Top 5 2010's Oscar Snubs

By Austin Johnson

We are getting closer and closer to the fall, which means all the Oscar bait will be on full display soon. The 92nd Academy Awards are set for February 9th and I’ve found myself thinking about Oscar winning and nominated films. Specifically from the past ten years. I wanted to honor some films that got beat in the Best Picture race by making a Top 5 Oscar robberies. I brought that idea up to Connor and we went back and forth before deciding that it would be cooler to make a Top 5 focusing on films that didn’t get nominated for Best Picture. Well, I’m going to take that a step further and make a list representing films that didn’t get nominated by the Academy at all.

5.) The Conjuring (2013)

“The devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people,
our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow.”

To kick this list off is the classic horror film and subject of Episode 17 on the Filmgazm Podcast, The Conjuring. Obviously, we love horror and this is one of those must-see films within the genre. James Wan has had a wonderful career, but The Conjuring is undoubtedly his best work in my opinion. From the film’s poster to its ultra climactic ending, I just can’t get enough of it. I saw this film in theaters with my dad. I was 18 and inexperienced when it came to the horror genre. At that time I had only seen classics like Jaws, The Shining, and The Silence of the Lambs. Growing up, I wasn’t introduced to that many horror films and I didn’t know a new horror film like this could meet that old school level of scare. My dad and I love going to the theater and this cast convinced us to make a trip. When I was 18, I had just moved back from doing about a year's work overseas for a Christian organization. My interest in religion and philosophy immediately escalated after that experience. This was the first film I saw after moving back to the States, and it opened up mind to the genre, giving me a whole new respect for what new horror films could do. The Conjuring is responsible for sort of rejuvenating my adoration for horror. Like I said, I had seen some old classics but this was brand new. It was extremely well made and had the advantage of real hauntings that Ed and Lorraine Warren lived through. Now, I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t in the spiritual realm but this kind of shit fascinates me. It’s Good vs. Evil in it’s most terrifying form with stakes that are extremely high if you allow yourself to get immersed into this film. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have cemented themselves in the horror pantheon with their performances as the Warrens. Someone had to do it, and it could’ve been fucked up but no, we got two wonderful actors to fill the shoes of a couple that took on demons for a living. It’s so easy to get invested when your watching 2 people move with such ease on the screen. The family they help out is lead by Roger and Carolyn Perron, portrayed by Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor. Ron gets a lot of shit for this performance but he’s supposed to be clueless and subdued. This story is about the women though, and I wouldn’t have been opposed to Lili or Vera being nominated as they both provided dominant performances in high demand roles. I rewatch this all the time because the horror is built off of performances and not hoaxy CGI. Julie Berghoff has worked with James Wan since Saw as the production designer, always bringing an intensely creepy atmosphere at all times. She’s an absolute genius. Another Wan mainstay is composer, Joseph Bishara who is so valuable for any film he offers his talents to. Give that man an Oscar! Twin brothers Chad and Carey Hayes wrote this and it’s sequel, which is very important because they are both men of strong faith. That belief shines through the plot with authenticity and sincerity. James Wan has given us plenty of films to digest, but this is the one that sets the bar the highest.

4.) Short Term 12 (2013)

“You being serious now? Well, it's easy. It's because you are the weirdest, most beautiful person that I've ever met in my whole entire life.”

I’m so thankful Netflix has carried this film for multiple years now. It is the definition of a hidden gem, featuring some young actors who have blossomed into stars of the film industry today. Six years may not seem like a long time ago but this film's cast has catapulted since then. We have Brie Larson playing our main character Grace, who has since won on Oscar and become a part of the MCU. Well done, Brie. John Gallagher plays Grace's coworker and boyfriend, Mason. Jason has appeared in 10 Cloverfield Lane, Hush, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post since 2013. LaKeith Stanfield plays troubled teen Marcus and he has been all over the damn place since then. He was in the modern horror classic, Get Out and the incredibly off the wall Sorry to Bother You. Stanfield has also turned heads in the FX series, Atlanta, which is the best current show on TV right now in my opinion. And then we have Rami Malek who plays Mason and Grace’s new coworker, Nate. Rami won an Oscar for his performance as Freddie Mercury in last year's Bohemian Rhapsody and has worked on USA’s Mr. Robot, which blows my fucking mind every episode. All of these actors will be relevant for a long time, and this is a film that you can point to for proof that they can crush roles in a low budget film that barely made any money. The chemistry between Gallagher and Larson is so believable that the ups and downs they go through as a couple will make you sob. Larson was simply robbed of a nomination, due to the fact that all of the Academy nominees for best actress that year are legendary. It’s hard to get recognition when the names your up against are Cate Blanchett, Amy Adams, Judi Dench, Sandra Bullock, and Meryl fucking Streep. Stanfield isn’t even 30 yet and I already have so much to say about his career. His ability to make us see Marcus’s pain through a facial expression is so essential to this film. Every time I watch him process his anger through rhythm and poetry with Mason, I lose my shit. There are films that entertain or teach, and then some that do both. If this film was made today with these actors and this kind of a script, it would get nominated multiple times for various categories. The director/writer, Destin Cretton hasn’t worked a whole lot since 2013 but he teamed up with Larson again in 2017 with a pretty solid film called The Glass Castle and he’s got some stuff in the works as we speak.

3.) Fruitvale Station (2013)

“I told him to take the train. I told him to catch the BART. I didn't know they were gonna hurt my baby. I should've just let him drive. I should've let him drive, but I wanted to keep him safe. You gotta let me hug him. Please, let me hug him. Please. Please! He didn't like to be alone.”

This is another hidden gem I have watched a few times on Netflix. It was written and directed by Ryan Coogler who has since worked on Creed, Creed II, and Black Panther. The dude has a tremendous amount of talent and even though Fruitvale hasn’t been seen by nearly as many people as his other films, it is definitely the most powerful thing he has ever made. Fruitvale Station tells the story of Oscar Grant, a 22 year old from Oakland. Well, the film covers one day, but it includes flashbacks of Grant’s past life. He’s played by Michael B. Jordan to absolute perfection. It’s a damn shame he didn’t receive a nomination from the Academy. It’s tough when the group your breaking into consists of Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. I still think Jordan out did all of those guys in Fruitvale though. As this day unfolds in Grant’s life, we see that he is trying to be a contributing member of society. It’s a very real and thought provoking kind of day for anyone to go through. Michael B. is obviously a super star now, but 6 years ago when I only knew him as Wallace from The Wire or Jamal from Hardball, he gave a soul shaking performance that should be praised and honored forever.

2.) Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

"The trick is, you can’t fight it.You gotta accept it. You gotta fucking embrace your inner fucking strange, man.Just be fucking weird, you know? And when you do that, you bring who you are, never who they want.And that, my friend, is when it gets fun.”

I don’t really like baseball too much and I don’t like college jocks at all, but this film finds a way to entertain with those very things at its core. Well, Richard Linklater finds a way. Linklater played baseball in college and has used the sport plenty of times in his films. He has proven time and time again that he can use quite literally anything to display societal topics or raise questions that we all have. Everybody Wants Some!! can be seen as a sort of sequel to Linklater’s 1993 classic Dazed and Confused. The main character from Dazed is an incoming high school freshman in 1976 and the main character from EWS is an incoming freshman at college in 1980. Both of them are pitchers with plenty of friends and foes for their journeys on screen. EWS starts off with our main player Jake arriving at a house with his clothes and a milk crate filled with his record collection. We are introduced to the rest of the team from Jake’s perspective. It’s a very simple tactic that Linklater has mastered over time, culminating towards the brilliant character introduction in this film. Something that I think is huge going forward for this film is the unknown star power. We look back at Dazed now and laugh at how that was the first time Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey graced the screen. I don’t think anyone from this is going to get that big, but you never know. Glen Powell and Wyatt Russell have so much charisma. It’s these kind of roles when they can work with an extremely talented writer/director who understands where to place each actor within the story. Collectively, this cast is a very gifted group of 20 something year olds that came together for a film that came and went far too fast. I saw this in Houston at this high end theater that cost way too damn much. I was the only one there, which didn’t bother me one bit, because you simply can’t help yourself from getting lost in the shuffle of this ragtag baseball team. These guys will do whatever it takes to be around women and alcohol. The film covers the weekend before school starts, so all of them are in full on get laid mode. They hit up places like The Sound Machine and Jolly Fox for drinks, but I enjoy the scenes of tomfoolery at their houses. It provides quite possibly my favorite weed smoking scene of all time. Wyatt Russell’s character, Charlie Willoughby who eventually gets kicked off the team for being 30 is a heavy stoner. He invites three teammates to come share a bowl with him while talking about telepathic shit and listening to "Fearless" by Pink Floyd. Speaking of, Linklater has wonderful taste when it comes to music and this soundtrack is stacked with great tracks. I suggest this film to everyone. Even if the conversation has nothing to do with films, I’ll just be that guy who says, “Have you seen that one Linklater film?”

1.) Hereditary (2018)

“Oh, hey, hey, hey. It's alright. Charlie, you're alright, now. You... are Paimon. One of the eight kings of Hell. We have looked to the northwest and called you in. We've collected your first female body and give you now this healthy male host. We reject the trinity and pray devoutly to you, Great Paimon. Give us your knowledge of all secret things, bring us honor, wealth, and good familiars. Bind all men to our will as we have bound ourselves for now and ever to yours. Hail, Paimon!”

Subject of Episode 18 on our podcast, and ranking at number 2 on my Top 5 A24 list, Hereditary is back and at the top of this particular top 5. If you know Filmgazm at all, you know we are obsessed with this debut film from Ari Aster. I saw Hereditary when I was working at one of the Alamo Drafthouse theatres. It screened on a Wednesday night, one night before it was released nationwide. Obviously, I hadn’t seen anything done by Ari Aster because he only had a handful of shorts prior to this coming out. But, that A24 logo and trailer caught my attention. I’d be running some food to someone and just stop by the door to see the trailer. The screening I went to had about twenty people attend and not one person felt normal afterwards. We all sat outside the theater and talked about the masterpiece we had just consumed and I texted Connor when I got home “see that shit as soon as possible.” Hereditary starts off with Annie (Toni Collete) giving a speech at the funeral of Ellen Leigh, her deceased mother. Toni deserves multiple awards for this performance. She’s placed herself in the horror genre for good with this role and I will always stand by Toni as one of the best performers of our time. After the funeral, we simply see this family trying to cope and move on. I want to bring up the trailer now, which is done so damn well by A24. It fucking teases us. It sets us up. We think the film is going to be centered around this young girl, but holy shit we get way more than we signed up for. Milly Shapiro does a damn good job of playing that young girl, Charlie. Cue the clicking tongue… Former Nickelodeon kids star Alex Wolff gives us a devastating performance as her older brother, Peter. The typical skeptical father figure is portrayed by veteran Gabriel Byrne who simply adds to his impressive resume with this role. The performance that stands out the most in this film after seeing it over ten times is Ann Dowd as the extremely creepy lady, Joan. Oh Louie! Annie’s family is literally tortured by higher powers that have an agenda made of pure evil. It’s one of those horror films that we will look back on in twenty years and say, “How the hell did this not get some Oscars?”