Hey, Everyone!
It’s been too long since I posted here. But it’s time for my annual ranking of the Oscar Best Picture nominees! As I explain every year, I have no qualifications for this whatsoever. Paul and I have had a tradition of watching every Best Picture nominee for the last 30-ish years. I share my opinion for fun and nothing else.
Here they are, in order from worst to first!
SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN NOMINATED
10. “Bugonia”: Aspects of this movie were well done, particularly in making the conspiracy theorist a sympathetic character. The commentary on our society in that regard was interesting. The acting overall was solid; the production design and flow good. However, the ending did it in for me. After all the work to build the story, I was snapped into a bad Saturday Night Live skit. It fell flat and felt stupid – like I was being mocked for being dumb enough to watch the movie.
9. “Hamnet”: I have several friends who will read this ranking and have serious issues with me when next we speak. But by and large, I could not have been more bored with a movie. I almost fell asleep a few times. I thought it struggled to decide if it was going to be a tragedy, a romance, or a life story; and in floundering around there, it failed to convince me on any of them. I just don’t get the hype.
ENJOYABLE BUT NOT QUITE BEST PICTURE MATERIAL
8. “F1”: I dreaded having to watch this movie because I’m not a race car kind of girl. But I was pleasantly surprised. The behind the scenes look at what goes into F1, the character development, and the story arc made an interesting movie. Still, there was a little too much racing in circles racing in circles racing in circles for me. It seemed like a nomination squeezed in to appeal to more people, not a real contender worthy of the accolades.
7. “Marty Supreme”: Now I have more friends who are going to kill me for a ranking. The acting in this movie was superb. The pace was amazing. But I hated all the characters. There was no anchor to pull me in. These were humans you wanted in prison, not in your family room. The transformation of Marty at the end was completely unbelievable; instead of thinking he had reformed or come to a revelation, I assumed he was exhausted and delusional, but would snap back to being his awful self in the morning.
WORTHY BEST PICTURE NOMINEES
6. “The Secret Agent”: Given the moment in which we live, it stands to reason that dictatorship movies have a pull right now. But in the last couple years, Hollywood seems obsessed with the Brazilian dictatorship. Anyway, this is a movie about the plight of innocent people in such a regime, couched as a mystery and tense thriller. The twists and turns keep you on edge, the social commentary is well delivered without being preachy, and the atmosphere is very authentic. I would have ranked it higher, but the attempt to pull it to the present with an investigation into what had happened was at times confusing to me.
5. “Frankenstein”: I had fun watching this latest adaptation of Mary Shelley’s creation. The questions about humanity, ethics, and morality were front and center in a natural way. Greed, selfishness, and pride fought compassion, love, and character. The surreal settings added an aura of mystery and surprise. I liked the acting, especially Oscar Isaac. It wasn’t perfect and there were glitches, but not so annoying as to mention specifically or remove this from the top of my list. Side note: Jacob Elordi is so cute, his cuteness peeked through all that make up.
4. “Sentimental Value”: This rumination on family trauma and relationships was intense. Weaving through an emotionally abusive father’s actions but also showing what created him was well done. The sadness of life did not so overwhelm the picture that it lost the humor and love that often accompany such raw feelings. I loved the bond between the sisters, and the deep love that held them, and the movie, together. The use of place as a character was also crucial and marvelous in its execution.
3. “Sinners”: as a horror/speculative fiction writer, and especially as a huge fan of all things vampire, I suppose I am betraying myself by not ranking “Sinners” higher. I loved this movie. It was full of chills and action, yet did not forget the importance of us caring about characters and wanting them to survive. It played with vampire legends in a fun way. The surprises at the end were really well revealed. However, I didn’t think it was as innovative as some have suggested. It was good, but not over-the-top brilliant. Anything that comments on race in America this way, though, deserves respect. To deliver the message in a way that was also entertaining can be a tricky needle to thread, but it was done quite well here.
***. “History of Sound”: You can’t have three stars in a countdown list from 10 to 1; and this movie wasn’t nominated, so what the hell am I doing? Paul and I LOVED this movie. When we chatted about it afterward, we both said that we’d be watching Best Picture nominees this year that were much worse than this one, and we’d keep wondering why it wasn’t nominated. Well, you can see how much I cherished this love story/tragedy/period piece by virtue of my sticking it in my list despite it being snubbed. Gorgeous cinematography, love that could not be contained but had to be hidden, and the fight to find one’s true self were amazing. The reveal at the end rips your heart out.
2. “One Battle After Another”: This is a somewhat rare case of Hollywood and me aligning. It’s getting a ton of buzz, which I think is well deserved. I loved it because, well: it was a thriller, action movie, comedy, social commentary about race and authoritarianism, human interest piece, and family drama all wrapped into one eventful story. Sean Penn was terrifying because we see real people in our government act just like he did in the movie, as well as the shadow creepy people and organizations. DiCaprio was marvelous. I fidgeted, jumped, had tears in my eyes, and loved this movie from start to finish. I had a hard time not ranking it as my best picture, but, well . . .
- “Train Dreams”: but, well . . . “Train Dreams” has haunted me since we watched it. I was enraptured by a story about an interesting moment in history, but not an overly profound time, such as a war. The main character is just a guy; just a logger, going about his life. But his humanity shines through and is so entrancing because he could be any one of us. He’s haunted by witnessing a hateful event. He works hard for his family and loves them, then suffers unthinkable tragedy. The friendship between him and a local store owner was so moving – its authenticity came from how his friend checked on him, helped him, but they never talked about the issue. He was just present at times when his friend needed him. Help from other individuals and animals was so charming and real. This is a beautiful movie about what it means to be human.
Alright – we’ll be watching “The Oscars” with friends, to comment and be caddy and have fun. Pop the champagne and let’s enjoy the evening!