Oscars 2019 - Best Picture

I liked the pick for Best Picture at last year's Oscars. Awards lists are always contentious, and largely I think the Academy made good decisions, although I didn't think Darkest Hour should have been in contention.

This year, the slate of proposed films is a little less to my taste.

Black Panther. Not the best Marvel Studios film, in my book, some would argue that it wasn't even the best Marvel Studios film from last year (assuming we're not including the animated Spider-Man film, they're wrong), but it's scored points for its political talking points (both those in the story and those involved in the production).

It was also a lot of fun, well-made (about five minutes of the whole film was a little dull on a repeat watch, so that's a pretty good ratio), a crowd pleaser, and exactly the sort of film that should be getting nominated for best picture.

So I'm happy with that choice.

Next up is BlacKkKlansman. A joint by Spike Lee, that works to keep the dialogue going about race relations in the USA in a way that entertains rather than polemicises, keeping it fairly light considering the subject matter - until the last five minutes of the film, which left the whole audience in stunned silence as the credits rolled.

Not sure if the rest of the film would justify it, but the ending probably scrapes this one past the finish line for me.

Bohemian Rhapsody. Fun, well-mounted, songs by Queen, what's not to like? Except it's not a best picture contender by a long-shot.

There have been plenty of films that have entertained me a lot more this year - Ready Player One I managed to see seven times, so on an entertainment scale, with one viewing and no desire to see it again, Bohemian Rhapsody falls well short. And for anything deeper, look elsewhere.

The Favourite. As an absurdist black comedy, The Favourite provides an entertaining couple of hours viewing. The performances from the three female leads are superb, there are nice frocks, and some nice period backdrops (courtesy of Hatfield House and Hampton Court). But that doesn't feel enough to qualify it as best picture. The acting nominations are well-deserved, but anything else doesn't feel earned.

Roma. Lush black and white photography; a small, personal, heart-breaking story, set against a wide backdrop. Roma is the type of film you want to live inside. The only strike against it, is that it's also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, so it seems a bit greedy.

Green Book. Basically Driving Miss Daisy for the 21st century. It's another tale of a white person realising that people of a different colour are not bad people after all. It's a well-mounted production, with decent performances, but it's a fairly standard (b)rom com plot. I wouldn't have put this one forward.

A Star is Born. At one time lauded as the most likely winner, I think a bit of time has possible taken some of the sheen off of this one. It's well-directed, convincingly-acted, some great songs - it definitely creates the sense of being out on stage. I found the relationship dynamics troubling, which I think I was supposed to, but the way they were left at the end of the film left me feeling slightly uneasy. It's a better contender than some of the others on the list - and a far better music picture than Bohemian Rhapsody - but I wouldn't want it to win.

Vice. Brilliant make-up effects (should win the Oscar for that), and an entertainingly told told tale about a horrifying man, but it's too disjointed. The Big Short, writer-director Adam McKay's previous film was far better.

Shouldn't have been a contender.

So that's one I completely agree on, three maybes and four nos.

Here's what I would replace the definite nos with:

If Beale Street Could Talk. Much better at talking about race than Green Book, and an absolutely beautiful production. Nominated for a few other awards, but stupidly not selected for Best Picture.

Leave No Trace. Criminally overlooked by the Oscars, Globes and BAFTAs. One of the best reviewed films of the year, and an absolutely wonderful piece of filmmaking.

First Man. Worth it for the claustrophobic Moon Landing scenes alone.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. If a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film can make it into the Best Picture shortlist, then so can a nominee for Best Animated Feature Film.