Films that have won "Best Picture"

[Jennasis]

I just don't get it. DH and I can't always get to the movies to see everything that we'd like to so we always at least try to netflix the things with critical acclaim and the ones that are nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. We just recently got around to watching "The Hurt Locker". I shut it off after 20 minutes. Bored to tears. No discernible plot. Characters that you had no emotional connection to at all. How did this movie beat the likes of Avatar and District 9 or even Up and Inglourious *******s?

It was JUST like when we finally rented No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood. Both critically acclaimed, and both lousy. No Country was almost comically awful.

DH managed to slog his way through the rest of the movie while I was out on Saturday. When I asked him how the rest was he just shrugged and said "I got through it."

I guess we'll just stick with "low brow" entertainment like Iron Man2, The A-Team and Harry Potter. Both of us graduated with film degrees, so it isn't like we don't know what we're talking about when it comes to film-making.

 

[mickaholic4077]

I totally agree!!!

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Sometimes you have to shake your head at some of the best picture winners and noms. That being said, I really liked The Hurt Locker and thought Avatar was totally a weird and a rip off of so many other movies.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Should I start on my Titanic rant? I watched it on network TV, and all I could think was, "OMG, sink already..."

 

[MarilIncredible]

I *really* liked the Hurt Locker. No interest at all in Avatar (I don't do video games and the plot sounds like a rip off of Fern Gully) or District 9.

That said, there are a LOT of Best Picture films I'd never want to see again.
Shakespeare in Love - wretch, vomit, gag, barf!
American Beauty - sucksville to be sure
Crash - what a pile of dookie

And others I really like:
Braveheart
Gladiator
Forest Gump
LotR
Silence of the Lambs

So I don't see it as something as simplistic as low brow versus high class.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would not call it low-brow entertainment. It is just your interest hits a different genre.

I myself prefer a sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, or comedy flavor in my movies but I do enjoy a drama every now and then.

Gran Torino is one that comes to mind. The base of the movie is pretty horrific, sad, & Clint's character is priceless. It has that "Dirty Harry" appeal.

Sometimes I watch the movie for the actor and not the movie. Having someone that does comedy, do a drama piece is interesting even if the movie is bad.

I also watch Grade D movies, plenty of them. One that comes to mind recently is "Toyko Zombie". Absolutely grade D+ but hilarious. And yes it is a Zombie movie. I have been playing "Left For Dead 2" so we have been watching zombie flicks.

As far as the Oscars....I DID NOT watch it this yr. They are full of it & leaving out actors I love, in the "in memoriam" segent just ticked me off. They did it too many times.

If I want to get decent opinions on winners, I now watch the Spirit Awards (Independent movies & a bit cheeky, worth watching) and The Golden Globes (which is very fun & Oscar-light).

ETA... here is the Spirit Awards site if you want to check out some indie flicks.
http://spiritawards.com/nominees#Best Feature

 

[FlightlessDuck]

The MTV movie awards aren't any better, but for different reasons.

 

[Jennasis]

I *really* liked the Hurt Locker. No interest at all in Avatar (I don't do video games and the plot sounds like a rip off of Fern Gully) or District 9.

.

Well in order for Avatar to rip off either of the films you mentioned, the other two would have to have come out first. Cameron had written Avatar well before either of them...but YES, Avatar was certainly not anything new plot-wise. It was really a technological masterpiece.

I forgot to quote the poster who mentioned Titanic. DH and I watched the rifftrax version this weekend...much better that way! When I saw it in the theater, all I wanted was the darn boat to sink!

The MTV movie awards aren't any better, but for different reasons.

Ain't that the truth.

 

[AshleyW]

"The Hurt Locker" was awful. Incredibly boring. I made it about halfway through and then fell asleep.

"No Country for Old Men", on the other hand.. brilliant. I think I've probably watched it 50 times since I bought the blu ray. I am a big fan of the novel by Cormac McCarthy, though, and of the Coen brothers.

 

[Aimeedyan]

It just comes down to personal taste and nothing more. For every 1 great movie, there are 10 people that hate it and 10 people that love it. that's the beauty of Hollywood - there is anyways something in the works for everyone.

Doesn't mean the Best Picture movie was (factually) absolutely awful. It means your opinion was that it was awful. Others loved it. Some years the ones you like win, some years they don't.

I admit to using the nominations as a roster of movies to make sure and see - we are big movie junkies -and some I root for on Oscar night and some I don't. I figure the whole thing is political anyways (like most awards) so don't get overly upset if my favorite is overlooked. Just the way it is.

 

[My2Pixies]

The final installment of Lord of the Rings and Forrest Gump are probably the only Best Picture winners that I really cared for. Usually when the nominations are announced I haven't even heard of 3/4 of the movies that are up for awards.

 

[castleview]

Should I start on my Titanic rant? I watched it on network TV, and all I could think was, "OMG, sink already..."

I actually thought that was a great movie. Unfortunately, all the hype and obnoxious director was such a turn off.

 

[hulagirl87]

I *really* liked the Hurt Locker. No interest at all in Avatar (I don't do video games and the plot sounds like a rip off of Fern Gully) or District 9.

That said, there are a LOT of Best Picture films I'd never want to see again.
Shakespeare in Love - wretch, vomit, gag, barf!
American Beauty - sucksville to be sure
Crash - what a pile of dookie

I'm just loving that you said "dookie"

I got The Hurt Locker for DH on netflix. I watched about half of it and then got really bored. He really liked it.

There are definitely some movies that I don't understand why they went over so well... The English Patient? blech! Forrest Gump? yeah, not so much. But I loved Lord of the Rings, The Departed, Titanic and Gladiator. It's all personal preference I guess

 

[MouseMomx2]

Personally, I loved The Hurt Locker. I thought it was a wonderful character study and felt very connected to Jeremy Renner's character, even though we are as opposite as can be.

As for Avatar, I thought it was a mediocre film that totally ripped off both Disney's version of Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves (both of which are more than 12 years old). I thought the special effects were great but would have been very upset had it won best picture.

 

[southernbohemian]

I've seen every movie that has ever won the Best Picture award - and trust me some are much better than others. I think a lot of it is political and just who people think should win. That being said, there were only a few which I felt were completely unmerited as films.

I really liked Hurt Locker. I thought it was probably one of the most suspenseful films I had ever seen. I think its appeal was that it saluted soldiers in a very true way - showing that they literally put their life on the line and do jobs that 99% of us could never do - as well as didn't turn it into a political message. However, I didn't think it was perfect and felt that it was a bit too simplistic thematically. But no film is ever perfect.

I watched Avatar this weekend and yawned my way through most of it. It was very pretty. That's all there was to it.

But everyone's taste is different. Which is kind of the fun of Oscars. I love character driven pieces (so I loved An Education and A Serious Man), but they shouldn't win every year.

 

[zippitydoo]

My DBF and I had this discussion about how the HurtLocker won for Best Movies. For us this movie was just ok there was nothing standout about this movie. There were alot more movies that in our opinion should of won. Like Up, Avatar, Inglorious, District 9

 

[johnsontrio]

There are some films that only a critic could love! There Will Be Blood is, with any luck, the last one I will be suckered into seeing. Really nothing redeeming about that movie that I could tell. Total waste of almost 3 hours.

I have noticed over the years that the critics hate, hate, hate family movies, movies for kids and most light romantic movies. If I need a political statement, I'll save my money and just spend time with the family. For the most part, movies are escapism for me. I still haven't seen Deer Hunter, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Passion of the Christ, the list goes on and on. Not that all the movies I see are light hearted. I loved Gran Torino and Brothers. Both were very well acted with a strong message.

 

[ZachnElli]

I've never understood how people can discredit a whole movie when they admit they only watched 20 minutes of it. I haven't seen The Hurt Locker, so I'm not sticking up for it. I absolutely hated District 9, but so many on here loved it! I thought Avatar was a very pretty movie, but the plot has been done so many times already.

 

[Jennasis]

Personally, I loved The Hurt Locker. I thought it was a wonderful character study and felt very connected to Jeremy Renner's character, even though we are as opposite as can be.

As for Avatar, I thought it was a mediocre film that totally ripped off both Disney's version of Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves (both of which are more than 12 years old). I thought the special effects were great but would have been very upset had it won best picture.

Cameron always acknowledged that he borrowed from the themes in Dances with Wolves. Pocahontas however was released a year AFTER Cameron wrote Avatar.

Don't get me wrong, it's an okay movie, Cameron IS a huge tool with an ego the size of Texas, and there are movies much better.

I'm just saying, once again, I didn't "get" the Best picture winner.

 

[Jennasis]

I've never understood how people can discredit a whole movie when they admit they only watched 20 minutes of it. I haven't seen The Hurt Locker, so I'm not sticking up for it. I absolutely hated District 9, but so many on here loved it! I thought Avatar was a very pretty movie, but the plot has been done so many times already.

Because if you don't capture my attention in 20 minutes, you aren't going to do it in 2 hours. Grab hold of me and don't let go! The Hurt Locker failed. DH watched the whole thing, and said it still failed.

It's a basic concept in both film making and writing.