I finally watched all the best pictures, here’s my ranking: 1. Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood -I was hooked from the opening scene framing the rear view mirror like a mustache, maybe not much of a plot but everything comes together so well that it truly is my favorite picture of the year 2. Parasite - Not knowing much about this movie before watching is the perfect way to take in all the crazy stuff that happens. I’ll always remember that one scene that makes you go, “Wtf! Wtf?? WTF!?” 3. Marriage Story - Adam and Scarlett are fantastic, the score helps set the “everything will be ok” tone which it needs because it gets pretty real and sad. I had a hard time deciding who takes the 3rd spot here but in the end I just liked this movie a little more then some of the others 4. The Irishman - The first time I watched this with someone and we both thought it was awfully boring. But after all the universal praise I thought I really missed something so I tried again. I rewatched it with subtitles and by myself and let me tell ya it really made all the difference. I was able to follow the story closer and find myself more comfortable in this world for 3 and a half hours. Really appreciated and understood the story Scorsese was going for here, a story of looking back and not being exploitive about it. 5. 1917 - Deakins does it again, what a technical impressive achievement. My favorite shot is the nighttime scene where Thomas Newman’s score swells and he’s running through the night shadows illuminated by the fires, a mastery of lighting. But the story is weighted down by the limits of the craft, and the characters to another degree. 6. Little Women - This was a nice film and I liked it. I expected it to be more dramatic and sad but it really is like a nice hug. Saoirse is lovely, and Alexandre Desplat’s score is my favorite score of the year. Such wonderful and beautiful melodies. I also really liked the meta ending and was wondering how much it differs from the book. 7. Jojo Rabbit - I thought I would like this more but it was like watching a movie I had already seen before but with a kid as the protagonist. Scarlett wasn’t in this much except for one scene where she has quite an interesting performance playing her husband. And Thomasin McKenzie is also a wonder, especially after seeing her in Leave No Trace 8. Joker - Ugh while I didn’t dislike this movie as much as some I also was annoyed at all the reception it’s gotten. I finished this movie thinking, “well that was a slightly entertaining film, but nothing beyond that.” It feels pretty empty and has no business being nominated. I felt moments of empathy for Arthur cause I felt I could relate to some of his mental issues but that’s gone once he starts mass murdering. 9. Ford Vs Ferrari - Why is this even here? It’s a fine movie about racing cars in the ‘60s but I guess it’s cause I have no interest about race cars that I didn’t give much of a crap about this movie. Sure Christian Bale is pretty good and racing car scenes themselves were kinda cool but by the end of the film I felt like I wasted my time.
1. OUATIH 2. Parasite 3. The Irishman 4. Marriage Story 5. 1917 6. Little Women 7. Jojo 8. Ford 9. Joker
1. The Irishman 2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 3. Marriage Story 4. Little Women 5. Parasite 6. Joker 7. Jojo Rabbit I haven't seen the other two and I am in no rush.
1. Marriage Story 2. Jojo Rabbit 3. OUATIH 4. Joker 5. Parasite 6. 1917 7. Little Women 8. The Irishman 9. Ford v Ferrari
1. Parasite 2. Marriage Story 3. Little Women 4. The Irishman 5. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood 6. 1917 7. Jojo Rabbit 8. Joker 9. Ford v Ferrari
I love Parasite, Little Women, the Irishman, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, and Marriage Story. Ford v Ferrari was competent. I don’t feel much of anything for 1917. I think the fake one shot gimmick is the wrong choice for about 65-75% of the movie. Joker is ass.
1. The Irishman 2. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 3. Parasite 4. Marriage Story 5. 1917 6. Little Women 7. Jojo Rabbit 8. Ford v Ferrari 9. Joker
I think someone posted it in the Absurdist Twitter thread, but there’s a review of Joker out there that is something along the lines of, “if you’ve never been in the ocean of course a pool seems deep” and that’s about the most succinct review of Joker ever.
Thanks for wording it this way, I heartedly agree. I had a hard time summarizing my thoughts on it since watching it a couple of weeks ago.
peeping Les Miserables. it feels inevitable that parasite is going to win international feature or whatever it’s called now but i wanna try to catch this and Honeyland before the awards
Irishman Once Upon a Time... Parasite Marriage Story Joker I still haven’t seen the other 3. Trying to see 1917 this week. Have FvF and Little Women downloaded
didn't love les miserables but it was still pretty decent. the lead performance was pretty fantastic.
this weekend will hopefully be the start of my roommate and me doing our annual “catch up on Oscar nominated movies we haven’t seen yet” thing
I’ve encountered multiple people saying Hollywood is a shoo-in because Hollywood loves films fetishizing Hollywood and celebrity but it’s like...that really hasn’t panned out historically. They’re far more likely to give it to either a generic “underdog overcoming adversity” story or a movie about racism I also challenge anyone to find any trend in the past 5 years bc I sure as fuck have no idea at this point lol
we saw them pass up the chance to award a movie like that in a much easier crop of films last year in ASIB