Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #75-79

Scene from War Horse

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.

79. The Descendants (2011) – Dir. Alexander Payne

While Alexander Payne has an impeccable track record with making great character pieces, this story of a family affair is largely lacking of any bigger reason to care. Sure it has George Clooney running in flip-flops and features a great turn by Shailene Woodley, but things are too simple, never creating a story that warrants its “trouble in paradise” subversion. Clooney is fine, but you kind of want something more from the whole story, anything to make sense of why this was a Best Original Screenplay winner despite being one of the least memorable nominees of the year.

78. Hidden Figures (2017) – Dir. Theodore Melfi

There’s plenty that makes it look like a better version of The Help. It covers race relations within NASA as they begin their journey out into space. With a fun soundtrack by Pharrell Williams, it manages to have plenty of personality and gives each performer a memorable underdog story. The only issue is that it’s a bit slow and the surrounding aspects of the film play too much into conventions to allow what makes its center so charming fully effective. While it’s great to see these women finally getting their due, one could wish they got a better movie out of the deal.

77. War Horse (2011) – Dir. Steven Spielberg

While the amount of World War I movies are few and far between, this remains one of those odd entries in the genre. It’s an epic that wishes to be Au Hasard Balthasar, but through a war with a rotating cast of characters. It’s charming and shows its impact on a wide variety of people, but it’s ultimately lacking a consistent pace, serving at times like Spielberg’s schmaltziest film of the decade. Even with these terrific scenes where Joey the horse runs across battel fields serving as some of his most awe-inspiring moments of the decade, it’s not quite what it could be and makes you realize the limitations of the story when the most personal element can’t convey the emotions necessary.

76. The Big Short (2015) – Dir. Adam McKay

Audiences went crazy for this film that mixed economic policy with comedy so swiftly that it reimagined how we consume information. It’s a feature-length Powerpoint presentation that manages to throw in so much style when talking about the 2008 housing collapse that you’ll be surprised with how much you’re learning. If there’s any issue with the film, it’s that beyond these information dump, it’s not particularly interesting as a drama, reflecting the familiar archetypes of greedy corporate Americans who are only in it for themselves. Even with an all-star cast and memorable cameos by Selena Gomez and Margot Robbie, it’s too disorienting as a film to be as fun as it thinks it is. You’ll learn a lot without struggling to keep up, but that’s about it.

75. 127 Hours (2010) – Dir. Danny Boyle

The follow-up to his Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire found the director doing everything to make the most claustrophobic place (between a rock and a hard place) into cinema. On one hand, it’s one of James Franco’s most nuanced and emotional performances, mixing his wild side with a desperation that ends in one of the most controversial and graphic scenes this decade. People fainted in theaters while others ignored the film entirely. At the end of the day, it’s a solid character study thanks to Franco, but otherwise, it’s lacking a more satisfying story. It’s terrible what happened to Arol Ralston and I’m glad that he got out, but his heroic story in cinema is mostly a gimmick, and a divisive one at that.