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.

"Selma" Came Up Short at The Oscars Due to Being "Too Political"

Scene from Selma (2014)

With everything going on in the world, specifically in relation to The George Floyd Protests, there is a lot of focus around the need for change. Many are taking moments to look back on their lives and wonder how they could better themselves. Among the films that many are turning to is Selma (2014), which managed to nab an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. It's a film whose importance remains abundantly clear, especially as the cry for unity parallels modern events. However, this past week also brought about some news regarding why a film so monumental may have under-performed with The Academy: it was too political. In a recent Twitter conversation, it was revealed that the phrase "I Can't Breathe" kept the film from doing better, and in the process showed how much has changed in just five years and what still needs to be improved.

Surprise! Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice are All EGOT Winners Now

Left to right: Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice

While the Emmy Awards ceremony that everyone knows and loves will be airing next week, last night was a night that's just as important to people who love TV. The Creative Arts Emmys are meant to honor the best in TV production in categories that aren't as interesting to audiences expecting more commercial categories, such as acting in dramas and comedies. However, it's a shame that the ceremony wasn't more of a big deal, as it marked a rare but exciting occasion for fans of awards history. With the win for Outstanding Variety Special, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice all ascended to the status of EGOT winners, marking the most to win not only in a single year, but even a single night. It was quite a night, though the asterisks for accomplishment don't stop there. 

Best Song: "Glory" (2014)

Scene from Selma

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

When Will There Be More Female Best Director Oscar Nominees?

Kathryn Bigelow

It is likely by now that everyone in America has heard the news. After months of contention and voting, Hillary Clinton has become the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. This is pretty big news, especially considering that she will be the first woman to do so, and whose odds of winning seem increasingly likely. It's been an overwhelming moment for women nationwide, who are now believing in the "You can be anything you want to be." narrative more than ever before. However, there's another field that seems to have not embraced female contribution: The Academy Awards. No, this isn't about the Best Actress categories, but more in the Best Director and even Best Picture category. While there have been a few bright spots, the average year sees some absence of a certain gender in these fields. The question isn't when there will be a female directed Best Picture winner. That already happened. What's the bigger question is when will this become the normative. 

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Selma" (2014)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

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 Worst Moments of the 87th Annual Academy Awards

Neil Patrick Harris

With the Oscars officially behind us, it is time to wrap-up the highs and lows of the season. Where the previous post saw an exploration of everything that the show did right, this is a look at the few flubs that maybe didn't work out. It was a hard year to judge because unlike the meandering that dominated last year's ceremony, this year ran like clockwork despite running long and featured a lot of soapbox moments. The following is a look at the moments that maybe didn't work so well at this year's Academy Awards, including some coverage of the best red carpet moment of the ceremony.

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 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.

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.

Five Ways That "The Birth of a Nation" Shaped the Oscars

Scene from The Birth of a Nation

Today marks a revolutionary moment in cinematic culture. 100 years ago today, director D.W. Griffiths' Civil War epic The Birth of a Nation opened. It is important to note that prior to this, film was a novelty and the concept of auteurs was foreign. Still, over the course of three hours and 20 minutes, Griffiths shaped a medium that has evolved beyond its limited confines to become something far more compelling. While many will likely (and rightfully) focus on the dated racism of its work, there's a lot of other things that the film helped to revolutionize. Some of them even are present in the Academy Awards nominees and winners; the top tier of awards established 12 years after this film's release and a testament to how the medium has grown.

A Few Words on the Oscars' Race Debate from "Selma" Star and Director

There's been a lot of controversy surrounding director Ava Duvernay's Selma over the past few weeks thanks to a lot of backtalk from Twitter. It even forced the Academy's president to make a public statement about race. However, we haven't really heard about it from the people that matter most in this situation: the cast and crew of Selma. True, we've already heard director Spike Lee make a public statement (basically: "F**k them") in regards to the Academy's racial preference. However, over the past week, both the director and actor David Oyelowo have come forth to discuss the snubbing with differing degrees of honesty and maturity that a lot of the Oscars So White movement is missing out on.

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.

A Ranking of This Year's Best Picture Winners

Scene from The Theory of Everything

I have done it! I have finally seen all of the Best Picture nominees for this year's Academy Awards. To say the least, it was an interesting year full of a nice if predictable variety of films. While we don't get nearly the garden variety that made 2013 such an exceptional year, we do get films that reflect the best of their genres and even features a wide variety of indie films standing a strong chance of winning the big awards. Cinema is inevitably changing in new and exciting ways that make this year particularly interesting. If for no other reason, its ambitions are massive and unpredictable in small ways. However, what did I personally think of all eight nominees? The following is a personal ranking of the Best Picture films from most favorite to least. Feel free to share yours in the comments.

Why I Hate the "Oscars So White" Campaign

It's the happiest time of the year for fans of movie award shows. For better or worse, the Academy Awards are perceived as the pinnacle of cinema in any given year. In fact, there's very little to argue against this, considering that when someone "bad" happens, the internet gets into a frenzy over a few poor judgment calls. While this is a warranted comment on a society desiring further equal representation in their pop culture media, it is also a little uninformed. With the slogan "Oscars so white" popping up on Twitter, there's concern that 2014's nominees is the least diverse in 20 years. This is true, but please stop acting like this is a new outrage.

A Look at this Year's Surprising Academy Award Nominations

Scene from Boyhood

After months of prognostication and other awards shows, the Academy Awards have finally announced all of their contenders for this year's ceremony. For the first time ever, there were two installments in which all 24 categories were presented to the press. In traditional fashion, there were plenty of surprises that made my hopes seem greatly miscalculated. Without further ado, here's the nominees as well as personal thoughts on each major category.

My Final Predictions for the Academy Award Nominations

Ladies and gentlemen, the day is upon us. Tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM, the Academy Awards will be announced. Who will make the final cut? It has been a very interesting year in regards to front runners with a mixed variety of results. In fact, it was very painstaking to try and whittle these down to a respectable few. I don't claim to be right, but I do hope that there's some surprises (and then some) in this year's race. The following is rundown of my final picks in 10 categories including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.