I actually thought the sound editing in Silence was atrocious. It was really distracting in the theater for my brother and me.
I'm pretty happy that my three favorite screenplays of the year, Hell or High Water, The Lobster, and Arrival, all got nominated.
It was the film, for sure. Random moments of dialogue that were extra loud, random moments that were filled with static. Even beyond the sound, the whole film (which I liked overall) was sloppily or unevenly edited, at least in some scenes, such as two random scenes that had a heavy contrast filter on them.
Hm. Can't say I noticed any sound issues that felt jarring, everything I saw and heard felt intentional, a part of creating the experience of the film. Fair if it didn't work for you.
Hell or High Water is fine enough but there are a great number of films from the year I'd recommend prioritizing above it. I actually preferred Nocturnal Animals in terms of films from the year with ornery sheriffs and psycho outlaws in Texas. It doesn't hit 100% of it's aims but is certainly more interesting thematically and Ford's visual style is more engaging.
Silence, the Handmaiden, Elle, Swiss Army Man, the Witch, Certain Women, the Nice Guys, and Paterson are movies that deserve attention and got little or none from the Oscars (some of them were never going to be on the Academy Award radar, but still)
So why do people dislike La La Land so much? Seems pretty popular right now to write about how it #actually is bad. It isn't my favorite of the year but I enjoyed it quite a bit. That being said my favorite movie from this year was either The Nice Guys or Moana, so what do I know haha.
I have only seen three of those movies. The divide between critical acclaim and the Oscars grows more every year.
It is hard to tell if the Academy knows or cares what a self-parody they are. Make a film about Hollywood, reap the rewards.
It's not that it's bad or people even dislike it. Just as often happens with the Oscars, a fine, flawed movie overwhelms many great, often smaller or foreign films. And while I like La La Land, it's just a little tiring to see it beat something like Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea over and over again, or hear unending praise for it when many of the greatest works of the year are largely unnoticed and ignored by audiences and awards shows.