Sarah makes her picks for Oscar's Best Picture!

Hello everyone!

I realize I'm an author, not a screenplay writer or director, but I'm obsessed with movies, especially this time of year. That's right!  It's OSCAR time!

This year I've managed to see every single Best Picture nominee. Not easy for a girl who lives in suburban fly over land where many of the more artsy movies have a theater run of about five minutes.  But yes, I've managed to see them all, and here's how I rank them, 9-1, in order of least deserving the win to most deserving.

9.  The Irishman

Bad movie. Bad cast.  Bad idea.

One wouldn't think I was talking about a movie starting De Niro, Pacino and Pesci and directed by Scorcese, right?  Well, here we are.  They got the band back together and instead of using younger actors to represent the characters in their younger years (ala "the Two Popes") these Hollywood giants decided to use technology to "young up" the senior citizen cast.  Terrible idea.  I thought the addition of a Jimmy Hoffa angle might give us some fresh material, but no. This is just a geriatric version of "The Godfather" or "Goodfellas" and honestly, at over 3 hours, it's not worth it. Thank goodness it was streaming on Netflix. At least I didn't have the guilt of paying full price at the box office for this dog.

8. Little Women

One of my favorite books growing up, "Little Women 2019" has been touted as a modern, feminist remake.  One question:  Did we need that?  Did anyone ask for it?  The gold standard of movie adaptation for Louisa May Alcott's already fairly feminist gold star novel is the 1990 Winona Ryder/Christian Bale version. While 2019 is nice and everyone does a good job, it feels like Hollywood just wanted a  movie with an all woman cast and director wedged into the awards so no one would ding the Academy for always looking at movies starring white guys.  It's a nice movie...but it's unnecessary.

7.  A Marriage Story

Again, I did enjoy watching this movie about a perfectly reasonable, friendly married couple try to divorce without acrimony and failing, thanks to their well meaning friends and lawyers.  Adam Driver is wonderful here. Scarlett Johansson does NOT deserve a best actress nom, but what can you do?  It's not that this movie was released on Netflix that somehow cheapens it, quite the opposite.  I think had this been released a couple years ago, it might be a stronger entry, but not this year.

6. Joker

The more I think about this movie, the more angry I get.  As with movie based on popular comic book icons, liberties are allowed. They are, after all, fictional characters. The thing is, this 2019 Joker is not a genius villain. He's a victim.  He's a victim who doesn't even take part in the one crime he's almost universally credited for: The murder of Batman's parents.  He's an onlooker.  Also, Bruce Wayne's parents, again, universally considered philanthropists prior to this film, are the villains in a very millennial "eat the rich" reconstructing of comic history.  While the film is compelling as a movie and the performances are strong within the construct of the movie, I feel this is irresponsible film making.

5. Ford Vs. Ferrari

Yes, I am a sucker for a biopic, I've never made any bones about that.  And I love Christian Bale. But when I heard about this car movie with a horrible title, it was a hard pass for me.  Had it not been nominated for Best Picture I probably still would not have seen it.  I'm glad I did, ultimately, because the performances are strong, and the movie is entertaining.  Best Picture?  Maybe some other year, maybe not.  Matt Damon and Christian Bale do well together, and yes, the car races are fun to watch.  Not a bad date movie, but not Best Picture. But, hey, I was wrong about "Green Book," from last year, so what do I know?

And now we come to the top four movies of the year, and I take a break here because the distance between these four movies and the previous nominees is huge.  This year they could have nominated more films, they could have nominated fewer. These four would still be in the top four.

4.  Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Gun play loving director Quentin Tarantino takes a bit of a break from his typical all out gore fest and gives us something of a fairy tale. Pairing movie marquee giants Brad Pitt and Leonardo di Caprio, and dropping them into Hollywood during the reign of the Manson Family and the Sharon Tate murder would be only two of many pieces of genius in this film. There are no bit parts here, everyone shines in one way or another.  Margo Robbi brings a sweetness not normally found in a Tarantino picture.  At over 3 hours, it is a long film, and yes, it might just take you to the very end to understand what the heck is going on. But the entertainment value along the way is well worth the ride. This is a level of film making maturity we haven't seen from Tarantino before.

3.  1917

Again, yes, I'm a sucker for big war movies, and lately  I've been watching everything I can about World War I, so this was perfect timing for this film.  Basically using two unknown British actors (several cameos by film fan favorites like Colin Firth and Mark Strong), director Sam Mendes brings his grandfather's stories to life with brilliant scene sets, cinematography, and acting.  At certain points the scene is so bright, so beautiful, it's almost too much.  There isn't a dull, boring moment along the way because every minute brings its own tension and/or relief.  This is one that will be in the permanent collection.

2.  JoJo Rabbit

When I first saw the trailer for this movie I said two words, "Hard pass."  Had this not been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, I would never have seen it.  Seriously, a movie where Hitler is a kid's best friend?  And it's a comedy?  What's the about?  Well, yes, "JoJo" is just about the weirdest concept for a movie ever.  And yet, this one works so well, so brilliantly, I was shocked.  Seeing World War II Germany through the eyes of a young boy on the verge of joining the Hitler Youth, we witness how Hitler's indoctrination of the young worked. Yet, we are also shown how, in the word of Whitney Houston, "Children are our future."  The movie is dark, super dark, but somehow the humor, even the stuff involving Hitler, is funny enough to make us feel like there's hope in this world. How good is this film?  I truly, deeply, and honestly believe Scarlett Johannsen should win her Best Supporting Actress award for this. And if you've been reading my reviews and blog long enough you know how I feel about Scar-Jo. Definitely adding this one to the collection.

1. Parasite  

Let's see a Korean film about the socio-economic differences between rich and poor.  Sounds like a knee slapper.  Let's run out and see that!

But seriously.  "Parasite" is the best film that came out this year and it absolutely, positively, without a doubt win Best Picture. The movie transcends language and culture barriers, and gives us a hard, honest look at how the clash between the classes is NOT always the fault of the rich, it can be a two way street.  Loaded with dark humor and just enough Korean history to make you feel smarter once you've seen it, this is the most astounding film I've seen in a long time.  It's stuck with me over the last week since I've seen it.  It didn't matter that I had to read the film. It didn't matter that I didn't know any of the actors.  The humanity each actor brought to their character is universal.

And now, here's what I think will happen on Sunday when the Best Picture award is handed out.

"Parasite" will not win. It will win for Best Foreign film, just like it did for the Golden Globes.  I don't think the Academy is going to award a film that so strongly pictures the ruling class as not only intolerant, but also really, really stupid.  It absolutely should be Best Picture, but it won't be.

"JoJo Rabbit," which I think should also win, will not. It's just too weird of a film. Scar-Jo will get her best supporting, but it won't get Best Picture.  Which is a shame, because I haven't seen anything this creative in a long time.

The real fight will be between "1917" and "Once Upon a Time".  They split Best Picture Awards at the Globes, but this is the Oscars. They don't separate comedies from dramas.  Maybe they should. Both are relatively safe choices in terms of being controversial.  I think "1917" has the ultimate edge because, well, it just does, and it should.  BUT, Hollywood is known for awarding movies about itself to itself (I'm looking at you, "Birdman" you hopeless steaming pile of grossness.) so that may put "Once Upon a Time" in front.

If I had to pick, and since this is my blog, I'm making myself pick, I'm going to go with "1917 as Best Picture.  There you go.