Brian: The Safdie Brothers! I just snubbed them from my own snub section! And Uncut Gems was my favorite movie of the year! Gee, maybe this is harder than we're letting on. Haha.
Anyway, moving on to our final category, Best Picture. You and I have both said that, nomination snubs aside, 2019 was a great year for films. It seems like director's are finally getting some opportunities to take chances.
Even in typical genre fare, we had something like Joker that never would have been made even 5 years or so ago. Jordan Peele is still crushing it and pushing boundaries, the Safdie Brothers (won't forget them again!) are fresh and exciting, and we got an all-time effort from perhaps the greatest American filmmaker of all-time, Martin Scorsese. And, like it or not, Netflix is filling the void for weightier films. It was a great year to be a film fan.
Looking at Best Picture, we're still stuck in a weird place where the Academy can nominate 10 films, but doesn't seem to ever do it. Would it kill them to put one more film in this category to make it an even 10? I don't think it would lessen any of the other films if, say, Us or Uncut Gems were included in this category. Why make a rule and then weirdly interpret it? Looking at just the 9 films that made the cut, it's looking like it's coming down to 2 or 3 possible winners. I was inclined to say that The Irishman had a serious chance at this category, but I don't think that the Netflix bias will be lifted here. I was also looking at Joker potentially having a big night, but I'm not getting those vibes anymore.
To me, it comes down to 1917 or Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Two really well-done films in typical Oscar bait genres (war movies and movies about the industry). I keep hearing buzz that 1917 has all the momentum, but will the Academy pass up an opportunity to reward a Quentin Tarantino film again?
Here's the nominees:
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Who will win: 1917. I wouldn't be shocked by about half of these, but I'm going with the hot hand here. Parasite is another strong contender, but I think that the voters will think that the foreign film win will be enough for it.
Who should win: Of the films nominated, I'm going with Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. It was Tarantino's most accessible and personal film, and it has all the pieces that Academy voters usually love. A strong case could be made for The Irishman here as well, but I don't think Hollywood is ready to recognize a "streaming" movie just yet.
Snubs: Uncut Gems! I can't explain the lack of love for this "gem" of a movie (Thank you! I'll be here all night. Try the veal). Two years in a row my favorite movies have failed to get a nomination for the big award (Annihilation last year). Maybe they were just too out there for the (clearly) traditional voters. Us is the other major snub in this category. I get that it's a horror movie, and that genre has typically been avoided like the plague, but come on!
That's it for me. I always had a blast, and if this is the last year we do this exchange, I just want to say how much I enjoy doing this with you. I hope that 2020 is another strong year for films and that you're primed and ready come this time next year. Who knows... maybe they'll get the nominations right next year and we'll have plenty of optimistic things to write about. JKLOLOL!
Adam: I agree that it was a great year for movies — which is part of why narrowing down Best Director to only five feels impossible. It was also yet another year where almost no one could agree about this years crop of films. With the exception of Parasite, which I’ve never heard an unkind word about, none of the Best Picture nominees is universally beloved.
Personally, I’m not sure why there is so much vitriol directed at Joker. It blew me away the first time I saw it and I’ll admit to downgrading it a bit the second time because the shock value was gone. But I still think it’s a provocative movie with lots of style and ambition — and even if you knock it for being derivative of King of Comedy/Taxi Driver (and it is). It still took balls to make a comic book inspired blockbuster influenced by decidedly dark, uncommercial films like those.
That being said, I’m shocked it’s leading every other movie, it clearly struck a chord. The same goes for 1917 — a film I think is very, very good but not as great as apparently the awards community does. I suppose the race is between these two and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Parasite being a dark horse longshot.
Although it’s the best reviewed film of the bunch, it looks like The Irishman either peaked too early or never stood a chance.
The others while they have their virtues, don’t seem to have a real shot at a win.
Who will win: I’m worried it’ll be 1917, which feels like the flavor of the moment right now but I’m going to go with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood since an affectionate ode to the industry will almost always trump a technical marvel at the Oscars and the movie is widely accepted to be one of Tarantino’s best if not his best. This feels like a way to honor not just this movie but his whole career.
What should win: If Parasite or The Irishman won I wouldn’t shed a tear but I feel like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is simply fantastic and feels weirdly relevant even though it’s steeped in the past. I hate when they ticket split best picture and Director (cause I’m anal) so here’s hoping Tarantino goes two for two here.
Snubs: I conquer re: Uncut Gems and Us. Booksmart maybe could have had a shot if it hadn’t bombed so hard. There was some chatter that Knives Out could have made the cut as the a tenth pick (or id have no problem replacing the just ok Ford v. Ferrari. Oh well, Either way, probably for the first time in decades, I won’t be watching!
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