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Academy Award Best Picture Ranking: List

I’ll be updating this list with each post that goes up so eventually it will have all 90 films. Working my way back has proven interesting so far and it’ll be even more so as I go further back and have to weigh up timeless classics like Casablanca and compare them with more modern classics like Birdman.

When I was working on my Disney ranking, it became apparent quickly that the list would have been better on a separate post which I did publish at the end.

Here is the ranking so far:

20) Crash (2004)

19) Green Book (2018)

18) Gladiator (2000)

17) Spotlight (2015)

16) Argo (2012)

15) Chicago (2002)

14) The King’s Speech (2010)

13) A Beautiful Mind (2001)

12) The Artist (2011)

11) Million Dollar Baby (2004)

10) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

9) The Hurt Locker (2009)

8) The Departed (2006)

7) American Beauty (1999)

6) The Shape of Water (2017)

5) Birdman: or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014)

4) 12 Years a Slave (2013)

3) No Country for Old Men (2007)

2) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

1) Moonlight (2016)

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91st Academy Awards – Creative Awards (Part 1)

For this segment of my Oscars 2019 roundup, I am looking at the four “big” categories in the creative department – both adapted and original screenplays, director and best picture. I have previously discussed my thoughts on the acting categories here. The screenplay categories are my favourite categories in the whole of awards season and this year provided an array of offerings from industry veterans and newcomers alike but ultimately we saw the veterans win the day.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Blackkklansman was one of my favourite films of this awards circuit. I knew it didn’t really stand a chance against the other Best Picture nominees that appeared to be more popular so seeing this great film recognised for its killer script was a great feat and to see the genius Spike Lee win an Oscar in competition was one of my personal highlights of the ceremony. This truly was his moment and although set in the 70s, the script seemed as though it could have been set this year. The timelessness shows not only his skill as a filmmaker but also breaks the illusion that we live in a society that is “equal” or “more equal” to make ourselves feel better. Spike uses this film as a vehicle to hold the mirror up to society through techniques such as combining footage from the news today with racist propaganda film The Birth of a Nation. The protagonist is the only black policeman in his unit so we get to see how he is treated within the African American community as well as the white men in power.

This script was my pick by far for the adapted screenplay award so I am thrilled that it won.

Best Original Screenplay

This winner was both a surprise and a disappointment in my personal opinion. Peter Farrelly won for the script for Green Book which was a very mixed film for me. My main issue with the film was its script. The story was lifted by the charisma of the actors rather by being lifted by the words they were saying. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali did a fantastic job of carrying the film but sadly it seemed that they were driving a cardboard car rather than a real one.

My pipedream is to one day win the gong in this category so it tends to be the one I follow the most. My vote would have gone to The Favourite. The humour and depth of all three leads is unlike anything I have seen and to see a film treat three women with such vigour and respect was really refreshing. In my eyes, this was one of the major robs of the night.

Best Director

There was no doubt that Alfonso Cuaron would take the trophy home for Best Director. Whether or not Roma was to everyone’s liking, it cannot be doubted that this was the film Cuaron was born to make and could only be made by him. The vision was truly his as he took over practically every aspect of production including cinematography (which he also won) and co-editing. It’s rare that a film brings a first time actor award attention yet Cuaron created a star in the form of film lead Yalitza Aparicio, a recently graduated teacher who had no plans to enter acting and happened upon the audition by chance. Within the last six Academy Awards, Mexican filmmakers have won this gong with this being Cuaron’s second win in this category. In an industry where diversity still has a way to go, those statistics show good promise for the future of film.

Although Cuaron undoubtedly deserved his win, my personal pick would have been Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite but I knew Cuaron would take the gold and I am really happy for Roma’s success. Also, considering Lathimos had been largely left out of the director races for other awards, I was thrilled that he received a director nomination at all.

Best Picture

Now for the big one! We know the eventual winner of the big prize (Best Picture) went to Farrelly’s Green Book which some have viewed as deserving but others have already deemed will go down as one of the biggest mistakes in the Academy’s history. I think it’s too early to see whether it’s one of the biggest mistakes in the Oscars history but I do think it was the wrong choice. Usually this category tends to be a race between two (sometimes three) films but there was an array of films that had a chance this year all for different reasons. Green Book was among these but given that it was being consistently recognised for Mahershala Ali’s performance which I think is a huge bulk of its eventual win in this category, I didn’t think it would actually take it. I do feel strongly that this award should have gone to Roma or The Favourite because these films were experimental and yet had a lot of heart and love in them. I’m not sure I felt the same way about Green Book. As I said above, the script was too bland for my liking but also the context of production put me off. The fact that the film has all white male producers, director and screenwriters is already problematic. How do you make a film about the black American experience without a major black figure of authority behind the camera? I know I speak from a white female perspective but it just seemed so strange to me when you had other films in the mix such as Blackkklansman and Black Panther which proved to be popular with audiences and critics alike. On another note, I really feel that If Beale Street Could Talk should have been included in the nominees and considering films like Bohemian Rhapsody were included, there’s no reason why it was omitted.

I would have loved to see The Favourite or Roma take this award. I felt more of a connection with them. Both were films that stretch the imagination and remind me why I love films so much.

That’s it for this post. My next blog will look at another batch of creative awards including Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature and Best Foreign Film as well as the shorts.

What did you think of the winners and losers in these categories? Do you agree? Let me know in the comments below!

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91st Academy Awards – Acting Awards

So Sunday night was the 91st Academy Awards and as usual, I stayed up for them so suffice to say I am still recovering!

The night was full of expected wins (here’s looking at you “Shallow”) and even more surprises. Given that there is a lot of debate regarding the awards (particularly the Best Picture winner Green Book), I thought I would give my opinion on some of the awards. In this post, I will be discussing the acting awards.

Best Supporting Actress
By this point in awards season, it appeared to be Regina King’s Oscar to lose and she didn’t disappoint, claiming the Best Supporting Actress gong for her nuanced turn in Barry Jenkins’s brilliant adaptation of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. It was a performance that allowed King to shine as the matriarch who is determined to fight for justice for her daughter’s partner in jail. It was nice to see this film recognised because it was wrongly snubbed in major categories including Best Picture which had rightly caused a furore on social media.

This category was full of strong competition, particularly from Rachel Weisz’s incredible performance as Lady Sarah in The Favourite. She had won the BAFTA a couple of weeks ago and personally, she would have been my first choice for the award. That being said, it is wonderful seeing King being recognised in film after a long absence from the big screen.

Best Supporting Actor
Much like King, this was Mahershala Ali’s for the taking. Having won the same award two years ago for his stellar turn in Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight, his acting talents are still very much fresh in Hollywood’s mind and he continued his winning streak as the genius Dr Shirley in feel-good piece Green Book. Admittedly, I didn’t really get on with this film as a whole (I will explain more later) but the performance Mahershala gives cannot be ignored nor his win argued. He is brilliant playing the pianist touring the deep south chauffered by Tony, a white New York Italian security guard who proves to be Dr Shirley’s polar opposite performed brilliantly by Viggo Mortensen. Ali brings such an elegance and grace to his performance showcasing the struggle of Dr Shirley.
Having swept every supporting actor award, this was one of the expected wins; however, I can’t not mention Richard E. Grant who has been charming the globe with his enthusiasm this season and bringing a much needed injection of joy that the film industry needs during the politically turbulent backdrop. That being said, Mahershala was my choice to win and he has continued to cement his status as one of the greats.

Best Leading Actor
Like the two previous awards, this gong also had a clear frontrunner in the form of Rami Malek for his performance of Freddie Mercury in the audience favourite Bohemian Rhapsody. I have been a fan of Rami’s since his supporting turn in The Master and knew it was only a matter of time before he achieved even more success which came from his appearances on TV in Mr Robot. His performance as Freddie was clearly no easy feat as the film had a very troubled production due to allegations against director Bryan Singer. I have to be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the film as a whole. I wish I loved it because I am a huge fan of Queen and Malek but the script was poor and pacing was all over the place. I do believe that it is Malek’s performance that carries the whole film and the charisma that made it so enjoyable for audiences.

I do think that while this performance was a huge hit with critics and audiences, there were other performances in the same category that I feel were more deserving. I also feel that we’re going to see Malek in even better roles in the future. Personally, my vote would have gone to Bradley Cooper for his performance as fading country star Jackson Maine in his directorial debut, A Star is Born. Not only is it his best performance to date, it is a turn that proves how timeless the film’s plot is while discussing current themes in the 21st century.

Best Leading Actress
My favourite category of the night (pun intended). The best surprise of the night saw Olivia Colman win for her portrayal of Queen Anne in Yorgos Lanthimos’ phenomenal The Favourite. I can’t even begin to explain how much I enjoyed this film. It was flawless in every way from the script to the make-up and of course, the cast particularly the three leading ladies (Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone). Olivia was my pick for the gong the whole way through awards season. As much as I love Glenn Close, I felt that giving her the award would be more of a celebration of her entire career rather than her performance in The Wife specifically. Of course, Close doesn’t ever put a foot wrong, there’s a reason why she has led such a successful career but this felt that it was more about her previous Oscar losses in the past. What was even better was Colman’s reaction and speech. She was clearly just as shocked as everyone else at her win but she showed exactly why she has captured everyone’s heart. It’s so wonderful to think that “Sophie from Peep Show” has become a Hollywood Leading Lady.

Now as I said, Colman was my choice for this award. She is flawless in every role she takes whether it is a small British sitcom or a big Hollywood film. She brings a nuanced humour that also has a depth to it and makes even the smallest character three dimensional. I am so excited to see what she does next. I am also certain that Glenn’s big Oscar moment will come eventually and it will be for a performance as memorable as Fatal Attraction. I also feel like I should give a shout-out to Melissa McCarthy’s career defining turn in Can You Ever Forgive Me? which showcased McCarthy’s range and allowed her to break out of the comedic trope that she is known for.

That’s it for my acting awards roundup. What did you think of the acting award winners? Let me know in the comments below!

My next blog will look at the original and adapted screenplays, director and Best Picture awards.