Weekly Poll Results: The Movie That Should Have Won Best Picture
Prior to last weekend’s Oscar broadcast, we asked you which of this year’s ten Best Picture nominees was most deserving of the award. Now that we’ve “tallied the votes”, it seems that a large number of Film Junk readers believe that the Academy got it wrong, and that Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds should have won. The Hurt Locker did rank second in the poll, but it was District 9 that was voted #3 over Avatar. Interesting. I was a little surprised to see that Pixar’s Up didn’t get all that many votes and that Precious came in dead last (although I think a lot of people still haven’t seen it). What do you think, do these results accurately reflect the quality of the nominees?
1. Inglourious Basterds — 44.5%
2. The Hurt Locker — 20%
3. District 9 — 11.5%
4. Avatar — 9.8%
5. A Serious Man — 5.2%
6. Up in the Air — 3.8%
7. Up — 2.5%
8. An Education — 1.7%
9. The Blind Side — 0.6%
10. Precious — 0.4%
Comments (26)
lol Precious
Posted by DavidM on March 10th, 2010Wunderbar! I would of lost all respect for the FJ community if were anything else.
Posted by Primal on March 10th, 2010totally agree. Inglourious Basterds is the year’s best.
Posted by mikey on March 10th, 2010I feel so bad for tarantino…his best films always come up against something…take pulp fiction…lost out to gump but any other year it would have taken it all at the oscars. same this year…inglourious basterds should have taken many more awards. hurt locker is a good movie but c’mon! basterds already feels epic…hurt locker on the other hand is going to fade away into obscurity over the years.
Posted by Teo on March 10th, 2010to clarify that obscurity comment…this is based purely on how rewatchable both movies were…hurt locker i got bored and turned it off after a half hour. basterds ive seen 3 times and it gets better each time round.
Posted by Teo on March 10th, 2010basterds all the way. a classic tarantino film. another masterpiece from this genius director.
Posted by myles on March 10th, 2010Its called Inglorious Basterds and you have to wonder why. Tarantino’s seventh attempt at immortality pretends to be something for everyone, from Godard’s elegant whismy to Morricone’s masterful soundscapes and his unquestionable devotion to Brian “Mission to Mars” De Palma’s sub Hitchcockian set pieces. When this was first mooted with tentative casting being debated, the names mentioned were Michael Madsen, Adam Sandler, Steven Seagal and Mike Myers. Since Austin Powers is the only survivor from the original line-up you have to wonder just how much the original idea has been changed. It is evident that a Tarantino helmed wisecracking juggernaut replete with several A-listers would have been a no-brainer for the average cine-illiterate studio head. Of course this is all irrelevant in light of QT’s unprecedented leverage comprising final cut and script integrity not to mention the free rein to rocket any deserving jobbing actor he deems interesting to stardom. Not to say that Christoph Waltz doesn’t deserve such an opportunity since he is almost the only person in this with anything approaching an arc. We know so little of Shosanna played by Melanie Laurent (the main protaganist of the piece) that when the climax comes and the conflagration of nazi-killers and killer-nazis begins one little girls unrelenting wish for revenge seems lost in the preceding genre-mixing and b-movie chaos.
Posted by John on March 10th, 2010John has spoken people!
Posted by Teo on March 10th, 2010^^^^^^^^ lame
Posted by Henrik on March 10th, 2010I guess I should just stop copying and pasting bullshit then…although John Campea agrees. Is that cool enough?
Posted by John on March 10th, 2010Cheers Teo!
Posted by John on March 10th, 2010Excellent cinematography
Posted by Della on March 10th, 2010Of course Basterds should have won. Hurt Locker is mediocre at best, a crap student film at worst, and it won the Oscar not only for the movie and directing, but for writing??? Maybe soundmixing and sound editing, but film editing? Ugh-American trash by a hack director. Review:
20 minutes into this PIECE OF SHIT. WAAAAAYYYY too much shakey cam. I feel like I’m watching NYPD Blue.
18 minutes in-dude sets off smoke bomb as he’s going to look at the bomb, then doesn’t answer his radio when black guy calls. Does he WANT the two others to come in looking for him, putting them at risk too???? Jackass.
20 min in-American dude holds out flag when he’s lookin for his hookup and it turns out to be a bunch of USA soldiers? Like you couldn’t fucking show your face to the dudes who are trying to help you? Or just fucking yell out something. You gotta make it all mysterioso and put all your guys at risk asshole? Let alone the fact that they would spot a little flag in the middle of all that shit. QUIT SHAKING THAT FUCKING CAMERA!
21 minutes in-Arab dude comes barreling through with a car right in bomb guys face, then stops. WTF? First of all, like none of the other USA guys woulda capped him right then and there, whatever. Then, when the arab dude doesn’t back up, bomb guy puts the gun in his face, THEN he backs up. Like, the bullet through the window wasn’t serious enough? Give me a fuckin break. Why is this scene here-doesn’t make ANY sense!
24 min-arab dude looking out window sees USA guy disarming the 6 bombs….AND THEN RUNS AWAY!! Then when USA sees him he shows him the detonator-oooh like you’re so fucking badass. Hey arab guy…JUST FUCKING SET THE BOMB OFF!!!! What, since he found them you think they’re gonna catch you? You got a detonator that’s about as big as a pack of gum. Oh my fucking GOD with this fucking shakey cam.
27:00-kid selling DVD’s speaks better English than my cousin!
30:00-Guys in tower are making hand signals at guy with the camera…..payoff=0.
42:50-the “He’s a wild man†speech by the CO. Ugh. I got an hour and a half left?? Fuck. By the way, don’t put the camera on the star UNLESS he’s got a cigarette. If you wouldn’t have told me, I KNEW this movie was directed by a chick.
44:33-soccer ball speech with the kid. FUCK—-ING—–HACK——NEY. Quit shaking that fucking camera.
46:12-speech against the psych because he doesn’t see action. Hey douchebag grunt. ANY soldier knows, when you get a college degree and STILL agree to go in the army-THOSE guys are more respected than ANYBODY cause they DON’T have to be there-straight from a soldier (who doesn’t have a degree). Save the “awww, your daddy got you a kush job in the army†for DRAFTED movies like WW2 & Vietnam. Hackneyhackneyhackneyhack
50:48-crew comes up on Ralph Finnes who takes a week to put down his gun after being yelled at to ‘PUT DOWN YOUR GUNâ€. Hey, guess what? When Ralph coulda easily yelled back “we’re on the same side†he waits till the situation gets all tense and shit FOR NO REASON, THEN TAKES OFF HIS MASK, THEN SAYS IT! All his back up group with the flat tire, 1)Also don’t say anything 2)Also don’t put their guns down. FUCK—ING—–RE—-TAR——DED——–
This is some stone cold mass market bullshit movie.
52:00-“Hey this tire iron doesn’t fit†uhh dude, you mean the tire iron that CAME WITH YOUR FUCKING CAR??Is that the one you mean? Asshole? “Uh, don’t worry, I think there’s another in the back of the Hummer. Why don’t you take a look?†Uhh, well…..since you THINK there is and don’t know FOR SURE, and it’s YOUR fucking truck why don’t YOU look? Oh yeah, cause I’m the one that’s gotta get shot. Hehe almost forgot! BULLLFUCKINGSHIT.
Next 5 minutes-shooting…at nothing!!!!!!! Arabs-2 or three shots. USA 10,000 shots. Here’s a tip. When you’ve got a 360 degree panorama, and you don’t know where the arabs are-TAKE COVER AND SETTLE THE FUCK DOWN. This is what happens when you get a female director. “OK boys, just do your war stuff and fire at the bad guys! Yea for us!â€
58:00-Director-“I need something here that shows the audience this one guy is super scared and that bomb guy bonds with him. Spit and rub, spit and rub†o-o-o-h y-e-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h-h. NO Fucking WAY is some fresh blood gonna jam those hand cannons. Maybe, and I mean MAYBE like, honey. That’s been left on them for a week. In the middle of a sandstorm. On a 30 year old gun.
1:00:00-Shell casing hits ground in slo mo. Sound of pipe in hallway echoes. Straight up Guy Ritchie ripoff. Director-“We need a G.R.R. here! Stat!â€
1:00:07-Ooh dust devil. Get the shakey cam on it and zoom in. NO ZOOM OUT! NO zoom in!
1:06-Wrestling match in the barracks. This is what any girl at your UL/UK game thinks guys do all day. After wrestling-“You’re a good warrior sirâ€. “Thanks, you proved yourself on the field of battle too soldier.†Do I have to say anything?
Barracks speeches (all of them)-Ugh, young actors suck. Director:“Fresh cigarette, STAT!â€
1:17-Rookie director mistake-Never point the camera at the sun, let alone twice. Annoying for everyone. Even idiots who like this bullshit movie.
1:24-Movie tip: when you want someone to blow up unexpectedly, don’t have a dude who knows what he’s doing go “Let’s go†and the psych dude who doesn’t ignore him. That’s first. Second, when you show him through the window and the camera pulls back before ANYTHING happens, that’s a fuck up by the camera guy/director. This is a bullshit rookie movie through and through.
Quit shakin that goddamn camera
1:25-Soldier calls home, hears his wife and kid and doesn’t say anything. Wow, I think other films should do that. What an original idea. Man, this director/writer knows their shit. By the way, how come everytime a soldier calls home the chick is always in the middle of 5 different things and has the kid in their arms? Also, who the fuck has a home phone anymore? Oh yeah, me. Well, NO ONE HAS A PHONE ON THEIR WALL ANYMORE! Just another rookie director wanting to show the hustle bustle of a single mom. R to the double OO-K-I-E
1:29-Bomb guy gets all vigilante with soccer kids parents. Real good asshole. Their son has just been killed, or as far as they know is gone, and he whips out a pistol on them. What the fuck is this director thinking? Oh yeah, we needed a shot of him running through the foreign streets. Another brilliant and original shot! By the way, of course the dad speaks perfect English AND French where no one else does. AND his kid is a gypsy who sells DVDs. AND this soldier happened to get attached to him cause he played soccer with him for about 3 minutes. I feel nauseous.
Posted by Pittmo on March 10th, 2010Wow, that is one brilliant post, I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile. While I think you’re way overly harsh, I agree with a lot of the criticisms and its stuff that brings the movie down for me. My biggest issue is the sniper scene. The bad guys have a bead on the good guys, but they fire off like 2 shots and then stop, and just stand by the window without shooting. That scene could’ve been 5 times more intense if they had the bad guys actually shooting at the heroes.
Posted by bullet3 on March 10th, 2010I really wasn’t all that impressed with Basterds. It wasn’t bad. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think it deserves the amount of praise everyone is heaping on it.
I honestly think that if someone other than Tarantino had directed it (with the same result) it wouldn’t have the same number of people raving about it.
District 9, Moon, Up, and Up In The Air probably would have gotten my vote before Basterds.
I haven’t yet seen The Hurt Locker, but I’m so glad Avatar didn’t get the award.
Posted by scoville on March 10th, 2010I have to say…i found “IB” a so-so movie…i love the german officers performance (sorry i forget his name) cause he was brilliant…but overall…i thought it was silly and hardly QT’s best work….it was ok…but im surprised it was nominated period.
Posted by Kronos on March 10th, 2010as they say the best doesn’t always win best picture.
Posted by henry on March 11th, 2010not winning does not diminished the greatness of basterds
Posted by josh on March 11th, 2010Man That Hurt Locker review is pretty funny. R to the double OO-K-I-E indeed!
Basterds was silly, but no more than Pulp Fiction. Guy falls 3 stories down through a greenhouse and develops a god damn speech impediment? Grated, the setting might make the silly elements seem more misplaced.
Posted by Henrik on March 11th, 2010Wow, Pittmo, you’re a total ass hat. Sounds like you went in to The Hurt Locker expecting to hate it and were subsequently glad you did (or at least you were glad you forced yourself to hate it). Next time try approaching films in general with a sense of maturity instead of the mentality of a winy little bitch.
Posted by Max on March 11th, 2010No Basterds wasn’t QT’s best, but of the other movies?
Avatar-crap story, awesome 3d. White guys being mean to different people.
Blind Side-didn’t see
District 9-Crash, but instead of black dudes it’s aliens. White guys being mean to different people.
An Education-didn’t see
Precious-didnt see
A Serious man-Man those fucks don’t know how to end a movie. Yeah I loved No Country, shit ending. Slow paced, not funny, not drama, not romance, more like a documentary about Hassidsm. Good scene with that busty chick though.
Hurt Locker-REALLY wanted to fucking like it. Oscar for movie, directing, writing, editing, sound stuff. How could it be bad? Was bad from the start. You like this? Enjoy an assload of shakey cam movies with young crap actors for the next 5 years, cause this has set precedent. I haven’t seen any of that Vampire shit, but I bet they bust out the skakey cam in the next one.
Up-didn’t see
Up in the air-Although I do like the fact that everyone I ask if they’ve seen this, they say “The cartoon?” This wasn’t a bad movie, kinda like if it’s on TNT I might watch if NOTHING else is on, but Oscar nominated??? That’s like nominating Point Break. Good,…uh….camera work I guess. Average directing, average writing, below average acting by that young chick. Clooney always good.
So yeah, of the ones I’ve seen, (I’ve heard about the others from friends) IB was the best. This poll proves I’m in the majority. Thanks Film Junk! I DID NOT like IB when it first came out. It’s like sitting around at a party and everyone whips out a book to read (LOTS of subtitles). Reading with other people is NO FUN! But when you watch by yourself it IS like a great book. Also, HATE Eli Roth. What the fuck is with the eyeliner when you’re shooting Hitler??? Bowie? Way out of place. Mike Meyers scene could’ve been cut. No WAY black dude is gonna be dating white chick, let alone work in Nazi Germany. No way Jew hunter woulda let her run away. Dude from the office was a bit too “officey”. The german 3 vs. american 3 in the bar was QT showing that he learned something no one knows-like Royale with cheese-but went on way too long. I got a lot more, but most of it is just Quentin being Quentin. You can’t ask a guy to stop being himself, even if you think you could make the movie better. If we could, we would’ve had no Pulp, no Dogs, no Jackie etc. Also, the dudes a fucking genius. Even if you dont like it, just by his track record you gotta think “maybe he’s better at making movies than me”.
Proof: Which movie would you rather re-watch in 10 years?
Max, you have made me realize the meaning of love. You wanna spit and rub with me?
Posted by Pittmo on March 11th, 2010I think District 9 should be on the second place on that poll. I don’t want to bash Hurt Locker, I guess a lot of it is a matter of taste, but I really didn’t see those quality filmmaking nuances for what it is praised.
Posted by anton on March 11th, 2010Inglourious Basterds is an international epic. Any film audience in the world would watch it and say ‘hey that was great’. I think it missed out big time. Also feel that QT deserved the award for both writing and direction. Kathryn B won it because maybe the Academy members just focused on the spouse wars. Their ambit was very restricted this year I feel. Which was more or less “DO NOT let Avatar win it – Let the ex-wife have all the fun”.
Posted by Actionman on March 12th, 2010I agree that Inglourious Basterds should have won best picture. I came out of that film drooling with delight, and I could watch it every day without ever getting tired of it. Mark of a classic. I’m not a QT fanatic (I enjoy his work and believe it of high quality, but by no means do I give him a free pass). Here’s my breakdown – I’ll start with the five I think should have been nominated before they went with ten.
1. Inglourious Basterds – amazing, as I’ve said. Best thing I saw all year.
2. Up in the Air -perhaps for its timeliness, or it’s universal appeal, or its poignancy, but what struck me most, aside from quality, was how differently it affected people based on their ages and state in life. I work at an indie/foreign/art theatre, so I got to ask a lot of people. Including the director. Any film that can speak so widely in so many voices is a rarity.
3. Precious – the drama felt real, and the director clearly pushed the actors beyond what we expected. His work is to be admired. Very dark and real without ever making me give up and assume anything.
4. An Education – well acted, involving, beautifully structured.
5. This spot was hard. I love the Coens, and I respect their body of work, but they aren’t getting this spot . . . A Serious Man doesn’t quite cut the top five here. I’m giving it to District 9. Why?
Because the first time I watched it, I hated it. And then I saw it again. Once I’d forgotten the need to “know what was happening,” I realized what a great social commentary it was. I loved how flawed the protagonist was – how half the time he was small and vile, but he’d do a great thing and redeem himself for the moment. I never knew whether I was meant to love or hate him, to cheer or to be angry, and I was both. Well done. If you’ve only seen it once, do it again. Maybe if I watch a third time, I’d bump it up further.
6. A Serious Man – because it was good, but it loses points for lack of cohesion.
7. Avatar – 3D has never been quite like this, especially for live action.
8. Up- I don’t agree with animated movies in this category; they have their own. But I loved it from the very sad opening. I think I’m a crotchety old man deep down.
9. The Hurt Locker -only placing here because I don’t go for number 10 in the slightest. I needed sunglasses and Dramamine to watch this overrated war movie.
10. The Blind Side -oh, another true-story feel-good sports drama? Really, Academy? I could offer several better choices from 2009 if you really needed to round this out.
Posted by Aidan Devlon on March 12th, 2010Not being sexist or anything but I thought the voter just thought they gave thge award to bigelow because she was the first women dircetor to be nominated for yonks.
Posted by Lee on March 14th, 2010Don’t worry folks the best doesn’t usually always win.
I think the Hurt locker will fade into obscurity while Inglourious Basterds may have a very postive impact on future films.
Inglourious Basterds was the top film of 2009 for me followed closley by District 9 which was severely underated.
Compare Both Basterds and District 9 to Avatar.
Avatar had a budget of over $200 million. Basterds and District 9 both had budgets under $30 million. It goes to show that more people value original stories, great characters and good acting while Avatar relied on a stupid 3d gimmick and while it’s special effects were something special the rest of the film was mediocore at best.
We all love a list……so here’s my 2009 list:
1) Inglourious Basterds.
2) District 9
3) Zombieland (why isn’t this in the top 10)
4) Up
5) A Serious Man
23) The Hurt Locker
Posted by Jay on March 28th, 201028) Avatar
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