In order to combat racism and sexism, the Academy have introduced new racist and sexist standards, to the best of my knowledge, as reported on Vox in September. It was touch-and-go to see if Oppenheimer would get a nomination for Best Picture since it was lacking in diversity. Thankfully, as someone who might be seeking an alternative in awards for cinema excellence, I already have one – one I’ve built myself over the past couple of years. I’m the only authority I need when it comes to the subjective exercise of rewarding the ‘best’ performers of the year in such an artistic interpretive format, although I do dream of a day when the Today Junior Slice Awards might be compiled through a robust committee – and maybe that’s the next evolution of the future.
But I do have to pull myself up though. I mocked the Oscars last year for their onstage incident that saw Will Smith become a slapper, stating that you’ll find no controversy here. How wrong I was… Because some time after I posted my Slice Awards for 2022-2023, I discovered that I’d completely overlooked Keke Palmer for Nope, in Best Supporting Actress 😱 How did I do that?! She would’ve come in for Alison Janney, I think, who was a late inclusion for To Leslie. I’m not going to change it though, for the official post stands; but I’m human, and I’ll own my mistakes when I make them.
There are 85 movies eligible for this year’s Slice Awards. That’s 84 movies that I saw last year, plus a few I’ve caught up on this year – minus some that have already faced Slice considerations, but plus more that have come out in this year’s opening months… You know what, don’t worry about the math; just know that I’ve tried to cover all movies that are official 2023 releases, despite Australia’s confusing release schedule. And note, we don’t award winners here, for to be nominated is an hour in itself, and so everyone gets a “slice” of the pie! Here we go!
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BEST DIRECTOR
Emerald Fennel – Saltburn
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Kelly Fremon Craig – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
I couldn’t be happier with these six selections. If I were to pick a seventh slice, it would go to Alexander Payne for The Holdovers, while James Gunn is a director that gets not nearly enough credit for his work at the helm of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so he was on my radar too. I found a good range of stable and emerging directors to end up with here – three women, and I achieved that purely based on excellence, with no diversity standards required 😮 Since I’m yet to broaden out my Slice Awards further, this Best Director category really covers editing, cinematography, and screenplay, in some respects, as well.
* I did not see Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives, or The Zone of Interest, which have Oscar relevance.
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BEST ACTOR
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Barry Keoghan – Saltburn
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
This is the category I often find I’m most aligned with the ‘big show’. This year I share 4 from 5 of their nominations. The Oscars copped flak for leaving out Leonardo DiCaprio for Killers of the Flower Moon, and I am just as guilty! But my shortlist also included last minute Jeffery Wright for American Fiction, and I ended up splitting hairs on Andrew Scott and Nicholas Cage for Dream Scenario, going with the newcomer for his sustained earnestness through All of Us Strangers.
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BEST ACTRESS
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Annette Benning – Nyad
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Mia Goff – Pearl
The ‘big show’ passed on Margot Robbie in their nominations, but I can’t be so callous. A huge reason why Barbie works is because of Barbie! Duh! I’m also extremely happy to go back all the way to March last year to honor Mia Goff’s horror performance in Pearl – she’s a gem. Annette Benning, Carey Mulligan, and Emma Stone are no surprise, but Abby Ryder Fortson’s perpetual energy keeps out the likes of Natalie Portman for May December, and Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, by my estimation.
* I did not see Anatomy of a Fall, which has Oscar relevance.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
America Ferrera – Barbie
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Ellie Graham – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Penélope Cruz – Ferrari
Rosamund Pike – Saltburn
This was the toughest category by far, and below my six selections, I could’ve chosen another six! But at least, when a category is this difficult, you can rest assured that we have some worthy recipients. Rachel McAdams could be a victim of her own standards, since she is in career-defining form in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., while her co-star, Ellie Graham, gets a slice as a newcomer, brimming with authenticity. Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson ultimately cancelled each other out for mine, and I couldn’t single out one over the other, since they were both great in The Color Purple in their own way – learning more about the controversy surrounding that production (and since I also found the movie a complete waste of time) I’m happy to give it no accolades, although I do want it known that these two actresses were fantastic. Jodie Foster for Nyad, and Julianne Moore in May December, are so stiff to miss out this year, but I love Rosamund Pike in Saltburn, and I especially chose Penélope Cruz for Ferrari over the other two. Viola Davis is also superb in Air, but she’s probably not in it enough to be a serious contender.
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Archie Madekwe – Saltburn
Ben Alridge – Spoiler Alert
Benny Safdie – Oppenheimer
Charles Melton – May December
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Oh boy! Here’s where things would get heated if anyone gave a damn about what I thought 😄 I simply didn’t rate Mark Ruffalo in Poor Things at all, and is Ryan Gosling in Barbie doing anything difficult, despite the choreographed dance number? I don’t know, I was just more impressed by Ben Alridge, Benny Safdie, and Archie Madekwe, even though Gosling is a lot of fun. I really could’ve added more from Oppenheimer too, since Josh Harnett, and Jason Clarke, also make their presence felt, in Christopher Nolan’s epic. Okay, Ryan Gosling is pretty stiff, but this is how I saw it.
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BEST ENSEMBLE
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Barbie
Dumb Money
Killers of the Flower Moon
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Omg, this was a wrestle! The final slice was a battle between Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. and Saltburn, and I gave the edge to the former, but it could’ve gone either way. But there were some fantastic giant casts that cemented themselves in this category from the moment I saw their movies. I love this category, because it gives me a chance to highlight Dumb Money and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One; movies that contain a group working in tandem that haven’t received individual accolades anywhere else.
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And that’s all folks, for Today Junior’s Annual Slice Awards.
Pretty soon, I plan to take a quick rest before a proper view of the current year in movies can commence!
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