Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #35-39

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

As 2019 reached its end, another decade of cinema had passed. It's amazing to think about how things have evolved since 2010 when the biggest controversies were about recognizing genre movies. Things look different now, especially as genre films like The Shape of Water and Parasite are winning Best Picture and the voting body looks incredibly different with each passing year. With this period in the books, it feels like a good time to celebrate their accomplishments by ranking all 88 titles nominated for Best Picture from worst to best with the goal of seeing which films are more likely to stand the test of time. Join me every Saturday and Sunday as I count them down, five at a time. It's going to be a fun summer looking back on what was, especially as we prepare for the decade ahead and an even more interesting diversity that we haven't even begun to think of.

Ranking the Most Nominated Oscar Films of the Past 10 Years

Scene from The Shape of Water

With this week presenting the Oscar nominations, it only seems right to continually nitpick every category to determine just how good this year is (in my opinion, it's a very good one). However, there is one piece of trivia that's likely to go unnoticed: the films with the most nominations. While it's a big deal in any given year, does anyone remember what that film was even 10 years ago? It's what inspired me to rank the last 10 years of films that lead the year with the most nominations. Ironically, it's a bit uneven as there were many ties in a given year. However, it's also 13 films - the number of nominations that The Shape of Water received this year. It's interesting to look back at the films that dominated, even if they didn't win much. The following is my ranking of the past 10 years, which has produced a lot of interesting results.

Inarritu and Lubezki Win First Special Oscar Since 1995

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

While many are still trying to predict who is going to even be nominated at next year's ceremony, The Academy has already given out one award. No, it isn't a mistake on par with the infamous La La Land Best Picture win. It's for real. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki will be receiving a Special Oscar win at the upcoming Governors Ball for their work on the virtual reality project CARNE y ARENA. How much of a big deal is this award? Well, Inarritu and Lubezki are the first Special Oscar winners in 22 years. It's a pretty big deal for the team behind Birdman and The Revenant, and their latest venture into virtual reality has paid off nicely.

Nothing But the Best: "Birdman" (2014)

Left to right: Edward Norton and Michael Keaton in Birdman

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Birthday Take: Emma Stone in "Birdman" (2014)

Emma Stone in Birdman

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Edward Norton Gives Advice on How to Fix the Oscars

Edward Norton

It must be pretty good right now to be Edward Norton. For starters, he appeared in two Best Picture nominees from last year (The Grand Budapest Hotel and winner Birdman). He also is fresh off of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the latter, which is his third overall. Despite all of this, the actor recently made remarks about The Academy that were a little harsh as well as constructive. What he wants is a change to the rules. He doesn't want the awards to be "monetized" as he puts it. So, what exactly is his plan? It's a pretty good one that involves shutting out advertising.

Can Superhero Blockbusters Be Best Picture Nominees?

Scene from The Avengers: Age of Ultron

It is way too easy to lobby complaints at the Academy for being out of touch with popular audiences. In fact, the last major blockbuster film to warrant any major Oscar buzz was director James Cameron's Avatar in 2009. The technical spectacle captivated audiences, broke box office records and convinced the Academy to lavish it with nominations and wins. Yes, there have been other big budgeted films like the introspective Life of Pi or the debauchery-filled The Wolf of Wall Street that have been nominated, but let me ask you something: will we ever see a day when a real superhero blockbuster movie gets recognized with so much as a Best Picture nomination? 

A Celebration of Best Picture Films Featuring Drug Use

Scene from Annie Hall

Do you like to party? Do you like prestige movies? Well, this article is the perfect crossroads for you. In honor of 4-20, a holiday based around freebasing, here is a look at the many films that have embraced debauchery and still managed to win the Academy's love. While we won't get into the drinks, we'll take a look at every drug-fueled film that has featured some sort of substance abuse and pay tribute to those Best Picture winners and nominees that made a difference while under the influence. So, I won't harsh your buzz for much longer. Just hit the jump to find get the full experience.

Final Thoughts on This Year's Oscar Season

With that, we say goodbye to another Oscar season. While there has been plenty of wrap-up for this year's program, I have chosen to bring this season to a close with a summary of my thoughts not only on the winners in general, but of the season as a whole. Much like every year, there's a few highs and lows that make awards season so memorable. How did this year stack up to every other one? Well, frankly it wasn't my favorite despite the consistent media conflicts with race and the odd race between Boyhood and Birdman which saw the former only receive one win total. It wasn't the worst year, but considering its options, it did fine enough. Click the jump to read more.

The Highlights of the 87th Academy Awards Ceremony

The moment has come and gone. The 87th Annual Academy Awards happened at the Dolby Theater and handed out 24 awards throughout the night, including Best Picture winner Birdman. What were some of the highlights of the evening? The following is a list of the various moments that stand out above the rest and prove just why Neil Patrick Harris, and the show in general, was in top form and knew how to make the overlong program move fast enough to keep attentive while also lacking in self-involvement. It may have not been the best ceremony ever, but at least it was a lot better than most years.

A Rundown of This Year's Oscar Winners

It is sad to say, but this year's Academy Awards are officially behind us. Before we get started on predicting next year's big happenings, it's time to start on recapping the show in its entirety, including the highs and lows of the event. But before we get to the great stuff, how about we take some time briefly to recognize the winners. How well did you do? When all is said and done, I did very well considering all of my think pieces and various theories that pondered why Birdman was going to walk away the winner. The following is a rundown of my votes in each category paired side-by-side with the actual winner. Please feel free to share your results in the comments.

My Final Predictions for This Year's Academy Awards

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment is upon us. The Oscars is only a day away and it is time to place the final bets. While I have kept busy prognosticating and keeping track of who is likely to win, the races are a little more complicated than initially meets the eye. The Best Picture race couldn't be more complicated as it battles between Boyhood and Birdman. Still, it is great to see two very personal passion projects duking it out for top honor. While I will leave you to determine your own voting from the nominations, the following is a list of who I will be voting for in my final Oscar predictions for the year. Feel free to share yours in the comment section.

A Theory on Why Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Will Win Best Director

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

With the Oscars closing in, it's time to finalize the votes for who is likely going to win the top prizes. While I have already discussed the three pronged Best Picture race (Selma, Birdman, Boyhood), but now it is time to get into the other big categories. Over the next few days, I will be sharing quick pieces on who is likely to win in each of the major categories as well as any discussion of a potential upset. Coming up is a piece on why Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman) is pretty much going to walk away with the Best Director trophy on Oscar night.

A Theory on Why Eddie Redmayne Will Win Best Actor

Eddie Redmayne

With the Oscars closing in, it's time to finalize the votes for who is likely going to win the top prizes. While I have already discussed the three pronged Best Picture race (Selma, Birdman, Boyhood), but now it is time to get into the other big categories. Over the next few days, I will be sharing quick pieces on who is likely to win in each of the major categories as well as any discussion of a potential upset. Coming up is a piece on why Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) is pretty much going to walk away with the Best Actor trophy on Oscar night.

A Few Thoughts on that "Brutally Honest" Oscar Voter

In an article published today on The Hollywood Reporter, an anonymous Oscar voter came forward to share their opinions. With the headlines promising a "brutally honest" take on the awards, it has caused a necessary amount of hoopla. Since ballot submission was closed off yesterday, there's plenty of speculation on what is going to happen in the remaining days before the awards are handed out. While this is unprecedented, what is more baffling is the simple dismissal of almost every film. While this could be indicative on who is likely to win, it also is more indicative of a stubborn fool who wants attention without getting blacklisted by the community.

The Magic Behind "Birdman" and its Use of Time

Left to right: Edward Norton and Emma Stone

For a moment, let's put aside the subtext of director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman. Let's put aside how it is a reflection of movie culture and that it serves as a metaphorical and literal comeback film for star Michael Keaton. Let's even ignore the attack on franchise culture that runs through the film and focus on something that is far more impressive: the passage of time. It may seem like a pointless question until you understand the technical brilliance behind those single takes that were established to create a singular flow. What makes them exceptional and adds more weight to the film than the awkward script or melodramatic acting is how unassumingly it transitions within frame from moment to moment and often day to day.

A Theory on Why "Boyhood" Could Win Best Picture

Ellar Coltrane

As I wrote in the past with articles on Selma and Birdman, I feel like there is a three way tie for Best Picture between these two and director Richard Linklater's Boyhood. Where Selma captures a historical drama with a modern poignancy and Birdman captures cinematic passion through technique, neither has the emotional core that has made Boyhood a runaway hit during awards season. True, between Boyhood and Birdman, the honors have been almost predominantly split with the Best Picture equivalents looking like 26 to 22 wins. Still, with the BAFTA win this past Sunday, Boyhood is looking to be the clear favorite for a lot of reasons. The most notable of which is that it is ripe with ambition and wasn't made to be an Oscar darling, but just an impressively crafted film.

Why the BAFTAS Mean Nothing (To the Oscars, That Is)

Scene from Boyhood

This past afternoon saw the announcement for the winners of the annual BAFTA Awards. For many, it is the ultimate sign of where the Oscar race is going to go. It could simply be because it is the final major award until the Oscars in two weeks. It could be that it is the British counterpoint for the award. However, it is more lucked up to coincidence with the past few years being exceptionally accurate across most of the major categories. Many are already predicting that Boyhood is going to take it after winning Best Film today. However, let me just say something that is important to remember: the BAFTAs don't matter. To the Oscars, anyways.

The Story Behind "Birdman's" Original, Better Ending

Michael Keaton

With the Oscars less than 20 days away, everyone is catching up on seeing all of the nominees. Among the more prominent ones in discussion is director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman, which is neck and neck with Boyhood to win Best Picture. For those that have seen it, there's plenty of discussion surrounding the film's ending. However, writer Alexander Dinelaris had a different ending in mind and one that would have played more into the film's meta commentary of an artist in peril. 

A Theory on Why "Birdman" Could Win Best Picture

Much like a piece that I wrote in December regarding Selma's Best Picture chances, I have decided to create a series of essays chronicling what I feel is the trinity of potential winners. Of the two candidates that have proven themselves to be the most interesting of the eight nominees, there is something alluring about director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman: a film that chronicles frustrated actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) as he seeks to make a comeback in a theatrical production. With the gimmick of the film being that it was shot in one take, it's amazing to see the film peel away from its novelty and go to a deeper and more metaphysical core that has clearly struck a chord with the awards season. For this and many more reasons, it is likely to be the threat that the season needs.