Posted on 01/29/2018 6:44:31 AM PST by dangus
The Academy Awards continue to become more and more irrelevant, selecting "Best Picture" winners that are both abhorrent and terrible. Movies so unappealing that even a Best Picture award couldn't make anyone want to go see them.
But popular doesn't mean great either: spending $300 million to make a movie that makes $400 million, doesn't mean a movie was great. In fact, it probably means the movie-makers didn't take any risks that might jeopardize its enormous investment. What we get is noisy yet bland.
So what are the great movies? That's what I'm asking FReepers to vote on.
For the nominees, because I can't possibly have seen all the nominable films, I've tried to infer what movie-goers have enjoyed AND found memorable:
I've supposed that a surprise hit means that people liked the movie. Making a lot of money relative to investment is suggestive, but we also have to discount cheap movies where the investment was really devoting the roll-out space to the movie, such as horror movies, formulaic children's animation, and low-budget comedies. I've tried not to completely exclude genre-exploitation movies, like "black" movies or "Christian movies." If they've been successful enough to transcend their genres, I'll include them even though their massive profitability may be PARTLY due to low budgets.
Being a "surprise hit" also means "franchise films" with massive budgets *can* be nominated, but they really have to outperform their investors' expectations.
Lastly, I've added one extra nominee per year for movies that were very successful, but don't at all seem to be worthy of nomination. Maybe they were low brow. Maybe they were genre exploitation. Maybe they were innovative but bad in other ways. But I tried not to make such judgments. They're in parentheses.
If I've missed a gem, however, by all means, nominate your own favorites.
Here are the nominees.
2017: Dunkirk, Get Out, The Greatest Showman, Split, Wonder Woman, (The Shack) 2016: Finding Dory, Hacksaw Ridge, Hidden Figures, Miracles from Heaven, Sully, (Deadpool) 2015: Inside Out, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, The Visit, (Star Wars: the Force Awakens), (Peanuts) 2014: American Sniper, God's Not Dead, Interstellar, Malificent, Saint Vincent, (300) 2013: 12 Years a Slave, The Butler, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Lone Survivor, (The Conjuring) 2012: Argo, The Dark Knight Rises, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, (Skyfall)
Better format for nominees:
2017: Dunkirk, Get Out, The Greatest Showman, Split, Wonder Woman, (The Shack)
2016: Finding Dory, Hacksaw Ridge, Hidden Figures, Miracles from Heaven, Sully, (Deadpool)
2015: Inside Out, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, The Visit, (Star Wars: the Force Awakens), (Peanuts)
2014: American Sniper, God’s Not Dead, Interstellar, Malificent, Saint Vincent, (300)
2013: 12 Years a Slave, The Butler, Captain Phillips, Gravity, Lone Survivor, (The Conjuring)
2012: Argo, The Dark Knight Rises, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, (Skyfall)
Dunkirk and Greater
I have only seen 4 of those listed since (and including) ‘American Sniper’.
Oh well ... I am one of the many who wouldn’t recognize a Follywood star if I saw them at the grocery store. That place is another world.
In no particular order:
Hacksaw Ridge
Sully
American Sniper
Captain Phillips
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Note: I don’t go to the movie theater. All these movies were watched via Netflix.
The Greatest Showman
Hacksaw Ridge
Kedi if you like cats, 2017.
Likely even if you don’t like cats.
The King’s Speech (won Best Film).
The Artist (won Best Film).
2009: Taking Chance
I can’t help. I have not seen a single movie that was released in 2017... ...nor 2016 for that matter...
I figured out, over 20 years ago, that ALL these awards shows are nothing but Hollyweird giving awards to themselves. I do watch the Red Carpet walk-in as I am always entertained by the dresses. The awards shows? Not entertaining at all.
Last night I watched Dunkirk. It was a great sequel to Darkest Hour. Two great films, both set May 8th to June 4th, 1940.
I would not recommend Dunkirk for anyone with a fear of water/drowning. If you are an empath, you feel as though you are being water boarded.
I prefer: I would not recognize a Hollywood star if I tripped over one lying in the gutter...
Dunkirk sucked.
The Shack. Hated this movie with a passion.
American Sniper definitely is worthy.
Hidden Figures is worthy.
Deadpool was great but Oscar????
Miracles from Heaven was boring.
Gravity was horrible and I love Sandra Bullock.
God is Dead was decent and good.
Captain Phillips was ok.
Lincoln was a snooze fest
Argo was ok deserved awards
12 Years a Slave was exceptional deserved every award and then some
The Butler was ok, nothing spectacular.
Maleficent was superb. Excellent movie.
The rest I did not see.
I used to go to movies all the time - weekly. Now, I pick and choose, maybe one or two a year, Dunkirk was the last one I went to. Partly because of the cost, mostly because there's not been anything worth watching. Another Superhero movie? Gee, that's original. And a buncha sequels and re-makes and re-made Space Operas? Whee.
Though, I gotta admit that the "Death Wish" remake has my attention. I like Bruce Willis. :-)
Anyway, to my point, in looking at your list, you might enjoy "13 Hours". Made me mad, but it's a decent Arab shoot-em-up.
/rant off. Thanks for listening....
Years ago, Ed Herman and his wife were shopping in my bookstore. At the checkout I asked him his name as he looked familiar. He told me his name, and shook my head no while stating that it didn’t ring a bell.
I thought his wife would hit the floor she was laughing so hard as I had pierced his ego!
And the winner is: “Wonder Woman” (Because there is a agenda message in it) next will be Sheena, Queen of the Jungle remake with another message contained in it. Sorry I consider Hollywood the spawn of Joseph Goebbels. Its like living in Berlin in 1943 without the bombs coming through the roof. The media messages are all the same.
“Dunkirk on the big screen was a spectacle”
Dunkirk on the big screen was a spectacular!
Dunkirk on the big screen was spectacular.
Darn fingers on phone.
Ethan Hawke should have gotten a Best Actor nomination for “Maudie”.
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