10 blockbuster Oscar nominees that should have been

Tomorrow the Academy Award nominations will be revealed, and while I shouldn't care about such things for a myriad of reasons, I do.

And, as per usual, the nominations I'd most like to see -- Ryan Coogler for Best Director and Michael B. Jordan for Best Supporting Actor -- are considered unlikely longshots at this point.

I've made no qualms about the fact that I think Black Panther the best film of 2018, and I feel like its director and really co-lead performance are the most vital aspects about it. The movie is expected to break into the Best Picture race, a historic first for a superhero genre film, but that achievement feels undermined by the Oscars' unwillingness to acknowledge its creator and star.

Still, the Oscars have started to get a lot better at acknowledging unconventional performances and movies. Robert Downey, Jr. was nominated in 2009 for Tropic Thunder for instance, and Heath Ledger posthumously won for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight that same year.

Sure, more staid, safe movies still dominate awards seasons, but it's nice to see when Hollywood lets down their guard and admits that a great performance in a audience-pleasing blockbuster in no less valid than a great performance in a little-seen indie film.

For many, the modern blockbuster era started in 1975 with Jaws, and while we can't rewrite history, there's quite a few performances in big hit movies since Jaws should have warranted serious Oscar consideration and probably would were those movies released today.

Here are some examples of the kind of Michael B. Jordan-style scene-stealing work that should have been recognized when the academy had the chance.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Robert Shaw, Jaws - One of the most memorable movie characters of all time, period. It's insane to me that he wasn't nominated for his eccentric and dangerous portrayal of the salty sharkhunter Quint. His monologue about the attack on the Indianapolis during WWII is some of the most skillful work I've ever seen. He was one of our great character actors, and this role will be one he'll always be celebrated and remembered for.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Ricardo Montalban, Star Trek II - Another one of the all-time great antagonists, in a role and movie that could have been silly camp but transforms into something truly epic. Montalban is so electric on-screen as the villain Kahn, quoting Moby Dick and hunting the hero Captain Kirk with righteous fury. He got great reviews at the time, but the Oscars were never going to respect a Star Trek film, let alone a sequel at that point.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Michael Keaton, Beetlejuice - Time and time again Oscars seem allergic to comedy, with rare exceptions like Melissa McCarthy's nomination for Bridesmaids. This performance, arguably one of the most beloved and memorable of the decade, should have been in the mix. Ironically, Kevin Kline won the award that year for his comedic role in A Fish Called Wanda. He's great, but Keaton's "ghost with the most" has more staying power.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Alan Rickman, Die Hard - This may be one of the greatest big screen debuts of all time. The late great Rickman's Hans Gruber is one of the all-time best movie villains, too. He is so damn charismatic in this movie -- equal parts scary and hilarious. Virtually every action movie that followed ripped off his characterization here. How was he not seriously in the conversation for an Oscar, which sadly he never was nominated for or won during his far too brief career?

BEST ACTOR - Eddie Murphy, Coming to America - Back when Murphy made his first comeback in The Nutty Professor, there was real talk about whether or not he could be a Best Actor contender. His brand of comedy is totally not the kind of the thing the Academy goes for, but many of his early roles in 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop could have been considered. But personally I'd go for his virtuoso work in Coming to America where he plays four different characters flawlessly and hilariously.

BEST ACTRESS - Linda Hamilton, Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Have you watched this one again recently? It doesn't hold up great -- the action, as always, is phenomenal, but Arnold is a tad too cutesy and Edward Furlong is nearly unbearable. But Linda Hamilton, muscle bound with gritted teeth she delivers a bad ass movie heroine performance that has gone unrivaled in the years since. Again, take a look back -- she is the heart and soul of this movie.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns - Speaking of superhero movies, and performances -- this iconic Catwoman certainly should have merited awards love back in 1992. With all due respect to Anne Hathaway, Pfeiffer (for me) gives the definitive performance as the put-upon Selina Kyle who morphs into the purr-fect (see what I did there) foil for Batman. It's a deliciously campy performance that also manages to feel very real and compelling.

BEST ACTRESS - Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct - How was this performance not nominated!? Nowadays big (as in gleefully over the top) star turns in movies like Gone Girl or (potentially) Mary Poppins Returns are Oscar fare, but this movie was probably considered too tawdry for awards fare. But, her bold, brassy overnight sensation of a role in Paul Verhoeven's noir is movie star acting of the highest order.

BEST ACTOR - Harrison Ford, The Fugitive - Tommy Lee Jones won the Oscar for his showier supporting role as the federal marshall hot on Ford's trail, but its the leading performance the ex-Han Solo gives that makes this movie a stone cold classic. Ford is a master at playing the vulnerable, masculine ideal. The scene where he breaks down during a relentlessly insensitive interrogation is one of my favorite pieces of acting in any movie ever.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park - First off, full stop, Jeff Goldblum has never been nominated for an Oscar! No! Hate crime. He deserved a supporting nod for The Big Chill, a lead for The Fly, and here in the role that actually made him a household name, a major sex symbol and a lowkey A-lister Jurassic Friggin' Park. His Ian Malcolm is the one character that's just as large as life as the dinosaurs. He's dynamite whenever he's on screen and you miss him when he's gone. And, as with every signature supporting performance, he slyly kicks off the true narrative of that movie (Sam Neil's embrace of domesticity) by competing for the affections of the great Laura Dern.

I'll stop here for now -- and this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of smaller cult performances that should have been nominated (like John Goodman in The Big Lebowski). But let this be a conversation starter for you!

Should Black Panther be a big nominee tomorrow -- and some are estimating an impressive 10 nominations (how many it'll win is another story entirely), it will be a big achievement for a big budget studio blockbuster, in a good way.