The Best Movies: What the Academy SHOULD have been Awarding

[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)

[Mears]

I am very lucky-——I have three within 1/2 hour of my home-——and they all do VERY well.

.

[Persevero]

I must be an empathetic! I can’t watch movies with drowning in them.

[Persevero]

Would love for you to expand on your experiences!

[DoodleDawg]

I am very lucky-——I have three within 1/2 hour of my home-——and they all do VERY well.

I envy you. So other than "Maudie" what hidden gems did you come across last year?

[moehoward]

Growing up in KC we had a few smaller theaters. The Waldo was a few blocks from our house and was basically day-care for me and my brother. There was one in Westport, a small two screen theatre at Country Club Plaza -saw Harold and Maude there. The Brookside -in Brookside. Then another that showed ‘art’ movies. Never got to go there.

[Avalon Memories]

Expand how? Let's see...Cary Grant and John Forsythe were both involved with Hollywood Park management during the Marge Everett era. I have always loved Thoroughbred horses and have been peripherally involved in the sport most of my life. I met those two gentlemen (and they were gentlemen) while attending private handicapping sessions at the track. Even the aging Grant was a very handsome, charming man. And John Forsythe could not have been nicer.

I met Charlton Heston at a private Republican fundraiser. He also was aging at the time and was somewhat bent over due to an old back injury. But he was just wonderful. I miss him and miss his star power in Republican politics.

I've met lots of famous people in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and in politics. For example, I met Darrell Issa at a reception during a CA Republican convention. It was when he first ran for congress. Talked to him for quite awhile about his positions on various issues.

I met Diane Watson and Maxine Waters when Gil Garcetti was sworn in for the first time as LA County DA. Waters is even dumber and nastier in person if you can believe that. And Watson helped stoke the Rodney King riot, then leveraged that to win a Congressional seat. Miserable people,those two.

[tired&retired]

“I must be an empathetic!”

My wife tells me that I am just pathetic!!!

[minnesota_bound]

TCM has the movies I like. Real good writing and acting.
No rapid camera movements and the music is good.

[luckystarmom]

Ron Howard filmed a movie at my high school, Cotton Candy.

I don’t like his politics, but he seemed like a nice family guy. I ate lunch with his mom, and she was very nice.

The only actor I did not like was Charlie Martin Smith from American Graffiti. He was very full of himself. The other actors were fun. They would go hangout in the band room and sing. We’d go join them.

Of couse that was back in the 70s. So much has changed since then.