Oscar nominations were released on January 23rd, and that’s
always the perfect time for me to use my love of Excel Pivot Tables to tell you
which movies the Academy thinks you should see, based on number of nominations.
And then counter that list with the movies I think you should see, based solely
on my opinions. I felt like the
nominations for Best Picture this year was one of the more tolerable lists in
recent years. Usually there are several
that I will just flat out refuse to see, this year, there seems to be only one
(I don’t care what you tell me about Phantom Thread, I’m not interested).
In any case, enjoy the below lists – because everybody loves
lists – I hope it helps you decide what to stream (I used to say ‘rent’ – we’re
in the future!). As always, I’ve added
Honest Trailers by Screen Junkies and Sins videos from Cinema Sins whenever
possible, be sure to ‘like and subscribe’ for both of those, because they do
some great work. Also – the descriptions in italics are from IMDB, because they
can often summarize faster than I can.
The Academy’s List:
1. The Shape of Water (13 nominations): At a top secret research facility in the
1950s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature
that is being held in captivity. Tying the Return of the King record for
most nominations, The Shape of Water has really solidified itself as the
leading contender. It’s another
beautifully weird and haunting Guillermo del Toro adult fairy tale. Stunningly acted, and extremely well crafted,
all the pieces of the production come together to create a beautiful film. I definitely enjoyed it, perhaps not as much
as some other del Toro movies, but it was lovely (and weird, really weird).
2. Dunkirk (8 nominations) Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British
Empire and France are surround by the German Army, and evacuated during a
fierce battle in World War II. A
Christopher Nolan movie telling a tale from 1940 in World War II, this movie
should win some technical awards – including the sound editing and mixing.
3.
Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (7 nominations) A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her
daughter’s murder when they fail to catch the culprit. This movie is not based on a true story,
instead it uses some reality-based tinges to tell a story about middle-America
prejudices and maternal determination.
4.
Darkest
Hour (6 nominations) During the early
days of World War II, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate
with Hitler or fight on against incredible odds. This covers some of the same time as Dunkirk,
and you have to set aside what you know about some of the horrible things
Churchill did in other places at other times to see him as the hero of this
story. Gary Oldman is probably a lock
for the best actor award.
5. Phantom Thread (6 nominations) Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a
renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young,
strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover. This is what I would call a typical
Oscar-type movie, and sounds horrifically boring on almost every level. Daniel Day Lewis has stated he is now retired
from acting, so this might be the last time you see him, so if you love Daniel Day Lewis - or sewing - see this!
6.
Blade
Runner 2049 (5 nominations) A young
blade runner’s discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former
blade runner Rick Deckard, who’s been missing for thirty years. A beautiful looking movie that stays true to
the original while extending the story in an interesting way. It’s too long,
and drags a bit, but visually is amazing and does have some great action.
7. Lady Bird (5 nominations) In 2002, an artistically inclined
seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California. No Oscar season would be complete without a
pretentious coming of age story, and here’s the one for this year. This is an unpopular opinion, but I personally
did not care for it. Now, that is not to
say that it is not exceptionally well crafted. Greata Gerwig wrote a
semi-autobiographical story, and directed it herself. This allows it to stay
very true to its origins. It has a great
performance by Saorise Ronan, and an even better performance by Laurie
Metcalf. It’s just not in my wheelhouse,
and I found all the characters annoying.
8. Call Me By Your Name (4 nominations). In Northern Italy in 1983, seventeen year-old
Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father’s research
assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish
heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape. Here’s another very typical Oscar-y movie.
Stunningly shot, and beautifully acted, it’s the second punch in the Timothee
Chalamet combo this year (he’s also in Lady Bird).
9. Get Out (4 nominations) It’s time for a young African-American to
meet with his white girlfriend’s parents for a weekend at their secluded estate
in the woods, but before long, the friendly and polite ambience will give way
to a nightmare. By now, you really should
have seen this movie. It’s a fantastic social thriller by Jordan Peele, and has
some classic horror elements, with some additional social awkwardness. The performances are all exceptional, and the
story is fantastic.
10. Mudbound (4 nominations) Two men return home from World War II to
work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism
and adjusting to life after war.
This is a Netflix movie that has been recognized with the bigger studio
pictures, so it is absolutely another step in redefining where you can get your
movies. With amazing performances from
Mary J. Blige and Jason Mitchell, it’s a tough story, but wonderfully done.
11.
Star Wars
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (4 nominations) Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke
Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the
Resistance prepares for battle with the first order. Since I enjoyed the Force Awakens, and loved
Rogue One, I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this movie – but it really
blew me away. The performances are
amazing, including Mark Hamill taking my breath away as a Luke who goes from
hopeless to a source of hope for others.
Carrie Fisher’s final performance as Leia is quietly powerful, and the
new crew of Resistance fighters led by John Boyega and Daisey Ridley makes me
excited for whatever is coming next. Wide, sweeping shots of several new
planets also take the look of this movie a step above.
12.
Baby
Driver (3 nominations) After being
coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself
taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
Here is another one that I can agree was expertly crafted, but that I
did not particularly care for. The way the music Baby is obsessed with lines up
with the action is amazing, and the car chases are exceptional, I wasn’t blown
away by the performances, plus it does have the extra burden of Kevin Spacey,
and this one did not choose to replace him with Christopher Plummer – although thinking
about that now, it would have been interesting for this movie!
13. I, Tonya (3 nominations) Competitive figure skater Tonya Harding
rises amoungst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her
future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes. A really interesting take on the “incident”
focusing on Tonya’s rise in the figure skating community and battle with the
status quo. The movie is shot documentary style, with each of the characters in
interview settings with the scenes played out in between – with several
characters stating that what was just shown was not true. It’s an interesting
take on this story of a bunch of idiots.
14.
Coco (2
nominations) Aspiring musician Miguel,
confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the
Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer. I didn’t see this because it felt like it was
almost exactly the same as The Book Of Life (which I loved) which was released
a few years ago. I’ve been told it’s a
bit different and worth a look, so who knows, maybe I’ll get around to it.
15. The Post (2 nominations) A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents
pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor
to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government. With a timely story and an incredible
pedigree (Spielberg directed with Hanks and Streep!), you would have thought
this would have way more nominations.
16. Victoria & Abdul (2 nominations)
Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk
named Abdul Karim. Judi Dench plays
Queen Victoria for the umpteenth time in this story about one of her
friendships.
17.
Dear
Basketball (1 nomination) An animated
telling of Kobe Bryant’s poem, “Dear Basketball”. From this point down, we’re into the single
nominations, and there are many more, but I wanted to keep this to a top 20, so
the rest are ones I saw, enjoyed, and will recommend. This one I’m including because it means that
Kobe Bryant is now an Oscar nominee, and because the poem is lovely, and the animation beautiful. If he wins, he’ll have exactly the same amount of Oscars as Suicide
Squad
18.
Molly’s
Game (1 nomination) The true story of
Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive
high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target. I really enjoyed this movie. It’s written and directed by Aaron Sorkin,
which means there is a lot of standing around and talking, but it’s really
fast-paced and interesting. The story is
really surprising as Molly accidentally falls into a position of running these
crazy high stakes games. I also felt
like Kevin Costner deserved a nomination for his supporting role as her father.
He is shockingly good with very little screen time.
19. Kong: Skull Island (1 nomination) A
team of scientists explore an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into
the domain of the mighty Kong, and must fight to escape a primal Eden. Another
one I really enjoyed – a group of soldiers on the way home from the end of the Vietnam
war has to escort these scientists to a place no one should go. With the biggest screen Kong to date, this
movie really sets up what should be an epic Godzilla/Kong fight. Plus, Samuel
L. Jackson.
20. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (1 nomination)
The Guardians must fight to keep their
newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true
parentage. Easily one of the best of
the year, this movie manages to be simultaneously hilarious, charming,
touching, action-packed, and downright entertaining. The performances are lovely, especially the
team as they grow closer together.
My List – out of 44 seen and reviewed this year, here is
what I thought was best. And of course,
by best – I mean what I found the most enjoyable, not at all speaking to
quality or execution here:
1.
Star Wars
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – One and Two on this list are super close for
me, but The Last Jedi really closed out the year on a high note for me. I loved the transition of Luke’s character
from grumpy and hopeless former Jedi on self-imposed exile (what is with Jedis
and self-imposed exiles?) to the cocky Jedi Master we saw challenge Jabba the
Hutt is fantastic. I loved the development of Rey’s character – and the idea of
her coming from nothing, and having developing power without owing anything to
a bloodline or someone else really won me over.
2.
Guardians
of the Galaxy vol. 2 – Again, just pure cinematic joy. I know some felt it
was too long, the villain was weak, and the final battle was the same as the previous
movie. Yes, it was long, but I actually
liked Kurt Russel’s version of Ego, and while the final battle was similar,
that last scene between Yondo and Peter was fantastic. Plus, let’s not even get started about Baby
Groot, and how wonderful he was – especially the scene where he explains why he
doesn’t like hats! I can’t wait for the next
go-round with the Guardians.
3. Thor Ragnarok: Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial
contest against the Hulk, his former ally.
Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the
all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization. I loved this movie. Taika Watiti managed to
completely revitalize Thor and give him what was almost a complete
action-comedy. Including several new
characters, and some interesting previous characters – with the best bits of
Dr. Strange so far – I really enjoyed this immensely.
4. The Big Sick: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner
fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a
mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his
family’s expectations, and his true feelings. I have no idea why this wasn’t nominated for
Oscars all over the place. It got
nominated for writing, but both Ray Romano and Holly Hunter could have been
nominated, as well as Kumail himself. The story is simple and straightforward,
but elevated by the performances of everyone in it.
5.
Spiderman
Homecoming: Peter Parker balances his
life as an ordinary high school student in Queens with his superhero alter-ego
Spider-Man, and finds himself on the trail of a new menace prowling the skies
of New York City. This movie caught me by surprise – Tom Holland is easily
the best SpiderMan we’ve had, and he has such charm and genuine-ness. The John Hughes-ness of the high school bits
of this story make sense, and Michael Keaton is fantastic as the Vulture, a
character I for sure thought would never make it to a movie screen.
6.
Girls
Trip: When four lifelong friends
travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, sisterhoods are
rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered, and there’s enough dancing, drinking,
brawling, and romancing to make the Big Easy blush. This movie made me laugh so hard! Yes, it’s predictable, and yes, all the drama
could have been solved by better communication, but it’s the performances from
the four leads that take the standard fare and elevate it into something truly special.
7.
Get Out:
Again, see this movie. But, if you have the chance (they are re-releasing it to
the theaters for Oscar hype) go see it in the theater. It really does make a
difference to see this movie with an audience.
It really heightens the experience as everyone begins to share the lead’s
discoveries that the house he is staying in is not quite what he thought it
was!
8.
Kong:
Skull Island: Every once in a while, you need a big, loud,
creature-feature, and this one is better than most. Kong is absolutely the king of his domain,
and it was refreshing to see him just kick ass on his own island instead of
being bullied, captured, and forced into a city.
9.
The Shape
of Water: This is another one on which you can believe the hype. It’s weirdly elegant and hauntingly
beautiful. Check it out, it’s really unlike anything else this past year – and who
would have thought something that outside-the-box would get the most
nominations? Spoiler alert - a mute lady has sex with a fish guy! And it was nominated more than any other movie!
10.
Wonder
Woman: When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana,
an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her
full powers and true destiny. How
did this get zero nominations? If not for Patty Jenkins’s direction (which was
fantastic), then at least costuming, sound editing, effects, or any other
technical award that they begrudgingly give to the big blockbusters? The movie is good – it is not flawless, it
for sure has too much Zack Snyder on it, but it was entertaining, and Gal Gadot
was a shining light as Diana.
11.
Molly’s
Game: There is a surprising amount of crossover between my selections and
the Academy’s selections this year, that may be unprecedented. I really enjoyed this one. With exceptional
performances from Idris Elba and Jessica Chastain, it was fascinating to see
this woman of constant drive shift that drive from Olympic Moguls skiing to
high-stakes poker. I also enjoyed doing a little digging to see who the players
she didn’t mention might be, and let me tell you – if I didn’t like Toby
Macguire before (I didn’t), I really don’t now.
12.
Fate of
the Furious: When a mysterious woman
seduces Dom inot the world of terrorism and a betrayal of those closest to him,
the crew face trials that will test them as never before. Yes, indeed – what happens when Dom is forced
to betray his family and their Coronas? Well, huge car chases and spectacular
action sequences while Tyrese wise-cracks, obviously. This one is not nearly as good as some of the
previous installments, but it is entertaining enough – I enjoyed Charlize
Theron chewing the scenery as a whispering cyber-terrorist, and Helen Mirren as
Jason Statham and Luke Evans’s mom, and man oh man, the chemistry between
Statham and the Rock? I really want that
spin-off, whether or not Vin Diesel wants to allow it!
13.
The
Foreigner: A humble businessman with
a buried past seeks justice when his daughter is killed in an act of Terrorism.
A cat-and-mouse conflict ensues with a government official, whose past may hold
clues to the killers’ identities.
This was a bit of a surprise to me, It was a little uneven, but I really
enjoyed Jackie Chan’s step into a more serious role as a father who will go to
great lengths for justice for his daughter and Pierce Brosnan as a shady
official with a shadier past who seems to be running a shady organization,
thinking he’s doing good by controlling bad.
But, as you know, you can’t control bad.
14.
The
Disaster Artist: When Greg Sestero,
an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an
acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make
their dreams come true. James Franco’s
ongoing skeeziness notwithstanding, this movie manages to be a surprisingly
genuine tale about following through on your dreams and the inspiration of true
friendship. It’s hilarious and charming,
and worth a watch.
15.
John Wick
Chapter 2: After returning to the
criminal underworld to repay a debt, John Wick discovers that a large bounty
has been put on his life. Man, I
really wanted to see John Wick get to go back to his quiet retirement with his
new dog. But after a former contact
demands he deliver on a favor, he breaks a rule and everyone is after him. Keanu is again amazing as John Wick, and
while this one is not as good as the first, it’s still non-stop action all the
way through, with the fascinating Continental playing a little less of a
role. The new dog makes it through this
one.
And of course, just for fun – my personal list of the worst
movies of last year. Or, more
accurately, the movies I enjoyed the least, again, not commenting on quality
here.
1.
The
Circle: A woman lands a dream job at
a powerful tech company called The Circle, only to uncover an agenda that will
affect the lives of all humanity.
Okay – this was easily the worst movie of the year for me, and I saw
Resident Evil 5, or was it 6? The
extremely over-rated Emma Watson is flat and unrelatable in this story where
she takes a job with a company that is pioneering the ability to watch everyone
all the time, and as opposed to how you think the story is going to go (she
realizes this is a terrible blow to personal freedom and takes them down from within),
instead she takes down the two in charge, but works with the company to expand
their surveillance even more. Tom Hanks
has almost nothing to do, Patton Oswalt tries, but has little screen time, Karen
Gillan is good, but wasted, John Boyega is interesting but disappears
quickly. The story makes no sense, the
acting is not great, and the movie is shot weird too. All-around, not great.
2.
Justice
League: Fueled by his restored faith
in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help
of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Sloppy and uneven, this is just not my
Justice League, and that would be fine if the movie was better. Batman would never assemble the league,
Superman just needs to be left out in the yellow sun if injured that badly, and
Wonder Woman should have more to do. As
opposed to Man of Steel and BvS, there were parts of this I liked: I am intrigued
by this Aquaman, and am looking forward to his stand-alone. I enjoyed some of
the humor they tried to incorporate. I enjoyed the more action-packed Alfred,
and the introduction of Cyborg. And
Superman, near the end of this (in the Joss Whedon portions) finally gets
closer to being the Superman I am familiar with. The rest of it is sluggish, confusing, bleak,
and why is the villain all CG, why not cast a big dude in a suit? The Snyder-verse continues to make one bad
decision after another.
3.
The Great
Wall: European mercenaries searching
for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China
against a horde of monstrous creatures.
I will say that I did enjoy a lot of this movie – it needed to do away
with the “European mercenaries” entirely and just be a Chinese epic historical
fantasy movie set in medieval China. I liked the creature design, and the way
the soldiers were designated by color and role, but every time Matt Damon was
on screen, it just pulled me right out of the story.
4. Geostorm: When the network of satellites designed to control the global climate
starts to attack Earth, it’s a race against the clock for its creator to
uncover the real threat before a worldwide Geostorm wipes out everything and
everyone. Sometimes movies like this
are so bad they are good – this one is just so bad. Gerard Butler tries his best, but honestly,
there’s no way I buy him as a brilliant scientist responsible for weather controlling
satellites. The movie is rough, but it’s
almost worth sitting through it for the final confrontation between Ed Harris
and Andy Garcia.
5.
Valerian and
the City of a Thousand Planets: A
dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a
thousand different planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race
to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future
of the universe. I really loved The
Fifth Element, and was looking forward to a return to Luc Besson’s weird view
of future-space. This is just a
beautiful mess. Some of it looks great,
but the story makes no sense, and the two leads are incredibly unlikeable. I do wonder what it could have been with some
tighter editing and different leads – I suppose we’ll never know!
There were others last year that I also did not enjoy (King
Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Kingsman 2, The Mummy,
etc.), but we’ll keep it to five.
Overall, a pretty great year movie-wise, and like I said – I don’t know
that I have ever had so many in my top list cross over with the academy’s list.
Hopefully that’s a trend that continues, if the academy can continue to broaden
its definitions of what is Oscar-worthy!
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