Thursday Movie Picks: Oscar Winners - Best Picture Edition
1) Birdman
I was so sure Boyhood, a film I despised was going to take home the top price, and when Birdman's name was announced I was overjoyed. I'm pretty sure someone called me an asshole on Twitter for making fun of Boyhood as well.
2) Spotlight
In retrospect, I don't know why this surprised me so much. Mad Max was the biggest winner up until the final category but I knew that wasn't going to win. But Spotlight is such a good movie. I often hear people call it mediocre when it comes to BP wins but it's high on my list of favorites.
3) Moonlight
I was so drunk by the time that we got to BP this year that I screamed when the mistake happened and Moonlight was crowned the winner. Don't get me wrong, I liked La La Land a lot, but I wanted Moonlight to win so badly and I didn't think it would.
I was actually expecting Spotlight to win because it was one of those I didn’t like and usually those win haha. I wasn’t happy about Moonlight winning at all because I wanted La La Land to win and I wasn’t crazy about the movie. But when I rewatched it I ended up loved it (I even cried) and now I’m no longer angry it won. As for Birdman, I love that movie!
ReplyDeletelol aside from Parasite I feel like that's been me the last couple of years with the Oscars as well.
DeleteI am so with you about borehood....hated it and hated she won the Oscar for being boring as crap and so irritating. I am so glad Moonlight won over La La Land which really irritates me and I love musicals but not this one. Spotlight is a film I really love despite the sad topic.
ReplyDeleteYes. Boyhood drove me crazy. I appreciate the gimmick and the work he put into it, but it was just dull and the actors were terrible.
DeleteI love Spotlight--it's such a great movie about such an important topic.
ReplyDeleteMoonlight is a very good film, but my pick for that year will always be Arrival.
Spotlight is fantastic. I'm gad it pulled an upset like that. Arrival is great too, there were a lot of good movies that year.
DeleteI didn't get much out of Birdman. Keaton was good but the picture didn't particularly engage me.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Spotlight even though it strongly reminded me of All the President's Men and wasn't its equal. But since that is a perfect film that's an awfully high bar to hit.
Sorry I hated Moonlight. I had high hopes for it but found it insufferable. I know I'm in the minority.
Best Picture is such a divisive category. There is hardly ever a consensus on what should win but usually when a real lemon takes the prize everyone agrees the mistake. I've used so many of my favorites that won (for the record my top three are From Here to Eternity, The Best Years of Our Lives and All About Eve in that order) I decided to go with the three that I think are the worst, an unfortunately crowded field but these are the dregs!
The Broadway Melody (1929)-It only took two years for the Academy to award the wrong film. Glue-footed musical that came out shortly after sound changed the industry won more out of the novelty of songs being able to be heard on screen than any kind of worth the picture possesses….which ain’t much!
Cimarron (1931)-Stiff as a board adaptation of Edna Ferber’s classic novel of the settling of the Oklahoma Territory. Leaden direction, dull performances (incredibly Richard Dix won Best Actor) and a sluggish pace aren’t compensated by one great land rush sequence. The first Western to win Best Picture (in a year where The Public Enemy, Little Caesar and City Lights weren’t even nominated!) soured the pot and it took another 60 years until Dances with Wolves captured another.
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)-The title says just about all about this insufferable, tedious, tiresome and endlessly bloated adaptation of a Jules Verne adventure dealing with a balloon trip circumnavigating the globe. Stuffed with cameos of stars of the day in either passing bits or meaningless parts it made a mint on release but this is the worst film to ever win Best Picture.
I plan on watching all the Best Picture winners some day. According to letterboxd I'm already half way through the list, then I'll be able to see these and decide if I hate them too lol.
DeleteNow these are 3 films I have no problem with as Moonlight is now likely to be somewhere in my top 20-25 films of the 2010s so far as I think it's the best of the 3 films you picked. I went on a completely different approach.
ReplyDeleteI liked the direction you went, it was fun. I agree, Moonlight is the best one here.
DeleteNice picks! I don't know why but I thought Whiplash was a lock for Best Picture. Birdman winning was a big surprise for me too. And I screamed so loud when Moonlight won, I scared my family. lol Ryan's reaction when they found out La La Land lost is hysterical.
ReplyDeleteSpotlight is okay for me. I always forget that it won. I thought The Revenant was going to win, but hoped it was Mad Max Fury Road after they swept all the technical awards.
Ryan's was lol. Everyone else looked horrified and he looked like he was going to laugh. I would've been happy with Whiplash winning Best Picture too.
DeleteI think he said on Jimmy Kimmel people were acting like someone's mom had died, and he was just like 'it's a simple mistake.' lol
DeleteInteresting choices. I can take or leave Spotlight and Birdman (the latter I found to be very hyped up). Moonlight is one I still need to see.
ReplyDeleteMoonlight is wonderful! Highly recommend.
DeleteHow did we.... out of ALL THE WINNERS picked two of the same ones.... just wow. :D I love all three picks though. :D
ReplyDeleteRight?! lol. There was not a lot of overlap this week.
DeleteYay, I LOVE all of your picks! In fact, I rooted for each of these movies in the year they were nominated. I nearly threw my laptop to my TV when I heard La La Land won, but glad it was a mistake, ahah.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I wish it wouldn't have happened and Moonlight would've gotten the entire moment to shine, but it was a nice gotcha.
DeleteBirdman is a little too odd and quirky, I didn't think it would win.
ReplyDeleteI like Spotlight.
Moonlight I have yet to see.