This year’s Best Picture contenders for the Oscars
It is once again that time of the year when cinema lovers around the world eagerly await the most prestigious awards ceremony of the film industry, the Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars), which will be held in Los Angeles on February 24, 2019.
The nominees for the 91st Annual Academy Awards were announced January 22, which included eight films for the Best Picture category, triggering a renewed interest in these films of 2018 even though they have gone out of the theatres after their box office runs. Before the grand finale, film aficionados are frantically searching the internet to find and watch these films and make their own guesses as to which of these films will walk away with the Oscar.
Green Book
Green Book is one of the surprise nominees in the Best Picture category this year, which drew flak for dealing with the subject matter in a conventional style and depicting the white as the savior. The film has been directed by Peter Farrelly who together with his director brother Bobby has directed hit comedies such as Dumb and Dumber.
However, the film has been consistently successful at award circuits before it made its way to the Oscar nominations. The concept of the film, which is based on a true story and set in the 1960s, deals with the friendship of a bouncer-turned-driver with world-famous pianist Dr. Don Shirely during the latter’s concert tour. The film has courted controversy over a tweet by co-writer Nick Vallelonga in 2015 in which he supported Donald Trump’s claim that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the September 11 attack on World Trade Centre.
A Star is Born
Bradley Cooper’s acting prowess has never been in doubt but when he decided to direct the film A Star is Born in addition to acting in it, people were not sure about the result. The film, which is a romantic musical and remake of a Hollywood classic, has received widespread critical acclaim as well as commercial success.
The film has been earned $202.2 million domestically, making it the 12th highest grosser in2018. Besides being a non-controversial film, A Star is Born has
BlacKkKlansman
Director-producer Spike Lee has a reputation of making films with a social message and the growing race hatred has often been captured in compelling and poignant narratives in his films. BlacKkKlansman received heavy applause for the deft handling of a poignant social issue and the stellar performance by its cast at its
The theme of the film, which is based on a true story, is about a police officer Ron Stallworth who infiltrates the local edition of the Ku Klux Klan, a hate group. The film has a bold ending and leaves the audience thinking how far we need to go to win the war against racism. The storyline resonates with the current political environment in the US. Besides the Best Picture, the movie has also been nominated for many other categories such as Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.
Roma
Roma is only the 11th foreign language film to have made it to the Best Picture nomination for the Oscar in its history. None of the 10 foreign language films have won the Best Picture award. However, Roma is a compelling depiction of the everyday life of a middle-class domestic helper in Mexico City in the 1970s.
Like A Star is Born and BlacKkKlansman, Roma has been popular at awards circuits around the world. Director-producer Alfonso Cuarón is highly respected for his technical film making qualities and Roma is certainly a must watch for the beautiful depiction of a maid’s life. The movie has also received nominations in many other categories including in sound mixing and editing, production design
Bohemian Rhapsody
Overcoming the initial lukewarm reviews, Bohemian Rhapsody has surprised many by winning an Oscar nomination in the Best Picture category. The film is a biopic of Freddie Mercury, the frontman of highly successful band Queen. The film chronicles Mercury’s rise to stardom. The movie has also been nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Actor. The movie has also picked up Best Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes, a nomination for PGA’s nod from SAG for Best Picture and Best Actor.
Vice
Directed by Adam McKay, Vice is a biopic on famous former vice-president Dick Cheney who was considered to be one of the most powerful vice-presidents in the US history. The movie received the worst from the critics, who remained divided on McKay’s stylistic choices, which were both bold and distinct – the reason, many think, why the film has got the Best Picture nomination.
Actor Christian Bale’s outstanding performance as Dick Cheney has won him Best Actor nomination at this year’s Oscars. Vice has won six Golden Globe nominations including Best Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best Actor and Best Director.
Black Panther
A superhero movie, Black Panther, is first such film in the history of the Oscars to have been nominated for the Best Picture. The movie won critical acclaim when it was premiered in February last year and soon transcended its genre to become a phenomenon. The movie deals with real-world themes and has been nominated for Best sound mixing, Best Production Design, Best Original Song.
The Favourite
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite is a period film set in the early 18th century. The film depicts the story of two cousins who compete to become court favorites of Queen Anne. The movie had a world premiere at Venice International Film Festival in August 2018. Besides the Best Picture nomination, it has also been nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz), Best Actress, Best Actress, Best Production Design and Best Director.
