So back on Christmas Eve I had posted my annual vote for the final Best Picture nominee for the Awards for Motion Picture Services (AMPS), the first of my fictional film awards that I had been running for well over 25 years. If you go back to the post you'll notice that the poll is done, because I had closed it around the New Year's, although I've been putting on making this post because I'm lazy and all. I was blown away by the level of involvement. We had 17 votes, the most that I've ever had in one of these polls (of course it helps that I kept spamming the link in various Discord communities.)
It was a really close race, with one movie picking up the votes early on but another one came storming back. In the end only one vote separated the top two movies, but which one came out on top? You'll find out when I reveal the other four films that were pre-selected to make up the final Best Picture lineup for AMPS 2023! And as a bonus for getting this post out late, for the first time since 2020 I will let you the "viewers" have final say in the winner! Yes, at the end of this post there will be another poll where you can vote for who you feel should walk away with the coveted Best Picture prize!
And in case you are interested, here are all of the previous Best Picture nominees lineup
2022 2021 2020 2019 2017 2016 2015 2013 2012 2011 2008
Also the disclaimer
THESE ARE MVIES THAT I MADE UP
NOBODY HAS SEEN THEM BECAUSE THEY DON'T EXIST
EXCEPT IN MY OWN IMAGINATION
BUT DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM VOTING FOR ONE OF THEM
Evocation
Rated R
185 minutes
We start things out the film that the prestigious Movie Magazine dubbed the best film of 2023. Evocation is an epic science fiction thriller that is part Ender's Game and part Minority Report. Enoch is a young boy living in the fictional country of Terravia gifted with the art of foresight. He is taken away by the Terravian government to train to become an Evoker, a group of young prophets sequestered away to use their powers of prophecy to assist in the military strategy. The Evokers were all told that their services are needed to defend Terravia from constant sieges from larger, more aggressive neighboring nations. Enoch goes along with the rest of the Evokers until one day he realizes that Terravia is not a beleaguered country just struggling to survive, but a titanic empire hell-bent on conquest. Their military campaigns are not for defense but for conquering poorer neighbors or for suppressing revolutions within their own borders. Faced with this information, Enoch develops a crisis in confidence but fails to rally support from the other Evokers when he tells them of the news. He is faced with the difficult decision of continuing to help the Terravian reign of terror or take a stand and risk his own life.
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Ginny and the Ghosts
Rated PG-13
112 minutes
Following up is the crowd-pleasing mystery/comedy that had taken the title of being the highest grossing film of the year (in my fictional country). Ginny and the Ghosts tells the story of Ginny Chan, an intelligent young adult that struggles with severe social anxiety and agoraphobia, leading to her continuing living at home with her parents. She accompanies her family as they move into an old Victorian-style manor. While exploring her new home, she realizes that she can sense and interact with spirits that occupy the house. She finds that they are the ghosts of the Baskins sisters: the bubbly Sharon, the sullen Elizabeth and the innocent Rachael. The trio had died under tragic circumstances a century earlier and their ghosts remain, unable to leave the premises or interact with anybody among the living until Ginny's arrival. While she initially found their presence overwhelming, Ginny slowly overcomes her initial trepidation and begins to come out of her shell. However, in doing research about the death of her new friends, Ginny finds that there are some inconsistencies in the official report and the Baskins' death may be more sinister that initially believed. She is compelled to investigate even further, even if it means facing her anxieties and rubbing some important individuals the wrong way.
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A Journey Through Chinese History: The Kaixi Northern Expeditions (Kai Xi Bei Fa)
Rated R
186 minutes
The A Journey Through Chinese History series, a television series depicting historical stories from Chinese history, celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023 with the release of its 21st theatrical feature film. It is the turn of the 13th century. It had been over 60 years that had passed since the treaty ending the war between the Song and the Jin dynasties, the one that was made possible through the betrayal of general Yue Fei by Qin Hui, the events of which were covered in the previous film The Legend of Yue Fei. The Southern Song had become settled in their capital of Lin'An and had regained a level of prosperity through the elimination of corrupt officials. However, there were a cabal of officials that continued to lust after the previous Song territories, some of whom even launched a northern expedition that failed miserably in the 1160s. Things changed with the arrival of the boisterous new chancellor Han Tuozhou in 1194. He scored political points with the Ninzhong Emperor with his defeat of the neo-Confucian officials led by philosopher Zhu Xi. With the Jin undergoing a succession crisis and suffering from natural disasters, Han felt it was the perfect time to launch another attack. Can the Song finally reclaim their lost hands?
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Sins of the Fathers
Rated R
127 minutes
The winner of the final spot through the public vote, Sins of the Fathers is a darkly comic satire exploring the inefficiencies of government bureaucracy and the inherent paradoxes of child protection. Paul and Walter are best friends each going through divorces. They gained partial custody of their children, but things quickly go awry. Paul's son was taken away because he showed up to school with unexplained bruising, and Walter's daughter was also removed after she told her teacher about being touched while visiting her father. After protesting their innocence fails to gain any sympathy from the judge, they take the remediation steps laid out by the child protective services. Yet any sort of progress they make are paired by multiple steps back through bureaucratic nonsense. Paul and Walter eventually find out the truth behind the initial complaints, but any appeal towards the court system is tossed aside. Things get even more dire when they find out their children are actually getting severely abused in their current home situations. With their patience running thin, the pair decide the only way to get anything done to help their children is to take matters into their own hands.
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Waste Land
Rated R
103 minutes
Our final Best Picture nominee is another satirical black comedy, this time inspired by the films of Wes Anderson. Lake Creek is a quaint little hamlet tucked away in a valley against a natural lake. They are located in the vicinity of the nearby metropolis, but distant enough that its citizens can enjoy their lives in tranquility. That all changes when a young social media influencer comes to visit. Their ensuing post goes viral, and soon visitors come from all over the world. The residents try to take advantage by opening shops to earn money from the visitors, but the swarm of visitors soon overwhelm their ability to keep the shops stocked. Things get worse when some of the visitors decide to stay to escape the urban grind. This prompts real estate developers to descend on Lake Creek, hoping to open the area for development. The mayor tries to take a stand against such obvious gentrification, but to his surprise some of the other residents vote in favor of development. The showdown will come to decide the fate of Lake Creek.
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There you go, the five films that had made the cut to receive the nominations of Best Picture at this year's AMPS. Can't believe it has been 15 years since I first had people vote on these movies whose plots I had kept to myself for a decade. As promised, I will let you all decide the winners. The "ceremony" will officially happen on January 15, so be sure to get your votes in before then. Also once again I would really appreciate if y'all can enter your comments.
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