METTEL RAY

Thursday Movie Picks: Oscar Nominated Movies That Should Have Won

The Oscars are so close that I could smell the excitement. And this Thursday is all about movies that were snubbed for their rightful Oscar statue. Here are three of the ones that came to mind first.

1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK, lost to The King’s Speech in 2011

We talked about this in our Across the Universe Podcast’s 67th episode in January, so you can listen to me, Nik and Sofia rant about it. The Social Network deserved it. Not only should it have won Best Picture, it should have also won Best Director. To be snubbed in both categories, was probably the biggest and the most horrific Oscar snub in history.

2. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, lost to Crash in 2006

This is another really awful snub that I don’t even want to think about. I liked Crash, but I also think it was overrated, and Brokeback Mountain should have won Best Picture instead. At least Ang Lee got that well deserved Best Director win.

3. PRIDE & PREJUDICE, lost to Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006

Jumping from Best Picture to Best Art Directing because I just realised that Pride & Prejudice was nominated for 4 Oscars and it won none! I’m outraged! It is the most beautiful film, it has stunning performances and who the fuck even talks about Memoirs of a Geisha!? Nobody, because it doesn’t stand the test of time. More than 10 years later, and I would still watch Pride & Prejudice in awe, and I’ve already seen it too many times to count. Pride & Prejudice deserved better, it deserved an Oscar. Hell, it deserved at least two!

 THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES

 

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14 responses to “Thursday Movie Picks: Oscar Nominated Movies That Should Have Won”

  1. Big Screen Small Words Avatar
    Big Screen Small Words

    I was confused with the time jump in Memoirs of a Geisha. How is it that the child has gotten a lot older, and yet the man she pines for is still middle-aged, with no semblance of aging?? Pride and Prejudice was a lovely film.

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      Honestly, I hardly remember Memoirs of Geisha and that’s why I was so surprised to see it as an Oscar winning film, while Pride & Prejudice has none.

      Reply
  2. Sofia da Costa Avatar
    Sofia da Costa

    I almost went with Pride & Prejudice, though I am a fan of Memoirs of Geisha. I liked plenty of aspects of it, but it is definitely flawed, whereas P&P is perfection. 👌🏻 So it definitely deserved the win.

    You know I agree with the other two! Great picks 😊

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      I can’t really remember Memoirs of Geisha, but I remember it being pretty I think.
      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Sonia (A Film A Day) Avatar
    Sonia (A Film A Day)

    I did not love Pride & Prejudice. It was beautiful to look at but to me it was nothing more than an average romantic drama. Also, I loved Memoirs of Geisha so I wouldn’t do the swap. I’m also one of the few people who actually loved Crash, but Brokeback Mountain was great too and surely deserved to win. I also picked 2011 but I went with Black Swan. All the movies were strong that year though, all but The King’s Speech which I loved but didn’t deserve the Oscar.

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      For me, the reaction was the opposite, I can’t even remember Memoirs of Geisha and I thought Pride & Prejudice captured love in a very beautiful way. I think there were quite a few good ones in 2011, so it was a difficult year to pick but surely, they shouldn’t have gone with The King’s Speech.

      Reply
  4. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    I like that you went outside Best Picture for one of your choices, there were so many possibilities in BP I never even thought of the other categories. I completely agree about Pride & Prejudice. It’s a beautiful looking film as well as incredibly entertaining.

    I agree about Brokeback, I think most everyone does in hindsight now. Crash was okay but nothing more than average.

    Sorry I hated The Social Network with a passion. I wasn’t sorry to see The King’s Speech win even though I was pulling for Inception that year.

    This was a fun week since the choices were plentiful and by the nature of the theme good pictures. So good I could only get down to four rather than three.

    I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)-Just after the end of the First World War vet James Allen (Paul Muni) decides to ramble around the country working odd jobs before settling down. Striking up a casual acquaintance with another drifter he is implicated in a robbery and despite his innocence sentenced to several years on a Southern chain gang. Faced with intolerable conditions he manages to escape and over time build a new and successful life but fate intervenes. Powerful indictment of prison conditions and man’s inhumanity to man with brilliant work by Muni and a haunting ending. There is no way in hell this should have lost to the ponderous Cavalcade.

    A Tale of Two Cities (1936)-Solid extremely well-acted version of the Dickens story of the French Revolution and some caught in its web. Handsomely mounted with Ronald Colman a strong Sydney Carton, Blanche Yurka a terrifyingly unhinged Madame De Farge and a lovely small performance by Isabel Jewell as a doomed seamstress. Again vastly superior to the corny and lumbering winner of its year-The Great Ziegfeld.

    Grand Illusion (1938)-Eloquent treatise on the futility and senseless of war defies easy synopsis without sounding trite but the basic story is of two French fliers shot down during WWII and their relationship with their cultured German captor. Gripping and profound.

    The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)-Spirited, lively, colorful and flat out fun version of the legend pulsates with vivid colors and a sense of joy. Masterfully lead by director Michael Curtiz with performances full of joie de vivre from Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, the Warner’s stock company and Olivia de Havilland but driving the entire enterprise is the perfectly cast Errol Flynn who is obviously having a great time. You will too. Either this or Grand Illusion should have emerged triumphant over the ultimate winner, the scattered and foolish You Can’t Take It With You.

    Double Indemnity (1944)-Rapacious Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) ensnares hapless insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) into killing her husband in such a way that they can collect the double indemnity policy on him. As Neff’s boss and mentor Barton Krebs (Edward G. Robinson) begins to suspect foul play things spin out of control and the depths of Phyllis’s maliciousness rise to the surface. Seminal noir that is expertly written and directed by Billy Wilder and memorably performed by Stanwyck and MacMurray in huge breaks from their established personas at the time. The winner this year was the genial but flyaway Going My Way, a pleasurable watch but nothing compared to this trendsetting masterwork.

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      Oh man, hated The Social Network? I can’t see that happening. Sure, I hate the topic and the main character was a very difficult character to like, but that all made the movie more compelling for me. But then again, I’m a Fincher fan through and through, so it’s hard to accept the dislike towards his movies.

      Reply
  5. thevoid99 Avatar
    thevoid99

    Oh, I’m totally with you on this and yes on Pride & Prejudice instead of Memoirs of a Geisha as the latter was just an overrated and trite film. Plus, I’m still angry over the fact that Memoirs beat Brokeback and The New World for Cinematography.

    Reply
    1. MettelRay Avatar
      MettelRay

      Oh man, Memoirs seemed to be a big winning movie that year and yet… who is talking about it? Haven’t even seen it picked for Thursday Movie Picks… I mean, just saying! 😀

      Reply
  6. Birgit Avatar
    Birgit

    I hate The Social Network because I found it boring as, F$&%. I can’t stand the lead and was so happy it didn’t win. I actually don’t mind that The King’s Speech won. I agree with you about Brokeback Mountain because Crash is so over-rated. I like that with you went with Art Dirction. I would have really like Pride and Prejudice to win but I also love Harry Potter.

    Reply
  7. Wandering through the Shelves Avatar
    Wandering through the Shelves

    I really like The Social Network more than The King’s Speech too. I know people tend to think of it as just the Facebook movie, but I think it has a lot more to say beyond that.

    As for Best Art Directing, Pride and Prejudice is definitely very beautiful to look at, but so was Memoirs of a Geisha even though I don’t remember much of the actual story. I suppose I talk about the Pride and Prejudice movie more because being a Jane Austen fan I have watched it more than once so I remember it more. Pride and Prejudice just has a bigger built in fan base, it is based on a 200 year old book. I think that’s partly why more people talk about it than the Memoirs of a Geisha movie.

    Reply
  8. Katy Avatar
    Katy

    Nice picks! I like The King’s Speech but it’s nowhere near culturally relevant, let alone entertaining, or as well directed and written. The Social Network totally should’ve won. I haven’t seen Memoirs of a Geisha but every frame of Pride and Prejudice is like a painting. It’s so hard to believe that didn’t win anything.

    Reply
  9. Alex Withrow Avatar
    Alex Withrow

    Yep, I agree with all these. Brokeback especially. Still hard to accept that it lost.

    Reply

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