The Worst Best Picture Winners of the 21st Century 

The Oscars are silly, as movie critic Adam Chitwood wrote. Hollywood awarding itself. But they are also “kind of great.” A night to celebrate an art form that is in some ways uniquely American. And a chance for ordinary people around the world to see Hollywood celebrities dressing up and behaving badly.

One thing the Oscars are not: awards for movies that really are the best of the year. (This is obvious to anyone that wants more from the movies they watch than just a mindless way to pass the time.) So it’s not surprising that some of the Oscar winners over the past 22 years have not been all that good.

Here’s my personal list of Oscar winners since 2000, ranked from worst to best. How does it compare to yours?

* Crash (2005) – the absolute worst!

* Parasite (2019)

* The Shape of Water (2017)

* Birdman (2014)

* Million Dollar Baby (2004)

* Chicago (2002)

* Gladiator (2000)

* Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

* Green Book (2018)

* The Hurt Locker (2009)

* The Lord of the Rings (2003)

* Nomadland (2020)

* 12 Years a Slave (2013)

* No Country for Old Men (2007)

* The King’s Speech (2010)

* The Artist (2011)

* Coda (2021)

* Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

* Moonlight 2016)

* The Departed (2006)

* Argo (2012)

* Spotlight (2015)

* A Beautiful Mind (2001) – the best!

Women Talking 

Directed by Sarah Polley

Starring Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, and Francis McDormand

Released in theaters (US) Dec. 23, 2022

Available to buy/rent from Amazon

The title worried me. Was this going to be a two-hour movie of women talking? And it was. But it wasn’t as dull and pretentious as that might sound. In some ways, in fact, it was quite good.

The Plot: In a remote Menonite colony in the 1990s, a secret is revealed. For years, a small group of the men have been drugging and raping some of the women. Eight men are arrested. Then, inexplicably, the rest of the men in the colony set off for town to bail out the rapists. While they are gone, the women discuss their options: Fight back. Leave. Or do nothing.

Interesting: The story is based on a novel (Women Talking, by Miriam Toews) that was inspired by real-life events that occurred at the Manitoba Colony in Bolivia.

What I Liked: 

* The acting: The cast is a who’s who of accomplished actresses, and they all played their parts well.

* The photography and the music: Although it could have been more varied, the dark tones worked well.

* The script: Some of the lines were very good.

What I Didn’t Like: 

* The decision to make it a stage play instead of a movie.

* The script: For every very good line, there were two that were cringe-worthy.

* The artificial “Me Too” elements: Was it necessary for one of the rape victims to cut her hair short and became, essentially, the community’s first transgender man? And what does that say about the director’s interest in exploring the subject by having the only male character express himself as a simple-minded and effeminate wimp?

In Summary: 

The movie had great potential. And several very good moments. But, ultimately, it failed because of all the Woke clichés.

Critical Reception 

* “A movie that deliberately hovers between drama and parable, the materially concrete and the spiritually abstract, and whose stark austerity sometimes gives way to bursts of salty wit and cathartic laughter.” (Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times)

* “It breaks free of the bleak narratives that have boxed in cinema’s rape victims over and over again. At the very least, it’s something we haven’t seen before.” (Megan Gibson, New Statesman)

You can watch the trailer here.

Argentina, 1985 

Written and directed by Santiago Mitre

Released Oct. 21, 2022 (US)

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime

I had seen all the Best Picture-nominated films for the Oscar, except for Women Talking and Top Gun. K had seen Top Gun, and, for whatever reason, we couldn’t access Women Talking. So, we opted for Argentina, 1985, which was nominated as Best International Feature Film.

Argentina, 1985 is about a true event. The story of how a public prosecutor, a young lawyer, and their inexperienced legal team dared to prosecute the heads of Argentina’s blood military dictatorship.

What I Liked About It 

Everything.

It was better than the all the other nominated films I’d watched. It was also a big, straightforward dramatization of a big, important historical event. (In that sense, it reminded me of Spotlight, the movie about the Catholic Church’s attempts to muzzle the investigations into its years of sexual abuse of children.)

The script was well-structured. It couldn’t have been easy to include all the political and personal material that was touched on And yet, it worked, almost flawlessly.

I especially liked:

* The directing. There was nothing clever about it. It was invisible. And for a movie like this – that has so much to offer the viewer in terms of story and context – a light directorial touch is always the best.

* The acting. Uniformly excellent.

* The editing: Like the directing, the editing was not clever. But it was very good. It kept the plot moving at a heart-pounding pace, with the occasional respite for contemplated emotion.

What I Didn’t Like 

Nothing.

Critical Reception 

“For a film about the crimes of a fascist military dictatorship that employed mass torture, rape, kidnapping, and murder as weapons of social control, Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985 sure goes down smooth.” (Keith Watson, Slant)

* “There’s a fair amount of Hollywoodised emotion in this true-life courtroom drama, but it is managed with terrific flair and heartfelt commitment.” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)

* “A strong lead performance grounds an understated drama about a historic trial.” (Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter)

You can watch the trailer here.

Triangle of Sadness 

Written and directed by Ruben Östlund

Starring Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, and Harris Dickinson

Released in theaters (US) Oct. 7, 2022

Available on various streaming services, including Amazon Prime

Triangle of Sadness is another film I wanted to see before the Academy Awards. I liked the premise, and it had some strong recommendations from people whose opinions I respect. But after watching it, I was somewhat disappointed. It has many great and hilarious scenes and some riveting performances, but would not have been my choice for Best Picture – or best anything – unless they had a category for best knock-off of a Lina Wertmuller movie.

The Plot 

Carl and Yaya, a couple of influencers, are invited to a luxury cruise ship alongside a group of out-of-touch wealthy people. The situation takes an unexpected turn when a brutal storm hits the ship.

What I Liked About It 

* It was a cruelly and beautifully scathing critique of the woke obliviousness of the super-rich. Not just the Baby Boomers, but also Gen X.

* It had an impressively wide comic range – from dark (the spat over who should pay for the bill) to Mel Brooks (the vomiting scene).

* Woody Harrelson’s performance as the ship’s too-done-to-care captain.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

* Some scenes went on a tad too long.

* It was, as I said, derivative, and that made it hard to take seriously. Ironically, however, that made it easier to enjoy. Because it was only 20% Wertmuller and 80% Mel Brooks.

Critical Reception 

* “For 95 minutes of its 147-minute running time, Triangle of Sadness is one of the best movies of the year. It’s a brutal satire whose comedy changes from deadpan subtlety to the most raucous and outrageous slapstick imaginable. It’s brilliant and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny – and then comes the shift.” (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle)

* “Two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund’s mischievous takedown of the super-rich has more style than substance.” (Wendy Ide, The Guardian)

* “This, in the end, is a very bad movie, executed with enough visual polish and surface cleverness to fool the Cannes jurors, something Östlund has done twice. Shame on them!” (A.O. Scott, The New York Times)

You can watch the trailer here.

The Fabelmans 

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Written by Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner

Starring Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, and Seth Rogan

Released in theaters (US) Nov. 11, 2022

Available to rent or buy on most platforms, including Amazon Prime and Apple TV

Another one on our (K’s and my) Academy Award Bucket List. I knew it was written and produced by Steven Spielberg. I didn’t realize that Tony Kushner was the cowriter. They are both very good at creating engaging narratives with big and important ideas, but bowdlerized for popular consumption. So, I thought, “This won’t be great. But it will probably be good.”
And that’s what it was. Good. Even quite good in some ways. But not great.

What I Liked About It 

* The story itself. The early interest in moviemaking. The support of Spielberg’s father. The infidelity of his mother. The denouement.

* The character played by Seth Rogan. A great take on a weak and despicable man.

* The character played by Michelle Williams, as Spielberg’s mom. It wasn’t quite as convincing as Rogan’s, but still fascinating.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

Everything Spielberg. Spielberg is a great movie maker. There is no doubt about that. But his movies, the stories themselves, are surface level. This was even true of this story, which had more potential.

Critical Reception 

* “The Fabelmans is a film that shifts something inside you. Working through one of the most crushing events of his own life, Spielberg exhorts us to discover, yet again, the enduring magic of the movies.” (Anupama Chopra, Film Companion)

* “Possibly the most lavishly mounted home movie ever made. Appropriately enough, that is its great strength and its fatal weakness.” (Mark Kermode, Observer/UK)

* “The tone gets complicated. Adolescence often is. Flippancy aside, that is the movie’s signature: the acceptance that two things can be going on at once.” (Danny Leigh, Financial Times)

You can watch the trailer here.

Tár 

Directed by Todd Field

Starring Cate Blanchett

Released in theaters (US) Oct. 7, 2022

Available on many streaming services, including Amazon Prime

K and I have been trying to watch as many of the nominated films as possible before the Academy Awards are aired. Tárwas one of them. So was The Fabelmans, which I’ll review on Friday.

Tár is a psychological drama about a passionate and demanding woman, the conductor of perhaps the most esteemed symphony in the world.

It is a movie about the MeToo movement, taking on one of its principal arguments: that any time a boss has sex with an employee, it is, by definition, abuse, because of the difference in power. But in Tár, the abuser is a woman. And that allows the viewer to think about the issue of sexual misconduct in the workplace with fewer prejudices.

What I Liked About It 

* The treatment of the underlying theme.

* The film’s horizontality. It gave me insight into the world of symphony music, a world I knew almost nothing about. It helped me understand the important role of conductors. (Apparently, they do a lot more than control the tempo.) I especially liked the protagonist’s theory that the conductor’s job is to “serve the composer.”

* Cate Blanchette’s performance. At first, I thought she was overdoing it. But finally, she won me over.

* The score. (When a score is comprised of some of the greatest music ever written, how could anyone not like it?)

What I Didn’t Like 

* Some of the dialogue, particularly when Blanchette’s character is speaking to other illuminati, seemed unnecessarily pretentious.

* The subject matter is emotionally difficult. Of course, it is. But that doesn’t obviate the fact that it saps the energy from any sensitive viewer.

Critical Reception 

Tár got a ton of positive reviews and won loads of rewards. It is, not surprisingly, a contender for Best Film at the Oscars this year. It wouldn’t be my top choice, but it’s a good choice. I might, though, vote for Cate Blanchette for Best Actress. And given the theme and how much time the camera is on her, she does seem like a shoe-in.

You can watch the trailer here.

 To Leslie 

Directed by Michael Morris

Starring Andrea Riseborough, Owen Teague, and Allison Janney

Released in theaters (US) Oct. 7, 2022

Available from several streaming services, including Amazon Prime

The Plot: Leslie, a manipulative drunk, squanders $190,000 she won in a lottery, abandons her child, and lives a peripatetic life, hustling her friends and family for shelter and stealing money to buy alcohol. Towards the end of the film, she seems to be on the verge of recovery.

What I Liked About It 

* The action felt real and the plot felt realistic.

* The setting and the music were appropriate to the plot.

* The acting was good to very good.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

I’ve been in constant touch with drunks and drug addicts all my life. What I’ve learned is that they are very good at telling you what you want to hear. What they are very bad at is recovery. It’s hard to watch a movie like this, whose depiction of the problem is so realistic, and feel hopeful at the end.

Critical Reception 

* “Riseborough’s performance is nothing short of spectacular. She doesn’t compromise, she doesn’t hold back, but she doesn’t compromise the character with any sort of fake flamboyance.” (Owen Gleiberman, Variety)

* “To Leslie is a movie about hitting bottom but also a story steeped in grace – and even, with its understated, lived-in aesthetic, tinged with a bit of fairy tale.” (Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter)

* “It’s a story often told, but this movie tells it well.” (Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times)

You can watch the trailer here.

The Banshees of Inisherin 

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh

Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan

Released in theaters (US) Oct. 21, 2022

Available from several streaming services, including Amazon Prime

BJ, one of my golfing pals, recommended The Banshees of Inisherin in a recent group email. AS, another golfing pal, said it was “dark and disturbing.” JM said he thought it was good in many ways, but confessed that he found it complicated and confusing. “Honestly, I have no idea what it meant.”

I thought: “Sounds interesting. I’m going to love this or hate it.” Last night, I watched it.

The Banshees of Inisherin is, indeed, a complicated movie. It begins as a pastoral period piece, slips into a doleful but warmhearted narrative, and then takes a sharp turn towards a macabre black comedy before resolving itself as an existential tragedy.

What I Liked About It 

* The photography by Ben Davis: beautiful, soft, and sad.

* The music by Carter Burwell: beautiful, soft, and sad.

* The dialog: country Irish. There’s nothing like it.

* The acting by three of the principals: Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan.

* The mood: Excellent. GSD (grim, stark, and depressing).

What I Didn’t Like (So Much) 

* Colin Farrell’s acting: He was hamstrung by his supremely intelligent good looks. His role was that of a simpleton. He couldn’t pull it off.

* The main plot point: I just couldn’t believe the premise. That after years of friendship, one friend would turn so suddenly and completely away from the other.

* The denouement: The story lacked any sort of satisfying resolution.

* The themes: Several were suggested by the plot and some of the dialog. But the movie lacked one overarching theme that could bring the whole thing together.

My Recommendation 

See it. Definitely, see it. Even with its several considerable flaws, it’s still better than 98 percent of the movies being made today.

You can watch the trailer here.

Day of the Dead 

Written and directed by George A. Romero

Released in theaters July 3, 1985

Streaming Sept. 17, 2013

Currently available from various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

The Plot 

Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians, and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race. But tension inside the base is reaching the breaking point, and the zombies are gathering outside…

What I Didn’t Like About It 

All of the drama between the main characters. It felt like Romero was trying to elevate the movie into something more than what it was. A bit of that would have been fine. But it constituted nearly half of the run time, thus taking away from…

What I Liked 

The unbelievably great special effects. I’m talking about what one looks for in zombie movies. Gushing blood, the tearing of flesh, headless bodies moving, bodiless heads talking… even rib cages falling out of torsos. And this is not digital manipulation. This is real old-fashioned special effects!

Critical Reception 

* “[The Day of the Dead] affords Mr. Romero the opportunity for intermittent philosophy and satire, without compromising his reputation as the grisliest guy around.” (Janet Maslin, New York Times)

* “It’s an intelligent, well-written, excellently played movie, with top-flight gore/horror effects, perverse humour, and a provocatively bleak vision.” (Kim Newman, Empire Magazine)

* “The third of writer/director George A. Romero’s ‘Living Dead’ trilogy benefits from a far larger budget than its predecessors, but suffers from a story as malnourished as the zombies that are chewing it up.” (Almar Hafidason, BBC)

You can watch the original trailer here.