Woohoo! The last few years of winners! The test of time has not really applied to these yet, so nothing here has been deemed essential. Neither, however, has anything been considered a poor choice. This decade is hard to fully evaluate and perhaps whatever wins this next Sunday will determine how it will shape. At least, there were no bad films.
2010-2015
The Good
The Artist
Now that I’ve seen more silent classics this is less impressive. Homage films at their very nature feel like inside jokes to the audience and that can be detrimental. Though enjoyable, fun, and I’m glad this exists- I’m not sure there is much original in The Artist. Originality isn't always necessary, but this is very similar to Singin’ in the Rain and that kind of hurts it. It’s a good movie, but I’m unsure it if was really the best film that year. My vote would have gone to the also nominated The Descendants. I’m glad this sparks an interest in silent films at least. Grade: B
Argo
Like Titanic before it, Argo’s best achievement is making the story suspenseful when we already know how it's gonna end. Ben Affleck shows off his directing skills with this pretty impressive thriller about sneaking hostages out of Iran, using film production as a ruse. Though I was a much bigger fan fellow nominee Beasts of the Southern Wild, it makes sense why this won the top prize. Grade: B+
Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Somehow I did not get really enchanted by this film. I enjoyed the subtext and intertext, and the text itself is fine and all, but I remain underwhelmed. The “one take” gimmick is interesting and showcases great technical work, too bad the story seems pretentious and never quite achieves the depth it desires. I once said something along the lines of "Birdman is a great film for literature and theater majors to be ultimately disappointed in.” I stick by that. Tim and I talked about this at length in one of our videos if you really want to go deeper. Grade: B
The Great
The King’s Speech
Though a WWII film, more or less, I super dig this film. Maybe because it’s about public speaking, or maybe because Firth and Rush are so much fun to watch. Either way, I think this is a great film showing a different perspective of a troubling time. This winning over The Social Network irked some, leading to questions about the relevance of the Academy. I understand, but does a film about Facebook feel all that relevant now? The King’s Speech definitely has more of those tired “Academy Award” traits too, but I would still take this over David Fincher’s film. Grade: A-
12 Years a Slave
This era’s Schindler's List. Not an easy watch, but the performances are the reason to seek this out if not for the story. Now don't get me wrong, the story is very compelling. A haunting, arresting, and disturbing slave narrative that, like Spielberg’s epic, won’t leave you for awhile afterward. Grade: A-
Spotlight
There aren’t enough great newspaper dramas out there to begin with, even less now that newspapers are constantly disappearing. This account of the investigation of pedophilia in the Catholic church charmed me the moment I started it. Great performances from all around and tight direction. I did however feel there was a lack of tension at times, you kept waiting for some huge opposition to happened and it doesn’t really. Still, a great film. Grade: A-
Okay, considering we only have the two categories this time, I'll rank these. This wasn't easy, but here you go:
6. The Artist 5. Argo 4. Birdman 3. Spotlight 2. 12 Years a Slave 1. The King’s Speech
Parting Thoughts
I enjoyed watching all these flicks, even if it was a bit of a chore sometimes. I suppose if I want to tell you which were the ones that stuck out the most, the ones I thoroughly enjoyed, I’d say Amadeus, Rocky, Kramer vs. Kramer, The Sting, All the King’s Men, and Mrs. Miniver. I'm not saying these are “the best of the best.” That has been determined by some many folks before me. These are ones I look forward to revisiting from time to time.
Thanks for reading!