The 83rd annual Academy Awards took place in February of 2011 and honored films released in the previous year, 2010. That year gave movie-goers a lot of great films including Remember Me, Morning Glory, How Do You Know, and Easy A. None of those films received award nominations from the Academy that year.
The films who received the biggest nomination of the season for Best Picture were: 127 Hours, Winter’s Bone, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Inception, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, Black Swan, The Fighter, and The Kids are Alright. The Academy continued with the rule it set in the previous year, nominating 10 films in the coveted category, but looking back, not all of these films were deserving of their nomination.
Should Have Been Nominated: All Good Things
This dramatic mystery feature film stars Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst and Frank Langella and is based on the true story of Robert Durst, who got away with murder for years.
The film, directed by Andrew Jarecki and written by Marcus Hinchey, seemed to have slipped through the cracks both at the box office and with film critics, despite being such a timely piece with an impressive cast.
Should Have Been Nominated: Love And Other Drugs
This romance drama is a wonderful story written by Charles Randolph and Edward Zwick, who also directed the feature film. Love and Other Drugs stars Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal, two unlikely lovers who meet and fall for one another while Hathaway’s character battles with her Parkinson’s diagnosis.
The film brought awareness to healthcare and Parkinson’s disease and both Hathaway and Gyllenhaal were nominated for Golden Globes for their work, but the actors and the film were completely snubbed at the Oscars that same year.
Was Nominated: Toy Story 3
Out of all the movies in the Toy Story franchise, fans could argue that the third film was the least likely to be nominated for an Academy Award.
The film was a success at the box office and the story and performances lived up to the standards the previous two films created, but because those two other films hadn’t been recognized by the Academy in the years they were eligible, this film’s nomination seemed a little out of the blue.
Should Have Been Nominated: The Town
This crime thriller was co-written by, directed by, and starred Ben Affleck. The film was inspired by a book called “Prince of Thieves” by Chuck Hogan and tells the story of bank robbers living in Boston who devise a plan to rob Fenway Park.
The film was both a box office success and very well-received by critics, yet received very little praise from the Academy or any of the other major awards shows in the year it was eligible.
Was Nominated: 127 Hours
127 Hours is a dramatic biography feature film based on the true story of a climber named Aron Ralston, who in 2003, got stuck in a canyon after his arm was pinned down by a boulder.
The survival story is incredible and James Franco gives a stellar performance. In more recent years, James Franco’s reputation has fallen and the actor has become a bit more problematic, making this a nomination that maybe didn’t age very well.
Should Have Been Nominated: Buried
This is another survival story about a man, Paul Conroy, played by Ryan Reynolds, who is attacked and finds himself buried alive in a wooden coffin with only a few items to help him right for his survival.
Ryan Reynolds gives an incredible performance in this film, being the only character in it for the majority of the film’s run time. The film received a lot of critical praise, but was ultimately left out of all the major awards show nominations in the year it was eligible.
Was Nominated: True Grit
The Coen Brothers’ are Academy Awards’ favorites and it seems every year these filmmakers release something, it’s nominated for a slew of awards, regardless of what the film is.
True Grit was no exception and for the 83rd awards show, this film was nominated in 10 different categories, including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture, but it took home none of the awards, leaving critics wondering if the movie really deserved all of the recognition in the first place.
Should Have Been Nominated: It’s Kind Of A Funny Story
This comedy-drama is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who adapted the novel with the same name and brought it to the big screen. The film stars Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, and Viola Davis.
Upon its release, the film received positive reviews from most critics and the movie-goers who did see it, seemed to love it, but the film wasn’t given a very wide release, which may have been a factor in why it wasn’t nominated for any major awards.
Was Nominated: The King’s Speech
The King’s Speech is a very formulaic movie to appeal to Academy voters. The story, cast, and execution of the film are exactly was has attracted award recognition in the past and as most predicted, this film was no exception to any of the Academy’s unwritten rules.
The Academy loved this movie in the year of its release and awarded it Best Picture in 2011, though the average movie-goer most likely never saw it and doesn’t plan to see it.
Should Have Been Nominated: Shutter Island
This psychological thriller stars Leonardo DiCaprio and was directed by Martin Scorsese. Normally, a DiCaprio and Scorsese feature does very well at the Academy Awards, but this film wasn’t nominated for anything by the Academy.
This confused both fans and critics, especially considering this film did incredibly well at the box office and was deemed one of the best films of the year by multiple film critics and media outlets.
