Who Should Win 2015: Ranking This Year’s Best Picture Nominees

Let’s get something straight: the Academy Awards are flawed. Rarely does the most deserving movie, actor, actress, director or writer win the Oscar, and the 2015 ceremony will be no different. That’s because voting is almost entirely based on politics. It’s essentially Hollywood’s version of an election. Like any election, there’s plenty of campaigning, corruption and hidden agendas. Studios will spend a ridiculous amount of time and money to win an Oscar. Movies are strategically released on advantageous dates, screeners are sent out to voters in advance and advertisements are placed for the industry’s consideration. This is all done in the hopes that a group of old white men will hand them a shiny toy and say their movie is good. It’s not fair and it doesn’t matter.

But let’s ignore that for a second. For the sake of this article, let’s all slip into fantasy land: a land where the Academy Awards are a just system determined solely by merit. Later this week, I’ll post a piece analyzing the statistics behind the Oscars. I’ll use various patterns throughout award show history to predict which nominees will win each award. That’s later. For now, I want to analyze which of this year’s movies SHOULD win. For the sake of brevity, I’ll only focus on one category.

Below are the eight best picture nominees ranked from worst to best, along with my thoughts on each. I’ll be honest, I didn’t particularly care for most of these movies. As a matter of fact, only three of these eight would have made my nomination ballot if I were a voter. So yes, the Academy got it wrong, but it was also a pretty weak year for movies in general. That’s why the number of nominees is only eight out of a possible ten. Forgive my negativity for the majority of the list and feel free to disagree. Just know that my opinion is more valid than yours. OK, let’s begin…

8. The Grand Budapest Hotel

There was a time when I thought that Wes Anderson was one of the best directors working in Hollywood. I found his movies to be refreshingly entertaining, with a distinct visual style and witty dialogue that was all his own. The word unique does not begin to describe Anderson’s atheistic, as it was truly something new to the film industry. As a lover of movies, I admired his skill as well his courageous attempts to push the boundaries of filmmaking. That time is long gone. Wes Anderson, like many great filmmakers before him, has become a shell of his former self. That’s because Grand Budapest represents a very detrimental point in his career: the point when his quirky style became a gimmick. Gone are the days of The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox, eccentric comedies with heart and thematic importance. Anderson is now all style and no substance.

Grand Budapest is the most Wes Anderson movie Wes Anderson has ever made, and I mean that in the worst way possible. The dialogue sounds like a writer doing a Mark Twain impression, with every line trying to be wittier than the last. The visuals turn the quirk-meter up to 11, the worst offender being the 4:3 aspect ratio. The endless barrage of Anderson’s frequent collaborators results in more unnecessary cameos than every episode of SNL combined. The movie is so contrived, so ridiculous, so in love with itself that it shows off all of Anderson’s tropes to the point of parody. And above all, it commits a sin that is practically unforgivable: it’s not funny. The Grand Budapest Hotel has no soul. It’s the only bad movie to be nominated for Best Picture this year.

7. American Sniper

Without question, the three biggest mysteries of all time are the Bermuda Triangle, the Kennedy assassination and the popularity of American Sniper. This movie has broken box office records, grossing more money than the other seven nominees combined, and I just don’t understand why. Maybe it’s the recency of the story or the overwhelming sense of patriotism. Maybe it’s Clint Eastwood’s reputation as a director or Bradley Cooper’s reputation as a leading man. Maybe it’s the action elements or the realism of war. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because people have bad taste in movies. I simply don’t see what all the fuss is about.

American Sniper could have been something special, but instead it’s very unremarkable. Granted, Bradley Cooper gives a tremendous performance as Chris Kyle. He brings a certain humanity to the role while maintaing Kyle’s rough, often impenetrable exterior. This is Cooper’s third consecutive Oscar nomination and it’s well deserved. There were also several moments throughout the movie that effectively showed the brutality of war, whether it involved death on the battlefield or trauma at home. But these positives do not outweigh Sniper’s enormous flaws. The movie was fairly dull, which I expected given Eastwood’s slow directing style. And, generally speaking, I’m not a huge fan of war movies so it’s no surprise that I was bored. What I didn’t expect, however, was how cartoonishly bad some of the scenes were. The movie’s main villain is a Jason Bourne-like terrorist, who jumps across rooftops and has spies hidden throughout Iraq. The movie would often jump between scenes of genuine emotion and scenes that involved horrible action movie tropes like this.

Recently there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding the film in social media. A lot of political comments, which I don’t necessarily agree with, have been made; and the Internet has been yelling at each other as the Internet tends to do. At the core of these arguments is a valid point. American Sniper feels like a propaganda film. It’s not that I don’t agree with the movie’s point of view. Nationalism is a perfectly legitimate emotion to evoke on screen. I would have just preferred if Chris Kyle’s story took precedence to the advertisement of the military. Perhaps then, the movie would not have given in to James Bond campiness. Yay America, but boo American Sniper and it’s Best Picture nomination.

6. The Imitation Game

“Meh” is an informal interjection that I use quite a bit. It means that whatever I just experienced was average. It doesn’t mean good, it doesn’t mean bad, it just means OK. I have never said “meh” and meant it more than when I walked out of The Imitation Game. It’s one of the most average movies I have ever seen.

The story follows Alan Turing and his mission to crack the Enigma code during World War II. It’s fine. It hits all the notes that a successful biopic should hit, it features very good performances from Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley, and it’s pacing is methodical but never boring. That’s all I have to say about it. I wish I had stronger feelings, but I don’t. This is the movie equivalent of a daytime talk show, entertaining enough to watch but you’ll never think about it again.

If it wasn’t rated PG-13, perhaps it could have been more compelling. It felt like the filmmakers pulled a lot of punches in order to make the story palpable for a broader audience. This is certainly true of a few movies on this list. But beyond that, I don’t have many complaints. Despite it’s competence, The Imitation Game has failed to stick with me.

5. Selma

Controversy! Contention! Scandal! People love to argue about things, especially race relations in the United States. It’s the “hot button” issue these days, which is why so many people paid close attention to Selma when it was released. This is the first major motion picture ever made about Martin Luther King and, with the events of Ferguson fresh in people’s minds, it could not have come at a more appropriate time. The movie was swarmed with controversy, among which the negative portrayal of Lyndon Johnson. It didn’t take long before another talking point was added to this year’s race debate.

But the outrage didn’t stop there. The biggest atrocity of them all occurred on January 15, 2015 when this year’s Oscar nominations were announced. Selma earned two nominations, Best Picture and Best Original Song, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Director Ava DuVernay and lead actor David Oyelowo were left out of their respective categories, meaning there were no African American nominees in any of the major awards. Hollywood was in a fury. Some were threatening to protest the ceremony. Reverend Al Sharpton called an emergency meeting of his Diversity Task Force (which sounds like the greatest Adult Swim cartoon of all time). It was chaos. The public concluded that The Academy must be racist.

This isn’t the place to comment on race relations, nor do I know enough about the topic to make a compelling argument. So for the sake of this article, I’ll keep my opinions to myself. I do, however, feel qualified to talk about Oscar nominations, so I’ll address this issue strictly in that regard. Ava Duvernay and David Oyelowo were not snubbed because of racism, sexism or any other ism. They were snubbed because their work wasn’t good enough, plain and simple. Selma is a fine movie. It showcases a massive cast, some good performances and a story that defines an important element of American culture. But much like American Sniper, it verged on cartoonish melodrama far too many times. There were very important points for this movie to make, yet it made them using over-the-top characters and blatant emotional clichés. It felt like the perfect TV movie, completely unspectacular. It was fortunate enough to earn two nominations, especially given how many films were shut out completely.

I’m angered because I know that so many of the Academy’s critics haven’t even seen the movie. Their complaints are based solely on assumptions and an Internet tomato that tells them how to feel about cinema. Racism exists, I would never argue otherwise. And in today’s contentious environment, there are important discussions to be had about race relations in America. However none of those discussions involve a group of old men awarding rich people with golden statues.

4. The Theory of Everything

I’ll be honest with you, I expected to hate The Theory of Everything. The trailers made it seem like typical Oscar-bait: boring, indulgent, melodramatic and fit for the Hallmark Channel’s movie of the week. Which is why I kept putting off watching it, I thought it would be homework. In many ways, my expectations were correct. Like most British biopics, the movie was rife with self-importance, excruciatingly boring and way too in love with Stephen Hawking. But for some reason, this British biopic defied the odds and kept me engaged throughout its entire two-hour runtime. Trust me, I wanted to hate it. But I couldn’t.

This movie represents everything I hate about Hollywood. I truly believe that we would live in a better world if movies like this didn’t exist. That’s why I kept poking holes in Theory of Everything as I was watching it. Yet I kept coming back to the characters of Stephen and Jane Hawking, played by the excellent Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, and I couldn’t help but get wrapped up in their story. I cared about what happened to them: their romance, their marriage, their battle with ALS. I was able to forgive all the movie’s flaws because of the performances, something that can’t be said for any of the four previous titles.

Eddie Redmayne will likely win an Oscar for this role and, although I don’t believe it was the best performance of the year, it will be well deserved. His Stephen Hawking remains charming and lovable while slowing facing the very bleak realities of his disease. And Felicity Jones deserves just as much credit as the conflicted wife that sticks with the love of her life through the worst of times. The story is sad, and at points tragic, however the two leads convey an infectious sense of hopefulness that gives The Theory of Everything a heartbeat. This sometimes results in melodrama, the last scene in particular. It’s very difficult to tell a story like this without bordering on Tony Robbins territory. And again, it’s important to point out that all of its flaws still exist, which is why the movie is not ranked higher. But sometimes every attempt at criticism and deconstruction is irrelevant, and a movie just works. The Theory of Everything is such a movie.

3. Boyhood

Now we get to the good part. The top three are not only my favorite Oscar nominees; they’re also my three favorite movies of 2014. Any of them would be deserving of the title of Best Picture, but I will rank them nonetheless. The weakest of the three is Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s coming of age story. The idea of shooting the movie over twelve years is simply brilliant. It’s unique, it’s risky, it’s everything I want filmmaking to be in 2015. But you can’t just award an idea. Execution is just as important as creativity when judging a movie’s merit. Lucky for Boyhood, the execution was great too. The story follows a boy named Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, as he grows up and experiences life. Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke give wonderful performances as Mason’s divorced parents.

Forget Ed O’Neill and Sofía Vergara, this is the ultimate story of the modern family. Throughout Boyhood’s twelve years, Mason and his family experience real issues facing Americans today: domestic violence, drug abuse, broken marriages, teenage relationships, identity crises and much more. In a word, this movie is authentic. There’s no major conflict, no singular story arc, it’s just an average kid growing up. It’s important to acknowledge that this premise has its flaws. Because the screenplay was written year-by-year, there is a lack of cohesion. There were times when the movie lost focus, contributing to a very long runtime of almost three hours. It’s sometimes a little slow, bordering on boring, so a more concise story would have been nice.

But I don’t think that’s what Linklater wanted his movie to be. I think he wanted to make something a little more imperfect. He didn’t set out to make a typical Hollywood story that checks off all the right boxes. He wanted to make a movie about life, something we can all relate to. Like Boyhood, life is imperfect. There’s no storybook ending, no strategically placed plot twists. Life is about learning as you go, a series of small challenges rather than a giant one. There’s no beginning or end, it’s all about the journey. Richard Linklater went on a journey when he decided to make this movie. It wasn’t perfect, but at least it was real. He created a script that’s full of heart and characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. He captured life. I know, I’m getting corny.

Bottom line, Boyhood’s premise never became a gimmick. The real-time element only enhanced the story’s authenticity. Popular culture in the 21st century has come to reward escapism. Blockbusters that take the audience out of their lives are all the rage. That’s why we need more movies like Boyhood. It’s a movie about all of us.

2. Birdman

There’s a cliché bandied about in pop culture quite a bit that never fails to make my eyes roll. I’m talking about the phrase, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” When someone says this sentence after watching a movie, checking out a TV show, reading a book or listening to a song, they’re indicating that what they just experienced is entirely different from anything else ever created. This infuriates me because absolute originality is almost impossible. Art has been around for thousands of years, with artists borrowing from one another since the beginning. Everything is the recycled product of something else, especially in today’s film industry where reboots, sequels and mega-franchises have become the status quo. Nothing is original. So I say to you, blog reader/hypothetical straw man, if you ever use this phrase while walking out of a movie theater, you either: a) are using hyperbole like a teenage girl or b) haven’t seen enough movies in your life to be able to comment. Or at least that’s what I thought until I saw Birdman.

You have never seen anything quite like Birdman. I’ve thought long and hard about comparisons to other movies, trying to piece together a formula that would accurately describe it. I can’t think of any. Birdman is part dark comedy, part psychological drama, part fantasy, part character study, part parody, part homage, and all awesome. The premise is brilliantly meta: Michael Keaton plays a washed-up superhero actor who produces a stage play in order to add legitimacy to his career. So great on so many levels.

The acting is nothing short of a master class, some of the best and most difficult performances I’ve ever seen on screen. Ed Norton steals every scene as stage actor Mike Shiner. The always-charismatic Emma Stone is terrific as the main character’s daughter Sam. And Keaton gives the performance of his career as the mentally unstable Riggan Thomson. After years of being a punch line, the man has finally gotten his due. Mr. Mom may actually win an Oscar. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu also shows off his prowess by shooting the entire movie with no visible cuts, creating the illusion of a two-hour single take. The script is hilarious and biting, containing incredibly sharp commentary about the state of show business. And to top it all off, an ending that will leave you shocked and bewildered. It’s so weird, so wonderful, so hilariously tragic, you can’t help but have an opinion.

Will that opinion be a positive one? Tough to say. Birdman is certainly not for everyone. For some people, there is such a thing as too weird. Not for me. I see far too many movies to appreciate the Imitation Game’s of the world, the paint-by-numbers stories that are as forgettable as what you ate for breakfast this morning. I love when filmmakers push the boundaries and take risks. Art is about leaving the audience with something to think about. It’s about being different. Birdman is the definition of “love it or hate it.” I choose to love it.

1. Whiplash

I’m just going to say it. Whiplash is the best film of the decade, and I’m not exaggerating. I don’t want to call it a classic, only time will be able to make that distinction. Nor do I want to call it one of my all time favorites since I don’t know how it will stick with me. All I know is this: the feeling that I had after walking out of AMC Theatres this past November was something different, something I had never felt in 19 years of watching movies. Because of my age, every classic that I watch is seen through the lens of history. When I first watched The Godfather or Citizen Kane, I knew that what I was about to see was something special. Their reputations tainted my viewing experiences. And since movies in the 21st century, you know, suck, it’s rare that I ever walk out of a theater with surprise and enthusiasm. I’m talking about the type of enthusiasm you get after seeing Star Wars in 1977. It’s a feeling of absolute awe. It’s the feeling I had for the first time after watching Whiplash.

I wasn’t picking the movie apart like I normally do, analyzing all its strengths and weaknesses like a gymnastics routine. I wasn’t thinking about its award season chances, trying to figure out how it would stack up against Birdman and Boyhood. I was just in the moment. I was wrapped up in the exhilarating story, the hilarious moments as well as the poignant ones. I wasn’t judging the movie; I was just along for the ride. And what an exciting ride it was.

Director Damien Chazelle’s second feature film stars Miles Teller as a young drummer at one of the country’s best music conservatories. There he meets an unorthodox jazz band instructor, played by brilliant character actor J.K. Simmons, who becomes his mentor. It sounds horrible. It’s an indie movie about a jazz drummer starring the kid from 21 & Over and the guy from the Farmer’s Insurance commercials. How could this possibly be anything but a dull, pretentious, artsy-fartsy snooze-fest? I promise you, it’s anything but. Whiplash is an emotional roller coaster, dealing with the ideas of legacy and what it takes to achieve greatness. At some points it’s very inspirational, at other points it’s horribly brutal. But, with great dialogue and swift pacing, it’s always entertaining. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sit on the edge of your seat and, most importantly, you’ll never be bored.

Whiplash single-handedly restored my faith in movies. The pop culture landscape today is drastically different than it was 50 years ago. In 2015, cable TV is the best place to find high quality entertainment. And now, with sites like Netflix paving the way for online distribution, cinema is starting to lose significance. As high profile directors and actors continue to migrate to TV, it’s only a matter of time until the big screen becomes obsolete. Whiplash reminded me that we’re not there yet. Great movies are still possible, no matter how small the budget or how unknown the names. A great story is a great story. So please, go and experience for yourself. Don’t pay attention to the awards it gets or the amount it made at the box office. See it because it’s something special.

In Conclusion 

Whiplash should win everything and The Grand Budapest Hotel should stay home. A guy can dream, right? If you disagree with my ramblings, leave a comment and tell me how you would have ranked the eight nominees. Just know that what either of us thinks doesn’t matter one bit. Keep an eye on the blog later this week for when I step out of fantasy land and give my actual Oscar predictions. And for more coverage of this ridiculous award show, listen to this week’s episode of my podcast, The Nico Show.

Nico D.

Smartest guy in the room, dumbest guy outside of it.