Well, folks, another Oscar ceremony come and gone, and a film that actually deserved to win Best Picture won for once. (Unfortunately, I had to sit through four hours of bullsh*t to see it happen.) However, as always, some films got left out of the Oscar pool that deserved recognition, and even some films that did get nominations didn't get enough love. Here are a few films I saw last year that deserved a lot more love than they got.

Hotel Transylvania


I was surprised this film wasn't nominated for Best Animated Film: it had a very unique animation style and it was entertaining, both for children and adults. (Also, It was directed by Gendy Tartakovsky, who continues to prove his awesomeness time and time again.) Even with the unwritten "Pixar-must-win" rule, it still couldn't get nominated? Was ParaNorman or Frankenweenie really that good? (I'm asking honestly.) Sigh...


The Perks of Being a Wallflower


I consider this movie worthy of being ranked alongside The Breakfast Club and Dazed & Confused as one of the all-time great teen films; that's how much I love this movie. It features loveable characters, great, uniquely understated writing, and a heartwarming and very emotional story. I guess it slipped too far under the radar to be given any Oscar recognition. Then again, it's rare that a teen film ever gets noticed by the Academy, no matter how good it is.


The Master


This was another film that slipped a bit under the radar. I was surprised at how little acknowledgement this movie got: it was Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to 2007's Oscar-nominated, critically-acclaimed There Will Be Blood, and it marks the return of Joaquin Phoenix. Sure, Phoenix and the two other main actors were nominated for their respective awards, but other than that, zilch. No nod for cinematography, nothing for direction or writing, none of the presenters nor Seth MacFarlane referenced it; it's like the film just came and went. To be fair, it's a very strange movie, but it's still a very good movie that deserved more love. 


The Grey


Yes, the ending sucks, but I thought the rest of the movie was great -- good enough to get at least one Oscar nod. It features some good acting from Liam Neeson, a compelling story and characters one can actually care about; when was the last time we had a good survival thriller like this? 


The Dark Knight Rises


Really, Oscars? Really? Arguably the best superhero movie trilogy of all time ended last year as strongly as it began, and you don't even acknowledge it? Come on...


The Avengers


To me, the fact that the Academy acknowledged The Avengers and not The Dark Knight Rises was a slap in the face. Even though I personally like TDKR more than The Avengers, I still recognize it as an epic action movie worthy of every penny that it made. Also, If you're going to bring all of the actors together on stage, you might as well give the movie a little more credit, especially since it was the highest grossing film of 2012! (It was only nominated for its visual effects -- which it didn't win -- but it deserved a lot more.)


Zero Dark Thirty


This is a very tense, very powerful film that deserved all the praise it got (a 95% on Metacritic). Since Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture, I consider this film the runner-up. Like The Master even though the film got significantly more recognition, it was never talked about during the ceremony, and the only award it won was for sound editing, which it tied with Skyfall. To make matters worse, Jessica Chastain got nothing for her incredible performance. (I like Jennifer Lawrence, but really?)



Leave a comment if you disagree or if there were any films you think should've gotten more Oscar love.