Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #55-59

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.

"Parasite" Revolutionized How We See Best Picture Winners

Bong Joon-ho

Back in 2009 when I was discovering who I was as a cinephile, there were a handful of movies I was recommended. My friend Dorian, more a fan of eastern cinema like J-Horror and Studio Ghibli, joined me on a quest to watch all of these films, discovering some of the finest voices of contemporary cinema. Among those films was The Host, itself already promising given our love for monster movies. While I had expected there to be rabid chaos letting loose, I hadn't expected there to be so much personality and humor, creating a social commentary within this realm that I hadn't fathomed would have anything memorable to say besides giving the audience a thrill. Maybe it was because I was young, but the way it enhanced story only proved to me that international cinema had this capability of connecting to me, even if I couldn't tell you a single thing about South Korea. In that way, I was a changed man.

Along with the great Park Chan-Wook (The Vengeance Trilogy), the decade to follow was an incredible time to watch The Host's director Bong Joon-ho emerge as this larger-than-life personality, helping to bring attention to the incredible Korean Wave of cinema still going on. There was something special about Joon-ho, who constantly returned to the conversation with these abstract genre thrillers like Snowpiercer and Okja: films that sought to connect Korean ideology with western interests. With Parasite, he found a way to create the ultimate universal tale in a story of the economic struggles of the working class as they fight for a little luxury. It was known not only by critics but also by its unprecedented box office run. This wasn't just another South Korean import. It was a $167 million success story that went even further. By winning Best Picture at the Oscars, Joon-ho did the unthinkable in elevating himself from connecting with the weirdos who love international cinema, to just being plain accepted for making an undeniable masterpiece that has a lot to say both in text and in success about the future of film.

Nothing But the Best: "Green Book" (2018)

Scene from Green Book

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.

Todd Phillips Considers "The Joker" (2019) Oscar Worthy, Though Skepticism Remains

Scene from The Joker (2019)

The past few weeks of the summer have produced a lot of reasons to look forward to Oscar season. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood marks a potential return for Tom Hanks, and this weekend's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is a Quentin Tarantino movie (so we'll be talking about it for a while). However, there's one outlier that has made the rounds in recent days... and it is not what you'd expect. Even in a post-Black Panther world, it still seems ridiculous to think that any superhero movie could crack the Oscars again. It's why it seems odd that there is one to not forget this Fall, or at least The Hangover director Todd Phillips will have you believe. The Joker is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and there are talks that the Oscars are not too far behind. It seems like a risky gamble, but maybe what this season needs.

Final Thoughts on This Year's Oscar Season

Left to right: Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga

With this year's ceremony now three days ago, it feels like the perfect time to start wrapping everything up. While I unfortunately didn't have as much time as I wanted to cover everything about the ceremony (my personal life is very busy right now), I do feel like my previous entry on the overview did a good job of exploring what made this year special. In a moment where it felt like everything was going to go poorly, Hollywood pulled through and created a show that not only delivered some of the highest ratings in many years, but presented a new radical idea. Maybe it was for the best that Kevin Hart got booted. Maybe what we're seeing is a new shift in awards ceremony that isn't so much about who's hosting as it is who's winning. Only time will tell. For now, it's time to say goodbye to the season, warts and all.

An Overview of the 91st Annual Academy Awards Ceremony

Spike Lee

If one viewed Twitter seconds after The 91st Academy Awards announced its Best Picture winner, one would believe that this was the worst year ever. How could a film like Green Book beat more culturally relevant films like BlacKkKlansman or Roma? In some ways, it can be viewed as the perfect metaphor for a year of constant controversy where Academy President John Bailey tried (and failed) to introduce a Best Popular Film category, cut out several music acts, and go forward with no hosts. No matter what, this year was threatening to be different and many wondered just how well that turned out. Those who stopped at Green Book's Best Picture win, much like the other controversial missteps, didn't recognize how great this year was in small ways. It's a year where diversity was recognized, which shows that even if you view Green Book as a regressive winner, there has been inevitable change since the Oscars So White controversy of three years ago. This may have not been the most beloved Academy Award year, but it's far from the contrived mess people wanted it to be.

Here's the Official List of This Year's Academy Award Winners!

The cast and crew of Green Book

Well, the moment has come and gone. The 91st Academy Awards ceremony brought with it many highs and lows, but most importantly were the winners. With Green Book taking the top prize, it was a year full of diverse nominees that were fascinating and reflective of the growing body of voters. Before Oscar recap coverage begins, it only feels right to get to the heart of this Oscar season and answer the question: who won? The following is a rundown of every winner in the 24 categories. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and look forward to more coverage coming in the day and week to come.

Here's My Final Predictions for This Year's Academy Awards!

Scene from Black Panther

This is it! Tomorrow marks the day that everyone has been waiting for. After months of speculation, it's time for The Academy Awards ceremony to present to us the winners. It's an exciting time, and one has to wonder who is going to take home the gold. As is tradition, it's time to end the pre-Oscar coverage with my own predictions. I'll admit that 2018's line-up is a bit difficult to call, as it has been a wildly unpredictable year. While I feel less certain than normal about my picks winning, I can only hope that this year is a lot more exciting than it has gotten credit for. So, what are my picks? Read on and feel free to share your picks in the comments.

An Optimistic Viewpoint of This Oscar Season

Scene from The Favourite

Ladies and gentlemen, we are less than a week away from the beloved Oscar Sunday. For many, it's one of the greatest nights to celebrate all things film. With that said, the past few months have been mired in controversy for reasons ranging from "Why is Bohemian Rhapsody so popular?" to "Present All 24." It's been a rough year for those who like the tried and true formula. However, in an attempt to make the final days of prognostication fun, I thought that I would try and open this week by looking at the positive. For as much as this year feels like a series of unfortunate events, it has produced one of the most exciting Oscar races in years. Even days out, there's so much that's left unclear, and that will make everything all the more exciting.

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees of 2018

Love it or hate it, there's a certain honor that comes with being nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. In any given year, only a fraction of the hundreds of films released over the course of 52 weeks makes it to the big night. While most years have produced very interesting results, this year has been defined by divisive picks that range from hit-and-miss (BlacKkKlansman) to downright frustrating (Bohemian Rhapsody). Of the many films released in 2018, these are the eight that have been deemed worthy of continuing for the award. The following is my ranking of these films as well as how I feel about their place in the rankings. This isn't a prediction so much of what will win, but maybe what would've won had I decided. Join in and feel free to leave your own rankings in the comments.

Review: "Green Book" is an Entertaining Ride Towards Empathy

Scene from Green Book

For many people watching director Peter Farrelly's latest Green Book, there's a certain familiarity that comes with the story. Most of us have been in cars, driving long distance with someone who is, to be polite, not seen as pleasant. Yet there is some magic that can be found in those moments, when the hours pass and the comfort set in. It's when the real conversations start as it kills time between the different pit stops. It's also here that the film really succeeds at capturing a chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, who make a car ride through 1960's deep south America into something that is an enjoyable exploration of character. Yes, it's another drama about race relations, but it's also about two men learning to open up and empathize. As rudimentary as the racial politics may come across to some seeking more than saccharine simplicity, it does work thanks to the chemistry of its two leads and the feeling that we're stuck on the road with them with one entertaining conversation after another.

A Look Back at my Final Oscar Nominations Predictions: How'd I Do?

Scene from BlacKkKlansman

This past Tuesday marked the announcement for this year's Oscar nominations. If you're like me, it was quite a wonderful day full of surprises both great and awful. While there will be plenty of prognostication to come, there is a certain thing that is true: my predictions are now dated. I previously posted how my predictions from August 2018 are now even more of a joke. So, before we get too far into the final stretch of Oscar season, it's time to look at the last grasp to guess the wildness of this year's nominees, or lack thereof. How did I do? Join me in looking back and laughing at what I got wrong and how things actually turned out.

A Look Back at My Pre-Season Oscar Nominations: How'd I Do?

Christian Bale in Vice

This past Tuesday marked one of the best days of the year. It was when the Oscar nominations were announced. If you're like me, it's one of the most exciting days of the year when things finally get cleared up and suddenly everything begins to make sense. However, it's also a chance when I get to look back and ask myself: how good of a prognosticator am I really? I usually post a line-up pre-Oscar season, or late August. I want to see if the buzz around films can sustain as the narratives are finally shaped into what they will be come. So, how did I do this year? In a period where everything is unpredictable, it's a tad hard to call my line-ups a success. The following is a list of the actual nominees followed by what actually made the category. Trust me, it's pretty embarrassing and reflective of something more in tune with what a "classical" Oscar year might have looked like. 

Here's the List for the 2019 Academy Award Nominations!

Scene from Roma

This morning is the moment that a lot of people have been waiting for. After months of trying to guess what will make the cut, The Academy has officially shared their picks for this years Oscar nominees. It's been a heated year where crowd favorites (Black Panther) have fought with prestige (The Favourite) in hopes of being taken seriously. Still, it was a great year for film and the results are, like every year, a curious bunch. The following is a rundown of every Oscar nominee for this year's ceremony. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and tell me what you're happiest and most annoyed by from this year's line-up.

Here's My Predictions for the Oscar Nominations

Scene from Green Book

With tomorrow marking the Oscar nominations announcement (click here for more info), it only feels right to take this moment for one last shot at some fun. As many have done before, the Oscar nomination predictions is a beloved past time, and one that's often more fun than the results. As I have done every year here on The Oscar Buzz, I will be breaking down the Top 5 categories in hopes of getting a perfect score. There hasn't been too many years where I've gotten that honor, often being off by two or three in each category, but I still have fun nonetheless. The following are my predictions for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Feel free to share your predictions in the comments.