhibit some of the same problems many have criticized over the past few years with April Reign’s #OscarsSoWhite campaign. In a year that featured many incredible films by and starring people of colour (If Beale Street Could Talk, BlacKkKlansman, Sorry to Bother You, Black Panther, et cetera), it’s a little jarring that these categories seem to have left out many of the actors responsible for the success of these features in favour of people we've seen time and time again. The Best Director category, thankfully, is a little more reflective of the talent from this past year. Spike Lee’s been nominated for BlacKkKlansman and Alfonso Cuarén for Roma, though it would have been nice to see some recognition for Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You and Barry Jenkins for If Beale Street Could Talk. Yorgos Lanthimos is a worthy contender for The Favourite, as is Adam McKay’s quirky and often jarring look at the Bush administration Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider- Verse' promotional image with Vice. Notably, Bradley Cooper has been left out of this category for A Star Is Born—a snub that Cooper was apparently quite embarrassed by according to an interview with Oprah last week. The Animated Feature category is worth discussing if just for the dark horse of the slate, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Breaking away from the CGI Disney sequel offerings of the year—Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet—as well as the classically- animated Japanese feature Mirai and Wes Anderson's stop-motion piece Isle of Dogs, Into the Spider-Verse is noteworthy for its experimental blend of animation techniques. Spider-Verse was a risk on Sony’s part to produce, putting out an animated feature offering vulnerable to genre fatigue with the plethora of superhero movies on the market these days. It also features Miles Morales, a fresh-faced Spider-Man whom many outside the comics world might not have encountered or even heard of before. However, for its tight storytelling, beautiful animation, and incredible sound design and score, I’m personally hoping that Into the Spider- Verse receives the Academy recognition it deserves. It would encourage other animation studios to take a few more risks with regards to the projects they produce and convince the movie-going public that animation isn’t “just for kids,” but an art form in its own right worthy of praise. ¢ Retrospective on indie pop from 2009 ¢ Constructive criticism in art ¢ Vivace’s ‘Diamonds’ EP album review ..and more! Best Picture Black Panther, Ryan Coogler BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee Bohemian Rhapsody, Bryan Singer The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos Green Book, Peter Farrelly Roma, Alfonso Cuarén A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper Vice, Adam McKay Lead Actor Christian Bale, Vice Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody Viggo Mortensen, Green Book Lead Actress Yalitza Aparicio, Roma Glenn Close, The Wife Olivia Colman, The Favourite Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali, Green Book Adam Driver, BlackkKlansman Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Sam Rockwell, Vice Supporting Actress Amy Adams, Vice Marina de Tavira, Roma Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk Emma Stone, The Favourite Rachel Weisz, The Favourite Best Director Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite Alfonso Cuarén, Roma Adam McKay, Vice Animated Feature Incredibles 2, Brad Bird Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson Mirai, Mamoru Hosoda Ralph Breaks the Internet, Rich Moore, Phil Johnston Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman Animated Short Animal Behaviour, Alison Snowden, David Fine Bao, Domee Shi Late Afternoon, Louise Bagnall One Small Step, Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas Weekends, Trevor Jimenez A new take on contemporary and classical songs >» Vivace’s ‘Diamonds’ EP album review Naomi Ambrose a beautiful day.” recreate Steven Tyler's famous ending Pavarotti’s and Lucio Dalla’s “Caruso” may Staff Writer Vir a Vancouver-based quartet of pop and classical singers, offers listeners an opportunity to explore the beauty of reinterpreted songs on their latest six-track Diamonds EP album released this past January. The album begins with a reimagined version of U2’s hit “Beautiful Day.” The band’s interpretation is an angelic mix of female soprano vocals and baritone-like male vocals. The highlight of the song is the short yet powerful moment when one of the sopranos hits a high note to sing, “It’s On the second track, “Mad World,” Vivace harmonizes beautifully. Listen carefully to the end of the song where you might become enraptured with the group’s superb harmonizing. Belting their way through the music towards the song’s ending, Vivace commands the audience's attention with their vocal cohesion. A memorable moment could be their rendition of Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” By starting off the song with the female vocalists, Vivace explores the beauty of transforming a song that was previously sung by a man into a song with female singers, along with the gradual inclusion of male vocals. Even though the group doesn't when he screams out “dream on,’ Vivace sings a different version that will probably bea delight for listeners who might have wondered what a unique interpretation of Tyler’s screechy vocals could sound like. Apart from presenting us with a reimagined vocal arrangement of this piece, the musical arrangement of Vivace’s “Dream On” reminds us of the fleeting nature of dreams. Dreams can sometimes make you feel like you're floating on a celestial planet. The transitory nature is reflected in the heavenly feel of Vivace’s angelic rendition. For the lovers of classical Italian opera, Vivace’s interpretation of Luciano be a thrill. Paying homage to the song’s themes about pain and desire, the male vocals combined with the female soprano vocals evoke feelings of despair. On the last song, “Diamonds,” the quartet once again gives listeners a chance to appreciate the musical artistry of adding another language into an English song. Who would’ve thought that it would be possible to add Italian-sounding lyrics to Rihanna's “Diamonds?” In the end, Vivace’s Diamonds EP is an outstanding example of the joy a music enthusiast can feel from listening to reinterpreted contemporary and classical songs.