The Critics Choice nominations lead us into a study of the big 8 Oscars categories, including a huge opening discussion on Best Picture, plus analysis on best director, the 4 acting & 2 screenplay categories. What is This Episode? - Top of Show CRITICS CHOICE NOM REACTIONS: Best Picture Noms: Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s, Mank - 2:55 Minari, News of the World, Nomadland - 10:10 One Night in Miami, PYW, Sound of Metal - 15:58 Chicago 7 - 21:47 Snubs and Stats - 25:15 Best Ensemble - 33:32 Best Comedy - 35:18 Best Director - 36:50 Lead Actress - 44:06 Lead Actor - 50:20 Supporting Actress - 56:35 Supporting Actor - 1:03:21 Best Young Actor-Actress/Screenplay Categories - 1:09:40 Where To Find Us/LEAVE US A 5* REVIEW! - 1:18:17 Words of Wisdom/What’s Coming Next - 1:19:10 The Critics Choice Award nominations seemed to settle both of us down quite a bit after we spent most of the last SAG / Globe reaction show on a highway to a very special hell. Either that, or all the Super Bowl food and dancing masked men wearing white face jocks led us into a state of acceptance. Whatever happened, Mike and I were in a much better place with this recording. So we used the Critics Choice noms to focus on the Big 8 Oscars categories that we love to cover most of all. That included a HUGE opening conversation on all the potential contenders in Best Picture, and then 7 other sizable chats about best director, the 4 acting & 2 screenplays. Plus, we covered some of the Critics Choice Super Awards, Best Ensemble, Best Comedy, and Best Young Actor or Actress. For each category, we also cited the Globe & SAG noms from our previous episode, and we played some catch up on the Indy Spirits, National Board of Review, AFI, and Critics Awards. Plus, we didn’t shy away from mentioning a bunch of our own personal favorites in each group that may have been overlooked throughout the awards process. If you liked we covered these big 8 categories in this Critics Choice centric episode, then stay tuned for our next show where we’ll be using the Oscar Shortlists to discuss the rest of the Oscars field. That’ll include more analysis on the Choice, Globe, Spirit, and Critics Awards, and of course, we won’t shy away from sharing our own takes. But we want to hear your opinions as well. So as always, let us know your takes on these nominations or any awards talk we covered in this episode. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are at Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & hear us on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you might listen. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar, and we’re making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. Thank you! And do stay safe, everybody.