Sunday night contained a fair amount of surprises, some fun choices (Spike Lee, Ruth Carter, Olivia Colman), and some questionable (you know exactly which ones I’m talking about). It seems like this discussion happens every year, but it feels like this year has a bit more engaging of a backlash due to the ultimate winner.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s take a look at how lucky we are this year to have so many “firsts” among the nominations:
As you may have heard, the Oscar nominations were revealed a few weeks ago, leading to a splendid surprise of many firsts. First Marvel film nominated for best picture, first time two foreign film directors are nominated for best director since ’76, first time a filmmaker has been nominated for both director AND cinematographer in the same year… but also – Netflix’s first nomination for anything… at all, nevertheless being nominated for best picture. Finally, the streaming giant that has gone against every precedent and normality that traditional Hollywood films participate in – box office numbers, theatrical windows, etc. – has achieved the status of “Best Picture nominee.” But it begs the question: why do they want it so bad?
2018 truly had something for everyone. It was a year that resuscitated superhero films, romantic-comedies, teen thrillers, among others, giving them a breath of new life. If you claim that there wasn’t enough variety, than you clearly didn’t see the right films. And as I compiled this list, I was sure of myself how it would turn out, dead-set on what would take the top spot… up until the very last minute.
Here are the 10 best films that made our year worthwhile.
There were many versions of this article. When I began writing about one aspect of this film and thought I was certain, the thought redefined itself, and I found myself rewriting. And yet it happened again, and again…
The 2004 Sundance Film Festival marked a huge year for independent film. It was a year that saw the premieres of Saw, Garden State, Super-Size Me, Napoleon Dynamite, among other notable titles. And yet, the winner that year came out from nowhere. A film with a budget of $7,000 about two amateur scientists who accidently invent time travel, which 80% of takes place in a garage, was the film that took the top prize. It was awarded to a 30ish year old former software engineer, Shane Carruth, who later admitted that he didn’t even plan on attending the closing ceremony that year. It was a year that began to show the increasing accessibility to resources young filmmakers now had, and Primer was the film that celebrated the true spirit of independent film. You can only imagine how giddy they were upon accepting the award.
Every year, we get our hopes up and make opinions on what we think were the best movies of the year (well, I do at least), only for them to be buried away along with all the other opinions we have about pop culture and the like. Along with that, every year, we try to justify why our favorites should be recognized. And, just like every year, we blame the faulty system the Academy uses to determine what was the best film. Was Slumdog Millionaire really “better” than The Dark Knight? Did The King’s Speech really have more of a timeliness than the zeitgeist of The Social Network? Will we even remember Argo or The Artist by decades end? Aside from Moonlight winning best picture last year, I think the last movie to win the big prize that really asked society to take a closer look at itself was American Beauty.
2017 once again proved that, if you say there were no good films this year, then you clearly weren’t seeing the right films. Here are the best from this year:
Alexander Payne has always had a fruitful eye toward action and reaction. His characters embody a lust for what they might miss in their lives, or might be missing already. From About Schmidt to his latest project Downsizing, all of his characters find themselves at a crossroads or a sea change in their lives, afraid to take any steps in any direction.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past couple weeks, you might’ve heard about a little movie starring Jennifer Lawrence that just came out in theaters. You’ve also might’ve heard a little bit about the film. And if you did, you probably heard that it received an F rating from Cinemascore, and how divisive it was, or how “bad” it was. Nonetheless, you were brought into a circle of conversation about a film that has polarized audiences around the world, and you may not have realized how special of an opportunity it is when a film like this comes around.