The 2016 Best Picture Nominees, Ranked

Here we go again.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that a lot of people dislike the Oscars. The ceremony can be boring, the hosts can be cringeworthy and most of the movies nominated left only tiny cultural and box-office footprints. Not to mention: Racism!

And yet, I watch every year without fail. I’ve found my enjoyment of the show has increased dramatically when, brace yourself for this because it’s a doozy, I’ve actually seen the movies that are up for awards.

This year, in the top six categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress), I managed to see 13 out of 16 pictures. Most of them were pretty good!

Just as I did for all of the films I saw in 2015, I decided to rank the eight Best Picture nominees by running them through a Swiss tournament bracket concocted on Challonge. Just as then, a win counted for 2 points. In a tie, each movie got 1 point.

For anyone trying to decide what to try and see before Sunday, here was where I wound up at the end.

1) Room

2) Spotlight

3) The Big Short

4) Brooklyn

5) The Martian

6) Mad Max: Fury Road

7) Bridge of Spies

8) The Revenant

A few observations:

• Yep, I really did not like The Revenant. And that was a huge letdown, because I loved Iñárritu’s last film, Birdman. The visuals were cool, and Tom Hardy was a perfectly cast antagonist, but on an emotional and intellectual level I got nothing out of Hugh Glass’ story.
• The only other movie on this list I didn’t like was Bridge of Spies. What should have been nominated in their place? Inside Out and Ex Machina, in my opinion. Neither would likely win, but deserved the nom.
• As much as I loved Spotlight, Room narrowly took the top spot in this tournament and I would be 100% on board if it wins Best Picture. It’s a hard movie to recommend because it’s so difficult to watch. But it really is as fantastic as you’ve heard, and is well worth your time if you’re willing to try.

Here was the final tournament bracket: