60 Years of Oscars (2000-2009)
60 YEARS OF OSCARS:
WHAT MOVIES WON VS. WHAT MOVIES SHOULD HAVE WON?
PART 4 OF 5 (2000-2009)
Thank your to readers for many interesting replies and comments here on Facebook in response to PART 1 (1955-1979) and PART 2 (1980-1989) and PART 3 (1990-1999) of this multi-tasking series on Oscar-winning movies. Next year, I’ll do a similar series on actors awards, which will be fun. Assuming the world is still in one piece.
Now, let’s move into the 2000s. As promised, here’s PART 4.
[Note: Each year below refers to the date of Academy Awards ceremony and winner for BEST PICTURE from movies released in the previous year]
—– The 2000’s —–
2000: AMERICAN BEAUTY
What an outstanding year in film. This was a rich period of edgy movies which pushed boundaries and shattered comfort zones. That’s reflected in the Best Picture winner, AMERICAN BEAUTY. I’ve only seen this once (in the theater when released). It’s very good, but I rank at least two films as superior. Reason — both of my nominees were edgier, and I believe took more risks. Let’s start with MAGNOLIA, the Paul Thomas Anderson film that’s occasionally messy, sometimes confusing, but also masterful with so many moments ot tears and laughter, sometimes in the same scene! An astounding cast, gritty performances, fascinating stories, and a plot twist that remains debatable a quarter century later. Add Aimee Mann’s mesmerizing soundtrack, and this is my pick as best of the year. A close second is THE INSIDER, based on the real story of TV’s 60 Minutes shelving a controversial segment on the dangers of tobacco smoking (how scandalous!). Timeless story, repeated in this very day, about the abuses of power and corporate corruption. These two films are so close at 1-2. I’ll toss in THE STRAIGHT STORY at #3, a wonderful David Lynch-directed film about an elderly man making one last trip of his life, riding a lawn mower!, to settle old scores and make amends with the past. This is a beautiful film. I have a few voids in my knowledge, meaning i’ve not seen them BOYS DON’T CRY (Hillary Swank won the Oscar), TOY STORY 2 (ranked by many as one of the best sequels ever), and FIGHT CLUB (I wouldn’t bring this up, but many people I respect love this movie). EYES WIDE SHUT had great potential, and turned out to be Stanley Kubrick’s final movie, but I thought it missed a very tough target to hit when it comes to sex and the odd ways we react to human desire (especially when we judge others). AMERICAN BEAUTY won the Oscar, but AMERICAN PIE might have been the tasty treat we’re still enjoying to this day. This remains comedy gold. Underrated movies include — THREE SEASONS, starring Harvey Keitel as a Vietnam vet who returns to Ho Chi Minh City 25 years later to try and locate his unknown mixed-race lost daughter, which shows what great moviemaking is capable of in showing the complexity of messy “people history”…..SUNSHINE, a fantastic grossly under-appreciated Hungarian-based epic in the mold of ZHIVAGO, LAWRENCE, etc. with multiple stories of connected people who must hide who they are in order to survive nationalism, fascism, and finally communism. I saw this in the theater and have no clue as to why it never received notice. I also loved TEA WITH MUSSOLINI, with Cher in an uncharacteristic role and the all-Brit classic cast (Dench, Smith, et. al) about snooty English ex-patriots who get trapped inside Italy as World War II looms on the horizon. Wow, what a great year in movies!
2001: GLADIATOR
I reluctantly agree that GLADIATOR probably deserves the award. The Ridley Scott films is kinda’ like an uncredited sequel to macho-men movies BEN HUR and SPARTACUS released 40 years earlier. I can’t find faults in anything about the film, but I just wonder if “best picture” winners shouldn’t require something a bit more groundbreaking and original. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON was highly touted, but I must have missed something when I watched it and got bored after lots of weird medieval Asians jumping around on trap wires (Rotten Tomatoes gives this a 97 rating!). TRAFFIC (about the drug war–revealing what a lost cause this wasteful endeavor has been) deserves top-5 billing, and I’ll also go along with ERIN BROCOVICH, more due to the interplay of characters and a strong title-character performance by Julia Roberts. Juliette Binoche absolutely carried CHOCOLAT to being an international box office smash, an ideal romantic postcard and pleasure for the taste-buds–ideal for what it is, but this film also has few surprises. MEMENTO was the most interesting/thoughtful film of the year, but just missed ranking among the nominees. Most underrated film of the year — My personal favorite film from this year was the dark comedy SEXY BEAST, the quirky British crime caper–what an powerhouse cast and performances (one of those movies I’ll watch every time it’s on TV). Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane put on the acting clinic of the decade in this film, which inexplicably received just one Oscar nomination. Want to see the guy memorable for “Gandhi” and “Itzhak Stern” drop about about 150 F-Bombs as a psychopathic gangster? The dialogue in this film is wickedly funny, and epic. Rare for any film to produce some much laughter and yet terror in the same scenes.
2002: A BEAUTIFUL MIND
No argument here with the winning movie, though I could also accept Robert Altman’s outstanding GOSFORD PARK, one of his very best films. A BEAUTIFUL MIND took some liberties with the (then) little-known story of math genius and game theorist John Nash, played by Russell Crowe in what became back-to-back Oscar-winning performances (he won for GLADIATOR and could easily have won for THE INSIDER also, which would have been an astounding three-year run for Best Actor). The most intriguing film of the year was undoubtedly David Lynch’s MULHOLLAND DRIVE, which is a breathtaking crime drama that plays out like a modern-esque Hitchcock thriller, but it’s so much deeper than that, which might be one of the few films ever seen which is perhaps impossible to describe. Naomi Watts gives the performance of the year (but lost in a terrible decision by Academy voters to Halle Berry). My best guilty pleasure movie from the year was — BLOW with Johnny Depp, though Paul “Pee Wee” Reubens steals this movie.
2003: CHICAGO
CHICAGO was so enjoyable (the first musical to win Best Picture in 35 years) I can almost forgive that it doesn’t take many risks and seems more like a reincarnation of one of those MGM-produced “THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT” spectacles from the ’30 and ’40s. Terrific film, wonderful performances, and obviously a great musical score. My vote instead would have gone to THE HOURS, a downer, yet also a great film which I stumbled upon by accident (I watched it on a cross-country flight some years later). Three stories — with Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep — live complex but emotionally-distressed lives which are a generation apart from each other yet cleverly intertwined with Virginia Woolf’s classic 1925 novel “Mrs Dalloway.” THE HOURS is sometimes difficult to watch and take in, but the emotional commitment is worth the investment as the final scene is an astounding moment and crescendo of great storytelling. Most underrated film of the year might be ABOUT SCHMIDT, with a highly-uncharacteristic performance by Jack Nicholson. Anyone who reaches retirement age will identify with what’s happening here, and Nicholson is outstanding.
2004: THE LORD OF THE RINGS
I walked out on the Best Picture winner. Made it about 40 minutes in, then bolted the movie theater. Lit a match to $10, $20 with Marieta. That might a first. So, you can probably take a guess that I hated this movie (the part I saw, anyway). But, I must credit Peter Jackson’s all-in commitment to the trilogy and I understand why his work was/is so highly praised. So, which film would be my choice? Tough call in a disappointingly weak year on the big screen. I enjoyed LOST IN TRANSLATION, but don’t rate it as highly as most critics. MASTER AND COMMANDER (possible–four Oscars in a row for Crowe?) was very good, though we’ve seen these adventure movies many times before. Same goes for OPEN RANGE, one of the better westerns to come out in the last 25 years, but it’s already been done over and over. CITY OF GOD is a Brazilian film which I saw somewhat recently, a gritty but powerful story based on the sprawling slums of Rio and based on various true stories. It ranks as one of the most important (and controversial) films ever to come from South America. When we talk about a landmark movie, sometimes difficult to watch, with a lasting legacy, CITY OF GOD is it. That would be my pick, though there’s no way Oscar voters would select such a film over one of the most successful film franchises of the decade.
2005: MILLION DOLLAR BABY
The fictional story about a struggling female boxer (Hillary Swank) mentored by Clint Eastwood along with Morgan Freeman (with his voice of god narration) became a tougher and more emotionally-wrenching female ROCKY movie, though it’s beautifully-written and brilliantly scored (Eastwood wrote most of the music–and it subtle, yet powerful). Much like the lady boxer, this movie script was ignored and ridiculed and needed quite a few lucky breaks just to get made, making the finished film somewhat of a mirror of the story while also endearing the film to most audiences (and obviously Academy voters). Two other films that belong in the best picture conversation were foreign made — DOWNFALL about the final days inside Hitler’s Berlin bunker (we’ve all seen the comedy-layered spoof out-take from this film, but the movie probably comes as close to reality as any film made about the subject). THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, about the early life of med-student turned communist revolutionary Che Guevara is fantastic, but had no real chance other than in the Best Foreign category. One forgotten sleeper is VERA DRAKE, which was destined to struggle at the box office, especially given it’s controversial subject matter (women seeking abortions when it was illegal in 1950s England). This is a fantastic film, with powerful performances and a movie we may not want to see, but we need to see. No surprise to readers, my favorite guilty pleasure movie from this year was the much lighter SIDEWAYS, about a lovable loser who goes off to California’s wine vineyards to reboot his life and in the process, learns some unexpected life’s lessons.
2006: CRASH
Many movie aficionados rank CRASH as the wost movie ever to win the premier prize, and though I’m not sure it’s quite as bad as it’s often described. However, I also agree it didn’t deserve to win. The issue is, there’s a glaring void of great movies released from this year. So, which other film should we choose instead? Blank stare. Looking back, I can’t find one movie that stands out as an obvious pick or even a film that’s “Best Picture” worthy. Many Hollywood insiders were stunned and upset by the Academy bypassing Ang Lee’s daring BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. It was nominated but didn’t win (Ang Lee took the award for directing). This film about gay cowboys was widely talked about, but when I finally saw it years later, I wasn’t impressed. GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK was a terrific period piece recreating 1950s television, and shot in black and white. George Clooney made a fine movie, but not Oscar’s best. CAPOTE featured a Best Actor performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but was just a mediocre movie. The Jane Austen-based PRIDE AND PREJUDICE was terrific, but also predictable and formulaic and nothing beyond what one expects from “Masterpiece Theater”-genre movies. All considerations here, I might have voted for the nature doc MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. My guilty pleasure movie of the year is A HISTORY IF VIOLENCE, about a former mobster desperately trying to escape his murderous past and be normal again. Edgiest movie of the year was PARADISE NOW, the Palestinian film about two (fictional, but also very real) suicide bombers plotting a terror attack in Israel. It’s an outstanding psychological portrait, though controversial when it won for best foreign language film. Most under-appreciated film is an easy decision — NINE LIVES, which is a flawed but ambitious nine-story hyperlink of characters, a star-studded cast, and a theme that deserves far more attention (especially from men) which is how women cope with so many gender-driven issues that they so often must tackle alone and without support. Each of the stories in this movie is told in a single, unbroken take (I stumbled across this film on TCM one night–deeply thoughtful and emotionally gripping).
2007: THE DEPARTED
Much like CRASH from the previous year, I thought this was really bad pick. THE DEPARTED was a good movie with strong performances and some really nice moments, but it might not even crack Martin Scorsese’s top-10 career best. Two historical dramas, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, the Eastwood-Spielberg collaborative war epic would have been a better choice, as would have been THE QUEEN. My pick would have been IWO JIMA, a classic war picture told from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and companion to Eastwood’s previous film, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (also released this year), which depicts the same battle from the American viewpoint. This movie, told from the Japanese side flopped in the US because it’s mostly in Japanese. Note that this was a daring film to make — not THE DEPARTED, which was a head-scratching choice as the winner. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA should be in the year’s top-5, which is flawless for performances and pure entertainment. Also in the conversation should be the futuristic dystopian epic CHILDREN OF MEN, arguably the most underrated movie of the year and a masterpiece of filmmaking. CHILDREN OF MEN might be the most impressive movie I’ve seen within the three-year stretch 2005-2007. This might sound a lot like V FOR VENDETTA, released this year, but I admit a void in having never seen this movie.
2008: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
I was angry when I saw this Best Picture winner in the theater. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, written-directed by the famed Coen Bros. stands as very absorbing movie, albeit with an intentionally frustrating and confusing ending. It was like getting the rug pulled. When I saw this again some years later, I came to realize it’s deserving status as the winner. Paul Thomas Anderson’s THERE WILL BE BLOOD is another movie that grew on me the second time I watched it, and DANIEL DAY-LEWIS rises to the top of the acting pyramid among his peers in this film. ATONEMENT, the war romance, deserves consideration, and would have been a satisfying winner. RATATOUILLE, an animated film about a Parisian rat in a restaurant might seem an odd pick for a top-5 from this year, but having stumbled over this by accident recently, I thought this was every bit as good as the nominees. CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR is probably my guilty pleasure pick, which is the true story about covert support for the Taliban in pre-US war Afghanistan–incredibly, this is a comedy and it’s terrific. THE LIVES OF OTHERS, a German-language thriller constructed around constant surveillance and paranoia set during the Cold War in East Berlin is the most underrated film of the year. In a film with astounding performance, the ending is phenomenal. This might be my favorite movie of the year. THE SAVAGES, a riveting drama with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman about a family dealing with aging and tough life decisions, deserves mention here, as well.
2009: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
This was a satisfying winner when it was announced, but I don’t think this film aged well. Admittedly, I saw it only at the theater. I wonder if it stands up as well over time. FROST/NIXON is the movie I should have loved, and it’s very good — but not Best Oscar worthy despite delivering on a near-impossible docu-rec-reation of one of the most riveting political interviews in history, which plays out more like a mental heavyweight prizefight. WALL-E ranks as one of the greatest animated films of all time, and was included on every critic’s “best” list. Trouble is, I’ve never seen it. That’s a glaring void on my movie-viewing resume. THE DARK KNIGHT was the smash hit of the year, but did nothing for me–just not my kind of film. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON checks all the boxes and includes a wildly different perspective of life as the story of a person who ages in reverse. Definitely in the conversation. Final thoughts and decision: DOUBT is a dark film about a sex scandal in the Catholic Church. Although it’s a distasteful subject and tough to watch, this cast might be as great a group of performances as you will ever see on film by the four lead actors–Hoffman, Streep, Adams, and Oscar winner Viola Davis. This was a riveting film, and we never quite know what really happened which leave interpretations up to the audience. This film cuts to the chase grading movies–SLUMDOG was a fun, cheerful, international crowd pleaser. DOUBT is a dark, deep, and somber film. SLUMDOG won, but DOUBT is the superior movie.
COMING NEXT: Best Picture Winners (versus) Movies that Should have Won–from the 2010s.
Photo Description: From Million Dollar Baby, the “Best Picture” winner from 2005.
