Happy Friday!
It’s Quartz entertainment reporter Adam Epstein. Let me tell you, folks, I am so tired of the Oscars already—and they’re not until this Sunday. But stay with me, because I’m going to give you better things to watch.
In a desperate effort to appeal to the masses, the Academy has totally alienated the few loyal viewers the show has left. First there was the misguided introduction of the “Popular Film” award, which was immediately abandoned after unanimous backlash. Then came the Kevin Hart snafu, leaving the show without a host for the first time since 1989.
Things continued to unravel earlier this month when the Academy revealed that several major categories, including best cinematography, editing, and makeup and hairstyling—three pillars of cinema!—would be presented during commercial breaks, edited, and aired later in the broadcast. Nobody was happy with this decision—not Spike Lee, not Martin Scorsese, and definitely not Russell Crowe.
He’s not wrong. Without cinematography and editing, there is no cinema. And isn’t that what the Oscars are for? The Academy reversed this decision, too, but not before pissing off much of Hollywood.
But 2018 was actually a great year for film, despite the Academy’s unimaginative nominations. There were tons of movies I can’t stop talking about.
To that end, below you’ll find an “Alternative Oscars“—selected by me, with the help of my Quartz colleagues. We made our own best picture, best director, best actor, and best actress categories, comprised entirely of films and performances the Academy failed to recognize. Warning: Some of our picks are pretty out there.
If you decide not to watch the Oscars on Sunday, I respect your decision. Take some time to watch some of these movies instead. You won’t regret it.
Best picture. The front-runner in the real race is Roma, with Green Book (zzz), A Star Is Born (great), The Favourite (fun), and BlacKkKlansman (also great) representing the biggest challengers. Taking nothing away from the truly gorgeous Roma, this is not the strongest best picture slate ever, especially when you add Bohemian Rhapsody and Vice to the mix. This list is more diverse, fascinating, and bold:
- Annihilation: Four women scientists trek through a mysterious biological zone in this mesmerizing Alien-meets-Tarkovsky’s Stalker sci-fi-thriller based on one of my favorite books, by Jeff Vandermeer. Watch it on Hulu in the US, or Netflix outside the US.
- Eighth Grade: Comedian Bo Burnham’s directorial debut is a hysterical, perceptive, deeply human dramedy depicting one 13-year-old girl’s final week of middle school. Watch it on Amazon.
- First Man: Neil Armstrong’s struggle with grief as seen through his historic moon landing. You’ll see the first man on the Moon in a whole new light. I maintain that in a few years we’ll remember this as a masterpiece. Rent it on Amazon.
- First Reformed: Ethan Hawke plays a Protestant minister whose world is turned upside down when he meets an environmental activist. It’s a stunning morality play that floats somewhere in the void between science and faith. Watch it on Amazon.
- Hereditary: Go into this film knowing as little as possible. All that matters is Toni Collette is amazing, and this is truly existential horror that buries itself deep inside places you don’t like to think about. It’s a good time at the movies! Watch it on Amazon.
- Leave No Trace: Director Debra Granik is a master at giving voice to lives lived on the fringes of society. Ben Foster is devastating as a US veteran with PTSD trying to live off the grid in the Pacific Northwest with his precocious daughter. Watch it on Amazon.
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout: The best action movie since Mad Max: Fury Road. Tom Cruise risks his life for our entertainment; the least we could do is give him an Oscar. Rent it on Amazon.
- The Rider: A cast of untrained actors do wonders in Chloé Zhao’s lyrical portrait of masculinity in South Dakota’s Badlands. Brady Jandreau plays a former rodeo star (largely based on himself) who suffers a career-ending injury. Watch on Starz (subscription), or buy it on Amazon.
- Wildlife: Carey Mulligan gives a powerhouse performance in Paul Dano’s directorial debut about a disintegrating marriage in 1960s Montana—seen through the eyes of the couple’s teenage son. Rent it on Amazon.
- You Were Never Really Here: The spiritual successor to Taxi Driver, Lynne Ramsay’s stylish crime thriller follows Joaquin Phoenix as a psychologically scarred hitman paid to rescue trafficked girls in New York City. It’s an unsparing but worthwhile watch. Find it on Amazon.
Best director. Roma director Alfonso Cuaròn is the favorite to pick up his second best director trophy (he previously won for Gravity). Maybe Spike Lee finally gets a long-overdue victory. Or maybe they should have nominated some of these people:
- Bo Burnham (Eighth Grade): Only 28, he’ll have more opportunities.
- Debra Granik (Leave No Trace): The attention to detail (emotional and physical) in her films is second to none.
- Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk): No one is better at filming the human face.
- John Krasinski (A Quiet Place): We told you there’d be some weird picks. The Office actor’s horror film is a huge creative success.
- Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here): Ramsay directs the hell out of this movie.
Best actor. We think either Dick Cheney (Christian Bale in Vice) or Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody) is about to win an Oscar. It totally should be Bradley Cooper. But, I digress, one of these dudes would be good options:
- Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible – Fallout): The man learned how to fly a helicopter solely for our amusement.
- Ben Foster (Leave No Trace): Foster is tremendous in literally everything he’s in.
- Ryan Gosling (First Man): Gosling’s “brooding, sad-eyed” shtick plays extremely well as the emotionally distant Neil Armstrong.
- Ethan Hawke (First Reformed): Hawke’s performance in the final third of this film is the stuff of legend.
- Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk): Okay, this is partly for his wonderful performance opposite Julia Roberts in Amazon’s Homecoming, but here he oozes charisma and empathy in equal measure.
Best actress. A year without Meryl Streep means this is anyone’s race, but Glenn Close (The Wife) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite) have deservingly emerged as the front-runners. In a deep acting pool this year, here were some other performances worthy of recognition:
- Madeline Brewer (Cam): Brewer plays two very different roles in this creepy, original Netflix thriller.
- Toni Collette (Hereditary): Collette’s performance is one of the best in the history of the horror genre.
- Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade): Fisher, 15, showed the emotional intelligence and wit of a seasoned award-winning performer.
- Regina Hall (Support the Girls): Hall is fiercely nurturing as the manager of the roadside Hooters knockoff, “Double Whammies.”
- Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace): 18-year-old McKenzie matches Foster scene-for-scene in a star-making performance reminiscent of Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone.
A film is only as good as its supporting cast. Here are some supporting roles from the past year worth singling out:
- Claire Foy (First Man, Unsane)
- Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade)
- Rachel McAdams (Game Night)
- Margot Robbie (Mary Queen of Scots)
- Bryan Tyree Henry (If Beale Street Could Talk)
- Steven Yeun (Burning)
At the Quartzy Alternative Oscars, everyone’s a winner. Maybe the Academy should take a page out of our playbook (and the Peabody Awards’), and make the Oscars more of a celebration of cinema, and less of a cynical competition. Or replace the awards entirely with the Alternative Oscars. Just don’t ask me to host.
Have a great weekend!
Imperfect Oscars, meet perfect popcorn. Whatever you’re watching, Quartzy food writer Annaliese Griffin has some thoughts about what you should be eating: this popcorn. “The only way to make it properly is on the stove in a heavy pan,” she says, citing Jessica Koslow’s recipe as the definitive method, which she has modified like so: “Take your biggest pot—a Dutch oven works well—and put it over high heat. Scoop two big spoonfuls of coconut oil into it, let it melt, then add a generous pinch of salt or two. Pour in popcorn kernels until they almost cover the pan in a single layer. Swish them around until they’re coated in oil and salt. Then cover the pan and wait, shaking occasionally. When the kernels start to pop, shake every 20-30 seconds to keep the popcorn on the bottom from burning. Then, when the popping stops, pour it into a bowl and sprinkle more salt, nutritional yeast, or shichimi togarashi—a Japanese seven-spice blend with some heat—on top. (Or, use all three!) Crunchy, salty, and guaranteed to be delicious.