No Country for Old Men is the most well-received and critically acclaimed adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy (my favorite author) novel. There have been six. The Road is, by far, my favorite McCarthy novel and a movie masterpiece. The others are the slightly underrated All the Pretty Horses, the disappointing box office flop The Counselor, the virtually unseen Child of God, and The Sunset Limited, a film I still need to see. No Country for Old Men is the only McCarthy-adapted film to receive an Oscar, earning eight nominations and four wins, including the first nomination and win in Best Achievement in Directing for Hollywood darlings Joel and Ethan Coen.
Category Archives: Academy Award Nominees
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Love or hate him, Terrence Malick has a unique style. Personally, he’s not for me. The New World was a decent enough film, but it left me wanting more. I had such high hopes for The Tree of Life, only for it to result in one of my most frustrating and tedious theater-going experiences ever, that I was ready to write him off. However, there is often an anomaly. For me, it was his devastatingly beautiful portrayal of World War II in 1998’s The Thin Red Line. Rightfully or not, The Thin Red Line will forever be associated and compared with Saving Private Ryan, another World War II-based Best Picture nominee of 1998. And, if I’m being 100% honest, I did not know that Malick directed the Thin Red Line until after I finished watching it.
Dead Man Walking (1995)
The year 1995 got it right while getting it wrong simultaneously regarding the Oscars. I’m referring, in particular, to two movies. Dead Man Walking and Leaving Las Vegas. Each movie had knock-it-out-of-the-park performances from its lead characters, but neither film could capitalize on these performances to earn a Best Picture nomination. However, outside of Braveheart and Apollo 13, this wasn’t a particularly strong year with Babe, Sense and Sensibility, and The Postman as the other five nominees. Braveheart (the winner) continues to remain one of the most beloved Best Picture winners of all time, while many view Apollo 13 as a technical masterpiece. As a brief aside, Heat, Se7en, and The Usual Suspects deserved the other three nominees
Oppenheimer (2023)
Barbieheimer, the crafty, endearing portmanteau of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the two biggest blockbusters of the summer, became mainstream weeks months before the dual-day release of each movie. Moviegoers flocked to the theaters in greater fashion than even 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. This ultra-successful and undeniably popular film has become universally accepted as bringing people back to theaters following the COVID-19 pandemic. Some would say that it saved movie theaters entirely. As someone who sees two, three, or sometimes even more movies in the theater in any given month, and often being one of a small handful of patrons, I am in that camp.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
One of the most recognizable and influential films about substance abuse in cinema history is Darren Aronofsky’s (Black Swan, The Wrestler) revolutionary cult classic Requiem for a Dream. While this movie certainly is not for everyone, it ages very well. Much like films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Fight Club, this one deserves a second chance for those who might have dismissed it after a first watch. This is especially true in today’s times when drug abuse is as rampant as it is, with too many people dying because what they are purchasing and inserting into their bodies is often laced with substances unbeknown to them.