What should have won the Oscar?- Page 2
What should have won the Oscar?
#25What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 11:12am
'even when it is stuff like Chocolat and The Reader. These films get forgotten almost immediately.'
Oh...I'll never forget The Reader.
*SPOILER*
When Kate Winslet hung herself, I thought, 'Lucky bitch.'
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#26What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 12:38pm
2013: ARGO (followed very, very closely by ZERO DARK THIRTY...this is a tough call)
2012: THE ARTIST
2011: BLACK SWAN
2010: UP
2009: MILK
2008: MICHAEL CLAYTON
2007: THE DEPARTED (but really, DREAMGIRLS)
2006: CRASH (but really, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE)
2005: MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2004: MYSTIC RIVER
2003: CHICAGO
And for sh*ts and giggles, the 2014 winner should be 12 YEARS A SLAVE.
Updated On: 2/11/14 at 12:38 PM
.jpg?format=auto&width=200)
#27What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 12:47pm
I really like Chocolat. :/
I'll go back in time until I agree with a Best Picture winner.
2012: Beasts of the Southern Wild
2011: Certified Copy
2010: Winter's Bone
2009: Precious
2008: Wall-E
2007: There Will Be Blood
2006: The Queen
2005: Capote
2004: Million Dollar Baby
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#28What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 1:40pmOdd that the Academy thought A Serious Man, in my opinion one of the Coen Bros. lesser efforts, was worthy of a best pic nomination but not Inside Llewyn Davis, one of their best.
#29What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 2:31pmI always get a bit irked with the categories they don't know quite what to do with. Animated films have their own category -- so should they still be eligible for best film? I'm a huge Ghibli/Miyazaki fan, and think The Wind Rises is spectacular, but it doesn't stand a chance against huge profile animated films like Frozen (and then again when Japan entered his Princess Mononoke as their Best Foreign Film choice, it wasn't even chosen though it certainly deserved it that year.)
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#30What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 2:49pm
2013
Argo WON
Amour -- should have won.
#31What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 2:54pm
2013: Argo
2012: I can't decide between Hugo/The Descendants
2011: The Social Network
2010: Up in the Air
2009: The Reader
2008: Atonement
2007: Little Miss Sunshine
2006: Munich
2005: Million Dollar Baby
2004: LOTR
2003: Chicago
#32What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 3:32pm
SonofRobbieJ, I got a laugh from your post re THE READER, one of the most cliched, pedestrian movies about WWII in recent years, and one of Kate Winslet's most uninspired performances.
Henrik, I will never understand why the Academy had such a strong dislike for INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, a haunting film that I think should have been in the conversation for the win.
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#33What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 3:58pm^^There you go, thinking that awards considerations have anything to do with the quality of the film.
#34What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 4:03pm
There's also an interesting essay going around that argues that expanding the field has meant that fewer films have gotten nominations in other categories.
I think the only interesting thing is how they formed their conclusion based on the data of the number of films included in the top eight categories. Looking at the last ten years, as opposed to only this year:
2014: 11
2013: 15
2012: 22
2011: 17
2010: 19 (first year with 20 nominees for Best Picture)
2009: 18
2008: 17
2007: 13
2006: 16
2005: 11
I really don't think they have a solid case. That's an even split of 5 years with 5 BP nominees and 5 years with 10 BP nominees. The average number of films in the top 8 for 2005-2009 was 15. The average number of films in the top 8 for 2010-2014 was 16.8. If they are trying to prove a trend, there is not enough data since we were down to 11 films in 2005 as well. What caused that dip?
#35What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 4:06pm
2013
Won: Argo
Should Have Won: Django Unchained
Should Have Been Nominated: The Master
2012
Won: The Artist
Should Have Won: The Artist
Should Have Been Nominated: Bridesmaids
2011
Won: The King's Speech
Should Have Won: The Kids Are All Right
Should Have Been Nominated: Another Year
2010
Won: The Hurt Locker
Should Have Won: The Hurt Locker (although Up in the Air and A Serious Man are tied as very close seconds)
Should Have Been Nominated: Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009
Won: Slumdog Millionaire
Should Have Won: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Should Have Been Nominated: Waltz with Bashir, Happy-Go-Lucky
2008
Won: No Country for Old Men
Should Have Won: Michael Clayton
Should Have Been Nominated: The Savages
2007
Won: The Departed
Should Have Won: I have no strong preferences among the five films nominated
Should Have Been Nominated: Pan's Labyrinth
2006
Won: Crash
Should Have Won: Capote
Should Have Been Nominated: The Constant Gardener
2005
Won: Million Dollar Baby
Should Have Won: Sideways
Should Have Been Nominated: Vera Drake
2004
Won: Lord of the Rings
Should Have Won: Lost in Translation
Should Have Been Nominated: The Barbarian Invasions
2003
Won: Chicago
Should Have Won: The Hours
Should Have Been Nominated: Far From Heaven, City of God, Adaptation
#36What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 4:28pmI'm so glad I'm not the only person who loves Michael Clayton!
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#37What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 4:29pm
"Should Have Won: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
Dear GOD, AC -- say it ain't so! MICHAEL CLAYTON is bad enough, but BENJAMIN MOTHERF**KING BUTTON?
#38What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 4:32pm
^ And if Roscoe hates it, it must be good!!!
(I'm kidding, Grumpy...you know I adore you)
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#39What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 4:35pmGod, BENJAMIN BUTTON -- 3 hours of my life I'll never, ever get back. I go into seizures just thinking about it.
#40What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 5:07pm
Roscoe, you and I seem to agree more often than not, but I'm a great fan of Benjamin Button. And it's the only one of the five films nominated that year I'd give a second glance to.
And Robbie, I'm borderline obsessed with Michael Clayton.
#41What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 6:11pm
What's wrong with Michael Clayton? It's monologue-y and while I am the farthest from a Clooney fan, Wilkinson and Swinton steal and own scenes when they appear, I thought it was a good studio film. Considering what Clooney tries to parlay as 'sophisticated cinema for adults' that actually is just blase, smug, smarm, middling films as part of his brand as a producer/actor/director, this is by far one of the least egregious examples. Plus it gave us, Tilda Swinton, Oscar winner. Just pretend she got it for a better performance, of which are legion.
EDIT: However, no way do I think it should've beat No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood. 2007 was a good year. Even the great un-nominated films like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford or Zodiac have endured tremendously well.
Updated On: 2/11/14 at 06:11 PM
#42What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 6:22pm
Thanks for going through that math, Mister Matt, though I want to make sure I clarify that that "big eight" was something I codified because I remember hearing about the 11 films this year up for them. I don't believe that formulation is in the essay, which thankfully strummer sourced to Grantland because I was (unfortunately) fuzzy on where I remembered it from.
I personally always wish the Oscars (and the Emmys and Grammys for that matter) had a wider scope of consideration but the system we have is the best money can buy *cough* *cough*
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#43What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 8:18pmI did not get the love for BENJAMIN BUTTON. I really didn't think it was anything special. And I will still never understand that Oscar sweep SLUMDOG pulled off. Talk about overrated.
#44What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/11/14 at 11:00pm
SonOfRobie's comment regarding The Reader made me choke on my wine. Ha! My "Should Have Won" choices below:
2012
The Tree of Life
2011
The Social Network
2010
Inglourious Basterds
2009
Slumdog Millionaire (far from perfect, but the best of the lot, I'm afraid)
2008
TIE: I can't choose between these both nearly flawless films.
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
2007
Babel
2006
Brokeback Mountain
2005
Million Dollar Baby (that being said, would have been perfectly happy with The Aviator, one of my favorite Scorsese films, winning)
2004
Mystic River
2003
Chicago
#45What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/12/14 at 7:15am
2012
The Artist - WON & MY CHOICE
2011
The King's Speech - WON & MY CHOICE
(BLACK SWAN was my equal favourite that year)
2010
Avatar - MY CHOICE
The Hurt Locker - WON
2009
Milk - MY CHOICE
Slumdog Millionaire - WON
2008
No Country for Old Men - WON
There Will Be Blood - MY CHOICE
2007
The Departed - WON
Little Miss Sunshine - MY CHOICE
But PAN'S LABYRINTH was in a WHOLE different category that year, SO much better than all the nominees!
2006
Brokeback Mountain - MY CHOICE
Crash - WON
2005
Million Dollar Baby - WON & MY CHOICE
2004
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - WON & MY CHOICE
2003
Chicago - WON & MY CHOICE
#46What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/12/14 at 10:51am
'What's wrong with Michael Clayton?'
I once got a talking-to by heterosexual theater boys (which, really? the worst) about how I had terrible taste because I liked Michael Clayton. I HATED There Will Be Blood. I liked No Country For Old Men enough...and I'm glad the Cohen brothers were recognized for it. Still...my favorite movie of that year was Zodiak. Hands Down. I watch it as often as possible. And that scene with Gyllenhal and Charles Fleischer? Masterful. In fact, I think Fleischer should have been nominated for an Oscar.
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#47What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/12/14 at 10:56am
What's wrong with MICHAEL CLAYTON?
Well, let's see. Tedious script. Tedious direction. A one-note performance from the male lead. Valiant efforts from the supporting cast to inject some life into the proceedings that were effective enough to land one of them a Supporting Oscar. An utter lack of tension or drama anywhere in the entire two hours running time.
It seems to want to transcend the legal thriller genre, to be more than just a bunch of courtroom/legalistic shenanigans, but it just doesn’t have anything particularly interesting to transcend the genre with. This is a Serious Movie, make no mistake. We get lots of sad character information about Michael Clayton, all of it grim grim grim, and nobody else seems any happier. There’s a lot of mood lighting and overcast skies and involved corporate legal jargon stuff. Even the obligatory Big Finish is muted, as Michael’s Triumph Over Corporate Evil nets him only a cab ride into an uncertain future. There’s just none of the life and energy (the entertainment value, in short) of even the most exhausted Grisham knockoff. I’m not saying I wanted shoot-outs and bizarro Tarantino dialogue, but I would have given a lot for the film to have been directed by a Sidney Lumet or a pre-OUT OF AFRICA Sidney Pollack.
The actors try their best to make all this work, with Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson being only the most recognized of the generally good cast. Even Denis O’Hare gets some good fun going as a pissed-off client, who inspires one of Clooney’s best slow burns. But without a director able to consistently keep the pacing lively and get some (metaphorical) blood flowing, MICHAEL CLAYTON is DOA.
#48What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/12/14 at 11:02am
I felt there was no real emotion to THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON; it was trying so hard to be an Oscar prestige movie, and it followed the FORREST GUMP narrative so closely, that it never took off for me. And that awful framing story with Julia Ormond stopped the action cold every single time, with an awful, lazy metaphor about Katrina shoehorned into the proceedings. The love story is too odd to be romantic and I didn't feel like Fincher did anything more interesting with it. I was so utterly bored at the movies, definitely wanted my three hours back.
Is it worse than SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE though?
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#49What should have won the Oscar?
Posted: 2/12/14 at 11:08am
Yes -- BENJAMIN BUTTON is far worse than SLUMDOG. SLUMDOG at least had a novel storyline -- the man's life is told via a series of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE questions. SLUMDOG's no masterpiece either, a non-stop assault on the eyes and ears, lots of flashy editing and loud music and stuff.
And if nothing else -- SLUMDOG offers us about 100 minutes of film entirely devoid of Brad Pitt trying to act.
Videos