I thought it would be fun to see a list of all the winning films and contemplate how they compare to one another. How many have you seen? I've seen 53/87. That's only 60% --not too bad.
Some of these are clearly better than others, some won because they were novel or epic but aren't really that spectacular or moving, and some are true masterpieces. Of the ones I have seen, I highlighted ten of my favorites.
2014 - Birdman
2013 - 12 Years A Slave
2012 - Argo
2011 - The Artist
2010 - The King's Speech
2009 - The Hurt Locker
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire
2007 - No Country for Old Men
2006 - The Departed
2005 - Crash
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2002 - Chicago
2001 - A Beautiful Mind
2000 - Gladiator
1999 - American Beauty
1998 - Shakespeare in Love
1997 - Titanic
1996 - The English Patient
1995 - Braveheart
1994 - Forrest Gump
1993 - Schindler’s List
1992 - Unforgiven
1991 - The Silence of the Lambs
1990 - Dances With Wolves
1989 - Driving Miss Daisy
1988 - Rain Man
1987 - The Last Emperor
1986 - Platoon
1985 - Out of Africa
1984 - Amadeus
1983 - Terms of Endearment
1982 - Gandhi
1981 - Chariots of Fire
1980 - Ordinary People
1979 - Kramer vs. Kramer
1978 - The Deer Hunter
1977 - Annie Hall
1976 - Rocky
1975 - One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
1974 - The Godfather Part II
1973 - The Sting
1972 - The Godfather
1971 - The French Connection
1970 - Patton
1969 - Midnight Cowboy
1968 - Oliver!
1967 - In the Heat of the Night
1966 - A Man for All Seasons
1965 - The Sound of Music
1964 - My Fair Lady
1963 - Tom Jones
1962 - Lawrence of Arabia
1961 - West Side Story
1960 - The Apartment
1959 - Ben-Hur
1958 - Gigi
1957 - The Bridge on the River Kwai
1956 - Around the World in 80 Days
1955 - Marty
1954 - On the Waterfront
1953 - From Here to Eternity
1952 - The Greatest Show on Earth
1951 - An American in Paris
1950 - All About Eve
1949 - All the Kings Men
1948 - Hamlet
1947 - Gentleman's Agreement
1946 - The Best Years of Our Lives
1945 - The Lost Weekend
1944 - Going My Way
1943 - Casablanca
1942 - Mrs. Miniver
1941 - How Green Was My Valley
1940 - Rebecca
1939 - Gone with the Wind
1938 - You Can't Take It with You
1937 - The Life of Emile Zola
1936 - The Great Ziegfeld
1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty
1934 - It Happened One Night
1933 - Cavalcade
1932 - Grand Hotel
1931 - Cimarron
1930 - All Quiet on the Western Front
1929 - The Broadway Melody
1927 - Wings
Happy watching!
Monday, February 23, 2015
Oscar Dash 2015: The Results
Oscar Dash 2015! It happened. And the winner is...
Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
What do I think? Pretty much amazing. I was very happy by all the results!
For all the categories, click here.
Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
What do I think? Pretty much amazing. I was very happy by all the results!
For all the categories, click here.
Friday, February 20, 2015
The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata, 2014)
Click here for the basics
Rating: Q=8, P=8 / Obsession
Scale 1=4, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4
Animation, Japan, Folktale, Whimsical, Philosophical
I love this movie so much! From the gorgeous illustration --and over-cuteness at the beginning--to the enchanting and haunting koto music to the beautiful moral. Perhaps this world is full of imperfections, impurities, selfishness, and materialism. But it is also full of beautiful wilderness, kindness, and love. This story will make you think about happiness and memory. It will make you want to run away into the woods, away from all the false customs and rules of "civilized" life. It will make you want to shed your many robes and dance in the falling blossoms of a cherry tree.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click here
Monday, February 9, 2015
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014)
Click here for the basics
Rating: Q=7, P=8 / Obsession
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=4, Scale 3=4, Scale 4=4
Acting, Fame, Social Commentary, Existential, Surreal, Dark Comedy, Mid-life Crisis
"...You're doing a play based on a book that was written 60 years ago, for a thousand rich old white people whose only real concern is gonna be where they go to have their cake and coffee when it's over. And let's face it, Dad, it's not for the sake of art. It's because you want to feel relevant again. Well, there's a whole world out there where people fight to be relevant every day. And you act like it doesn't even exist! Things are happening in a place that you willfully ignore, a place that has already forgotten you. I mean, who are you? You hate bloggers. You make fun of Twitter. You don't even have a Facebook page. You're the one who doesn't exist. You're doing this because you're scared to death, like the rest of us, that you don't matter. And you know what? You're right. You don't. It's not important. You're not important. Get used to it."
"...You're doing a play based on a book that was written 60 years ago, for a thousand rich old white people whose only real concern is gonna be where they go to have their cake and coffee when it's over. And let's face it, Dad, it's not for the sake of art. It's because you want to feel relevant again. Well, there's a whole world out there where people fight to be relevant every day. And you act like it doesn't even exist! Things are happening in a place that you willfully ignore, a place that has already forgotten you. I mean, who are you? You hate bloggers. You make fun of Twitter. You don't even have a Facebook page. You're the one who doesn't exist. You're doing this because you're scared to death, like the rest of us, that you don't matter. And you know what? You're right. You don't. It's not important. You're not important. Get used to it."
Wow. This film exceeded my already supremely high expectations. I enjoyed every perfect line, every quirky moment, all the intertextuality and playful artistry. Perhaps my favorite part was the cinematography and editing--it feels really different than most films, like one incredibly long take-- but I also fell in love with the entire atmosphere that González Iñárritu created. We humans live in a confining space, a space we all wish we could fly away from. We are all selfish (to varying degrees) and strive for glory, fame, a legacy, something to bring meaning to our seeming insignificance. The desperation can sometimes be pathetic, sometimes hilarious, but always honest.
Layers and layers of meaning, very thought-provoking. Michael Keaton was a brilliant choice. I will definitely watch this again.
Layers and layers of meaning, very thought-provoking. Michael Keaton was a brilliant choice. I will definitely watch this again.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click here
39 Steps
39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1935)
I studied Hitchcock in college but focused mainly on his works in Hollywood. It feels weird that I haven't seen some of his early, British classics. But last night I finally watched 39 Steps. It is beautiful. Beautiful shots with all the shadows and lines of expressionism. Great acting, especially from Robert Donat. I often forget how brilliant he was. And the plot is perfect, the transitions and dialogue, every revealing moment. You can see how Hitchcock would go on to make some of the best films of all time. If you are in the mood for a classic mystery, this may be it.
Click here for the basics
Rating: Q=6, P=5 / Average OJ
Scale 1=3, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2
Mystery, Spy, Crime, Suspense, Thriller, Film Noir
I studied Hitchcock in college but focused mainly on his works in Hollywood. It feels weird that I haven't seen some of his early, British classics. But last night I finally watched 39 Steps. It is beautiful. Beautiful shots with all the shadows and lines of expressionism. Great acting, especially from Robert Donat. I often forget how brilliant he was. And the plot is perfect, the transitions and dialogue, every revealing moment. You can see how Hitchcock would go on to make some of the best films of all time. If you are in the mood for a classic mystery, this may be it.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click here
Thursday, February 5, 2015
In A World
In A World (Lake Bell, 2013)
This is a fun, light-hearted comedy about much more than just voice-over actors. It's about pride, competition, taking risks, and doing what you love. Lake Bell and Dmitri Martin are sweet and hilarious. If you like voice acting, accents, and quirky nerd-stuff, you'll enjoy this.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click here
Click here for the basics
Rating: Q=5, P=5 / Average OJ
Scale 1=2, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=2
Comedy, Father/Daughter, Complex Relationships
This is a fun, light-hearted comedy about much more than just voice-over actors. It's about pride, competition, taking risks, and doing what you love. Lake Bell and Dmitri Martin are sweet and hilarious. If you like voice acting, accents, and quirky nerd-stuff, you'll enjoy this.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click here
Monday, February 2, 2015
Tim's Vermeer
Tim's Vermeer (Pen Jillette and Teller, 2013)
Click here for the basics
Rating: DOCQ=8, DOCP=8 / First Rate
Scale K=3, Scale L=3, Scale M=4, Scale N=3
Documentary, Art, Technology, History
Growing up around paintings and drawings, knowing many artists, and being a different kind of artist myself, I've always had an enormous respect for the amount of patience and dedication one must have to create. I fully understand writer's block and have spent many hours playing chord progressions with no results. So, Tim's Vermeer was a treat of a film--Tim says he isn't an artist, yet he creates a near exact replica of Vermeer's studio and then paints a version of a Vermeer in just over four months. He learns to hold a paintbrush, mixes his own paint, grinds his own lens, and then sits for countless hours to observe and paint what he sees. He has ample curiosity to discover how Vermeer worked, he does research and experiments. How is this not an artist? If Vermeer used a lens to paint (which is pretty likely), does this make him less an artist?
One must certainly have talent and imagination to be a good artist, and one must learn skills. But sometimes we underestimate the value and importance of having the right tools. There are plenty of budding geniuses out there who will never know they have talent, never be discovered because they don't have access to paints or canvas or books...This is a wonderful film that really makes you think about definitions and meanings.
One must certainly have talent and imagination to be a good artist, and one must learn skills. But sometimes we underestimate the value and importance of having the right tools. There are plenty of budding geniuses out there who will never know they have talent, never be discovered because they don't have access to paints or canvas or books...This is a wonderful film that really makes you think about definitions and meanings.
--Don't understand the ratings? Click here
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