Ranking the Best Picture Nominees (2017)

It is now a few hours before Hollywood's annual circlejerk extravaganza, and I've watched 7 out of the 9 Best Picture nominees, and 21 nominated films in total. This is my sixth year following the Oscars, and it's been the most boring year for me – 2011 was the worst in picture quality, while I found 2012 and 2013 to be quite exciting races. Last year, thankfully, saw the justified triumph of Spotlight over The Revenant which I disliked very much. However, this year, a repeat of that seems unlikely – upsetting the unstoppable La La Land seems like an impossible task even by critics' darling (and personal favorite) Moonlight.

Out of the 9 BP nominees, I've seen 7, and here is my ranking of them:

7. Hacksaw Ridge

No one can deny the technical brilliance of Hacksaw Ridge. The battle sequences are widely lauded as the best ones since Saving Private Ryan, and I respect the grittiness in portraying such brutality of war. However, I also did not pay to sit through 45 (or more) minutes of mawkishly sentimental first-act drama, nor did I expect to see such rampant and odd religious imagery. I feel misled by the marketing, and probably would have nothing against them if someone warned me about them in advance. Well, the director's name should have.

6. Hidden Figures

This is the feel-good type of Oscar bait. Yes, it undoubtedly arouses joy, but I can't find much to say about it or its crafts. Its historical significance is not to be looked over, but I was also disappointed to see that much of the history behind was also significantly modified to fit the film's political agenda. I support anti-discrimination against both women and African-Americans, but I do not support misleading 'based on true events' moviemaking. However, I do like the title's pun a lot.

5. Lion

This is the 'prestige' type of Oscar bait. I had a difficult time deciding between this and Hidden Figures for 5th place, but ultimately opted for Lion, because of its stunning though occasional poetic moments. However, the emotionally manipulative ending was way over-the-top, and the use of the obligatory Sia song felt quite distasteful and unsuitable for a 'prestige' pic like this (this is the third time I've heard Sia's melodies/lyrics/voice in the end credits in the past year). Also, there were a few jarring 180-degree breakers, which were unfortunate blemishes in the otherwise breathtaking ASC-winning cinematography.

4. La La Land

This is where it starts to get difficult to rank. Yes, La La Land is what everyone's been talking about half a year, and the soundtrack has stubbornly refused to go away in my brain for two months. It is irresistibly charming and entertaining. However, while every technicality of this film is nothing short of perfect (the costumes! the choreography! the score! the cinematography! didn't understand the praise for editing, though), I have some major qualms with the screenplay and story structure. These qualms were annoying enough to make me the only person in the cinema who didn't cry at the undoubtedly beautiful yet also troubling ending. This is unfortunate, as I find Chazelle's previous work, Whiplash, to be near-perfect both in terms of crafts and writing, so I was ultimately let down slightly by his follow-up.

3. Manchester by the Sea

I can totally understand why there are people out there who are shook by this film, and I believe it captured grief, loss, pain, and other emotions very well. My only issue with it is (and it's my problem, not the film's) that I've never lost a father or a son, so I didn't really connect with the film. Otherwise, this tugs your heartstrings in the worst (most tragic) and best (most moving) possible way.

2. Arrival

Many friends know me as an outspoken (i.e. loud and noisy) fan of Interstellar, but I admit Arrival beats Interstellar in terms of almost everything (except scope and score?). I love sci-fi, and I love mind-benders that challenge audiences intellectually. I've found this year's film that perfectly fits these criteria. I was surprised, stunned, and floored at both viewings of Arrival. Even after knowing its plot twist, there was still much to mine in this film that keeps on giving.

1. Moonlight

Moonlight is pure poetry with themes and imagery abound, yet does not feel inaccessible at all. Of course, my sexual identity did give me a little pre-viewing bias, but I believe its story is one that resonates beyond the African-American and LGBT communities. Most of Moonlight, albeit sweepingly beautiful and poignant, is subdued – almost as hesitant to share as its protagonist – which is why I kept waiting for that moment to floor me. The ending crushed me like no ending has ever had, and even thinking about it opens the floodgates of my tears again.

I'll briefly go through the rest of the categories as well. I have no problem with La La Land winning Director, Costume Design, Score and Song, Sound Mixing (the musical one; I can never differentiate the two sound categories), Cinematography, or even Production Design and Editing. Of course, there are alternate winners and I would love the Academy to spread the wealth, but I think La La deserves these as much as others do.

I've not yet seen Denzel Washington's performance in Fences, but from what I heard, it seems like a screaming 'get me the Oscar' type of performance. I guess I would prefer Casey Affleck's more nonetheless. He wonderfully captures melancholy, loneliness, and guilt yet never feels loud or burdensome.

Emma Stone is great in La La Land but I fear this will be remembered as a Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook kind of win. Both charm without making it look like much effort, but are they the best of their years? Again, I've not seen Elle, but Isabelle Huppert deserves an Oscar for her career anyway, and Natalie Portman does more than just a very convincing impersonation in Jackie.

While I loved Moonlight in every way possible, I don't quite understand the praise for Mahershala Ali's performance. He is excellent in some brief scenes; his impact is felt through the rest of the film, but it's not a great pillar literally supporting the film. Naomie Harris, on the contrary, was much better, so it saddens me that she's not the one winning everything, but I haven't seen Fences yet. Viola Davis deserves an Oscar anyway (one step closer to EGOT?).

For the rest of the categories, the only one I truly care about it Best Animated Feature. I love Zootopia, and would love for it to win so deservingly, but Kubo and the Two Strings is a formidable threat after the BAFTA win. I must admit I haven't seen the latter, and its nomination for Best Visual Effects is alarming in a good way.

Year after year, the Oscars disappoint in some categories. Heck, their nominations are usually disappointing. But last year's Spotlight victory rekindled a little bit of hope in me, and I'm also very pleased at the increased representation of non-whites in this year's list – this indicates diversity and progression not within the Academy, but within the industry.