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Last year I did this just for fun, so I thought I’d give it another whirl. My ranking of the 43 features nominated for an Oscar this year. (Interesting to note, last year it was 36 films. I wonder if it’s always pretty close to 40.)
Feel free to offer up your list of whatever you’ve seen in the comments section. The top 10 here, the rest after the jump:
1. “A Prophet”
2. “A Serious Man”
3. “Up in the Air”
4. “The Cove”
5. “Avatar”
6. “Precious”
7. “An Education”
8. “The Lovely Bones”
9. “Star Trek”
10. “The Messenger”
11. “The Hurt Locker”
12. “District 9”
13. “Food, Inc.”
14. “Up”
15. “Crazy Heart”
16. “The Secret in Their Eyes”
17. “Sherlock Holmes”
18. “Julie & Julia”
19. “Inglourious Basterds”
20. “Coraline”
21. “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
22. “In the Loop”
23. “Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country”
24. “The Princess and the Frog”
25. “Bright Star”
26. “A Single Man”
27. “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
28. “The White Ribbon”
29. “Which Way Home”
30. “The Secret of Kells”
31. “The Last Station”
32. “The Blind Side”
33. “The Young Victoria”
34. “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
35. “The Milk of Sorrow”
36. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
37. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
38. “Nine”
39. “Coco Before Chanel”
40. “Il Divo”
41. “Ajami”
42. “Paris 36”
43. “Invictus”
The best film not nominated for a single Oscar: “Antichrist”
84 responses so far
1 3-06-2010 at 1:25 pm
Alex Billington said...
I love Un Prophete, too. And yet it’s a very sad, shameful disgrace that the colorless, style-less, emotionless White Ribbon is going to win the Foreign Language Oscar over it… I really really hope that doesn’t happen, but I’ve already begun to accept that it will.
2 3-06-2010 at 1:29 pm
Filmoholic said...
Transformers 2 is better than Harry Potter 6?
I’m sure they’re both terrible but seriously, ouch.
3 3-06-2010 at 1:29 pm
Fitz said...
1) A Serious Man
2) Public Enemies
3) A Single Man
4) Inglorious Basterds
5) Avatar/ Up in the Air
6) Crazy Heart
7) UP
8) Zombieland
9) Adventureland
10) World’s Greatest Dad
4 3-06-2010 at 1:33 pm
Rhett said...
how far into that list before you stop actually liking the film? Because inglorious basterds seems pretty high.
5 3-06-2010 at 1:36 pm
Patrick said...
Can’t fathom how someone could rate Julie and Julia higher than Inglourious Basterds, but it’s interesting that you do.
Love lists like this Kris, good work!
6 3-06-2010 at 1:41 pm
Shannon said...
Well, I’ve not seen all the movies, so it’d be impossible to rank them all. I guess my top ten would look something like this, though:
1. A Serious Man
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Up in the Air
4. A Single Man
5. Inglourious Basterds
6. Star Trek
7. The Hurt Locker
8. Avatar
9. Up
10. An Education
Actually, several of those could easily change position and I’d be just as satisfied with the list. I find it really hard to rank films, actually. I constantly second guess myself.
7 3-06-2010 at 1:41 pm
Craig said...
Makes me realize how few of these I’ve seen. I can’t imagine Transformers 2 being better than Harry Potter. The first one is probably in the conversation of the worst movies I’ve ever seen…
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Up in the Air
4. A Serious Man
5. Star Trek
6. An Education
7. The Messenger
8. Crazy Heart
9. Up
10. Sherlock Holmes
11. The Lovely Bones
12. District 9
13. Fantastic Mr Fox
14. Harry Potter
15. Julie & Julia
16. The Blind Side
17. Precious
18. Invictus
19. Avatar
8 3-06-2010 at 1:41 pm
Diego P. said...
01. The White Ribbon
02. A Serious Man
03. Inglourious Basterds
04. A Prophet
05. The Hurt Locker
06. Bright Star
07. Fantastic Mr. Fox
08. District 9
09. The Secret In Their Eyes
10. Up
11. Coraline
12. The Cove
13. Il Divo
14. Up In The Air
15. An Education
16. The Milk Of Sorrow
17. Avatar
18. The Messenger
19. Star Trek
20. In The Loop
21. Burma VJ
22. The Princess And The Frog
23. Precious: Based On The Novel “Push” By Sapphire
24. The Secret Of Kells
25. Food, Inc.
26. Sherlock Holmes
27. Nine
28. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
29. Invictus
30. The Young Victoria
31. Crazy Heart
32. Julie & Julia
33. Coco Before Chanel
34. The Blind Side
35. Paris 36
36. The Lovely Bones
37. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
Not seen: Ajami; The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus; The Last Station; The Most Dangerous Man In America; A Single Man; Which Way Home
You’re missing “Coraline” :)
9 3-06-2010 at 1:43 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Filmoholic: I fell asleep in HP6. I’m very much over the franchise. And re: TF2, I guess there’s something to be said for entertainment. But both suck.
Fitz: Are you looking at some parallel universe’s list of Oscar nominations?
Rhett: Just because I’ve been railing against IB as the overrated film that it is doesn’t mean I didn’t see plenty of merits in the production.
10 3-06-2010 at 1:43 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Diego: Crap! I’ll adjust.
11 3-06-2010 at 1:43 pm
James D. said...
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. In the Loop
3. Bright Star
4. Il Divo
5. A Serious Man
6. The White Ribbon
7. The Hurt Locker
8. Fantastic Mr. Fox
9. The Cove
10. Up in the Air
11. Star Trek
12. Up
13. An Education
14. Coco Before Chanel
15. Julie & Julia
16. Crazy Heart
17. District 9
18. Precious
19. Avatar
20. Food, Inc.
Have not seen the rest.
12 3-06-2010 at 1:45 pm
ChuckAmuck said...
Wait, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is the only *bad* movie among the nominees … how does it get placed above “Half-Blood Prince” and “Invictus?” Come to think of it, how did it get listed above ANYTHING?
I also noticed “Avatar” is in your top ten. This doesn’t surprise me, but I, personally, prefer movies with decent a script in addition to great visuals. Also, you forgot “Coraline.”
Here’s my list.
1. A Prophet
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Up in the Air
4. In the Loop
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. Star Trek
7. District 9
8. A Serious Man
9. The Cove
10. Up
11. The Hurt Locker
12. An Education
13. The Messenger
14. Coraline
15. The White Ribbon
16. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
17. Precious
18. The Secret in Their Eyes
19. Crazy Heart
20. Sherlock Holmes
21. Food, Inc.
22. The Secret in Their Eyes
23. The Last Station
24. A Single Man
25. The Princess and the Frog
26. Bright Star
27. The Young Victoria
28. Invictus
29. Julie & Julia
30. Burma VJ
31. The Milk of Sorrow
32. Il Divo
33. The Most Dangerous Man in America
34. The Lovely Bones
35. Avatar
36. Coco Before Chanel
37. Ajami
38. The Blind Side
39. Nine
40. Paris 36
41. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
–. The Secret of Kells (haven’t seen it)
–. Which Way Home (haven’t seen it)
13 3-06-2010 at 1:45 pm
James D. said...
Oh, damn, no Coraline. I guess I would put that between An Education and Coco Before Chanel.
Best film not nominated for anything: Summer Hours, the second best film of 2009.
14 3-06-2010 at 1:48 pm
ChuckAmuck said...
Harry Potter should have been #22, not Secret in Their Eyes, sorry.
15 3-06-2010 at 1:50 pm
tony rock said...
Can’t see how anyone can place a film with dialogue as bad as Avatar’s so high on such a list?
16 3-06-2010 at 1:54 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Good God, tony rock, have you not followed my coverage this year? Something like that comes as a shock? Jesus…
Sorry, but how’s about everyone stop being such little bitches about my ranking and just offer up your own, hm?
17 3-06-2010 at 1:58 pm
James D. said...
At the risk of being a bitch, what about Il Divo was so poor to you, Kris?
18 3-06-2010 at 2:00 pm
Jake D said...
1. A Single Man
2. Precious
3. Up in the Air
4. Star Trek
5. Avatar
6. An Education
7. Julie & Julia
8. Princess and the Frog
9. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
10. District 9
11. The Last Station
12. The Blind Side
13. Up
14. Crazy Heart
15. Inglourious Basterds
16. Sherlock Holmes
17. Bright Star
18. The Lovely Bones
19. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
19/42, eh. I really wish Where the Wild Things Are were in there, it’d be at #1 or #2. And even though I really didn’t like Basterds (although I did only see it once), I’d probably happier with a Basterds victory than an Avatar victory. Weird.
19 3-06-2010 at 2:01 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
James: Hey, that’s a fair question. Much more compelling than “I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t see things the way I do.”
Anyway, I loathed it. The style got in the way and felt entirely arbitrary. I had no idea who this guy was by film’s end. And the lead performance was equally confused. It just did not work in the slightest for me.
20 3-06-2010 at 2:02 pm
Chad Hartigan said...
1. Fantastic Mr. Fox
2. Coraline
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. The Princess and the Frog
5. The Hurt Locker
6. A Serious Man
7. District 9
8. Up
9. The Cove
10. An Education
11. Coco Before Chanel
12. Precious
13. Up in the Air
14. A Single Man
15. Sherlock Holmes
16. Star Trek
That’s all I saw.
21 3-06-2010 at 2:03 pm
brian said...
Kris, that’s my favorite thing I’ve read from you all year. The list is cool, too.
22 3-06-2010 at 2:04 pm
Casey Fiore said...
Kris I thought A Serious Man was your #1 for the year?
23 3-06-2010 at 2:08 pm
MovieMan said...
1. “Inglourious Basterds”
2. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
3. “Up in the Air”
4. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
5. “Coraline”
6. “A Single Man”
7. “District 9″
8. “An Education”
9. “Star Trek”
10. “Up”
11. “The Hurt Locker”
12. “Nine”
13. “Julie & Julia”
14. “Avatar”
15. “A Serious Man”
16. “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
17. “The Princess and the Frog”
18. “The Blind Side”
19. “Sherlock Holmes”
20. “Invictus”
21. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
The Best Film Not Nominated for a Single Oscar: “Must Read After My Death”
Have not seen: “Ajami,” “Bright Star,” “Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country,” “Coco Before Chanel,” “The Cove,” “Crazy Heart,” “Food, Inc.,” “Il Divo,” “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” “In the Loop,” “The Last Station,” “The Messenger,” “The Milk of Sorrow,” “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsburg and the Pentagon Papers,” “Paris 36,” “A Prophet,” “The Secret in Their Eyes,” “The Secret of Kells,” “Which Way Home,” “The White Ribbon,” “The Young Victoria”
24 3-06-2010 at 2:13 pm
Bernard said...
You’re WAY off on HP 6, Kris. It’s one of the most beautifully made movies of the year and has a wonderful sense of humor, wit and charm.
Features:
1. Avatar
2. Up
3. Star Trek
4. District 9
5. The Cove
6. Up in the Air
7. The Hurt Locker
8. The Secret of Kells
9. An Education
10. The Young Victoria
11. The Messenger
12. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
13. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
14. Fantastic Mr. Fox
15. Coraline
16. Sherlock Holmes
17. The Princess and the Frog
18. The Lovely Bones
19. Inglourious Basterds
20. Crazy Heart
21. Julie & Julia
22. A Serious Man
23. The Blind Side
24. Invictus
25. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
26. Nine
Shorts:
1. Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death
2. French Roast
3. China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
4. Logorama
5. La dama y la muerte
6. Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
25 3-06-2010 at 2:16 pm
Bernard said...
Damn, forgot to put in In the Loop, it would be just after Up in the Air and ahead of Hurt Locker for me.
Best movies not nominated for a single award: (500) Days of Summer, Moon and The Road
26 3-06-2010 at 2:20 pm
Paul Outlaw said...
Can’t believe I haven’t even seen half of this year’s nominees. Then again…
1. “A Serious Man”
2. “Precious”
3. “The Messenger”
4. “The Hurt Locker”
5. “Bright Star”
6. “Star Trek”
7. “District 9”
8. “A Single Man”
9. “Inglourious Basterds”
10. “The Princess and the Frog”
11. “The Young Victoria”
12. “Up in the Air”
13. “An Education”
14. “The Lovely Bones”
15. “Julie & Julia”
16. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
17. “Nine”
27 3-06-2010 at 2:40 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
Casey: It was. A Prophet was released in February in the US.
28 3-06-2010 at 2:42 pm
Speaking English said...
I actually just got back from seeing “A Prophet.” I thought it was good, with a brilliant lead performance, but otherwise I found it overlong and really saggy in the middle. A bit disappointed honestly.
And it’s nowhere near as good as “A Serious Man.”
29 3-06-2010 at 2:44 pm
Bill M. said...
A reply to a few of the comments above either ripping on Kris’s list or seeking an explanation what a certain film was ranked where it was.
The appreciate, entertainment and/or general admiration for a film is severely subjective. It’s like telling someone a joke, person doesn’t laugh and you assure no it really is a funny joke. Just like with movies you might have loved but there must be something that this person didn’t enjoy about it.
Personally I have very diverse taste in film so I can like a wide variety of films and genres. So I can love Up just as much as The White Ribbon or Precious or The Hurt Locker or Avatar but wasn’t enamored with Fant. Mr Fox or A Serious Man that much and that’s just that.
30 3-06-2010 at 2:45 pm
cca said...
Of what I’ve seen
1. The White Ribbon
2. Inglorious Basterds
3. The Hurt Locker
4. A Serious Man
5. Up
6. Coraline
7. The Secret in Her Eyes
8. An Education
9. Precious
10. A Single Man
11. The Milk of Sorrow
12. District 9
13. Up in the Air
14. Star Trek
15. Avatar
16. Nine
17. Julie & Julia
18. Sherlock Holmes
19. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
20. The Young Victoria
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
22. Crazy Heart
23. Coco Before Chanel
24. Invictus
25. Paris 36
31 3-06-2010 at 2:46 pm
Danny King said...
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Up in the Air
4. A Single Man
5. Precious
6. A Serious Man
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. Up
9. District 9
10. Avatar
11. The Cove
12. The Messenger
13. Crazy Heart
14. Star Trek
15. An Education
16. Bright Star
17. The White Ribbon
18. The Last Station
19. The Lovely Bones
20. Invictus
21. The Blind Side
22. Julie & Julia
32 3-06-2010 at 2:51 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
English: Give it some time and see it again. I felt similarly after I saw it in Telluride, but on a second viewing a few weeks ago, it settled in. I think it’s a masterpiece, and indeed, better than A Serious Man (which as you know, was close to my top 10 of the decade).
33 3-06-2010 at 2:51 pm
kel said...
here’s my top 20
1. A Serious Man
2. Up in the Air
3. District 9
4. Star Trek
5. A Prophet
6. The Messenger
7. An Education
8. Up
9. Precious
10. Coraline
11. Avatar
12. The Hurt Locker
13. Inglorious Basterds
14. Crazy Heart
15. A Single Man
16. Bright Star
17. Julie & Julia
18. The Blind Side
19. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
20. Fantastic Mr. Fox
34 3-06-2010 at 2:53 pm
Lev Lewis said...
Wow, when I really look at it I realize how poor a list this is for me. Regardless:
01. The Messenger
02. The White Ribbon
03. Bright Star
04. A Prophet
05. In the Loop
06. The Hurt Locker
07. Avatar
08. The Cove
09. Up
10. Inglourious Basterds
11. Fantastic Mr. Fox
12. Star Trek
13. A Serious Man
14. The Young Victoria
15. District 9
16. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
17. Crazy Heart
18. An Education
19. Food Inc.
20. Nine
21. Up in the Air
22. Julie & Julia
23. Sherlock Holmes
24. Precious
25. A Single Man
26. Invictus
27. The Blind Side
28. The Lovely Bones
29. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
35 3-06-2010 at 2:53 pm
John said...
1. Star Trek
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Up
4. District 9
5. Avatar (I’m always baffled by the misconception that movies with beautiful visuals must also have a bad story. This was a good story when it was called DANCES WITH WOLVES and THE LAST SAMURAI, and it’s still a good story. It’s a much better story than 16-year-old girl sleeping with 30-something small time criminal, Jewish guy int he ’60′s has all sorts of trouble without any compelling story developing, or German kids possibly doing evil but the screenwriter is too averse to concrete endings to provide a third act)
6. Precious
7. the Hurt Locker
8. Up in the Air
9. The Blind Side
10. Crazy Heart
Runner-up: The first half of Invictus when it was actually about Mandela and politics
THE WORST:
1. Transformers 2… and that sound mix was more like an onslught. Would have been fine in the Sound Effects category, but not sound mixing!
2. A Serious Man. Those Coen Bros, either they nail it (BLOOD SIMPLE, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU) or it’s just WTF
3. A Single Man. (50-year-old guy grieves for his hot male lover while lots of hot young men come on to him. Then he dies. About as self absorbed as that Nic Cage movie about an alcoholic drinking himself to death in Vegas while a hot hooker cares for him.)
4. An Education. (If this were an American film, it’d be really creepy. But it’s British, so it must be art!)
5. Bright Star. (Great costumes, but poets are probably the least interesting people by definition to watch biopics of! They sit around and mope! Maybe this guy could go hang out with THE SINGLE MAN!)
6. THE LOVELY BONES. Remember in GHOST how Patrick Swayze was always intimately involved in trying to catch his killer, and the obstacle was that he couldn’t talk to anyone because he was dead. Great movie! Imagine if he’d had utterly no interest in catching his killer and just wanted to hang out with Robin Williams in WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, so Demi Moore had to figure out who did it, then Tony Goldwyn tripped and died. See this movie. Tucci is outstanding, though.
7. THE WHITE RIBBON. Michael, they’re called ENDINGS! You don’t have to avoid them! They’re good! OK, fine, the kids will grow up to be the Nazis, but grow a third act!
8. The second half of INVICTUS when the leader of a struggling country seemingly had nothing better to do than watch rugby.
9. SHERLOCK HOLMES. Sherlock Holmes via Bruckheimer action and Scooby Doo-level deduction isn’t really Sherlock Holmes anymore. And the badguy’s mysterious plan seemed to involve bribing about half of England, so I can;t imagine how he’s gonna keep this ruse up without word getting out. Great leads, great score, though. Do a sequel and get it right!
10. HARRY POTTER 6. Fine, I guess, but this stuff all seems a bit silly to me.
36 3-06-2010 at 2:59 pm
John L. said...
I don’t feel like ranking them, but my top of the nominees are: The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Coraline, The White Ribbon, a Serious Man, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and In The Loop. Other films that would be near the top are Bright Star, A Single Man, and Star Trek.
I will probably watch Ill Divo soon on netflix.
I haven’t seen Coco Before Chanel, Paris 36, A Prophet, The Secret of their Eyes, Ajami, The Milk of Sorrow, or The Messenger.
(Of those I’ll only probably get around to seeing A Prophet and The Messenger)
37 3-06-2010 at 3:03 pm
David said...
Sadly, I’ve missed several this year. Haven’t had a lot of money to go out and see stuff. I have Coraline and In the Loop through Netflix right now and will be watching those tonight. Also, I had opportunities to see Transformers and Harry Potter, but refused (as any sane person would do).
1. Up in the Air
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Precious
4. Avatar
5. Inglourious Basterds
6. An Education
7. Up
8. The Hurt Locker
9. The Blind Side
10. The Cove
11. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
12. Food, Inc.
13. District 9
14. Julie & Julia
15. The Princess and the Frog
16. Crazy Heart
17. A Serious Man
18. Star Trek
19. Sherlock Holmes
38 3-06-2010 at 3:09 pm
aspect ratio said...
I’ve only seen just over half of those films, though thankfully most of the ones I haven’t seen are not of the must see kind, at least theatrically.
39 3-06-2010 at 3:12 pm
aspect ratio said...
By the way, Kris, maybe you could do a companion post to this of the 5/10 best films of last year that got no nominations. That could be interesting to see too (both yours and the readers’ consensus).
40 3-06-2010 at 3:14 pm
aspect ratio said...
(Beyond the one you mentioned, I mean)
41 3-06-2010 at 3:15 pm
Sound Designer Dan said...
I’ll just do a top 5
1. A Prophet
2. A Serious Man
3. Up
4. In the Loop
5. The Cove
I have to agree with Kris that with only one viewing A Prophet feels like you’ve watched something damn good if a bit overlong. But subsequent viewings only enhance the greatness of the film. When one already knows what happens to Malik’s character do the pieces of the puzzle come together even better the second time around.
God, I hope it wins Best Foreign Language.
42 3-06-2010 at 3:17 pm
Craig said...
John clearly missed the boat on A Serious Man. And a lot of other movies too. Dude, Invictus was never good. It was mediocre throughout.
43 3-06-2010 at 3:17 pm
Speaking English said...
That’s interesting, Kris and Dan. I might give it another shot on DVD then, although I can’t imagine doing it so soon after. It’s a difficult enough movie to get by the first time, so I think I’ll let it rest a bit.
44 3-06-2010 at 3:20 pm
Nazz said...
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Up in the Air
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. District 9
5. Star Trek
6. An Education
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. The Cove
9. A Serious Man
10. A Prophet
11. In The Loop
12. Precious
13. Crazy Heart
14. Avatar
15. Up
16. The Messenger
17. Julie & Julia
18. The Secret in Their Eyes
19. Which Way Home
20. Coraline
21. Bright Star
22. The Blind Side
23. The Princess and the Frog
24. Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
25. Il Divo
26. Food, Inc.
27. A Single Man
28. The White Ribbon
29. Sherlock Holmes
30. The Young Victoria
31. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
32. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
33. Nine
34. Invictus
35. The Lovely Bones
I have not seen:
• Ajami
• Coco Before Chanel
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• The Last Station
• The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
• The Milk of Sorrow
• Paris 36
• The Secret of Kells
45 3-06-2010 at 3:22 pm
Doug said...
1. The Hurt Locker
2. Up
3. The Cove
4. Avatar
5. Precious
6. Star Trek
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. The Messenger
9. The White Ribbon
10. The Secret of Kells
11. A Serious Man
12. Crazy Heart
13. Coraline
14. Inglourious Basterds
15. In the Loop
16. An Education
17. District 9
18. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
19. Up in the Air
20. Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
21. Princess and the Frog
22. Bright Star
23. Julie & Julia
24. The Young Victoria
25. Invictus
26. The Lovely Bones
27. Sherlock Holmes
28. Nine
29. The Blind Side
30. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Haven’t seen: Food Inc, The Secret in Their Eyes, Burma VJ, A Single Man, Which Way Home, The Last Station, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The Milk of Sorrow, Coco Before Chanel, Ajami, Il Divo, Paris 36
The Best Film Not Nominated for a Single Oscar: The Informant!
46 3-06-2010 at 3:23 pm
m1 said...
No offense, Mr. Tapley, sir, but your list is HORRIBLE. How is Invictus last? HPATH-BP was great and BETTER than T: ROTF. How is The Hurt Locker not even in the top 10?! How is Up inferior to D9? These are the questions which haunt me.
47 3-06-2010 at 3:25 pm
ChuckAmuck said...
RE: John
“I’m always baffled by the misconception that movies with beautiful visuals must also have a bad story. This was a good story when it was called DANCES WITH WOLVES and THE LAST SAMURAI, and it’s still a good story.”
It’s not that it retold the same story, it’s that it did it in a poor way. Looking at the film while disregard the visuals, it’s clear that Cameron really brought nothing new to the story or the characters. He just gave it all a different setting and prettied them up with CGI and 3D. The script is also incredibly boring for the most part and full of incredibly horrible dialogue.
Yes, the story worked for “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last Samurai,” that’s because those two movies actually had a good screenplay to go with the story. “Avatar,” unfortunately, did not. It certainly has its moments and is far from being a bad film, but it is nowhere near the masterpiece people seem to be hailing it as. Might as well herald “The Lovely Bones” as a masterpiece, too… but nobody is doing that.
By the way, Kris, did not mean to sound like a bitch earlier. As I said, “Avatar” being high on a movie list is not surprising to me, I’ve seen it pretty much everywhere. I was just curious how a truly horrendous movie like “Transformers 2″ beat decent movies like HP and “Invictus” on your list. THAT, I have never seen before. :)
48 3-06-2010 at 3:28 pm
Sound Designer Dan said...
Jeez, m1, calm down. It’s a subjective list.
I’d wonder how Armond White’s would go.
49 3-06-2010 at 3:31 pm
Perry said...
1. Star Trek
2. Up in the Air
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. Up
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. Crazy Heart
7. Sherlock Holmes
8. Avatar
9. An Education
10. Invictus
50 3-06-2010 at 3:34 pm
Nazz said...
Btw, the best film not to be nominated for an Oscar IMO: Moon
51 3-06-2010 at 3:35 pm
Dylan said...
So, to you the BP nominees are the ranked 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 14, 19, and . . . 32 of all the nominated films. That’s interesting.
52 3-06-2010 at 3:39 pm
Matthew Starr said...
Kris if A Prophet had been released in 09 would it have placed on your top ten of the decade list? If yes then where?
53 3-06-2010 at 3:42 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
m1: If they haunt you then your problems run deep.
Matthew: Maybe. Maybe not. Probably close, just like ASM.
54 3-06-2010 at 3:43 pm
Douglas said...
Transformers before Invictus and Nine??
I mean seriously they werent THAT bad
55 3-06-2010 at 3:55 pm
John said...
ChuckAmuck…
(boring disclaimer that we are all allowed to have our own views, and I have the greatest of respect for my fellow posters’ viewpoints)
I guess why I have a problem with it is that I can think of plenty of movies that are visually interesting yet dramatically unengaging, and AVATAR isn’t one of them. It’s not visuals that are pulling such repeat biz on this thing (OK, maybe with the 3d to a degree, but…) And he also got that rap on TITANIC. Both movies are big broad epics, yet hugely engrossing emotionally and viscerally. Yet it seems to me like the man is attacked because he writes in a genre where it is popular to say there’s no story and all visuals.
First, the whole concept of being put into these alien bodies… that’s interesting stuff and good science fiction; it feels like he thought it out and isn’t just pulling a FREAKY FRIDAY on us (which is a cute movie, but not about the mechanics of how the change occurs). Then he has created one of the few believable other worlds in cinema history. Often, we just accept that they’re aliens and watch the show. but this seemed to me to be credibly another world. Again, he’s really thought this stuff out.
The culture of this other world is credibly thought out. OK, they’re a bit nature-y/hippy-ish for my taste, but I believe this culture exists, it doesn;t feel like alien of the week on STAR TREK (not meaning to bash that show, it’s great, but the worst episodes felt liek an alien with a funny name and silly cloak).
Then by the end of the movie, I was quite viscerally engaged in seeing these peace-loving aliens violently vanquish the invading humans. I’m a pretty pro-America, pro-military guy (not militaristically or in a knee-jerk fashion, but I see patriotism as a good thing in moderation), yet I was very actively cheering for the destruction of the humans by the Na’vi. Those who wish to claim that this is just a silly story with no relation to human history are woefully mistaken. This is an American movie designed to get us cheering against ourselves, and I found that rather subversive.
So, I think it’s definitely got a lot more going on narratively than it’s given credit for. A much better script than that SERIOUS MAN, for my $.
Craig… As for missing the boat on A SERIOUS MAN, here’s what I’d like to venture. These indie films which get beaucoup critical praise and arthouse followers yet never break out to the mainstream become sacrosanct to the cinephile community because everyone loves them, while a mainstream hit is often derided. this is because a mainstream film will be viewed by a large group of people and no film can appeal to everyone, therefore, we will find the people who don’t like it and they will be heard. A SERIOUS MAN is the sort of picture that doesn’t get mainstream attention, and that’s for the best, because a mainstrema audience would hate it, and I say rightfully so. Therefore, we don’t hear from the people who don’t like it, so it gets this insular impression of being a great film, when in fact it’s just not being tested by everyone. Personally, I couldn’t last 20 minutes in that movie, and everyone I personally know who has tried to watch it has had the same reaction. I love those Coens, I love that they make what they want, but when they do something that doesn’t connect to me, I will voice my opiion, as is the purpose of a film discussion website!
56 3-06-2010 at 4:16 pm
Brady said...
1. Avatar
2. An Education
3. A Single Man
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up
6. Star Trek
7. Up in the Air
8. Precious
9. Inglourious Basterds
10. Coraline
11. The Cove
12. A Serious Man
13. The Princess and the Frog
14. Crazy Heart
15. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
16. District 9
17. The White Ribbon
18. Julie & Julia
19. The Blind Side
20. Nine
21. Invictus
22. Fantastic Mr. Fox
I can’t believe I only saw 22 of them!
@ Chad – I’m shocked you haven’t seen Avatar, considering every week you have to mention that Avatar is still raking in more money than (insert When in Rome-like disasters here).
57 3-06-2010 at 4:19 pm
Julian Stark said...
First seven definite; last three not so sure
1. Up
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
4. An Education
5. Up in the Air
6. Sherlock Holmes
7. The Princess and the Frog
8. Star Trek
9. Coraline
10. Crazy Heart
Best Film Not Nominated for a Single Oscar: Adventureland
58 3-06-2010 at 4:20 pm
Damned Martian said...
1. In the Loop
2. The Cove
3. A Serious Man
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Coraline
6. Up
7. District 9
8. Up in the Air
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. The Secret in Their Eyes
11. The White Ribbon
12. Food, Inc.
13. Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
14. Star Trek
15. The Messenger
16. A Prophet
17. A Single Man
18. Crazy Heart
19. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
20. Avatar
21. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
22. Sherlock Holmes
23. Bright Star
24. An Education
25. Julie & Julia
26. The Secret of Kells
27. The Blind Side
28. The Young Victoria
29. Coco Avant Chanel
30. The Princess and the Frog
31. Precious
32. The Milk of Sorrow
33. Inglourious Basterds
34. Invictus
35. The Lovely Bones
36. Paris 36
37. Nine
38. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (the only downright bad film in the list)
Haven’t seen yet: Ajami, Which Way Home, The Last Station (the three o fthem still unavailable for me here in Spain), The Most Dangerous Man in America, Il Divo.
Best films not nominated for anything: (500) Days of Summer, Mary and Max, The Girlfriend Experience, Hunger, Adventureland.
59 3-06-2010 at 4:26 pm
thebizkey said...
1.) The Hurt Locker
2.) A Single Man
3.) Coraline
4.) Inglourious Basterds
5.) Up
6.) Up in the Air
7.) Precious
8.) The White Ribbon
9.) The Messenger
10.) The Prophet
I think these were the best of the films nominated this year. And Kris, I love these lists and you, but your preoccupation with “The Lovely Bones” is embarassing. It’s a terrible movie.
60 3-06-2010 at 4:52 pm
Anna said...
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Hurt Locker
3. A Serious Man
4. Bright Star
5. In the Loop
6. Up
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
8. The White Ribbon
9. A Single Man
10. Star Trek
61 3-06-2010 at 5:02 pm
radiojazzz said...
excellent:
1. ‘Up in the Air’
2. ‘Avatar’
3. ‘The Hurt Locker’
4. ‘Un prophete’
5. ‘An Education’
6. ‘Nine’ (let me be the only one)
7. ‘The Cove’
quite good:
8. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’
9. ‘Star Trek’
10. ‘A Serious Man’
11. ‘Inglourious Basterds’
12. ‘A Single Man’
13. ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’
14. ‘Sherlock Holmes’
15. ‘The Messenger’
16. ‘The Princess and the Frog’
17. ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’
ok:
18. ‘The Lovely Bones’
19. ‘Food, Inc.’
20. ‘The Young Victoria’
21. ‘Invictus’
22. ‘Coraline’
23. ‘In the Loop’
24. ‘The Last Station’
25. ‘District 9′
26. ‘Crazy Heart’
27. ‘Up’
average:
28. ‘El secreto de sus ojos’
29. ‘Precious’
30. ‘Julie & Julia’
31. ‘Il divo’
32. ‘Das weisse Band’
33. ‘Coco avant Chanel’
poor:
34. ‘The Blind Side’
35. ‘Bright Star’
36. ‘The Secret of Kells’
Haven’t seen ‘Transformers’, ‘Faubourg 36′, couple of foreign ones and 3 of 5 documentaries.
Great films not nominated for a single Oscar: ‘Two Lovers’, ‘The Road’, ‘(500) Days of Summer’ (all three would’ve been my Best Picture nominees), ‘Public Enemies’, ‘State of Play’.
62 3-06-2010 at 5:26 pm
Dylan said...
Best film not nominated for a single Oscar: Ponyo (it just breaks my heart)
63 3-06-2010 at 6:02 pm
Packie said...
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. A Serious Man
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. In the Loop
5. The Hurt Locker
6. The White Ribbon
7. Up
8. Star Trek
9. An Education
10. Bright Star
11. Up in the Air
12. Coraline
13. Avatar
14. District 9
15. Julie and Julia
16. Crazy Heart
17. Lovely Bones
18. Invictus
19. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
20. The Last Station
Those are the only was I have seen.
64 3-06-2010 at 6:13 pm
Plum said...
The ones I’ve seen:
1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Up
3. The Hurt Locker
4. In The Loop
5. An Education
6. Up in the Air
7. Fantastic Mr Fox
8. Julie & Julia
9. Nine
10. The Young Victoria
Star Trek
Avatar
Food, Inc.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Cove
The Blind Side
Good films with no nods (in order of preference): Antichrist, It’s Complicated, Duplicity, Where The Wild Things Are, A Christmas Carol.
65 3-06-2010 at 6:17 pm
Kristopher Tapley said...
thebizkey: That’s a pretty stupid sentiment.
66 3-06-2010 at 6:18 pm
Ryan Hoffman said...
17. “Sherlock Holmes”
18. “Julie & Julia”
19. “Inglourious Basterds”
I don’t even LOVE IB but…joke list lol.
67 3-06-2010 at 6:20 pm
G1000 said...
Nice to see a few people finally putting “The Hurt Locker” at #1, where it belongs. Seriously, how good was that film?
68 3-06-2010 at 6:41 pm
Sebastien Bertrand said...
1. A Single Man
2. Invictus
3. Julie & Julia
4. Precious
5. An Education
6. Up in the Air
7. The Messenger
8. El secreto de sus ojos
9. Un Prophet
10. Crazy Heart
11. Coco avant Chanel
12. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
13. Up
14. Inglorious Basterds
15. The Blind Side
16. The Princess and the Frog
17. Avatar
18. Ajami
19. The Young Victoria
20. Nine
21. Bright Star
22. Coraline
23. District 9
24. Fantastic Mr. Fox
25. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
26. The Hurt Locker
27. Sherlock Holmes
28. The Cove
29. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
30. Food Inc.
31. The Lovely Bones
32. Paris 36
33. The Last Station
34. Star Trek
35. La teta asustada
36. Das weisse Band
37. In the Loop
38. The Secret of Kells
39. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
40. A Serious Man
41. Il Divo
42. Burma VJ
I have yet to see Which Way Home.
69 3-06-2010 at 7:00 pm
James The Greatest said...
I’m excited because I JUST NOW finally finished my checklist off, so it’s the perfect time for me to write this list. For those who care, Paris 36 was the final film I had to sneak in today. (An asterisk denotes a movie I saw post-nomination. Two means I saw it post-nomination on DVD because it was unavailable in theaters.)
1. Up In The Air
2. A Prophet *
3. The Hurt Locker
4. The Messenger
5. An Education
6. Up
7. A Single Man
8. Precious
9. Avatar
10. Inglourious Basterds
11. In The Loop
12. District 9
13. Coraline
14. Which Way Home *
15. Fantastic Mr. Fox
16. The Secret In Their Eyes *
17. Ajami *
18. Star Trek
19. The Young Victoria
20. Crazy Heart
21. Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
22. The Princess And The Frog
23. Bright Star
24. The Cove
25. Food, Inc.
26. A Serious Man
27. Julie & Julia
28. The White Ribbon
29. The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus *
30. The Most Dangerous Man In America *
31. Coco Before Chanel **
32. The Blind Side
33. Invictus
34. The Milk Of Sorrow *
35. Burma VJ *
36. Sherlock Holmes
37. Paris 36 **
38. The Lovely Bones
39. The Secret Of Kells **
40. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen **
41. Il Divo **
42. The Last Station
43. Nine
70 3-06-2010 at 7:03 pm
BrianC said...
1. A Prophet
2. The Hurt Locker
3. The White Ribbon
4. Up
5. A Single Man
6. A Serious Man
7.Bright Star
8. Inglorious Bastards
9. An Education
10. The Cove
71 3-06-2010 at 7:22 pm
Fitz said...
@ Kris Tapley
Parallel universe Oscar list?
That would be my ballot on this universe. Well maybe not Zombieland.
72 3-06-2010 at 7:23 pm
Johnny Doubles said...
Kris, I’m ranking the top BP nominated films from the past decade. I’m interested if you made such a list, how much ours would contrast. Not that you have as different taste in movies than I, but simply there have been a few you have been pretty enthusiastic toward (i.e. ‘Up in the Air’) that I felt more lukewarm than anything else
73 3-06-2010 at 7:43 pm
Estefan said...
1. The Princess and the Frog
2. Avatar
3. Inglourious Basterds
4. Up
5. Star Trek
6. Up in the Air
7. A Serious Man
8. Julie & Julia
9. Coraline
10. Sherlock Holmes
11. Fantastic Mr Fox
12. District 9
13. The Hurt Locker
14. The Lovely Bones
15. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
16. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
17. The Milk of Sorrow
The best film not nominated for a single Oscar: “Ponyo”
74 3-06-2010 at 8:15 pm
Fitz said...
Ponyo was nominated for Animated feature.
75 3-06-2010 at 8:16 pm
Fitz said...
Nix comment 73, wasn’t paying attention. Although in a better world Zombieland, Adventureland and WGD would be nominated for something.
76 3-06-2010 at 9:04 pm
Wha said...
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. The Cove
3. Up
4. The Messenger
5. El Secreto de Sus Ojos
I’ve seen probably 30 but too lazy to write them all out lol. That’s also actually my top 5 of the year, so kudos to AMPAS for getting things sorta right this year.
Best film not nominated for an Oscar: Moon (Duncan Jones & Sam Rockwell deserve a whole hell of a lot more attention).
77 3-06-2010 at 9:45 pm
ChuckAmuck said...
John
Sorry, mate, I didn’t mean to make it seem like my opinion was end all, be all, or that I didn’t respect others’ opinions. I know many found “Avatar” dramatically engaging, I just wasn’t one of them. Something beyond the spectacle clicked with audiences and kept bringing them back, hence the $2.5 billion its made worldwide. I’ve even seen it twice, even though I was not incredibly impressed the first time (at least, not with the storytelling aspect).
Mind uploading and the conscience transference for a specific purpose or mission is nothing new. “Avatar” handled it alright, though. It’s really the flow and pace of the story that were the main issues.
I agree, the world that was created in the movie was brilliant, but how it looked and how engaging the environment was really has nothing to do with the story. Cameron certainly did carefully think out the world’s look and feel. I just wish he had done the same with his own script.
I bought into the world, too, for the most part. At least, for the first 45 minutes. Then there was about an hour where I was wondering how much longer I would have to wait before the story picked back up. I will admit, it did pick up big time during the last half hour or so, and I even really started rooting for the characters. Until the corny climactic scene when the animals came to help. That kinda pulled me back out of the picture. The movie wrapped up fairly good, but it’s what I had to sit through I have a problem with. The novelty of the 3D wore off within the first hour, and great scenery and effects only go so far.
I never said the story didn’t have any relation to human history. I said the story was unoriginal and that the script did a poor job making the story or the characters break out of convention. With the exception of Naytiri, Zoe’s performance in the movie was great. Everyone else… not so much.
“Avatar” also isn’t the first movie to have us cheering against ourselves, but points for making it happen on such a huge scale. It doesn’t excuse its major scripting flaws, though. As for the scripts, though… I’ve read the screenplay for “A Serious Man” twice since I saw the movie and would read it again if the mood hit me. The script for “Avatar,” on the other hand, I’ve only read once after seeing the movie, and I have absolutely zero urge to read it again. Without the visuals and the performances, “Avatar” is one of the dullest and corniest blockbuster scripts ever written. Besides, I had already read the script for “Dances with Wolves,” so I essentially read the same script twice. You’d be surprised how much more obvious the similarities are when you’re just reading the words.
78 3-06-2010 at 9:50 pm
ChuckAmuck said...
Let me rephrase my last bit there. By saying they are essentially the same script, I kind of insulted “Dances with Wolves.” “Wolves,” however, had a much tighter and interesting script than “Avatar.” What I meant was the events are essentially same, they’re just handled better in “Wolves.” Not that they are completely the same, of course, but there aren’t huge differences.
79 3-06-2010 at 9:59 pm
JP said...
1. A Single Man
2. An Education
3. A Serious Man
4. Up
5. Inglourious Basterds
5. Up in the Air
6. A Prophet
7. Avatar
8. The White Ribbon
9. District 9
10. Precious
11. Princess and the Frog
12. Julie and Julia
13. Fantastic Mr. Fox
14. Star Trek
15. Sherlock Holmes
16. Bright Star
17. Coraline
18. Crazy Heart
19. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
20. The Hurt Locker
21. The Lovely Bones
22. Invictus
Those are the ones I’ve seen.
Movies I wish had gotten some Oscar love: (500) Days of Summer, Moon, Where the Wild Things Are
80 3-06-2010 at 10:58 pm
Rare Addict said...
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Avatar
3. Coraline
4. Up
5. The Princess and the Frog
6. District 9
7. Star Trek
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. The Hurt Locker
11. A Serious Man
12. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
81 3-06-2010 at 11:36 pm
Jeff said...
1. A Prophet
2. Bright Star
3. The White Ribbon
4. The Hurt Locker
5. The Cove
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
8. In the Loop
9. Up
10. District 9
11. Star Trek
12. Precious
13. Julie & Julia
14. The Princess and the Frog
15. The Secret in Their Eyes
16. Inglourious Basterds
17. A Serious Man
18. Avatar
19. Sherlock Holmes
20. An Education
21. Up in the Air
Shorts:
1. The Door
2. The Lady and the Reaper
3. A Matter of Loaf and Death
4. Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
5. French Roast
6. Logorama
82 3-07-2010 at 2:06 am
ChuckAmuck said...
btw, best movies not nominated for a single Oscar:
1. Where the Wild Things Are
2. Moon
3. (500) Days of Summer
4. Ponyo
5. Taken (nobody seems to remember this one came out in 2009)
6. The Road
7. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
8. The Damned United
9. The Informant!
10. Big Fan
83 3-07-2010 at 3:42 am
Michael said...
The funny thing is that although I really don’t agree with most parts of your ranking (Up in the air, serious man wouldn’t be that high in my list, Avatar would be far lower and of course lovely bones… I think most people disagree, but okay) I would have given the same movies on the two ends. A Prophet is the best one here, and yeah, Invictus was the worst or at least the most disappointing and the one that makes you really angry due to the respect and the ridiculous acting nominations it got.
84 3-07-2010 at 8:31 am
Steve said...
Enjoyable list to read in the ranking of the films. Surprising, but enjoyable. And I believe Transformers 2 was terrible, awesome as hell, but bad. I probably wouldn’t place it above Invictus or HP6 but if you fell asleep then I can’t argue with you there.