There's no way that I'm going to get reviews for all the Best Picture nominees posted before Oscar night, but at least I can get a "Rank 'Em" post out in time. Here they are, from best to worst, and this was one of those years with such a wide range in quality that I had very little difficulty with the final rankings.
Roma - Alfonso Cuaron's love letter to the Mexico City of his youth and the women in his life is a wonderfully intimate piece of nostalgia. At the same time, its scope is vast and its ambitions are grand. This is an unlikely frontrunner for Best Picture, largely boosted by Netflix's efforts, but it's one of the most deserving in recent memory. The filmmaking is head and shoulders above any of the other contenders, featuring Cuaron's own magnificently executed cinematography.
The Favourite - It's delightful to find that Yorgos Lanthimos's style can be applied to a more mainstream, conventional picture without losing very much of its bite. The lead actresses do a lot of the heavy lifting here, and they are sensational. Olivia Colman's miserable Queen Anne in particular is a treat. Court intrigue has rarely been this bawdy, this absurd, or this much dirty, unwholesome fun. And yet underneath, there's a deep sadness that grounds the whole film beautifully.
Blackkklansman - One of the most watchable Spike Lee films, because it embraces the structure of a rip-roaring police procedural. Sure, the politics and the social commentary are full-throated Spike Lee, but these elements are deftly woven into an great yarn about a black cop making fools of the KKK. It doesn't fall into the trap that so many similar films have, making simple monsters of the racists, or underestimating their perniciousness. So when that audacious ending is deployed, it has all the more impact.
A Star is Born - I give Bradley Cooper and company a lot of points for the seemingly effortless way that this film is distinguished from its predecessors. Despite following the original formula to the letter, it doesn't look or sound remotely similar. Casting Lady Gaga was the best decision they made. However, it's hard to overlook how the second half is significantly weaker than the first, and Bradley Cooper's character takes over a little too much of the narrative. It's certainly an impressive debut, but there's room for improvement.
Green Book - This is a perfectly competently made period drama about American race relations. However, the decision to honor "Green Book" over so many better alternatives is more troubling. I'm glad that the film has brought more attention to "Doc" Shirley, and I'm rooting for Mahershala Ali to take home another statuette, but it's hard to feel much enthusiasm for a picture that feels so safe. I'm sure everyone involved had the best intentions, but the film can't escape feeling a little tired and decades out of date.
Bohemian Rhapsody - I like the film more than I should because it's such a crowd pleaser, and knows exactly how to use Queen's songs for maximum audience enjoyment. Rami Malek shines, despite the distracting dentures. The Live Aid recreation is grand. And as musical biopics go, the rest is very entertaining. It is also, alas, a rather messy, slapdash sort of amalgam of a lot of stories told out of order, with little resemblance to reality. Not as bad as it could have been by a long shot, but this wasn't the Freddie Mercury film many were hoping for.
Black Panther - I understand all the forces that converged to make this nomination happen, but it still feels strange. I love genre cinema as much as anyone, but there's no getting around that "Black Panther" is at its core a pretty typical Marvel superhero film. It's no doubt a very important superhero film because of its unprecedented cultural impact, but the action and effects work are mediocre, and the plotting is generic stuff. I want it to win some of the crafts awards, because it deserves them, but I have trouble thinking of this as a serious pick.
Vice - And finally, I can't wrap my mind around why this is here. Every few years we have another film with Christian Bale and Amy Adams in it, with a passel of nominations, that I completely fail to connect with. "Vice" is dull and hamhanded and looking to pick a fight half of the time. The other half tries to be fair and balanced and takes a few feeble stabs at humanizing Dick Cheney. The editing is a mess, the attitude is off-putting, Cheney is a snooze, and I'm honestly shocked that Adam McKay is up for Best Director.
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