Saturday, March 3, 2018

Ranking the Oscar Best Picture Nominees

Now that I've seen all 9 2018 Oscar Best Picture nominees, I thought that I'd rank them from worst to best.  My favorite never wins, and my least favorite usually does win, but here goes anyway.  Full reviews of the remaining 5 films that I have yet to write about will be coming soon.

9.  Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri: I like a good revenge movie, but the plot here was completely illogical, and there was some definite overacting happening onscreen.  None of the characters had any redeeming qualities and most were flat-out racists, so it was hard to root for anyone.

8.  Dunkirk: The cinematography was beautiful and the battle scenes were realistic, but the movie didn't spend any time developing any of the characters or constructing much of a plot.

7.  Darkest Hour: This film basically told the same story as Dunkirk, but from the point of view of Winston Churchill.  Gary Oldman was just okay in the title role, and the movie was so highbrow that it felt like it was made just to win awards.  I hate this tactic (see: The King's Speech, The Iron Lady).

6.  The Post: I expected to hate this movie, because I hated Spotlight, another film about the behind-the-scenes goings on at a newspaper during a famous breaking news story.  But the plot (about the legality of printing the leaked Pentagon Papers) kept my attention throughout, and Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks skillfully elevated what could have been a pretty boring story.

5.  Get Out: Jordan Peele made a funny and twisted horror/thriller, but I'm not sure that this is an Oscar-worthy movie.  The film was probably only nominated for its comments about race relations in America, but the kooky plot is really only partly about that.  Also, I easily came up with a much-better ending in my head.

4.  The Shape of Water: Guillermo del Toro crafted a beautiful and colorful film, and Sally Hawkins as the lead conveys every possible emotion without speaking a word (her character is mute).  But the plot drags a bit in the middle, and the human-sea creature love story comes across as pretty goofy at times.

3.  Phantom Thread:  This started as a fussy movie about fussy dress designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), but it took an unexpected yet awesome dark turn about halfway through.  The ending was especially weird and twisted, in a good way.

2.  Lady Bird: A quirky coming-of-age story led by Saoirse Ronan, the best young actress working today.  The supporting cast is also strong, and the film's sweet moments are balanced by distinctly sarcastic and sharp-tongued humor.

1.  Call Me By Your Name: A touching same-sex love story set in beautiful small-town Italy, with an unforgettable performance by Timothee Chalamet.  The 80's setting and music were an added bonus.

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