It’s almost here! The most prestigious award show in the history of man! They do NOTHING wrong of course!! If something wins an Oscar, then it’s OBVIOUSLY the best!!
Okay, enough with the sarcasm. The Oscars have been a huge deal throughout movie history. We can talk down on them all we want, and we may not always agree with them, but let’s admit it: If YOU won an Oscar, YOU would 100% flip your LID. I know I would.
This year’s Academy Awards are much more stacked than last year. 2019 was truly a fantastic year for movies, and my favorite movie of the whole year was nominated for Best Picture, for the first time since Moonlight! So I thought it’d be appropriate to give my personal ranking of the Best Picture nominations from worst to best. Now before I do, I just want to remind everyone that this is all opinion-based, and you may not agree with my ranking. That’s okay, though! You have YOUR ranking, and that’s all that matters. So with that said, lets jump right in.
9. Ford v Ferrari, directed by James Mangold
I watched Ford v Ferrari with the slightest amount of optimism I could have. It was winning the praises of most critics I follow saying “It’s so entertaining! It’s so awesome!!” So I went in…and I don’t know if it’s because I don’t give a toss about cars but this didn’t do much for me, AT ALL. I found it to be pretty dull all the way through. Positives first. Christian Bale brought a lot of energy and humor to his character, and I enjoyed every moment he was on screen, the sound editing was top notch, and the editing was top notch. That’s where it ends, though. I don’t think this is a good screenplay, at all. Again, maybe it’s just me, and I don’t care about cars, but it’s just a lot of expository dialogue. It feels the need to spoon-feed everything to us, and it’s pretty annoying. Not only that, but it’s also pretty repetitive. Even when the racing scenes start, I just didn’t care. It’s well-filmed! But not well-filmed enough for me to care.
8. Joker, directed by Todd Phillips
That’s right. The most “controversial” movie about the clowniest man to ever clown got his own movie, and…yeah, it’s pretty good. Got worse on subsequent viewings, but not BAD. However, I don’t think it’s Best Picture worthy. Again, starting with the positive; everything you heard about Joaquin Phoenix is true. He’s one of the best actors working today, and this whole movie is his show. He portrays mental health in such a heartbreaking, authentic way and I wouldn’t be upset if he won Best Actor, even though I’m rooting for someone else who will appear later on this list. The cinematography feels extremely fitting, as the city feels so gross and broken, but there’s a strange sense of beauty to be had with it. I also thought the music was extremely fitting, it feels so depressing and eerie. It feels VERY much like something in a movie about the Joker. This is undeniably a very ambitious film and has a lot going for it! Todd Phillips took advantage of everything he had. But where the problem lies is the script. I have no idea how this is nominated for Best Screenplay. I rambled on how Ford v Ferrari was a little repetitive, well, this is almost ALL repetitive. Arthur does anything out of social cue or something happens to him, he gets crapped on by society, he mopes around and thinks about his revenge. Rinse, wash, repeat. You could argue it does eventually break the cycle, but it was a bit rare from what I noticed and only stands on its own by the end. It wasn’t “boring” but there’s just a time where I have to say “Alright I get it! Please do something different!” The one liners are also pretty cringe-inducing.
“I used to think my life was a tragedy…but now I realize it’s a f***ing comedy.”
Ugh.
“Is this a political statement?” / “No…I don’t believe in anything.”
Ugh.
“Is it me or is it getting CRAZIER out there?”
UGH.
Todd Phillips also doesn’t bring really anything new in the directing field and I have NO IDEA how he’s nominated for Best Director. Sure, you can make a movie that pretty much says “society” a lot, but it just seems like this could be any movie. Not just a “Joker” movie. It isn’t until the last half hour or so when we finally get the scenes that are memorable and flat out GREAT, but everything else is just so annoyingly repetitive. Well performed, well shot, and well scored. But the movie isn’t all “well.”
7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Say what you will about Tarantino, but he knows how to write a film. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is no exception. Do I think it deserves the Best Picture win? No. Do I think it deserves to be in the nominations? Sure! The intention here is to make a film that looks like it was made in the 1960s and it seriously does. The film grain was a very nice touch but the sound design and the music feels VERY 1960s and it was great! But it also has the pacing of a 1960s film. It’s slow and not too much happens. Now look, I’m a fan of long, slow movies…if I can get wrapped up in the world. With this film I did! For the most part. The 60s look got old after a while, and there are many scenes in which it builds up regular Tarantino tension, there was no payoff. It kind of felt like a tease. Now, the ending did feel like old, satisfying Tarantino and it’s awesome…But it also felt pretty out of place. With the film taking its time to do anything, NOW it decides to go insane? Out of nowhere? Anyway, Brad Pitt may win Best Supporting Actor, and I think it’s deserved, as his character is very well-written and cool, and Brad definitely knows how to deliver his lines, but unfortunately I can’t say the same about DiCaprio. He’s good in the movie! But I don’t think he’s Oscar-worthy compared to his other roles. It just felt like anyone could’ve played that part. Entertaining film! Just not as big of a payoff as I wished it would be.
6. 1917, directed by Sam Mendes
1917 is a brilliant idea for a film. A World War I film made to look like it’s done in one shot? Sign me up. However, the one shot thing is kind of false advertising. Oh, it looks like one shot alright! But the hidden cuts are not hidden well at all, and I found myself counting every time I saw one. Granted it was still very few, but it was still comically obvious. There is a big explosion that happens underground that so obviously uses a lot of cuts that they tried to cover with the smoke, but it didn’t work. There’s even a scene where the main character gets knocked out and THE SCREEN GOES TO BLACK AND THEN HE WAKES UP! COME ON! There’s a scene where the main character walks in a forest and there were so many fake CGI trees…indicating many cuts! It becomes a lot less impressive if you don’t know how to hide these properly. It’s hugely annoying and distracting. Also, this isn’t a good screenplay. The dialogue was pretty cheesy throughout, with a lot of scenes and lines being way too over-dramatic.
On a positive note, George MacKay and Dean Chapman are genuinely excellent. MacKay carries this movie on his back and delivers one of the fiercest and most heartbreaking performances in a war film I’ve ever seen. The sound design is also fantastic. Every explosion, gunshot, and even the nature sounds stand out, and it’s so three dimensional. It’s terrifying! I complained about the cinematography, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t absolutely gorgeous in most scenes. It’s just I wish this movie wasn’t so full of itself when it clearly has a lot to work on. Very well made, but still needs a bit of tweaking.
5. The Irishman, directed by Martin Scorsese
Hell yeah. When I talked about how Once Upon a Time in Hollywood very much felt like a 1960s movie, I also mentioned how it was a tad bit too slow; The Irishman feels like a 1960s film that’s PERFECTLY paced. Scorsese just knows how to make a movie as entertaining as possible. Even for a three and a half hour runtime! Does it need to be 3 and a half hours? Probably not, but at least when I first saw it, it FLEW by. One of my favorite aspects of The Irishman is just the non-stop energy going around, everyone and everything is always loud and in your face. The dialogue here is so quick and sharp, there’s never a line that felt unnecessary or out of character. The characters all have this ego to them they all want to feel the most important, while also simultaneously the most feared. They almost always talk over each other to assert their dominance to a point where you do actually feel afraid of these characters. I’m actually surprised De Niro didn’t get a Best Actor nomination! He was fantastic. But Pesci and Pacino were the true scene stealers, in my opinion. They put their all into these characters, whether good or bad, they leave a huge impact. But my favorite thing about this movie is the last hour. It’s truly heartbreaking as we follow these people as old men living with regret for their final days and ends with one of my favorite final shots of the whole year. It’s more than impactful.
4. JoJo Rabbit, directed by Taika Waititi
I loooooovvvveeeee Jojo Rabbit. Taika Waititi is one of my favorite film makers working right now as well, as one of my favorite celebrities and his satire on why fascism is stupid is very effective! Nothing ever felt too over the top. Don’t get me wrong, this is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen all year, but when the emotional moments hit, they hit surprisingly hard, and every character was developed well enough for me to actually care about what they were going through. Roman Griffin Davis is a fantastic newcomer, he has a ton of fun with this performance. He’s great in the comedic moments and even better in the dramatic moments. Thomasin Mackenzie stole the whole thing, though. Like Davis, she’s fantastic in the comedic moments, and even better in the emotional scenes, but every time the movie decides to focus on her specifically, she knows exactly how to present her dialogue to make it consistently engaging. Every time she was on screen, I couldn’t look away. My main problem with the movie is that it starts to overstay its welcome and it can get just a little bit too on the nose with its message, but that’s really it. I also want to mention that the ending to this movie is what turned this movie from great to fantastic for me. I’m talking about the final minute. I won’t give it away, but I’ll just say it’s one of the top 3 scenes of the year. I love it.
3. Parasite, directed by Bong Joon Ho
Okay now we’re getting into the territory of movies I find to be virtually flawless. Bong Joon Ho tackles the subject of class and the gap between the rich and the poor in a very clever way. It’s genius. The main family literally lives lower than the rich and they’re taking anything they can take for free stuff. They leave the windows open to get free extermination when someone is fumigating the street, they rely on the nearby restaurants and cafes for free Wi-Fi, and they’re okay with scamming people into getting work for the whole family, so they’re guaranteed financial support. Which is literally what the movie is about on the surface. It’s a social satire at heart. The first half of the movie is very funny and very self-aware as we get to know more about this poor family and just how far they would go to just survive in the situation they’re in. However, the second half takes a complete tonal shift as the family discovers something and the film delves into insanity, and the balance between the satirical tone and the serious tone was flawless. Bong Joon Ho knew exactly when to have that shift while still having us care about everything that’s going on. I have seen so many movies where the tone just randomly becomes inconsistent. The problem, is it always feels like a completely different movie. But Bong knew exactly how to make that shift, and still have the movie constitute standing on its own two feet. It’s one of the most intense and unpredictable movies I have seen in recent memory. Thank you. Does it deserve Best Picture? Yes, yes, and yes.
2. Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach.
I reviewed this movie already for Incluvie, so you already know my absolute love for it, but what still floors me to this day is how far it’s willing to go with its subject matter. Every line is written so carefully and realistically, there were several times where I forgot I was watching a movie. I find that phrase a little overused sometimes “I forgot I was watching a movie” but here, it’s true. I felt like I was just witnessing everything crumble between the eyes of two very innocent, but flawed souls. Almost everything that’s done here feels understandable and the motivations for why one wants to leave the other and why the other is acting out about it is completely understandable from both sides. It’s been so long since I cared about characters THIS MUCH. These were people who were losing pretty much everything at the seams. Losing their money, jobs, and even sanity. One thinking it’s for the better, and the other for the worse, but again, both sides are justified. Adam Driver I think absolutely 100% deserves the Best Actor award. He’s devastating here, the scenes where he holds back and the scenes where he does explode are so heartbreaking and feel so real. Scarlett Johansson also deserves so much recognition. She’s someone who is also shattered, but feels like she HAS to do this. You understand her every step of the way. She’s such a strong character and I wouldn’t be disappointed if she won Best Actress. Noah Baumbach did it again for me, and he may have given us his best film to date.
- Little Women, directed by Greta Gerwig
If anyone knows me, you knew this was coming. You know how obsessed I am about this movie. How can you blame me? How can you look at these shots, listen to that score, watch these performances, and listen to that dialogue without falling in love? The sense of absolute euphoria and happiness I felt throughout this whole thing is unlike anything I’ve felt watching most movies. Every shot felt like a painting, every shot had its own sense of life to it. I couldn’t look away. I’ve seen so many movies this year where it’s just chaotic and hopeless. Here, it’s all hopeful. It’s all peaceful and just… Happy. I could go on all day about this movie, the performances are next level. Saoirse Ronan is absolutely incredible, and Florence Pugh stole the whole movie. These actresses, every single one of them were incredible in their own way, the music by Alexandre Desplat is incredibly enchanting and it’s one of the best scores I’ve heard all year. The editing!!! The sound design!!! It’s just all done so magically!! Greta Gerwig made something for everyone. Gerwig made something we all deserved, something with love oozing in every frame. Something I personally just needed. I needed this kind of happiness. This movie inspired me, and it’s going to be a movie that inspires up and coming film makers. I’m just so happy that a movie like this exists. It needs to exist and it needs to be seen.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wow, that was a lot to go over but now after doing it, I think it’s a much better race than last year was. Were there some snubs? Absolutely, but we got some of the absolute best from these filmmakers in 2019. What we need to focus on is recognizing diverse filmmakers, and diverse films in general. The Oscars are still very white. Greta Gerwig should be in the best director slot instead of Todd Phillips. 2019 was the year of female filmmakers, and still, not one person in the best director category is a woman. Lulu Wang as well deserved a Best Director nomination for The Farewell, one of the most heartbreaking and well-written movies I saw all year. The Last Black Man in San Francisco is one of my top 5 favorites of last year and possibly ever, it’s a perfect example of a new filmmaker taking advantage of everything he has, but didn’t get recognized at all by the Academy. Jonathan Majors and Jimmie Fails should’ve gotten Best Actor nominations for that film, and Fails should’ve gotten a screenplay nomination. That’s only a select few out of the MANY I can think of for diverse filmmakers and actors that should’ve been nominated. They may get their due in the future, but we’ve been saying that for too many years now. It wasn’t until 2017 when the first black person finally won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and a black person has NEVER won Best Director in the history of the Oscars. A female composer has NEVER won Best Score, and the only time a woman ever won Best Director was in 2009, a decade ago. Only 5 women in the history of the Oscars have been nominated for Best Director. Lets hope for 2020, that there’s a change and there’s more of a care for representation.
