Ranking the 2014 Best Picture Nominees, Plus Some Observations

I have now posted reviews for all nine films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.  I am not done yet.  I intend to write reviews for those films I have seen that received other Oscar nominations, and that I would recommend.  Look for reviews of The Hunt, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and others as I have the time to post leading up to the Oscar telecast.  You can read my previously posted reviews for nominees Despicable Me 2, Iron Man 3, and Star Trek into Darkness by clicking on those titles.  You can read my comments on The Lone Ranger, a film I didn’t recommend, here.

In regards to ranking the nine nominees, right off the bat I have a tough time picking not only the best film of the year, but what order to put the best three in.  My top three are Gravity, Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street.  It’s almost impossible to compare them because you could probably not pick three films more unlike each other.  One is a thrilling adventure drama set in space, another is a sweet, near-future tale of unlikely love, and the third is a comedy/drama period piece about the rise and fall of a Wall Street trader.

In terms of which ones I am most looking forward to seeing again, that would be Wolf and Gravity.  I will definitely watch Her again, but I am not quite as anxious to see it as the other two.  That puts it in third place.  Between the two remaining I’m going to have to go with The Wolf of Wall Street for the sheer fun and entertainment it provides across its three hour running time.  While Gravity is also very entertaining it does have some “less fun” moments in it.

So, here is how I would rate the nine Best Picture nominees from best to not quite the best.  I have also included how these films are ranked according to the Rotten Tomatoes critics (RTC), the Rotten Tomatoes audiences (RTA), and the IMDB voters. 

Me	Nominee	Reviewed?	RTC	RTA	IMDB
1	The Wolf of Wall Street	Read my review here	9	8	1
2	Gravity	Read my review here	1	7	4
3	Her	Read my review here	3	6	3
4	Philomena	Read my review here	8	4	8
5	12 Years a Slave	Read my review here	2	1	2
6	American Hustle	Read my review here	6	9	9
7	Nebraska	Read my review here	7	5	5
8	Dallas Buyers Club	Read my review here	4	2	6
9	Captain Phillips	Read my review here	5	3	7

Last year I aligned closest with audiences and was most out of touch with professional critics. (Or were they the ones out of touch?)  This year I don’t really align with any of these three groups.  IMDB comes closest, with agreement on two of the top three films.

A few more observations now that I have seen the nine movies: 

1. Three years ago only one of the ten nominated films exceeded two hours (Inception).  It was a welcome change from the three hour long depress-fests that often get nominated.  Two years ago six of the nine films were over two hours long, but none were over 2 ½ hours.  Last year eight of the nine films were at least two hours long, and four of them were at least 2 ½ hours long.  This trend back to longer and longer nominees was not one I was thrilled by.  Thankfully, this year only one film (The Wolf of Wall Street) clocks in at three hours and it is so entertaining that you don’t even notice the time passing.  Six of the other eight nominees are just under or just over two hours long.  And the final two are 98 minutes (Philomena) and 91 minutes (Gravity).
2. Gravity is one of the stronger contenders for Best Picture.  If it wins it might be the shortest film ever to win that prize.  Annie Hall was 93 minutes long.  Marty was 90 minutes, but has an alternate version that runs 94 minutes.  I might be forgetting another short Best Picture winner, but off the top of my head those are currently the two shortest.
3. Two years ago there were only six of nine nominated films that I felt were worth recommending.  Both last year and this year I liked all nine Best Picture nominees enough to recommend them.    
4. Two years ago only one of the nine nominees was rated R, and that was only for a few bad words.  That was quite a change from years past when the nominees were almost always R rated films.  Last year we edged back more towards the past.  Four of the nominees were rated R, four were rated PG-13, and one was rated PG.  And last year Spielberg’s movie Lincoln got a PG-13 when it would have received an R rating if directed by anyone else.  This year six of the nine nominees are rated R, and a seventh was originally rated R, but received a PG-13 upon appeal (Philomena).  The remaining two films (Gravity and Captain Phillips) are also rated PG-13.  There is one ludicrous R rating.  Nebraska has no sex, no nudity, no violence other than a punch being thrown, and a total of two, count ‘em two, F-bombs in it (neither used in a sexual way).  It’s rated R for “some language.”
5. Two years ago was for misty eyed nostalgia (The Artist, Midnight in Paris, and Hugo).  Last year was for re-creating true events (Lincoln, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty.)  This year goes even further with the latter trend.  The Wolf of Wall Street, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, American Hustle, and Captain Phillips were all based on real events.
6. Last year Jennifer Lawrence broke a string of 27 straight years, and all but 4 years since 1970, where the Best Actress winner has done nudity.  Many of the winners appeared nude in the role that won them the Oscar.  (So much for “real actresses don’t do nudity.”)  This year’s frontrunner, Cate Blanchett, has also not done a nude scene.
7. The biggest surprise for me among the nine nominees was Philomena.  I was thinking it would be a touching light drama and it is much harder hitting than I expected it to be.  It is almost on par with 12 Years a Slave in regards to showing the evil that people can do to each other.