1917 is a weighty film that's visually immaculate at times, but I think that's really where it stops, though. "Good". Nothing really groundbreaking, just fine. Really sums up 70% of the last decade's best picture winners imo. I'm expecting an upset this year, but I wouldn't really be surprised if they decide to go safe and reward another war film.
Shape of Water being my favorite of the decade. After that, probably Spotlight or The Artist, both in dire needs of rewatches.
Spotlight's great and was most definitely better on several re-watches. At the time, I really didn't appreciate it because of the films it beat (The Revenant and Mad Max; not to mention it won in a BP category where Carol and Anomalisa weren't even nominated). But it stuck with me. It was so elucidative and informative in the best way, almost like a captivating documentary. Very captivating. Also, the film's nuanced approach to being weighty and important without glorifying it's real life figures or the story itself when other films about journalism fail to do so (*
COUGH* The Post), was a very mature approach and made it stand out alongside other newsroom films such as All The President's Men and Zodiac.
The Artist and The Shape of Water are both fine pieces of Hollywood comfort food, but I wouldn't really call them outstanding. The Shape of Water in particular stood out as being a really safe choice, as it pretty much encapsulated all the things the BP nominees had individually that year (a female protagonist, an African American who experiences racism, a gay character who has an interest in the arts, set in a period during war), and didn't really do them much better. Probably the best example in how to make modern Oscar bait. The visuals and performances were nice, and the score was particularly whimsical, but it wasn't really that enticing for me and I haven't re-watched it much since.