Thursday Movie Picks #8: Oscar Winning Movies (from pool of Winners of Best Picture/Best Animated Film/Best Foreign Film)

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It’s Thursday Movie Picks #8 hosted by Wandering through the Shelves Blog again.

Partake? Please visit the series main page here.

This week’s Thursday Movie Picks is Oscar Winning Movies (from pool of Winners of Best Picture/Best Animated Film/Best Foreign Film). So, here’s my pick:

01. The Departed (2006)

One of the best modern Martin Scorsese’s film ever made won the 2006 Best Picture along with achievement for best director, best adapted screenplay, and best editing. The Departed is a complex adaptation/remake of Asian most thrilling cop-mob trilogy Infernal Affairs (Mou Gaan Dou) as it adds more layers to the story and crafts a more natural American background. When I watched it for the first time, all I can think of is: it has the best male ensemble of casts with Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Jack Nicholson as the front-liners.  With superb narratives and prudent editing, The Departed never makes it easy for the audiences not to feel thrilled.

02. No Country for Old Men (2007)

In the year of the cult Oscar contenders, where The Coen Brothers and PTA led the race, Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men won the best picture. This is a typical drug deal went wrong movie but with all thrills and mayhem we never expect. The narrative is left ambiguous and open for multi-interpretation, but that’s not the deal. The main deal is nothing and noone but Anton Chigurh (portrayed by Javier Bardem) with his ridiculous hair-do and awkward manner. For me, this is the best Oscar winning movie won by the best villain ever.

03. A Separation a.k.a Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (2011)

This is the masterpiece from Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian gem, that won Best Foreign Film in the 2012 Oscar. A Separation is a picture of Iranian social culture also the face of Iranian law; it’s a poignant criticism to the national bureaucracy painted through a strong narration. The narration is the main key of this feature—how a simple thing can trigger a series of unfortunate events, that’s the point. I never thought that an Asian movie could go that far in crafting the narration, which is complicated and provocative. It’s a lifetime achievement, for sure.

That’s my pick! Any comment?

 

 

17 responses

  1. I have a confession to make…
    I haven’t watched any of these legendary films 🙁

    1. Lol. That’s okay. I recommend this for you, if so 🙂

  2. Great picks! A Separation is my favorite of the three, and one of the best Foreign Film winners of all time. Such a tremendous cinematic feat that I’m so happy actually won, since the best rarely do.

  3. I haven’t seen A Separation but of the other two I prefer No Country for Old Men far and away. I’m variable on Scorsese and Departed came between two films of his that I like best, The Aviator (perhaps my favorite of his films) and Shutter Island so I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately I hated The Departed and couldn’t wait for it to end.

    1. The Departed is only good if you know Infernal Affair. Cause I love the Hong Kong version and I really appreciate the adaptation.

  4. Brittani Avatar

    These are excellent picks. The ending of A Separation bothered me, but I can’t deny that film was genius. The “swear on the Quran” is one of the most powerful ones I’ve ever seen.

    1. The ending gets us frustrated, I agree. That cultural thing made the movie felt so close to the culture here in Indonesia.

  5. Irene McKenna Avatar
    Irene McKenna

    No Country for Old Men! I love that movie. I have wanted to see A Separation ever since I first heard about it, but for some reason I haven’t gotten to it yet.

    1. Glad you like that too! A Separation deserves a look obviously, cause it’s good 🙂

  6. Hi Paskalis! I haven’t seen any of these three, but been wanting to check out A Separation for ages.

    1. Hello Ruth. I think you need to check it cause I really recommend it 🙂

      1. Sounds good! Ditto about my picks too, if you haven’t seen ’em 😉

  7. Oh, man! Great picks. I’ve got something special to say about The Departed and No Country as well for a post I’m dropping on Saturday. Two of the best BP wins of my life. Love these picks.

    1. Glad you like both of them! We’re on the same side about those two.

  8. Not really a fan of No Country for Old Men but love The Departed and A Separation. They will no doubt be one of my picks in one of my future themes.

    1. Glad you like them too! But I understand why you do not like No Country for Old Men, cause it’s never been satisfying in terms of sympathy. Right?

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