I have never forgiven the Oscars for picking “Birdman” over “Boyhood.” What can I say — “Boyhood” was moving and meaningful, while “Birdman” was pretentious and obtuse, and none of my cinéaste colleagues are going to persuade me otherwise. MICHAEL PAULSON, theater reporter
I am still mad about the academy’s refusal to recognize, even just to nominate, Greta Gerwig for her creative work on one of the best movies of its decade. The film I’m of course referring to is “Frances Ha,” for which Gerwig was the lead actress and co-screenwriter (with Noah Baumbach, who directed) — a brilliant, joy-filled movie about art and youth that borrowed from mumblecore, Rohmer and Woody Allen while arguably surpassing them all, and which was nominated for a grand total of zero Oscars. MARC TRACY, reporter
When I first started to comprehend what Oscars recognize and celebrate, I was a tween who’d recently been enraptured by the greatest onscreen performance I’d ever seen: Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle turned Catwoman in Tim Burton’s “Batman Returns,” in which she nails the attitude of a woman who’s been belittled and underestimated one too many times. When I expressed dismay that she’d been snubbed, I was met with condescension from adults who informed me, with a pat on the head, that superhero movies don’t get acting Oscars. Of course today, that couldn’t be more untrue, and every year, when l watch “Batman Returns” (it’s a Christmas movie, don’t forget), I grow more convinced that Pfeiffer’s unhinged yet unflappable performance delivers a rare frisson and deserved a nomination. When she purrs, “Life’s a bitch, now so am I,” I still gasp. MAYA SALAM, editor and reporter
Ava DuVernay should have been recognized for directing both 2014’s “Selma” and last year’s “Origin.” She is one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Her leading stars — David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma,” and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as Isabel Wilkerson in “Origin” — also deserved nominations for their staggering work in both films. BARBARA CHAI, deputy culture editor
“Shakespeare in Love” beating “Saving Private Ryan” for best picture is the snub I can never let go of, partly because it just feels artistically wrong but mostly because it cost me a payday on my office Oscar pool that year. DAVID RENARD, senior editor
Eddie Murphy not winning for “Dreamgirls” in 2007. And I get him walking out, too. Why should he have to put on another performance for the academy that robbed him? (And then he pulled out of hosting the ceremony five years later … nothing against Billy Crystal, of course, but that was a massive disappointment.) ALEXANDRA JACOBS, book critic
It is absurd that Brian De Palma is the only member of the movie-brat generation of directors (Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Scorsese) who has never even received an Oscar nomination. His best shot was probably in 1988 when his mainstream hit “The Untouchables” received four, including a win for Sean Connery, but he was beat out, in a cruel twist, by Adrian Lyne, who directed “Fatal Attraction” after De Palma turned the job down. JASON ZINOMAN, critic at large
Less a snub than a desperate overcorrection, awarding an Oscar to Al Pacino for his shouty, florid turn in “Scent of a Woman” doesn’t smell any better now than it did then. ALEXIS SOLOSKI, reporter
I’ll never forget the evening of Feb. 27, 2011, when Jesse Eisenberg was so close to setting the record for youngest person to win best actor for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network.” Eisenberg’s portrayal, which swung from egotistical nerd to insecure billionaire without making the audience feel dizzy or skeptical, seemed to be a no-brainer for the win. Instead, it went to Colin Firth for his role in “The King’s Speech” — a portrayal that was good, but nowhere near as dynamic as Eisenberg’s. SHIVANI GONZALEZ, senior news assistant
For decades, Gary Oldman could call himself the best actor who never won best actor. Nothing for “True Romance,” nothing for “The Professional,” just a nod for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” — but a Churchill impersonation in a History Channel-tier biopic, instead of Daniel Day-Lewis’s crabby couturier and Timothée Chalamet’s trilingual twink? That one they thought deserved it. JASON FARAGO, critic at large
Annette Bening will get a career-crowning Oscar sooner or later (though don’t bet on “Nyad” this time), and as far as I’m concerned it’ll be penance for being left off the best actress roster for her fierce performance in “20th Century Women” (2016). The academy was off-key putting Meryl Streep in “Florence Foster Jenkins” on the list instead. SCOTT HELLER, projects editor, Book Review
Don’t be sad that Margot Robbie wasn’t nominated for “Barbie.” Be sad that she didn’t win best actress in “I, Tonya,” in 2018. I still think about her stunning performance in the film — what RogerEbert.com called “‘GoodFellas’ on ice” — at random times, and it just guts me. KATHLEEN MASSARA, senior staff editor
“Dances With Wolves”? Are you kidding me? It’s enough to destroy whatever credibility the academy might have had. A.O. SCOTT, critic at large, Book Review
