Ranking the 2018 Best Picture Nominees

Since the 2016 Oscars it's been a tradition that I try to see each nominee for best picture in order to make an informed decision on who I want to win (and also to have an excuse to watch a bunch of movies.) In previous years there's been two or three clear frontrunners, but this year is unique in that the biggest prize is basically up for grabs.
As Oscar Sunday approaches, I feel I have to take my last opportunity to get my opinion out there before the winners are revealed so, here it goes!

9. Darkest Hour

         I felt like I'd seen this movie before. Surely it had already been made? Especially coming right after The Crown, watching this movie just felt like deja vous. It was fine. Gary Oldman did a good job, but it didn't feel like a real movie. It felt like Gary Oldman wanted an Oscar so he gathered a bunch of people to surround him as he played charades. It doesn't feel right in this time, where so many stories that haven't been told are getting their chance, why relive one we've already seen?

8. Phantom Thread

       It took me a while to grasp what I didn't like about this movie. I mean, the acting is superb, every shot is beautiful, the direction is interesting, and the costumes are gorgeous. So as I sat in the theater as the credits rolled I couldn't put my finger on what made it so unappealing. And then it hit me: it has no heart. This is the movie that broke Daniel Day Lewis. He's a phenomenal actor, of course, but it felt like he was just going through the motions. Nothing told me to care about the characters and as a result, it was pretty boring pretty fast.

7. The Post

      This movie is the prime example of an Oscar Movie. Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, based on a true story, that has current political relevance. How could it not? My main critique is that it belonged in a different year. This years greatest movies were great stories. (If you don't know what I mean, take a look at the Original Screenplay category.) And while this is an objectively good movie, it fell flat of all of the bright, new, and clever stories we got to see on the big screen this year. Had this movie come out say, two years ago, it would have dominated. And though it seems like now is the perfect time for a movie about the press taking down a lying president, I have to say, maybe just not now.

6. The Shape of Water

       Who doesn't love the story of a misfit? I'll be honest, I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. It looked weird. And, to be fair, it was, quite weird. But it was also lovely and adventurous and not quite real. The characters are misfits: a mute woman, her outspoken friend, her closeted gay roommate, a Russian spy with a heart, and, of course, a fishman. One of the things I liked most about this movie was the production design, as weird as that sounds. The laboratory didn't look quite real, with large pipes running through the halls and something constantly smoking or leaking. Leading the pack with thirteen nominations, this movie has serious potential for taking home the top prize this Sunday.

5. Call Me By Your Name

       Filmed like a lush summer afternoon, Call Me By Your Name is a movie about one boy's explorations of himself and his sexuality when American college student, Oliver, comes to stay with him and his family for the summer. Every shot is beautiful, and you can practically taste the pasta and feel the cold water as they indulge, if only for now. The story is down to earth and perfectly paced, so you don't feel rushed into anything Timothée Chalamet gives a heart aching performance that could quite possibly take away Best Actor.

4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

        Vengeance-seeking Mother Mildred Hayes is furious on the lack of progress being made on her daughter's murder case so she takes matters into her own hands. This sends the small town of Ebbing, Missouri into a whirlwind, unsettling everyone involved. This movie is compelling and darkly humorous. Each character in this movie is deeply flawed (except for Robbie, who's perfect in every way and didn't deserve this), but they undergo significant, yet realistic character development. By the end they don't redeem themselves in whole, only in part, which makes this movie a challenge just as much for the viewer: what can you forgive? The movie is driven by it's characters and performances. This movie paints an, albeit unappealing, interesting portrait of middle America and leaves the audience shellshocked.

3. Dunkirk

       Why do we go to the movies? To learn something, to feel something, and to escape. Dunkirk captures each of these, drawing from the real events of the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War Two, with heart-pounding action and characters that you just have to root for. This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire hour forty five minute run time, with a slight ticking noise throughout the whole thing just to reinforce that. One thing that the movie did spectacularly was convince the viewer that they needed to save everyone. I was sitting in the theater begging for them to get every single soldier off that beach before it was too late; this perfectly captures the feeling surrounding the actual event, and I applaud Nolan and the ensemble cast for that.

2. Get Out

       Now, I'm not one for horror movies, but I'd heard so much about Get Out I simply had to give it a try; I was blown away. It was terrifying and smart, not to mention hilarious at times. It relied on good storytelling and current events rather than jump scares and copious amounts of blood. This is one of those movies that you can't stop thinking about, days after the final credits roll. This movie deserves a second watching, to catch all the things you didn't see the first time, and to sit back and enjoy how it so clearly plays with society. Daniel Kaluuya is an amazing young talent and I hope this movie is a point from which he can jump into a great career ahead.

1. Lady Bird

        I don't know if I can say anything about this movie that hasn't already been said but I loved it. It is so painfully real, drawn from writer-director Greta Gerwig's experiences growing up in Sacramento in the early 21st century. It's self-indulgent, Lady Bird knows what she wants and goes for it, yet down to earth. It's filmed like snapshots and memories, creating an album of youth that strikes a cord. It explores teen angst in a way that makes it obvious Gerwig knew it firsthand, not cliché or overdone. It does such a fantastic job creating a universal character in that, even if you personally haven't been through the same experiences, you can relate to her. Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf are powerhouse performers that work perfectly together in this mother-daughter story. This is the kind of movie you leave smiling, tears running down your face as you marvel at the deeply human story you just saw on the big screen.

Because of the Academy's unique system for picking Best Picture (members rank their choices. The one with the fewest first positions is eliminated, and those votes go to their second pick. This continues until one movie has 50% of the vote), the prize will most likely go to the one that everyone at least liked, as opposed to the one that is most passionately loved. This means the statuette could go home with Lady Bird or Get Out, which are more widely enjoyed, instead of Three Billboards or The Shape of Water, which are loved deeply but not as widely. And who knows? Maybe Dunkirk could pull an upset. The top prize at all the precursor awards (Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAG Awards, etc.) has varied, so we don't have a clear winner, and all cards are on the table until Sunday night. Let's just hope they get the right envelope!