My (unofficial) Oscar Ballot

Hey again. Short post today. I figured, for the sake of aesthetically pleasing summarization, I'd post my Oscar ballot, were I able to cast one. This is just a way of rounding up all of my Best of 09 in one place. I'll give each category: Winner in bold, and the choices that actually got Oscar nominations with an asterisk.

Picture
(500) Days of Summer
Antichrist
Avatar*
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds*
Precious*
A Single Man
Up*
The White Ribbon

Director
Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker*
James Cameron-Avatar*
Michael Haneke-The White Ribbon
Quentin Tarantino-Inglourious Basterds*
Lars Von Trier-Antichrist

Actor
Sharlto Copley-District 9
Colin Firth-A Single Man*
Joseph Gordon-Levitt-(500) Days of Summer
Jeremy Renner-The Hurt Locker*
Sam Rockwell-Moon

Actress
Charlotte Gainsbourg-Antichrist
Carey Mulligan-An Education*
Saoirse Ronan-The Lovely Bones
Gabourey Sidibe-Precious*
Meryl Streep-Julie and Julia*

Supporting Actor
Brian Geraghty-The Hurt Locker
Anthony Mackie-The Hurt Locker
Peter Sarsgaard-An Education
Stanley Tucci-Julie and Julia
Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds*

Supporting Actress
Anna Kendrick-Up in the Air*
Diane Kruger-Inglourious Basterds
Melanie Laurent-Inglourious Basterds
Mo'Nique-Precious*
Julianne Moore-A Single Man

Original Screenplay
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds*
Up*
The White Ribbon

Adapted Screenplay
An Education*
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Precious*
A Single Man
Up in the Air*

Art Direction
Avatar*
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
A Single Man
Star Trek

Costume Design
Bright Star*
An Education
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus*
Inglourious Basterds
A Single Man

Visual Effects
Avatar*
District 9*
Star Trek*

Makeup
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Road
Star Trek*

Film Editing
Avatar*
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds*
A Single Man
Up in the Air

Cinematography
Antichrist
Avatar*
The Hurt Locker*
A Single Man
The White Ribbon*

Original Score
Avatar*
The Fantastic Mr. Fox*
Sherlock Holmes*
A Single Man
Up*

Sound Mixing
Avatar*
District 9
The Hurt Locker*
Inglourious Basterds*
Star Trek*

Sound Effects Editing
Avatar*
District 9
Star Trek*
Terminator Salvation
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Original Song
"I See You"-Avatar
"The Weary Kind"-Crazy Heart*
"Smoke Without Fire"-An Education
"Almost There"-The Princess and the Frog*
"Ma Belle Evangeline"-The Princess and the Frog

81 Years of Oscar: Best Picture Winners

Hello all. So, the 82nd Academy Awards are less than a month away. This means that I'm probably thinking about Oscar more often than not. In an attempt to spread my love of these dubious awards of quality, as well as provide a crash-course in film history, I'll be spending the next month doing something of an Oscar Retrospective. Today, for your viewing pleasure, I'll be profiling the ten best and five worst picture winners (in my opinion, of course). Following, because I can, is a list of the Best Picture winners to refresh your memory. In bold are the films that I've seen.
(And I know you didn't ask, but this list is from memory. Because I'm that good.)
Slumdog Millionaire
No Country For Old Men
The Departed
Crash
Million Dollar Baby
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Chicago
A Beautiful Mind
Gladiator
American Beauty
Shakespeare in Love
Titanic
The English Patient
Braveheart
Forrest Gump
Schindler's List
Unforgiven
The Silence of the Lambs
Dances With Wolves
Driving Miss Daisy
Rain Man
The Last Emperor
Platoon
Out of Africa
Amadeus
Terms of Endearment
Gandhi
Chariots of Fire
Ordinary People
Kramer Vs. Kramer
The Deer Hunter
Annie Hall
Rocky
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Godfather Part 2
The Sting
The Godfather
The French Connection
Patton
Midnight Cowboy
Oliver!
In the Heat of the Night
A Man For All Seasons
The Sound of Music
My Fair Lady
Tom Jones
Lawrence of Arabia
West Side Story
The Apartment
Ben-hur
Gigi
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Marty
On the Waterfront
From Here to Eternity
The Greatest Show on Earth
An American in Paris
All About Eve
All the King's Men
Hamlet
Gentlemen's Agreement
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Lost Weekend
Going My Way
Casablanca
Mrs. Miniver
How Green Was My Valley
Rebecca
Gone With the Wind
You Can't Take it With You
The Life of Emile Zola
The Great Zeigfeld
Mutiny on the Bounty
It Happened One Night
Cavalcade
Grand Hotel
Cimmaron
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Broadway Melody
Wings

As you've surely deciphered by now, these lists will be highly subjective, as I've only seen about half of these. They will also obviously skew toward more modern fare, as the half I've seen errs toward the present (my viewing is particularly shabby in the 40s, which begins with All the King's Men and ends with Rebecca; I've only seen one). Also bear in mind that this is more my list of favorites than anything else: I'm not going with the boldest decisions, or the most atypical; I'm going with the ones I like the best. We can debate greatness another time.

The Best
10. Titanic (1997. Other nominees: As Good as it Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, LA Confidential)
I'll start with the most controversial choice right now so we can get it out of our hair. No, Titanic is not a great film. No, James Cameron is not an inspired auteur. What Titanic accomplishes, however, is pure cinema. Cameron lays his hand on the same lightning rod that Selznick, Cooper, and Fields all found to create old-fashioned, decidedly epic film. This is the one bone that escapism gets on my list: Titanic isn't concerned with being overly thought-provoking, or introducing new ideas. No, the film is slavishly devoted to delivering an experience, and it doesn't fail on those terms.

9. Shakespeare in Love (1998. Other Nominees: Elizabeth, Life is Beautiful, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line)
It might not be the best of the nominees, and it sure as hell caught crap for defeating Steven Spielberg's WW2 epic, but something about this little romance grips me in a way, I suspect, it gripped Academy voters. John Madden's only film of interest, Shakespeare in Love is a pitch-perfect combo of humor, intrigue, and emotional honesty. The film's effect is no doubt increased through the charismatic turns of Gwyneth Platrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, and Geoffrey Rush, and the score remains one of the most by-turns whimsical and melancholy pieces of music written for film in recent years. Shakespeare in Love may feel like a light-weight, but it's got one hell of a punch.

8. No Country For Old Men (2007. Other nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood)
I'm honestly still confused about how this film walked away with the big prize. Sure, it was unanimously acclaimed, and is a staggering piece of work, but it's so...dark. Nihilistic. Graphic. The Academy normally loves something safe, warm, and mildly inspiring. No Country For Old Men is none of these things. I'm glad the Academy decided to head way out on a limb and reward a film outside their comfort zone. No Country For Old Men is easily one of the best films of the new millennium. As this is a favorite, not greatest, list, however, it's relegated to the 8th spot.

7. The Departed (2006. Other nominees: Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen)
Here's another atypical work. I can understand how The Departed won, however: though gritty and profane, it plays safely within an Oscar-loved genre (the gangster picture), and was helmed by modern directing legend Martin Scorcese. To try and understand the politics, however, is to undersell Scorcese's best film since GoodFellas. The Departed is vibrant, tense, and altogether thrilling, anchored by stellar performances from its youthful leads: Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Vera Farmiga. Add an outstanding ensemble (Jack Nicholson, Ray Winstone, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, so on and so forth), and the editing genius of Thelma Schoonmaker, and you have a completely unique, fantastic film.

6. It Happened One Night (1934. Other nominees: Cleopatra, Flirtation Walk, Here Comes the Navy, Imitation of Life, One Night of Love, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, The Gay Divorcee, The House of Rothchild, The Thin Man, The White Parade, Viva Villa)
Admittedly, I've hardly even heard of any of the other nominees, much less seen them, so I can't intelligently comment on the worthiness of It Happened One Night as compared to its fellow nominees. What I can do is attempt to share the 100 CCs of joy that were injected straight into my veins whilst watching this film. The original cliche, It Happened One Night is arguably the first romantic comedy. It is also, arguably, the best. Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable practically invented the concept of screen chemistry while filming, and the script, despite being 76 years old, never fails to feel timelessly modern.

5. The Godfather (1972. Other nominees: Cabaret, Deliverance, Sounder, Utvandrarna)
If we were listing the greatest Picture winners, The Godfather would be even higher on the list. Francis Ford Coppola's signature piece is still the crowning achievement of cinema in the 70s; the world of Don Corleone is incredibly complicated, vividly realized, and endlessly engrossing. Containing one of the most indelible screen performances (Marlon Brando, of course), some of the most shocking screen violence seen in its time, and one of the most memorable endings in film history, The Godfather is richly deserving of all the accolades it receives.

4. Amadeus (1984. Other nominees: The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart, A Soldier's Story)
I might be a little biased here. I love Mozart. Needless to say, a film concerned entirely with the life and death of the famous composer is bound to play my heartstrings (pun intended) quite a bit. That doesn't change the fact that the film is amazing. Milos Forman breathes joyous life into the dull, dusty public image of Mozart, warping him into a foppish, ridiculous young man for whom genius isn't a burden so much as an amusing inconvenience. F. Murray Abraham, as his rival Salieri, provides the perfect ballast to Mozart's raucous vivacity: Salieri acts as if every moment is an exercise in tragic dignity. The performances, as well as the film itself, pulse with an unrestrained joy of a kind seldom seen in theaters.

3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991. Other nominees: Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides)
The Silence of the Lambs is not the Academy's cup of tea: it remains the only horror film to win the big award (indeed, one of only two nominees for the genre). The Academy found the film impossible to ignore, however, and with good reason. Containing what might be the most electric leading couple to grace the silver screen (Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins), as well as one of the most intelligent, surgically horrific screenplay in recent memory, Lambs proves a difficult film to shake. After rewarding this film, the Academy, in its infinite wisdom, would spend most of the 90s rewarding large, inspirational, contrived films.

2. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930. Other nominees: The Big House, Disraeli, The Divorcee, The Love Parade)
Needless to say, I haven't seen any of the other nominees. Doesn't matter. All Quiet on the Western Front is, arguably, the only true anti-war film ever made (at least to play within the war genre), and, as such, is also, arguably, the greatest war film ever made. The movie juxtaposes lengthy sections of waiting, wondering, and worrying with spans of almost sadistic battle scenes. All Quiet...allows us to become attached to a classroom full of impressionable young men, then forces us to watch as it horrifically maims and murders them. This film is one of the most pessimistic and cynical of any I've seen: completely fitting, given its subject matter.

1. American Beauty (1999. Other nominees: The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense)
I debated for a while about whether or not my longtime favorite should cede this spot to All Quiet on the Western Front, but, in the end, I had to vote with my heart. And, as stated before, this is a list of favorites. I honestly don't know what else to write about this movie that I haven't written recently. Suffice to say it's got a lot of heart, and hits a lot of people, including me, in all the right places. Thank God the Oscar didn't go to The Cider House Rules.


Now, a tougher list. The five worst. No, let me rephrase that: these aren't the five worst films. They're the five that disappointed me the most. The five that let me down. The five that should have become close friends, but ended up stabbing me in the back. I highly doubt these would find themselves in a Five Worst list had I seen all the winners. See, I tend to avoid films that I hear are terrible, and, as such, have avoided the worst best picture winners.

5. Crash (2005. Other nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich)
Crash is a skillful manipulator, but little more. I'll admit that there good acting lurks around the edges (particularly Matt Dillon, Michael Pena, and Don Cheadle), and the film contains some truly affecting moments. When viewed with an objective eye, however, Crash can't escape the creakiness of its own screenplay, which relies on contrived coincidence.

4. Braveheart (1995. Other nominees: Apollo 13, Babe, The Postman, Sense and Sensibility)
Braveheart is very big, and very pretty, and somewhat inspirational. It's also incredibly sophomoric, filled with toilet humor and homophobia, and is helmed by a painfully ham-handed director. Braveheart is enjoyable enough. But a good film? Please. Like I said: pretty, exciting, big. Also crude, intolerant, and stupid. And not inventive enough to be forgiven for any of its sins.

3. Terms of Endearment (1983. Other nominees: The Big Chill, The Dresser, The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies)
This movie plays like a daytime soap opera. We have star-crossed lovers, worrying mothers, terminal illness, cute kids, and every other Movie-of-the-Week cliche worth its salt. None of elements every congeal into anything compelling, however, despite the noble efforts of Debra Winger and Shirley Maclaine. Jack Nicholson does nothing to help, either: his normal 'Crazy Jack' schtick feels grotesquely out of place.

2. Forrest Gump (1994. Other nominees: Four Weddings and A Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption)
I know I'm going to catch some heat for this, as most if not all of my regular reader love this movie, but I'm going there anyway. Forrest Gump is the Academy at its most conservative. The film itself is safe, conservative, almost condescending. I know I'm a pretentious film dick, but I tend to prefer new, or original, or daring in some way. Forrest Gump is as safe as it gets. I'm not saying it's a terrible film. It's just the kind of movie I'll never enjoy.

1. A Beautiful Mind (2001. Other nominees: Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge!)
I will say that this one is a terrible film, though. Director Ron Howard is the master of faux-inspirational, historical garbage, and this is the creative nadir of his not-so-illustrious career. The fact that this film won is downright offensive. A Beautiful Mind's success is the best proof that sometimes, the Academy just doesn't care about quality.


Well, there you have it. Sorry, long post. I know. I got carried away. If anyone's still reading, what do you think? Am I being too hard on some films, and too easy on others? Willing to show me how wrong I am about Forrest Gump? I'll never learn if someone doesn't try to teach me.

Final Oscar Analysis, Part 2: Acting Categories

So here's how it is, campers. The words you're reading are my official third attempt to write this blog entry. Two times previous, I've gotten almost to the end of the post, and my blog, in its infinite wisdom, has chosen to erase my entry. I love technology. I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that I'm just not capable/willing to write all the commentary for a third time. I'm offering up my predictions for the acting categories. If you want commentary on a particular race, ask for it in the comments and I'll give it. Until then...I really don't want to write the whole thing all over again. For a third time. Here we go.

Lead Actor
My predictions, in order of likelihood:
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
or: Sharlto Copley, District 9, Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man

Lead Actress
My predictions, in order of likelihood:
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
or: Zoe Saldana, Avatar, Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria

Supporting Actor
My predictions, in order of likelihood:
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
or: Alfred Molina, An Education, Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker

Supporting Actress
My predictions, in order of likelihood:
Mo'Nique, Precious
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Samantha Morton, The Messenger
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
or: Julianne Moore, A Single Man, Diane Kruger, Inglourious Basterds

There we go. Sorry for the lack of commentary. It's just...three times. I'm too grumpy at this blog post to do it competently anymore. Maybe I'll offer up some commentary with my final predictions on Monday. Anywho, tomorrow I'll wrap this up with the tech categories. Stay tuned!

A Final Oscar Analysis, Part 1: Major Categories

Hey y'all.
It's that time again. Oscar nominations come out one week from today, and, as such, I figured I'd lay down some commentary on the major races, as well as some predictions. I'll put my final predictions up Monday morning. Things could very well change (in my mind) between now and then, so we'll see. For now, let's take a look at where the race is at.

Best Picture
Most everyone on the web who concerns themselves with this sort of thing agrees that there are five locks, and five slots wide open. I'm certainly not going to make any waves on the subject. These five films will all make it in, barring something incredibly, incredibly unforeseen:

The Hurt Locker (won Producers Guild Award, nominated for SAG ensemble award, Writers Guild Award, Golden Globe, won a mess of critics awards, including the Broadcast Film Critics, LA, New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.)

Avatar (won the Golden Globe for best picture and director, nominated for Producers Guild, Writers Guild, a mess of critics awards. Also a box office phenomenon which just became the highest grossing film ever world-wide, and is poised to take the domestic box office title within two weeks.)

Inglourious Basterds (won SAG ensemble awards, nominated for Producers Guild, Golden Globe, BFCA, many other critical citations.)

Up in the Air (though it didn't have the steam some think it did, but still has been nominated for Golden Globe, Producers Guild, Writers Guild, BFCA, etc.)

Precious (Also not as big a contender as predicted. Still nominated for, you guessed it, the Golden Globe, Producers Guild, Writers Guild, SAG ensemble award, BFCA, etc.)

These five films are in. The Hurt Locker is a highly regarded critical success, Avatar is too big to ignore, Inglorious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino's reward for a long career, and Up in the Air and Precious were both very well received.

Five more slots, then. Honestly, I have no clue what films will actually succeed here. I have hunches, admittedly, and some decent leads, but any of the seven films I'm about to list could score here, as could any number of surprise contenders. It's a mystery. The seven films that are most likely to make it, in alphabetical order:

An Education: Lone Scherfig's coming-of-age drama represents international cinema here. It's (mostly) loved, critically acclaimed, and sports a fantastic cast. The buzz is fairly quiet, and the film is small, but I'm still expecting it to get in.

District 9: That's right. You read that correctly. This little film that could has surpassed even the highest expectations, landing many a guild notice (including the all-important Producers Guild) and critical rave. While I can't quite connect with this film the way most people apparently can, I'd still love to see it show up here, if only because it's so very not traditional Oscar fare.

Invictus: Speaking of traditional Oscar fare...No one seems to like this movie that much, yet it has still somehow garnered some awards traction. I'd like to think that the Academy will look past this safe, boring effort in favor of better work, but God knows the Academy does love pitching to the middle.

The Messenger: This is the only film on the list that I haven't seen, but I'm rooting for it anyway. Oren Moverman's tiny debut drama earned rave reviews, and is supposed to be just fantastic. The problem? It's very, very small. Most people didn't see this film. It's hard to get nominated for awards when your film hasn't been seen.

A Serious Man: The Coen Brothers' latest foray into darkness has many a passionate follower, and passion counts in the Academy's preference-based balloting system (explanation: voters submit ten films in order of preference. #1 rankings count more than #7 rankings). This could easily make it in.

Star Trek: Once again, you've read correctly. Star Trek is just the kind of big commercial and critical success that the expansion of the best picture field was done to include. A big problem, however. The big commercial and critical success slot has already been filled by Avatar, and District 9 is putting a stronger showing in as far as sci-fi films go.

Up: Pixar has been flirting with this category the whole decade. With the expansion of the field, it will almost be heresy for Up to miss here. Still, some people like The Fantastic Mr. Fox better, and chances are we'll only see one animated film make the cut.

In my humble opinion, our best picture slate will be comprised of ten of these twelve films. Still, there are a couple films playing in the shadows that might spoil my prognosticating. They are: (500) Days of Summer, Crazy Heart, The White Ribbon, A Single Man, Nine, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Do I see any of these making it? Not at all. Still, you never know...
My predicted 10, in order of likelihood:
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Inglorious Basterds
Up in the Air
Precious
An Education
Up
A Serious Man
District 9
The Messenger

I know, I'm probably crazy leaving Invictus out of the mix (the Academy has to have at least one middlebrow, boring nominee. That's always the rule), especially in favor of The Messenger. If anything's beating Invictus, it's probably Star Trek. But hell. I'm feeling optimistic right now.

Best Director
Ahhh. This one is easier. We have three locks, and four directors fighting for spots.
The locks:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

These three are in. End of discussion.
Next? Some bloggers are arguing that Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) isn't as stable as we think, but the hell with that. Sorry, he's in. That leaves one spot open. The most likely contenders:
Lee Daniels, Precious. While he's taken some flac for this film, it's still quite successful. Voters might be looking to honor the film across the board.
Clint Eastwood, Invictus. Once again, the middlebrow may carry the day here. The Academy does love them some Clint. If he gets nominated, I'll going to have to cap someone. No lie.
Neil Blomkamp, District 9. This movie keeps popping up, and, regardless of its genre, it would be foolishness to exclude it from major conversations. Plus, Blomkamp's getting most of the credit for making District 9 something special. If it weren't so anti-Academy aesthetic, I'd say he's in for sure. I wouldn't be surprised, though. Other film-makers with a tiny chance:
Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon
Lone Scherfig, An Education
My predicted five:
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Lee Daniels, Precious
Once again, I'm probably silly for not predicting Invictus, but I just can't predict that movie. It's too hard.

Original Screenplay
This one's easy. It's been the same five films since square one, and, barring surprises, will be the same five films on nomination morning. They are:
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up
(500) Days of Summer

I'd say that (500) Days of Summer is vulnerable here, but not too vulnerable. If anything kicks it out, it will be The Messenger, which is (allegedly) spectacularly written, but a very small film. Or, perhaps Avatar; I know the screenplay isn't very good, but if the Academy goes completely nuts for this film, expect it to show up here.
My predictions:
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up
(500) Days of Summer

Adapted Screenplay
This one isn't as easy. There are three definites here, films which cannon conceivably miss:
An Education
Precious
Up in the Air
Past that, however, is anybody's guess. Here are some possibilities:
Crazy Heart: Though most reviews I've read cite this movie for its cliched and trite screenplay, it's still found some love. I don't want it to happen, but it might.
District 9: This film has really found a following. Screenplay would be a great place to honor this film.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox: The people that love this film really, really love it. If it's expected to compete with Up for Animated Film, it needs to show up here (unless, of course, Up doesn't get into its screenplay category either, in which case it's anybody's game).
In the Loop: This film is probably too small. Its script is supposed to be pretty great, and it's gotten a few notices, but my guess is not enough voters will have seen it.
Invictus: Middlebrow. Enough Said.
Julie and Julia: Another possibility. Adapting two books isn't easy, and voters might reward Nora Ephron for that.
Star Trek: Yup. If it makes it into Best Picture, it could easily show up here.
My Predictions:
Up in the Air
An Education
Precious
District 9
Crazy Heart
or: The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Invictus, Julie and Julia

It's really too hard to say at this point. I doubt I'll have any more insight in a week, either. Oh well. Them's the breaks.


That's it for now, I suppose. I'll do the acting categories tomorrow, and the tech categories the day after. Until then!

A Decade of Oscar Winners: A Retrospective

This week, critics circles, guilds, and one group of drunken journalists all announce their nominees for various end-of-the-year awards. Suffice to say that, by Friday, we'll have a fairly clear picture of the Oscar race. I'll run a piece on that later this week, but for now, I'd like to just look back at the Academy. And how often they screw things up. Seriously. Rarely does Best Picture go to the actual best film of the year. Too often, the process becomes mired in politics, playing nice, buying votes, and scheduling woes. Which isn't to say that good movies can't win, of course. I'm just saying that the best films often don't. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are the best picture winners of the decade, along with the other nominees they built. I'll whine for a little about them (or compliment them, you never know), then offer up my own nominee slate. Fun times! 2008: Slumdog Millionaire Other nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader I'll be honest; none of these nominees get me too excited. Slumdog is definitely the best among them (though The Reader has some great moments, and, admittedly, I liked Benjamin Button), but that's not saying a whole lot. Slumdog won because it was exactly what our country needed at the time: something fast, loud, and oozing optimism. It perfectly tapped into the zeitgeist surrounding Obama's election. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's a perfectly competent film. There just happened to be a bevy of other, more challenging, more advanced films for consumption. My nominees, in order of preference: 1. Waltz With Bashir 2. Synecdoche, New York 3. WALL-E 4. Let the Right One In 5. In Bruges 2007: No Country For Old Men Other Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood How fantastic: We're only two years in, and I can't find anything to complain about! 2007 was one of the best years for film in recent memory; it would have been almost impossible to not nominate five great films, and any of the nominees could be a worthy champion in any other year. Essentially, 2007 was awesome. Nothing more so than No Country For Old Men; a film that showed the Coens at the absolute top of their game. Adroitly paced, almost unbearably taut, lean, and full of dark, cynical insight, No Country wasn't just the best of the year: it's one of the best winners of the decade. And I can't even complain about the other nominees. All of them are of the honor. My nominees: 1. No Country For Old Men 2. Sunshine 3. There Will Be Blood 4. Away From Her 5. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2006: The Departed Other Nominees: Babel, Letters From Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen This is tough: I can't say I agree that The Departed was the best film of the year, but it sure came close. It's certainly the best of the nominated films (though all of those, with the exception of Babel, carry my complete and total approval). Indeed, it's hard to deny the energy and forward motion of The Departed. Plus, it's Martin Frigging Scorsese. The Departed is a fantastic entry into the Academy Canon. My Nominees: 1. Children of Men 2. The Departed 3. Pan's Labyrinth 4. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints 5. Letters From Iwo Jima 2005: Crash Other Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Goodnight and Good Luck, Munich Ahhh. Crash. Crash. This. Was. A. Travesty. I'm not saying that Crash doesn't have powerful moments, and I'm not saying that Crash isn't a very skillful manipulator. But that's just it: the movie is great at manipulating the viewer into thinking they're seeing something good, when what they're actually seeing is ham-fisted, obvious, and subtle as a sledgehammer. How it won out over ANY of the other nominees (all fantastic films) as well as other not-nominated greats is almost unfathomable. But especially winning over Brokeback Mountain or, to a lesser degree, Munich. Both are modern masterpieces, and are many heads and shoulders above Crash. The Academy certainly dropped the ball on this one. My Nominees: 1. Brokeback Mountain 2. Munich 3. A History of Violence 4. Capote 5. Junebug 2004: Million Dollar Baby Other Nominees: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways Here's another year where the slew of nominees did nothing for me. It's once again the case that the winner is the best of those offered, but it's not a hard accomplishment. The Aviator was technically proficient but dead inside, Finding Neverland was shallow ant smarmy, Ray was all about the lead performance, and Sideways, though loved by some, was found by this writer to be misogynistic, slow, and utterly pointless. Million Dollar Baby itself is minor Eastwood. It's not his best effort, but is better than his worst efforts. It's a movie-of-the-week. Watch it, feel sanctimonious, forget it. End of story. My Nominees: 1. Kill Bill 2. Undertow 3. Hotel Rwanda 4. Before Sunset 5. The Incredibles 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Other Nominees: Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit I have trouble arguing with this one. As a stand-alone film, The Return of the King is strong, but not strong enough to win over the others. As a piece of a trilogy, and as a cinematic accomplishment, The Return of the King (and, really, The Lord of the Rings) is staggering work that's nearly impossible to ignore. And that's what the Academy did here: the Oscar wasn't for Return of the King. It was for The Lord of the Rings, and it's hard to compete with three films, even if the competition is as fantastic as the other nominees (with the notable exception of Seabiscuit, which made me try to eat my own tongue). My Nominees: 1. Lost in Translation 2. City of God 3. Mystic River 4. 28 Days Later 5. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2002: Chicago Other Nominees: Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Pianist How the hell did Chicago walk away with this? I'll be the first to admit that Chicago is entertaining and well-made. But it's little else. There's nothing challenging or new about the film. It makes you smile for a couple of hours, then is promptly forgotten. Admittedly two of the other nominees were uneven efforts (Gangs of New York and The Two Towers), and the other two were too depressing and cerebral for most viewers, but that's no excuse. The Pianist or The Hours would both have made far more deserving winners than Chicago. And I haven't even mentioned all the films that weren't nominated that were better than Chicago. Geez. My Nominees: 1. Y Tu Mama, Tambien 2. Minority Report 3. Adaptation 4. The Hours 5. Hable Con Ella 2001: A Beautiful Mind Other Nominees: Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge! ...I don't even want to talk to the Oscars right now. 2001 was a banner year for cinema, chock full of films that did new, bold things, played with content, form, style, films that revitalized dying genres, films that defied expectations, films with fascinating character studies, intense moments, and all general forms of greatness. And the winner was....A poorly made, slow-paced, shallow-minded biopic that has been seen 1,000 times before. Seriously, I think I saw A Beautiful Mind on Hallmark as a made-for-TV movie before it got a theatrical release. It's just embarrassing. All of the other nominees would have been incomparably better as winners than this perfect storm of idiocy. (Side note, but where the hell was Black Hawk Down when it came to voting time? How did it not make the cut?) My Nominees: 1. Black Hawk Down 2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 3. Gosford Park 4. Moulin Rouge! 5. Memento 2000: Gladiator Other Nominees: Chocolat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Erin Brokovich, Traffic Not a strong start to the decade, really. 2000 had some great films. Not many of them can be found in the nominees listed above. Gladiator is large, loud, and well-made. A great film it is not. Though, I understand that, out of the nominees, it was the only plausible winner: Chocolat and Erin Brokovich were flukes, Traffic was too clinical, and The Academy will burn in Hell before they give their top prize to a foreign-language film. But see, the solution to this problem is not to choose the lesser of five evils: it's to nominate the good films in the first place. Oh well. My Nominees: 1. Almost Famous 2. Billy Elliot 3. Requiem For a Dream 4. The Virgin Suicides 5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon The 2000s: A fantastic decade for films. Not a fantastic decade for Academy Award winners. If I had to list the winners by my preference, it would be as follows: 1. The Departed 2. No Country For Old Men 3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 4. Slumdog Millionaire 5. Gladiator 6. Million Dollar Baby 7. Chicago 8. Crash 9. A Beautiful Mind Honestly, only the first two have my first three have my complete approval. The next two are good enough, and then it's all downhill from there. And what's going to join this not-so-awe-inspiring list in March? The Hurt Locker. Please, please let it be The Hurt Locker. Finish the decade with a bang (pun not intended). Or who knows. I have lots of big, 'prestige' films left to see this year. Maybe Avatar. Maybe Up in the Air. Just...something good, OK Academy? What do you think? Am I being too hard on these winners? Are these nine films a collection of cinematic gems that will resonate throughout the ages? Let me know.