And now, I will continue to criticize the Academy Awards!
2007
No Country For Old Men
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
There Will Be Blood
Listen up and listen good! This is one of the very few years in recent history where the deserving film won the award. To be honest, I still would have preferred There Will Be Blood because it's my second favorite film of all time and it's one of the few films released in the 2000s that will be considered a classic years down the line, if not already. I'm splitting hairs here, because No Country For Old Men is destined to be celebrated forever as well. If anything, I'm happy the Coen Brothers won what was long overdue.
Let me digress a little bit... Did you know both films were filmed in Marfa, Texas and at the same time? And apparently the Coen Brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson would invite each other to their sets to watch footage from both films? I think that's fucking awesome. Both films have always felt linked together, both spiritually and thematically. They feel like companion pieces, two incredibly bleak revisionist westerns. I'd also like to point out that another revisionist western similar in tone came out that year called The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and a bit of that was shot in Marfa, Texas as well. It's a neat coincidence, and as far as the genre goes, 2007 was had a trifecta of great Western cinema.
Now let's get down to brass tacks! I think the nominees list is fairly accurate aside from the Juno nomination. I enjoyed that film despite its flaws, but Zodiac was the third best film released that year and it's a damn shame it didn't get nominated. It's David Fincher's masterpiece and maybe the best true-crime film ever made? I'll look into that! I get why Juno was nominated, and I won't argue that it didn't deserve to be nominated, but Zodiac is really important film that still garners thought-provoking think pieces and will continue to do so.
What should have won: There Will Be Blood. Eh, I think history will be on my side years from now.
2006
The Departed
Babel
Letters From Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
First of all, the two of the year's best films are not even nominated: Pan's Labyrinth and Children Of Men. Yeah yeah, I know, Pan's Labyrinth was nominated for Best Foreign Film. But fuck that! Pan's Labyrinth was one of those rare foreign films that American audiences decided to invite in with a warm embrace. And Children Of Men should have nominated because it's awesome and for its technical wizardry. But whatever, The Departed won. I loved The Departed, it's a great crime film and it's endlessly entertaining. And as great as it was when Martin Scorsese won Best Picture, it felt like an IOU by the Academy. Here is a small list of every time Scorsese was robbed at the Oscars:
- Taxi Driver [1976], what beat it: Rocky
- Raging Bull [1980], what beat it: Ordinary People
- Goodfellas [1990], what beat it: Dances With Wolves
You see what I mean? The Oscar's have been pussies for many, many years. Overall though, 2006 had a pretty solid list of Best Picture nominees.
What should have won: Pan's Labyrinth. Duh. It was the most original film made that year, one of the greatest fantasy films ever made, the make-up effects were phenomenal (and frightening), it was emotionally rich, everyone loved it, and it still managed to be a great war film.
2005
Crash
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Good Night, And Good Luck
Munich
Fuck Crash! Any film released that year could have won over that diarrhea-fest, even Son Of The Mask! Crash is essentially a film written by a kid in high school who's just learning about racism in America. The film has a potentially great idea and could have been an interesting examination of race issues in Los Angeles, but it ended up being hokey and manipulative. If you want to watch an excellent film about racial tension, structured through vignettes in a similar fashion as Crash, watch Do The Right Thing. It's Spike Lee's best film and it was robbed of a Best Picture nomination back in 1989. What won that year? Rain Man.
Rain Man is a good movie, it's a Saturday-afternoon cable staple for crying out loud! Do The Right Thing is one of the most important films of the last 40 years.
Terrence Malick's gorgeous interpretation of the Pocahontas-story, The New World is missing a nomination and that was a film that audiences seemingly brushed aside because Colin Farrell is in it. Then again, they did the same with Miami Vice [2006] and that's one of the most underrated films of the 2000s. I've still have yet to see Good Night, And Good Luck (even though I own it) so I'm not exactly qualified to choose here. Munich is excellent, and one of Spielberg's ballsiest films, even if it's a bit overlong. I think everyone who gave a shit back then would agree that Brokeback Mountain deserved it.
What should have won: Brokeback Mountain. It was the most talked about film of the year, with good reason. Not only was it important culturally, how many romance films between two gay men were recognized amongst a wide-audience before then? It was also one of the great love stories of the decade, as well as in recent history. Ang Lee's direction is perfect, the performances were incredible and because of that the emotional weight the film carries is well-deserved... unlike Crash! It's a shame that whenever Brokeback Mountain is referenced in pop-culture it's usually as a punchline to a joke. I'm not saying I'm above a gay cowboy joke (my ms paint picture below should indicate that), but I think the film deserves more than that.
2004
Million Dollar Baby
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Ray
Sideways
This is one of the Oscar-baitiest lists of the 2000s, Ray especially (despite Jamie Foxx's great performance). None of them are necessarily bad, The Aviator and Sideways (which should have won from that list) were great and Million Dollar Baby was pretty good as well. But let me point out a few films that could have been nominated, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Hotel Rwanda, and Closer. There's not much to really discuss here because there's only one logical film that should have won.
What should have won: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Not only is it one of the most wholly original and creative films ever made, it also boasts one of the great original screenplays (courtesy of Charlie Kaufman). Eternal Sunshine is a film that struck a cord with audiences, as surreal and abstract as the film is, it still resonates with almost anyone who's ever been in love or has been in a bad relationship. In fact, I'd say it's the best depiction of a failing relationship ever in film (and I'm including the extremely realistic Blue Valentine). What this movie achieves that so many films like it don't, it's funny and it rewards with each subsequent viewing because of how the narrative is structured. Eee! There's almost too much to say about this film, it's so richly-detailed with subtext and symbolism you find something new every time you watch it. The performances are spot-on (especially by Jim Carrey, who didn't even fucking get a Best Actor nomination) and the direction is gorgeous. I'd also like to point out that Michel Gondry and Kaufman's depiction of dreams is the most realistic portrayal of something that's nearly impossible to capture. Plus, I forgot to include this on my list of music used effectively in film post a couple weeks back.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that Eternal Sunshine could be the best film of the 2000s and even when it was released it was something special. So, screw the Academy for not recognizing it enough.
2003
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Lost In Translation
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
I'm not going to argue with the Best Picture choice. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (do I italicize "trilogy?") was the movie event of the decade and they were all fantastic films, The Return Of The King wasn't the best of the three (The Fellowship Of The Ring holds that honor) but it still was a huge cinematic achievement. It was well-deserved I say! Although, I'd also like to say that Seabiscuit is garbage. And here are a few films that could have replaced it: Monster, Kill Bill Vol. 1, Finding Nemo, Cold Mountain, Big Fish, City Of God, and 21 Grams.
What should have won: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. But it actually won! For the reasons I specified above. It's a spectacle in every sense of the word.
Whoo, finally done! Just remember kiddos, Pulp Fiction lost to Forrest Gump back in 1994. That's one of the great examples of the Oscar's making the wrong choice by playing it safe, and most film enthusiasts would agree that Pulp Fiction was the most important film of the decade and nothing has had it's impact since (please correct me if I'm wrong though, because I could be overlooking something.). I'm not one of those kinds of people who hates Forrest Gump, I love that movie, and it's something I rarely get bored of whenever I catch it on the television but let's be real here! I'm rambling now, kind of a weak finish to my blog, but I don't really care, I have to go to work in a minute.
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