“Wake up, wake up, it’s the Oscars” #MondayMorningWakeUpCall

A day when imagination and make-believe is celebrated. When awards are given to those who best blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Let’s celebrate it… after all, movies have been one of my greatest sources of learnings about life, love and laughter, if one chooses to learn from it.

It’s also a day when many memorable movies get lost into oblivion simply because they couldn’t make it to the guest list, let alone get an opportunity to prepare a forgettable speech (well how many dad/moms/dogs who were thanked can we remember).

But we can’t really blame Mr. Oscar for not inviting the many more debatably deserving ones. He does have a limited seating arrangement. And he is known to be snooty. You may not agree with his guest list, but then, it is his party.

So, thought I’d put out an extended list for an extended party. Inviting those who have been snubbed by Mr. Oscar (no Oscar nominations) but they have either entertained me, inspired me or made me humanely richer, if not all three.

Here’s my extended list of the 20 movies that I think deserve a party as much as any of the nominees along with a tweet description of the imprint it left with me.

1. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – It’s impossible not to love Ethan Hunt’s 5^th impossible mission incarnation #moviesilove

2. Ant Man – Thank God I didn’t judge a super hero by size #moviesilove

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron – Avenger or not, it’s an ultron fun age to be in #moviesilove

4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – There’s no way this kind of service should be kept a secret #moviesilove

5. Pawn Sacrifice – Tobey (The Grandmaster) plays chess better than Tobey (The Spidey) can spin a web #moviesilike

6. The Walk – Now this is how one should ‘walk the talk’ #moviesilove

7. Entourage – Always fun to hang out with the boys #moviesilike (Warning: The bigger the fan the greater the fun)

8. The Gift – It’s not the gift, but the movie behind the gift that matters. Dark & disturbing, chilling & nail biting story telling #moviesilike

9. Minions – A minion minions. Each 1 in a minion & I can watch them a minion times. Verdict: A minion stars #moviesilike (Disclaimer: I’m biased)

10. Spy – She’s no Bond or Bourne. But she will crack up criminals (and you), if not through her moves, then definitely through her laughs #moviesilike

11. The Visit – After a long time a Manoj N. Shyamalal movie worth paying a visit #moviesilike

12. Furious 7 – While the chases are 7 times more daring than the original, what stays with this one is that it has 7 times more heart. An ode to Paul Walker #moviesilike

Warning: The following are the arty kind that I thought wasn’t farty but still might not be everybody’s bowl of breakfast. Recommended for the eclectic movie buffs.

13. Anomolisa – I’m cheating a bit out here. Charlie Kaufman’s (one of my favourite film makers) stop-motion picture has been nominated for best animated feature. I loved this deeply moving existential tale so much that I’m giving it a double shout out so that I do my bit to make sure it doesn’t go unnoticed #moviesilove

14. What We Do In The Shadows – Who knew vampires could be so hilarious #moviesilove

15. Lobster – To many I suspect this might taste a bit bizarre. But for those who have an appetite for offbeat story-telling packaged with the dark, the amusing, the poignant, the deep, might just find that the after-taste pleasantly lingers on for quite a while #moviesilove

16. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – And in it is hidden a gem of a pearl #moviesilove

17. The Tribe – A bold and intriguing film that left me speechless #moviesilike

18. Clouds of Sils Maria – The understated and layered emotions of holding on to the past, change and youth vs maturity tend to hide behind the clouds. If you can see past the clouds then maybe you’ll spot a silver lining #moviesilike

19. Diary of A Teenage Girl – Maybe this is why it’s bad manners to read someone else’s diary. Not an easy consumption but then diaries rarely are #moviesilike

20. Tangerine – Makes the list mostly cos it’s an illustration of a movie shot ONLY on iPhone. That it’s high energy story telling that gives a reality take into the lives of transgenders is a bonus #moviesilike

And a special shout out to 2 of my favourites from the year (and possibly this decade so far)… Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Here’s 20 more from last year in case you’re playing catch up or just movie binging.

Which ones were your favourites that got snubbed by Mr. Oscar?