Top 10 Failed Oscar Bait Movies of 2019
#10: “Just Mercy” (2019)
Top 10 Failed Oscar Bait Movies of 2018
This film boasts an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is just an incredible movie in every regard. It tells the true story of a recent law graduate in the 1980s, Bryan Stevenson, fighting to save a wrongfully convicted man, Walter McMillian, before his death sentence is carried out. Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx turn in rock-solid performances as the two leads in this moving story. The social issues being explored in the film feel as pressing as ever, and director Destin Daniel Cretton has crafted a mature and moving film that keeps you engaged from start to finish despite a lack of spectacle. The National Board of Review, and the NAACP took note, but apparently not the Academy.
#9: “Seberg” (2019)
But of course, not all of the films on our list are as good as“Just Mercy”. Despite a strong lead performance from Kristen Stewart, “Seberg” is rather dull - not to mention a seriously missed opportunity to tell a compelling true story. The film follows its titular film star, Jean Seberg, the French Nouvelle Vague icon who found herself under the scrutiny of the FBI when she became involved with Black Panther activist Hakim Jamal. It’s a fascinating chapter in American civil rights and film history that many cinemagoers have never heard about. But sadly, this film doesn’t do it justice; it lacks the nuance of its complex subject matter. Beyond Stewart, the wardrobe is pretty much all it gets right.
#8: “The Kitchen” (2019)
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The Academy loves a quality gangster film. “The Godfather”, “The Departed”... need we go on? Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” earned 10 nominations! As such, armed with its strong cast and message of empowerment, “The Kitchen” seemed to have the perfect recipe to score big at the Oscars. Unfortunately, it was lacking one key ingredient - a good script. The talents of Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss feel wasted here in a story that’s needlessly convoluted, even by crime drama standards. The movie as a whole suffers from an identity crisis in terms of tone and style. And it’s too bad because in some alternate reality, there’s a great version of “The Kitchen” that cleaned up come awards night.
#7: “The Good Liar” (2019)
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If we had to place bets on the Oscars based on a cast list and nothing else, the odds would be very much in favor of any film starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen. But alas. “The Good Liar” tells the story of a wealthy widow who meets someone of her generation online with whom she forms a connection. Little does she know, he’s a practiced con man. Directed by the esteemed Bill Condon, “The Good Liar” seems to be in competent hands - both in front of the camera and behind it. And sure enough, it proves to be a competent film, just not one that soars to the heights we expect, at least in the eyes of the Academy.
#6: “Where'd You Go, Bernadette” (2019)
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Richard Linklater is arguably among the most influential and daring filmmakers in the business. He’s given us such classics as “Dazed and Confused” and “School of Rock”, as well as more daring projects like “A Scanner Darkly”. But his Oscar nominations are admittedly few and far between. Armed with a bestselling novel and a two-time Academy Award winning star in the form of Cate Blanchett, however, it seemed like this film might finally earn him some long overdue love from the Academy. Apparently not! Rated at just 48% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Where'd You Go, Bernadette” represents one of Linklater’s more disappointing films. It’s got plenty of charms, but it ultimately falls short of its source material and the talent involved.
#5: “The Laundromat” (2019)
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In 2019, there was perhaps no Netflix original that seemed more tailor-made for award season than “The Laundromat”. An Academy Award-winning director? You can’t ask for much better than Steven Soderbergh. And as for the cast, how about Meryl Streep and Gary Oldman? Academy Award winners both! As if that’s not enough to guarantee a healthy serving of nominations, “The Laundromat” is a biographical dramedy based on the incredible true story of the Panama Papers scandal. So… what went wrong? Well, simply put, the film gets bogged down by the complexities of the financial matters it explores and the narrative it’s trying to tell. There are too many moving parts and they never quite come together.
#4: “Lucy in the Sky” (2019)
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If you want people to take your film seriously… cast Natalie Portman in the lead. The three time Academy Award nominee (who won for her role in “Black Swan”) is extremely consistent. And when we first saw the trailer for “Lucy in the Sky”, it seemed that nomination number four was inbound. Sure, it’s director Noah Hawley’s first feature film, but considering his stellar television resume — he’s the creator of “Fargo” and “Legion” — we weren’t worried. Unfortunately, the resulting sci fi is little more than a painful reminder that television and film are not, in fact, the same medium. This tale of obsession should be compelling, but the film juggles too many themes without ever finding firm narrative footing.
#3: “The Aftermath” (2019)
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The Academy has a real soft spot for historical dramas and period pieces, especially those that star Keira Knightley. “Atonement”, “Pride & Prejudice”, “Anna Karenina”, “The Imitation Game” — they’ve earned multiple nominations each. But 2019 wasn’t Knightley’s year, as she starred in not one but two dramas that failed to garner attention despite respecting the formula. “Official Secrets” tells the true story of an Iraq War whistleblower, Katharine Gun. The film was well-received, it just didn’t make much of an impact. “The Aftermath”, by contrast, is a serious misfire. Co-starring Alexander Skarsgård and Jason Clarke, it’s a paint-by-numbers adaptation of Rhidian Brook’s novel of the same name, that, despite romantic intrigue and the backdrop of 1945 Germany, fails to be particularly engaging.
#2: “The Goldfinch” (2019)
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There are many roads that lead to an Oscar, but few are quite as reliable as adapting a Pulitzer Prize-winning, critically-acclaimed, bestselling work of literary fiction. If, to populate your cast, you were to feature such talents as Ansel Elgort, Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Jeffrey Wright and Nicole Kidman, all the better! For good measure, get someone at the helm who already has a recent Best Picture nomination under their belt, like “Brooklyn” director John Crowley. Rather than the Oscar-magnet we expected however, “The Goldfinch” was D.O.A, both at the box office and with critics. It’s beautiful to look at, but narratively, it doesn't capture the emotional, psychological or narrative complexity of Donna Tartt’s novel, and the end result is decidedly dull. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions: “The Highwaymen” (2019) “The King” (2019) “Tolkien” (2019) “Midway” (2019) “The Red Sea Diving Resort” (2019)
#1: “Cats” (2019)
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If you are among the cinemagoers bold enough to see this film, you know all too well that the critics weren’t exaggerating in their brutal, but also genuinely baffled, reviews. “Cats” is, of course, an adaptation of the long-running hit Broadway musical. It boasts numerous major stars including Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen and more. At the helm is Tom Hooper, the director behind such Academy-adored films as “The King's Speech” and “Les Misérables.” In short, it should have been a slam dunk. Instead… we got a film that’s difficult to follow, embarrassingly lacking in self-awareness, and populated by characters overshadowed by very dodgy CGI. In short, one big, brightly-colored hairball.
