With the Academy Awards show this Sunday, February 24, everyone is wondering which movie will win Best Picture this year. Most prognosticators believe Argo will walk away with the big prize because it has been cleaning up with other awards. A few wonder whether Argo will win because Director Ben Affleck was not nominated in the directing category. Yet, while some pull for a dark horse like Silver Linings Playbook, it seems clear that Argo is the front-runner going into Sunday.
I will not make a guess, but I do think this year was one of the best years for movies in recent years. In addition to Argo, I enjoyed many of the other nominated films like Life of Pi and Django Unchained. But if I had a vote for the Best Picture Oscar, I would vote for Lincoln.
Of course, nobody knows who will win this year, but we can look back on past Best Picture winners. Nelson Carvajal has created this cool video of all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners. How many can you identify?
The music for this Oscar montage is “November” by Max Richter.
Which film do you think should win Best Picture? Leave your two cents in the comments.
While we anticipate the winners of this year’s Academy Awards, it is a good time to look back on the history of the Oscars. This quiz will test your knowledge of some of the most controversial years.
See how well you remember those controversial choices. Answer these ten questions about which film won the Best Picture these years, where in retrospect, many believe another film should have taken home the gold statue.
How did you do? Which year do you think the Academy was most wrong in its Best Picture choice? Who will win this year? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The King’s Speech (2010), about King George VI, is one of the best movies of the year. It is entertaining, interesting, and an excellent mix of drama, humor, and history.
Do not be deceived about the “king” in the title and be turned off or expect a story focusing on royalty. Although the movie does give great insight into the life of the royals, it is mainly a movie about human beings. The movie begins with the future king as the Duke of York, known to his friends as “Bertie.” He is second in line to the crown behind his father and older brother, but events beyond his control will later propel him toward the throne. In carrying out is royal duties, he sometimes has to give speeches, and his speaking is hindered by a severe stammer. After various experts failed to help him with his stammer, Bertie’s wife (Helena Bonham Carter) encourages Bertie to try one more expert, Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush.
When Rush enters the movie, it really takes off in its study of the relationship between the commoner and the future king. Rush is outstanding in the role, and Colin Firth is also exceptional in making the viewer come to understand the imperfect person underneath the king. The acting all around is excellent, including Carter and including Guy Pearce as King Edward VIII. Timothy Spall’s portrayal of Winston Churchill was the only weak point in the cast. But the problem may have been in the difficulty of portraying someone as recognizable as Churchill without slipping into caricature.
[This paragraph reveals small potential spoilers.] The title’s reference to “The King’s Speech” refers both to Bertiie’s difficulties in speaking and to the climactic speech at the end where he addresses the nation. While the focus on the former is compelling, the shift to the focus on the latter fell a little flat for a movie climax. Because of the tone throughout the movie, as well as maybe from previews, there was no suspense about whether the final speech would succeed. Plus, the uplifting movie’s ending foreshadows some dark clouds with the images of Hitler near the end and the introduction of Neville Chamberlain, who after the movie ends will have a policy of appeasement to the Nazis. So, the movie did not quite convince me of the speech’s importance, although it was important. It is hard to fault the movie for the climax, though, when it portrays true events and is not responsible for our knowledge of the upcoming events. But it is too bad that his speech alone could not have immediately defeated the Germans, in both the movie and in real life.
Conclusion? The story, acting, and movie are excellent. In a year of few great movies, The King’s Speech is near the top of the crop.
If you have not seen the movie, stop reading here and go see it. If you have seen the movie, you might enjoy hearing the actual speech from King George VI featured at the end of the movie here:
