It's that time of year again, kiddos- it's Oscar season!

I feel like I was pretty underwhelmed with many of the nominated movies last year. This year was a breath of fresh air, thankfully. 

I was moved in so many ways by a wide variety of movies. I cried (I think more than I've ever cried in a full year of watching movies), I laughed, I felt joy, despair, tension, wistfulness, nostalgia, and everything in between. It was a good year to be back at the movies.

Or maybe I was just happy to be back in a movie theatre again. That popcorn smell will really get ya.

In any case, with the announcements due out in a number of hours (I meant to finish this on Friday and time got away from me, oops, stupid Olympics), here are my better-late-than-never predictions for the Oscar nominations!

I feel like I did a good job of really trusting my gut with these predictions and not leaning heavily on very many sources. The lack of presence of an awards season has really made everything feel pretty wide open when it comes to frontrunners or feelings in the way voters might be leaning. Ultimately, I have (very) strong feelings about many of these movies, and I can only hope that my hopes and dreams materialize on Tuesday morning. 

I won't bore you with anymore incoherent rambling about my thought process behind this article. Let's predict the future!

This is part one of what is traditionally a two-part article. Part 1 predictions the nominations, while part 2 predicts the winners of the awards themselves. Happy reading!

Where else to start than the category that has the most mystery surrounding it? Every film on this list has something that could thrust it into the Best Picture conversation, and we also have no clear front runner with the ceremony just a few weeks away.

The Power of the Dog and West Side Story both took home Golden Globes for Best Picture (Drama and Comedy/Musical, respectively). I’d be shocked if either of them missed the cut.

Kenneth Branagh’s film Belfast has garnered tons of acclaim, and despite being perhaps the most obvious Oscar-bait film of the bunch, it’s still a solid movie that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Dune is getting all the technical nominations from now until the end of time.

Will Smith is going to carry King Richard into the Best Picture conversation, likewise Kristen Stewart with Spencer. 

I’ve been reading that The Tragedy of Macbeth could be snubbed, but it’s just so beautiful that I can’t possibly see it happening. 

Then, there are the three films that have asterisks next to them: CODA, Don’t Look Up, and Licorice Pizza. These are the three films I consider to be “on the bubble,” with any one of the movies in the “Contenders/Spoilers” section seamlessly trading places with them. 

House of Gucci, a movie I really didn’t like, is one of those movies. Nightmare Alley, another film I’ve only heard mixed things about at best, could also make its way into the conversation, considering Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar track record and the fact that it’s a remake of a beloved 40s classic. Being the Ricardos is also here because Hollywood loves to praise movies about itself. 

Who’s a good Hollywood? You are! You are!

But could we see a nomination for Drive My Car, the epic road drama from Ryusuke Hamaguchi? If its director and screenplay are in the conversation, there’s no reason we couldn’t see it nominated for Best Picture as well.

With a full slate of ten nominees this year, the field is wide open. Here's how I see things shaking out:

The Predicted Ten (Flex nominees noted with *)

• Belfast (Focus)
• CODA (Apple TV+)*
• Don’t Look Up (Netflix)*
• Dune (Warner Bros.)
• Licorice Pizza (A24)*
• King Richard (Warner Bros)
• The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
• Spencer (NEON)
• The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24)
• West Side Story (20th Century Fox)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Being the Ricardos (Amazon)
• C’mon C’mon (A24)
• Cyrano (Universal)
• Drive My Car (Bitters End)
• House of Gucci (Universal)
• The Lost Daughter (Netflix)
• Nightmare Alley (Fox Searchlight)
• No Time to Die (Universal)
• Tick, Tick… BOOM! (Netflix)

​

Jane Campion and Denis Villeneuve are locks for this category. While I would appreciate Joel Coen and Steven Spielberg being nominated for their brilliant adaptations of stage classics, I can definitely see the Academy snubbing them for someone like Maggie Gyllenhaal. As long as it isn’t Ridley Scott.

​Please, not Ridley Scott.

​The Predicted Five:

• Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
• Joel Coen, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
• Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
• Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
• Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
• Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
• Pablo Larrain, Spencer
• Adam McKay, Don’t Look Up
• Ridley Scott, House of Gucci

​
​Long Shots:

• Benjamin Cleary, Swan Song
• Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard

• David Lowery, The Green Knight

​

Will Smith leads the field thanks to his passionate performance as Richard Williams in King Richard. If nominated, he will likely be the favorite to take home the Oscar. Also in the field are Adam Driver, who was perhaps the only good thing about House of Gucci; Javier Bardem, who, like his co-star, will inexplicably earn a nomination for being in a movie about the industry; Leonardo DiCaprio, who I think will get in on the basis that he’s Leo DiCaprio and he cares about climate change in real life; and Andrew Garfield, who is finally achieving the mainstream popularity that he deserves.

Outside the predicted five, names like Benedict Cumberbatch, Joaquin Phoenix, and Denzel Washington could easily find themselves swapped in for any of the names above (outside of Will Smith). I’d personally love to see Cooper Hoffman nominated, as his turn in Licorice Pizza was so endearingly reminiscent of his father, who won in 2005 for Capote. Other names that have been tossed around are Mahershala Ali, Peter Dinklage, and Daniel Craig, as many are hoping the Academy will bestow some recognition for his turn as James Bond.

​The Predicted Five:

• Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up
• Adam Driver, House of Gucci
• Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick… BOOM!
• Will Smith, King Richard

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
• Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza
• Joaquin Phoenix, C’mon C’mon
• Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Long Shots:

• Mahershala Ali, Swan Song
• Timotheé Chalamet, Dune
• Daniel Craig, No Time to Die
• Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
• Ansel Elgort, West Side Story

​

Women unhinged. That’s pretty much the theme we’re after with this category. There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to Leading Actresses. Lady Gaga and Kristen Stewart have been locks since their films were even announced, and so I’d be shocked if either of them were left out. Jessica Chastain is the only good thing about The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s included in the field. And Olivia Colman (because the Academy loves Olivia Colman) should probably be recognized for her subtle and haunting performance in The Lost Daughter, in no small part thanks to a late awards push that saw her nominated for both the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild awards. 

And then there’s the host of others that could be in contention: Alana Haim, Jennifer Hudson (again, we love previous Oscar winners in biopics), Jennifer Lawrence, and last year’s winner, Frances McDormand. Even Penelope Cruz could sneak into the field with her performance in Parallel Mothers, even though the film won’t be nominated for Best International Film. And Renate Reinsve, who won Best Actress at Cannes (and is nominated for Best Actress at the BAFTAs), could earn some recognition for The Worst Person in the World.

However, the real question remains about the two Golden Globe winners, Rachel Zegler and Nicole Kidman. I’m going to be cynical and say that the Academy will side with Kidman, snubbing Zegler in what would be one of the great travesties of Oscar nomination season.

The Predicted Five:

• Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
• Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
• Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
• Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
• Kristen Stewart, Spencer

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
• Jennifer Hudson, Respect
• Rachel Zegler, West Side Story

Long Shots:

• Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
• Jennifer Lawrence, Don’t Look Up
• Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth
• Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World

​

Ensemble films like Belfast and West Side Story will be out here feasting on these categories for supporting performances. In the Supporting Actor category, Jamie Dornan and Ciaran Hinds find themselves stacked up against Jared Leto and Al Pacino, who gave… shall we say, interesting performances in House of Gucci. Knowing the Academy and their tendency to vote with the chaos regions of their brains, I have no doubt that Jared Leto will overact his way into a nomination. Whether Pacino does the same remains to be seen. What I do know is that both Troy Kotsur from CODA and Kodi Smit-McPhee from The Power of the Dog were both spectacular and deserve to be here. And while it’s unlikely that the men from West Side Story will get any love for their acting, we can certainly look forward to the Supporting Actress category, where there should be nominations out the wazoo for the women of that cast.
​
​The Predicted Five:

• Jamie Dornan, Belfast
• Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
• Troy Kotsur, CODA
• Jared Leto, House of Gucci
• Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar
• Al Pacino, House of Gucci

Long Shots:

• David Alvarez, West Side Story
• Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
• Mike Faist, West Side Story

​

Ariana DeBose appears to be the frontrunner in this category, considering all the press she’s been receiving since West Side came out. I’m a firm believer/holding out hope that Rita Moreno will also receive a nomination, sixty years after she won for playing Anita in 1961’s West Side Story. I could go into detail about the ramifications of Moreno’s part in the movie, but consult my Best Films of 2021 list for that. Regardless, I’m holding out hope that Anitas past and present will earn nods this year. Also in the field is Caitriona Balfe, who, at the very least, deserves recognition for her brilliant work in Belfast. Aujanue Ellis and Ruth Negga also turn in passionate performances in King Richard and Passing, respectively. There’s a chance we could also see Cate Blanchett or Judi Dench, both former Oscar winners in this category, make an appearance. I would say Blanchett’s potential nomination is more likely than Dench’s, though.
​
​The Predicted Five:

• Caitríona Balfe, Belfast
• Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
• Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
• Rita Moreno, West Side Story
• Ruth Negga, Passing

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Cate Blanchett, Nightmare Alley
• Judi Dench, Belfast
• Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog

Long Shots:

• Rebecca Ferguson, Dune

​

A wide range of scripts comprise this year’s slate potential nominees in the Original Screenplay category. I expect Spencer, Licorice Pizza, Belfast, and King Richard to all be involved- the only one that’s pending is the Adam McKay-David Sirota-penned satire Don’t Look Up, which is either getting heavily nominated or not nominated at all. I’d say it’s more than likely that we’ll see it in here, considering McKay is no stranger to the screenplay category, having won in 2015 for his adaptation of The Big Short. I have Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos on the outside looking in, but I wouldn’t put it past the Academy to sneak it in there somehow. I also wouldn’t count out Encanto or Benjamin Cleary’s Swan Song.
​
​The Predicted Five:

• Belfast- Kenneth Branagh
• Don’t Look Up- Adam McKay and David Sirota
• King Richard- Zach Baylin
• Licorice Pizza- Paul Thomas Anderson
• Spencer- Steven Knight

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Being the Ricardos- Aaron Sorkin
• C’mon C’mon- Mike Mills
• Encanto- Charice Castro Smith, Jared Bush
• Swan Song- Benjamin Cleary

​

This year, the more crowded field among the screenplays belongs to the Adapted Screenplay category. Look at all of the potential nominees here, and you’ll see why it’ll be difficult to score a nod. We can be pretty sure that The Power of the Dog and Dune are probably getting nominated, though.

I’m pretty well sold on Drive My Car, which is shaping up to be a major contender, despite being an international film (although, I guess since Roma and especially Parasite, anything is possible). I expect Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takemasa Oe’s script to score a nomination.

I also feel pretty confident in The Lost Daughter. If Maggie Gyllenhaal doesn’t get nominated for director, she’ll surely get a screenplay nod.

The only outlier is House of Gucci. A popular pick at the beginning of awards season, the movie has definitely lost some traction (mainly due to the film being… not that great). Could we see a film like CODA or Passing squeak into the field? Or could a heavy hitter like The Tragedy of Macbeth or Tony Kushner’s stunning adaptation of West Side Story find its way into the field?

​The Predicted Five:

• Dune- Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, and Eric Roth- Adapted from the novel by Frank Herbert
• Drive My Car- Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, based on the short story by Haruki Murakami
• House of Gucci- Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna- Based on The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden
• The Lost Daughter- Maggie Gyllenhaal- Adapted from the novel by Ella Ferrante
• The Power of the Dog- Jane Campion- Adapted from the novel by Thomas Savage

Contenders/Spoilers:

• CODA- Sian Heder- Based on La Famille Bélier by Victoria Bedos, Thomas Bidegain, Stanislas Carré de Malberg, and Éric Lartigau
• Passing- Rebecca Hall- Based on the novel by Nella Larson
• The Tragedy of Macbeth- Joel Coen- Adapted from Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• West Side Story- Tony Kushner- Based on the musical by Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents

​

Pretty standard group of nominees here, populated mostly by Disney films. We’re getting the battle of the Brunos between Encanto (We Don’t Talk About Bruno) and Luca (Silencio, Bruno!), so that’s fun!

Flee, the Danish documentary directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, is a potential triple threat this year- we could see it nominated in the Animated, International, and Documentary categories. 

​The Predicted Five:

• Encanto (Disney)
• Flee (Neon)
• Luca (Pixar)
• Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney)
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix/Sony)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Back to the Outback (Netflix)
• Ron’s Gone Wrong (Fox)
• Sing 2 (Dreamworks)
• Vivo (Netflix)

​

With Parallel Mothers not chosen as the entrant for Spain, it deepens the intrigue for an already crowded group of movies in the International Feature Film category. I’ve spoken briefly about Drive My Car and Flee, but keep an eye out for Joaquim Trier’s dark rom-com-dram The Worst Person in the World, which was nominated for this year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes. 

Other familiar names include Asghar Farhadi and Paolo Sorrentino (A Hero and The Hand of God, respectively). Both have won this award previously for The Salesman and The Great Beauty, respectively.

​The Predicted Five:

• Drive My Car (Japan- Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
• Flee (Denmark- Jonas Poher Rasmussen)
• The Hand of God (Italy- Paolo Sorrentino)
• A Hero (Iran- Asghar Farhadi)
• The Worst Person in the World (Norway- Joaquim Trier)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• The Good Boss (Spain- Fernando Leon de Aranoa)
• Lamb (Iceland, Valdimar Johansson)

​

I won’t lie- I don’t know a whole lot about documentaries. But with the Academy’s short list for the category publicly available, I was able to narrow it down to five films that I thought at least looked the most interesting. Flee and Questlove’s Summer of Soul- which documents the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969- are two I’ve definitely heard of, though.

Nanfu Wang’s In the Same Breath is a timely film documenting both the Chinese and American responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Rescue, a film by Elizabeth Chai Vasarheyli and Jimmy Chin, whom you may remember for their 2019 winning documentary Free Solo, documents the events of the Tham Luang cave rescue, where 12 junior soccer players were trapped in a cave in northern Thailand for 18 days. 

Finally, there’s Jessica Kingdon’s Ascension, produced by MTV, which focuses on the Chinese dream across different social classes - the film had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary.

​The Predicted Five:

• Ascension (Jessica Kingdon)
• Flee (Jonas Puher Rasmussen)
• In the Same Breath (Nanfu Wang)
• The Rescue (Elizabeth Chai Vasarheyli, Jimmy Chin)
• Summer of Soul (... or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Questlove)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Attica (Stanley Nelson, Traci A. Curry)
• Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry (RJ Cutler)
• The First Wave (Matthew Heineman)
• Julia (Julie Cohen, Betsy West)

​

No predictions here. I have no basis for what any of them are about- plus I typically like to watch them all anyways, so when we do this again before the ceremony in March, you'll have my predictions about the winners :)

​

Jonny Greenwood was very busy this year, scoring three films, two of which are in contention for Best Original Score. While Spencer was probably a little more attainable to ears not quite attuned to Greenwood’s often uneasy and unsettling scores, his work on The Power of the Dog is just as gripping as the film itself.

There are some other favorites here too- Alexandre Desplat features heavily on The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson’s newest effort; Longtime Coen Brothers collaborator Carter Burwell deals a haunting, droning score for The Tragedy of Macbeth, and Jeymes Samuel’s score for The Harder They Fall masterfully brings the old west into the 21st century. 

But, of course, everybody’s talking about Dune. Just when you thought Hans Zimmer couldn’t get any better, he brought out the bagpipes, and it was all over at that point.

​The Predicted Five:

• Dune- Hans Zimmer
• The French Dispatch- Alexandre Desplat
• The Harder They Fall- Jeymes Samuel
• The Power of the Dog- Jonny Greenwood
• The Tragedy of Macbeth- Carter Burwell

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Encanto- Germaine Franco, Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• The Green Knight- Daniel Hart
• King Richard- Kris Bowers
• The Last Duel- Harry Gregson-Williams
• Parallel Mothers- Alberto Iglesias
• Spencer- Jonny Greenwood

​

Man, people are going to be upset that “Dos Oruguitas” is the song from Encanto that gets nominated for Best Original Song and not “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” or “Surface Pressure” or any other song currently circulating on TikTok. I can’t help it that they didn’t submit any of them for this category, and landed on Dos Oruguitas instead. Oh well.

There are some good tunes in this category. I would expect Jennifer Hudson to earn a nomination for her and Carole King’s original song from Respect, as well as the nostalgia kick from more Brian Wilson music from his documentary Long Promised Road.

But I’m going out on a limb and saying that Billie Eilish and Finneas have had this award locked up since the song debuted. No Time To Die has it in the bag. It’s not the best Bond theme song, but it’s certainly the best song of the ones on the short list. Justice for “Down to Joy” and “Just Look Up,” please.

The Predicted Five:

• “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto- Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
• “Here I Am” from Respect - Music and lyrics by Jamie Hartman, Jennifer Hudson, and Carole King
• “No Time To Die” from No Time To Die- Music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
• “Right Where I Belong” from Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road- Music and lyrics by Brian Wilson and Jim James
• “Your Song Saved My Life” from Sing 2- Music and lyrics by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen

Contenders/Spoilers:

• “Beyond the Shore” from CODA- Music and lyrics by Nicholai Baxter
• “Be Alive” from King Richard- Music and lyrics by Beyonce and DIXSON
• “Down to Joy” from Belfast- Music and lyrics by Van Morrison
• “Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up- Music and lyrics by Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi
• “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days- Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
• “Guns Go Bang” from The Harder They Fall- Music by Jeymes Samuel, Lyrics by Kid Cudi and Jay-Z

And lastly, here are some baseless claims about the technical awards, based on the shortlists the Academy released a few weeks ago. I’ll get into more detail about each nominee as we get closer to the ceremony itself, but for now, please amuse yourself with my rapid fire technical awards predictions.

The Predicted Five:

• Belfast- Haris Zambarloukos
• Dune- Greig Fraser
• The Power of the Dog- Ari Wegner
• The Tragedy of Macbeth- Bruno Delbonnel
• West Side Story- Janusz Kaminski

Contenders/Spoilers:

• The French Dispatch- Robert Yeoman
• The Green Knight- Andrew Droz Palermo
• Nightmare Alley- Dan Lausten
• No Time To Die- Linus Sandgren

​

The Predicted Five:

• Cruella- Jenny Beaven
• Dune- Bob Morgan, Jacqueline West
• House of Gucci- Janty Yates
• Nightmare Alley- Luis Sequeira
• West Side Story- Paul Tazewell

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Coming 2 America- Ruth E. Carter
• Cyrano- Massimo Cantini Parrini, Jacqueline Durran
• The Green Knight- Malgosia Turzanska
• In the Heights- Mitchell Travers
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings- Kym Barrett

​

The Predicted Five:

• Belfast (Úna Ní Dhonghaíle)
• Dune (Joe Walker)
• King Richard (Pamela Martin)
• The Power of the Dog (Peter Sciberras)
• West Side Story (Michael Kahn, Sarah Broshar)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Don’t Look Up (Hank Corwin)
• House of Gucci (Claire Simpson)
• Tick, Tick… BOOM! (Myron Kerstein, Andrew Weisblum)

​

The Predicted Five:

• Dune (Donald Mowat, Eva Von Bahr, and Love Larson)
• The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh)
• House of Gucci (Jana Carboni, Giuliano Mariano, Goran Lundstrom, Sarah Tanno, and Frederic Aspiras)
• Nightmare Alley (Cliona Furey, Mike Hill, Jo-Ann MacNeil)
• The Suicide Squad (Heba Thorisdottir, Janine Thompson, Brian Sipe)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Coming 2 America (Merc Arceneaux, Carla Farmer, Michael Marino, Stacey Morris, Vera Steimberg)
• Cruella (Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne, Guy Common, Julia Vernon)
• Cyrano (Alessandro Bertolazzi, Sian Miller)
• No Time to Die (Barrie Gower, Daniel Phillips)
• West Side Story (Kay Georgiou, Jerry DiCarlo)

​

The Predicted Five:

• Belfast (Jim Clay, Claire Nia Richards)
• Dune (Patrice Vermette)
• The Power of the Dog (Grant Major, Amber Richards)
• The Tragedy of Macbeth (Stefon Dechant)
• West Side Story (Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Cruella (Alice Felton, Fiona Crombie)
• House of Gucci (Letizia Santucci, Arthur Max)
• In the Heights (Nelson Coates)
• Nightmare Alley (Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau)
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Sue Chan, Clint Wallace)

​

​The Predicted Five:

• Dune (Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Ron Bartlett)
• No Time to Die (Bryan Bowen, Michael Fentum, Eilam Hoffman, Simon Ray, Oliver Tarney)
• The Power of the Dog (Robert Mackenzie, Richard Flynn, Leah Katz, Tara Webb, Dave Whitehead)
• Tick, Tick… BOOM! (Paul Hsu, Tod Maitland)
• West Side Story (Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Shawn Murphy, Doc Kane, Frank Rinella)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Belfast (Niv Adiri, Simon Chase, James Mather, Denise Yarde)
• Last Night in Soho (Ben Meechan, Jeremy Price)
• The Matrix Resurrections (Dane A. Davis) 
• A Quiet Place Part II (Malte Bieler, Brandon Jones)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (Anthony Lamberti, Steven Ticknor)

​

The Predicted Five:

• Dune (Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer)
• Eternals (Matt Aiken, Daniel Bigi, Stephane Ceretti, Neil Courbold)
• The Matrix Resurrections (Dan Glass, Huw J. Evans, Tom Debenham, JD Schwalm)
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Walker, Dan Oliver)
• Spider-Man: No Way Home (Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein, Dan Sudick)

Contenders/Spoilers:

• Black Widow (Geoff Baumann, Lisa Mara, Ben White)
• Free Guy (Paolo Acri, Russell Earl)
• Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Alessandro Ongaro)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (John Des Jardin, Kevin Smith, Dave Clayton, Kevin Sherwood)
• No Time to Die (Charlie Noble, Mara Bryan, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner, Chris Courbold)

What are your predictions for this year's Oscars? Please leave a comment below.

The 94th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 27th, at 8pm on ABC.

On January 1st, 2021, all the movies theaters were closed here in New York City.

So on January 2nd, I took the train to Stamford, Connecticut, and saw two movies. In a theatre. For the first time in almost a year. All I can say about 2021 is that it’s so good to be back.

I watched a LOT this year. Between January 2nd and December 31st, I watched over 80 movies. And that doesn’t include any of the Oscar shorts that I watched before the ceremony.

I tried my best to watch all of Wes Anderson’s filmography. 

My friends and I did the ENTIRE MCU, from top to bottom (they’d never seen all of them before). We’re now caught up as of the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

I watched movies I never thought I’d see. Indie horror movies. German experimental movies. Even weird, absurd, fantasy films. I took this year as an opportunity to expand my horizons.

And now, I’m ready to share that with you. I’m sorry this article is a week late.

In this article, I’ll talk about the year that was in film from my perspective. I’ve divided the movies into three categories: The weirdest movies I saw in 2021, the best movies I watched for the first time in 2021, and the best movies from this year, like I normally do.

In order to not seem like a loser, I have disregarded any films nominated for Oscars this year. As much as I LOVED Promising Young Woman and News of the World, they came out in 2020, and would not be eligible for the best lists of this year. I could have seen them last year but I didn’t. It is what it is.

I have a lot to get to, so let’s jump right in.
​

I guess I wouldn’t say this movie is weird, it’s just bad. When you can tell from the opening title that the movie’s gonna suck, it’s never a good sign.

I suppose I would say The Woman in the Window was weird in that it was laid out to be this star-studded psychological thriller about an insane woman who witnesses what she thinks is a murder across the street from her apartment. I mean, it IS that, but a bad script and poor direction plagues this sing from beginning to end.

Karl Mueller, 2013​

Like most horror movies, the characters in Mr. Jones fall into the same problem- they continue to do dumb shit in the woods and just never have the wherewithal to leave and never come back.

The premise is simple: a couple goes into the woods for a full year in order to film a documentary (and I mean, they leave their JOBS to go do this), only to find that the boyfriend has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. One day the two stumble upon sculptures/scarecrows made by this mysterious figure, Mr. Jones, which have been distributed around the country and have made people’s lives hell. Eventually the movie descends into absurdity as the characters… become Mr. Jones? I honestly have no idea. 

It’s like The Truman Show meets Blair Witch, but is astoundingly more confusing than it is scary.
​

Charlie McDowell, 2014​

Contrary to the last two, The One I Love might be the one movie on this list I actually enjoyed. Like Mr. Jones, it involves a couple (Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss) who go to a couples retreat, only to find that things aren’t what they seem. 

Let’s just say there’s a special “guest house” that requires the actors to double as themselves.

Despite the low budget, it’s really incredible what you can do with a good script and good actors (and a friend who has a really nice house you can rent out) to make a simple concept jump off the page of the script and past the screen of your TV. It’s a really good pandemic movie (two people going mad inside their home) with a very clever ending that leaves you wondering long after the movie is over.
​

Never before has a UTI provided us with so much exposition. 

Zola is a trip from beginning to end, adapted from a series of tweets by Aziah “Zola” King back in 2015, taking us through the misadventures of Zola (Taylour Paige) and Stefani (Riley Keough), as their journey to Florida to earn money from stripping avalanches into something way, way crazier. It’s… a lot. Trust me, it’s a lot.

I guess my biggest problem with Zola, though, is just how quickly it rumbles through all the events of the movie without the stakes being all that high. I kept anticipating something suuuuper crazy to happen, and it never really did. Overall though, the acting’s great, particularly by Paige, Keough, Ari’el Stachen and Colman Domingo, but I probably wouldn’t see this one again if given the opportunity.
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I tend to stay away from movies that I just know I’ll have no idea about what happens in them. But when the opportunity came about to watch Inception and Fear and Loathing on the same evening, I just couldn’t say no. I watched them back-to-back, with Inception first.

At least at first watch, you can sort of gauge what Inception is about. And having only seen it a handful of times, with this watch coming after nearly a decade, I definitely understood it way more than I had the first time. 

Inception is just a mind fuck. Fear and Loathing is off the rails for literally no specific reason at all. I’m lost. I couldn’t tell you what happens after the first 20 minutes when Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro go to a dune buggy race. 

I guess, knowing what I know about Hunter S. Thompson and his absurd meal routines, I shouldn’t be surprised that this movie is both meticulous AND absurd, if you can believe that. 

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold,” is the first line of Terry Gilliam’s film. Boy, is that the understatement of the century.
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Vince Vaughn, playing a serial killer, switches bodies with a high schooler in this wacky horror comedy. Vaughn is amazing and why people continue to hate him for no reason is beyond me.
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Bizarre and beautiful, Tom Twyker’s 1998 thriller film takes on an 80 minute thrill ride about a girl who needs to find 100,000 Marks to save her boyfriend from certain death.

This film is akin to a choose your own adventure book, in that we’re taken through some of the same moments over and over again, with different outcomes each time. It’s great, give it a watch.
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This film is a testament to just how great Robin Williams is as a dramatic actor. Equal parts tender and dramatic, Dead Poets Society is as emotional as it is inspiring. All teachers should be more like Mr. Keating.
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I was so close to finishing Wes Anderson’s filmography this year, which includes The French Dispatch, which I also saw this year. I was supposed to have finished it all in January before French Dispatch came out in October… but other stuff got in the way. But Rushmore was unlike anything I was used to when it came to one of my favorite directors. 

Definitely way more focused on words and characters than it was on symmetry and aesthetic, Rushmore is a solid intro into Anderson’s array of quirky films and characters, particularly in the case of Jason Schwartzman’s Max Fischer, who gets in way over his head in courting one of his teachers. Of the Wes films I hadn’t seen before, this one was definitely my favorite. 
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Joel Anderson, 2008​

A niche Australian horror movie that is framed like a documentary about a family coming to grips with the death of their daughter and the supernatural events that occur after her disappearance- you could say I’m opening up my palette when it comes to the movies I watch, I guess.

Lake Mungo is both creative and genuinely thrilling. And even though it has only one jump scare in it, it more than makes up for it. If you’re in the mood for something spooky, mysterious, and dare I say slightly existential (our biggest fear is confronting our own mortality), check out Joel Anderson’s 2008 psych thriller. It’s worth it.
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A Christmas movie!! I don’t really know how I missed this one. This heartwarming tale tells the story of Santa Claus framed from the perspective of the letters that we send to the big guy every year. Jason Schwartzman’s Jesper Johnson learns the importance of bringing joy to other people (and learning a little bit about responsibility in the process), and proves that Christmas can melt the icy chill of people with the coldest hearts.

Klaus features some excellent voice acting from the likes of JK Simmons, Rashida Jones. Joan Cusack, and Norm Macdonald. Highly recommend when Christmas comes down the road later this year.
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I know what you’re thinking- how have I not seen Jaws before? 

Give me a break. Apparently I didn’t like horror movies before this year and now I’m learning, okay? 

I’ll discuss Spielberg in a little bit, but I love the way this movie pivots from one man trying to get a frustrating town to act in the name of safety, to three equally strange men who find enough chemistry to take down the shark that is terrorizing the town. It’s a classic and it should be required viewing for every Fourth of July party from now until the end of time.

Other thoughts: Richard Dreyfuss is incredible, and I want the mayor’s ridiculous anchor suit.
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2021 proved more than ever that Keanu Reeves is a national treasure and must be protected at all costs.

This trio of films was probably the highlight of my film-viewing experience for 2021. What starts as a simple tale about a man getting revenge for someone killing his dog evolves into a web of espionage, Russian crime mobs, underground string pulling, and LOTS of Keanu Reeves shooting people in the face.

Seriously, there is SO much shooting in the face and I love every damn second of it. There should be an Oscar for stunt coordination, because these movies would win all of them.

I’m so excited for John Wick 4, although I am less excited that it was pushed back to 2023.
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After Endgame, I wasn’t sure where the MCU was going to go. To that point in 2021, there were a number of TV shows, all dealing with the aftermath of Endgame and setting up the Multiverse storyline.

And then came Shang-Chi¸ which was a breath of fresh air in regards to the typically formulaic Marvel movie. It’s nice to see a new Marvel hero introduced with an interesting backstory and a compelling, layered villain, and NOT be hit over the head with “this hero was created in the wake of damages or other things caused at the hands of the Avengers.” It does the right amount of work to introduce an interesting plot point from a previous film, (the Ten Rings Organization, for example), and keeps us engaged while also not killing off the true big bad. Or whatever the Ten Rings are going to be now that Meng’er Zhang’s character is in charge.

Plus, there are some KILLER lines from Ben Kingsley, who makes a return as Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3. I would say they’re genuinely some of the funniest lines in the MCU. The whole bit about him (a character who is an actor) genuinely believing that The Planet of the Apes was REAL? Absolute gold.
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Sian Heder, 2021​

Plot: Ruby is a child of deaf adults (which is what CODA stands for), who can hear. She finds that she’s got some talent when it comes to singing and music… which, considering everyone in her family is deaf, poses an issue, particularly when her father’s fishing job encounters some trouble when she tries to strike a balance between pursuing her passion and helping her family.

What bodes well for Sian Heder’s film is its terrific cast, led by Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Marlee Matlin, and Eugenio Derbez (Ruby’s music teacher), as well as its representation of the deaf community. The film portrays Ruby’s parents as incredibly self-sufficient- not to mention sexually-active (a portrayal rarely seen in a film with regards to deaf individuals). Matlin and Kotsur are just incredible in their respective roles, as we see them struggle in different ways to give their daughter the life she deserves, while coming to grips that she can’t always be there for them in ways she has been growing up.

It’s really a tearjerker, this one is. Perhaps what devalued it for me- nitpicky, I know- is Ruby’s audition at Berklee, where her “classical” singing piece is a Joni Mitchell song. To hell with realism, am I right?

Kidding aside, this is a great film. It has its moments of perhaps being a bit too light where it could be a little more dramatic, but overall, definitely recommend a watch of this one.
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Jon M. Chu, 2021​

The first of three musical films to come out this year, I was really looking forward to Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Lin-Manuel’s musical of the same name.

There’s a lot to like about In the Heights. Great music, great dancing, and a well-written script- which, despite deviating slightly from the musical, makes reasonable adjustments to which makes everything work just fine. Plus, if you want the musical, they filmed it for PBS. Go watch the musical if you want the musical. 
Plus, even though it takes place in Washington Heights (where I don’t live) a lot of it was shot by the elevated 1 train in Inwood (where I DO live). So that’s pretty cool!

Special thanks to Leslie Grace’s rendition of “Breathe,” which broke me. Emotional damage.

The one thing I will say about In the Heights is that some of the mediums by which the songs are song was not always consistent. It was usually one unique convention that occurred in only one particular song, and then we never saw it again. In the opening number, it was the spinning of the sewer head as if it were a record on a turntable. In “96,000,” there were comic book-style animations. In “When The Sun Goes Down,” it was walking on the side of a building. There’s setting musical numbers in a certain place for effect (“Paciencia y Fe” in the subway station and in flashback)- Chicago was really good at that. But this felt a little unchained to me. I wanted a little more consistency with the heightened reality of the musical numbers.

That said, it won the Tony and was nominated for the Pulitzer for a reason. And that’s its damn good source material. All in all, this was a faithful adaptation that was very well done.
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This might be the most honest and stripped-down I’ve ever seen Joaquin Phoenix at. Go figure- a movie about a precocious and obnoxious nine-year old and his bottled-up uncle, and the emotional growth that occurs between the two of them will probably do that to you.

Johnny (Phoenix) is tasked with looking after his nephew Jesse (Woody Norman) after Jesse’s mother (Gaby Hoffman) goes to care for her ex-husband (Scoot McNairy) who is struggling with mental illness. A country-wide adventure ensues, taking Johnny and Jesse to Los Angeles, New York, and New Orleans, as Johnny interviews children about their lives, their fears, and the world around them. 
Mike Mills’ brilliant screenplay encapsulates everything about growing up- and how growing up can even occur when you’re in middle age. It doesn’t just happen when you’re a kid.

Featuring some excellent work from Woody Norman (who is British, truly, fuck that kid, why is he so good at acting?), the two slowly breakdown each other’s emotional barriers one brick at a time, until Johnny is able to talk about his relationships to his sister, his late mother, and other women, all while keeping his head above water taking care of Jesse, and teaching him that there are constructive, healthy ways of dealing with your feelings.

I truly was not prepared for the amount of FEELINGS this movie gave me. C’mon C’mon cut deep.
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I really can’t tell where people stand on Don’t Look Up- I’ve never been able to get a good read on the vibe. It might not be as universally acclaimed (or as funny) as some of Adam McKay’s other films like Vice or The Big Short, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have a good time while watching it.

The plot: Two scientists (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) discover a comet hurtling towards earth and try to warn everybody about it… only for everybody to respond with a general “meh.” 

McKay’s strengths are in his dry, biting comedy. That is not on display in Don’t Look Up. What is on display is a satire that, while perhaps a bit heavy handed at times, does the job of showing us what real danger can feel like, especially if you’re in the unfortunate position of being the person who knows (or worse, sees) the truth, and no one around you is doing anything.

With spoofs of figures like Donald Trump and his family, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the idiots on most cable news sites, there’s some really good acting by some really good actors (namely, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, and Mark Rylance). 

I’ve seen this movie get a lot of flak on TikTok. A lot of people hated this movie- and there are just as many people who will say “you just didn’t get it.”

From someone who liked the movie, there’s not really a lot to get about it. I just think it made you uncomfortable and probably called you out about being fine with something that really is happening now and is going to have a negative effect on our lives in the very near future. 

Or maybe you just don’t like many moves. I hear Marry Me with Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson is set to come out in a few weeks. Maybe that’s more your speed. Anyway.
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Jon Watts, 2021​

Spoilers will probably lie ahead. The movie’s been out for almost a month. Get your ass to a movie theatre.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a bit like Avengers: Endgame Lite. There’s a LOT of fan service between all the villains such as Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) returning from previous Spider-Man franchises. It has an emotional but ultimately satisfying ending. I would say the biggest difference is the scope. It doesn’t surround the fate of humanity (per se, we’ll see what happens with Marvel’s Multiverse in later films), but more the world of Peter Parker, who is forced to make an incredibly difficult decision by the end of the film.

What else can I give away without giving away the biggest thing? Let’s just say that Marvel’s good at editing trailers.

And because they’re good at editing trailers, they hide some of the film’s biggest secrets- and that’s the emotion that plague’s Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and all other Spider-Mans before him. No Way Home unpacks a lot in its near 2:30 run time, but it’s all worth it. 

I’m just curious to see what’s next for Spidey after this one.
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Also, I guess I need to watch Venom and Morbius.
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I spent a long, long, long time agonizing over whether or not I really liked this movie. In fact, I agonized over writing this little blurb so much, that in my writing/editing/deleting/re-writing, I realized that Licorice Pizza is, in fact, a great film. It’s great because though I did not fall in love with it (and I really wanted to fall in love with it), I do appreciate that it consistently makes me think about it; the way it’s written, the way the two main characters circle the wagons with each other while being encapsulated in this sort of dream-like state that ends just the way you want it to. 

Gary (Cooper Hoffman- who I didn’t realize was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son until like 3 days after I saw the movie), a precocious and confident 15-year old, meets Alana (Alana Haim, whose entire family is also in the film). What follows is a coming of age film that explores falling in love in a rather unique way- the movie is basically split into vignettes of the ridiculous shenanigans Gary and his friends get into, from being arrested, to selling water beds, to somehow knowing everyone at a bar and getting to eat for free, to driving a truck backwards down a hill to escape the clutches of an insane Jon Peters, to getting involved in politics, to selling pinball machines, all while Gary chases the girl of his dreams. It’s basically how every teen summer vacation movie goes- complete with the fact that there are precisely zero parents to oversee the fact that these literal children are running a business selling fucking WATER BEDS. 

What I love about this format is that though the vignettes are very much “kids on summer break running around with no supervision,” the through line of Gary and Alana and this “will-they-won’t-they” love story is so clear. Sure, the age difference between the two is… significant (he’s 15, she’s 25). And sure, the two have to get around the fact the other is constantly swarmed by people of the opposite sex (like it always is when you’re in love). But Paul Thomas Anderson’s script is crafted so carefully that it all somehow works. 

In particular- during a fight between Gary and Alana, Alana attempts (unsuccessfully) to patronize Gary by saying “you’re selling pinball machines. I’m a politician.” which definitely levels the playing field and shows us that neither of them act their correct ages- Gary acting older than 15 and Alana acting younger than 25. That’s the beautiful, meticulous dance of Licorice Pizza.
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Joel Coen, 2021​

One less Coen, still no less fantastical. I still don’t know why this got a Christmas release, because this movie is a Halloween movie if ever I saw one. In any case, Joel Coen’s adaptation of Macbeth is phenomenally spooky.

You know the story of Macbeth. Man meets witches who tell him he’ll be king. Man murders current king to become new king. Obviously, being told this by witches is cheating, so man is then slain by new person who becomes new new king. Something wicked this way comes, yada, yada, yada.

Joel Coen’s adaptation is astoundingly good. It’s hard enough to do Shakespeare on stage, but to do it in a film is another beast entirely. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are stellar lead actors. McDormand in particular is the highlight of the film, especially during her “unsex me here” speech, where it is genuinely difficult to tell by some of the camera angles whether she is man or woman. Shout out to Bruno Delbonnel, whose cinematography is also a high point of this film.

This is not to say Denzel isn’t a great Macbeth, because he is. He is somehow both refined and grizzled (probably due to his age on screen) which plays wonderfully. He walks a fine line between grounded and unhinged, dancing between the two in every scene he’s in. 

Now, while the acting in Shakespearean pieces has to be good, it’s the production values of Macbeth that give it that x-factor of being awe-inspiring.

The whole thing is in black and white. The whole thing is filmed on sound stages, designed by Stefan Deschant, who designed sets for 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, to give the movie this look of being “untethered from reality.” Coen and his team play with ALL the lights and shadows, giving the movie some truly iconic shots. It’s almost as if the set is a character in the movie. Combine it all with Delbonnel’s camera work, and you get something that’s been picked clean out of the catalogue of someone like Fritz Lang, but played by 21st century actors. This movie is a feat of cinematic excellence.

And, though she’s technically an actor, I believe Kathryn Hunter deserves recognition for her role as all three witches. The way she contorts both her body and her voice are unlike anything I’ve ever seen on film, especially for Shakespeare, which can get pretty freaky on its own.

Don’t watch this on your TV. Go watch it in a movie theatre.

Denis Villeneuve, 2021​

Man, I love Denis Villeneuve. Grand in scale and meticulous in execution, I am so looking forward to what the next part of Dune has in store for us after seeing Part 1 of Frank Herbert’s epic put on screen. 

In as short of a synopsis as I can muster without being overwhelming to folks who aren’t into sci-fi outside of Star Wars: A boy (Timothée Chalamet) and his noble family are thrust into war over a deadly and inhospitable desert planet. There’s betrayal, lore, space drugs, and SAND WORMS. The movie just looks incredible and if you go just for the visuals, production designs, and world building, that’s more than worth the price of admission. Incredible set design, costume design, and sound design (especially sound design, considering “the voice” is a major plot point of the film) are the hallmarks of this movie. It’s clear they used every last dime of its $165 million budget to make this movie as incredible and immersive as possible. Also, the SCORE. Only Hans Zimmer can make bagpipes sound badass. Holy shit.

But on top of that- if it’s a Villeneuve sci-fi movie you want, you’ll also get incredible acting with it. Between Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, and Stellan Skarsgard, there’s more than enough talent to go around. Thrown in names like Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, and Charlotte Rampling, and you can see why Dune absolutely nails the “beefy fighting space boys and somewhat frail but intimidating women who can all act as well” aesthetic. Oh, and Zendaya’s in it, too. For like, eight minutes. She’ll get more time in part 2, don’t worry.

I didn’t expect to like Dune as much as I did. Now I can’t wait for October 2023. 

Sidebar: Someone give the damn worm a hug, please.
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The last time I saw a biopic by Pablo Larraín, I was not impressed. I found Jackie to be dry and, honestly, boring. I can only see Natalie Portman get teary-eyed so many times. But Spencer is different. It’s weird, layered, funny, moving, and even scary at parts.

And whatever you think about Kristen Stewart- just go see this film and reassess your judgement of her, because she’s fantastic. 

Described as “A fable from a true tragedy,” the movie revolves around Diana Spencer’s time at Windsor Castle during the holidays of 1991, wherein she decides to end her marriage to Prince Charles, amid the strain stemming from his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. It’s technically fictional- and that’s evident by some of the fantastical sequences in the movie- particularly the first dinner scene where Diana literally eats the pearls from her necklace- but it perfectly exemplifies the struggles Princess Diana faced and how she truly hated being a member of the Royal Family. Various references to Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII punctuate the piece, which might be a bit too on the nose for Spencer, but you get the idea. She wasn’t beheaded but throughout the film you get the feeling she’s trying to escape some metaphorical gallows. This biography is actually part ghost story, oddly enough.

Spencer is a fantastic character study of a wife abandoned and a woman trapped, which is further exemplified by the many interactions Diana has around the castle. Tense encounters with head-of-staff Alistair Gregory (a chilling and imposing Timothy Spall), a frustrating push-pull relationship with Maggie, her dresser (Sally Hawkins), conversations with head chef Darren McGrady (Sean Harris), and apathetic receptions from both her husband and Queen Elizabeth, the People’s Princess is certainly put through the ringer. My favorite scenes include anything involving her young sons, William and Harry (Jack Nielen, Freddie Spry), which really show how great of a mother she was to her boys. Stewart’s portrayal is nuanced and relatable, even if the movie ventures into the absurd at points. If she doesn’t win an Oscar I’m going to eat a pearl necklace.

When the pandemic hit, I decided to take a break from acting. Sure, I’ve done smaller projects here and there, but I haven’t been in any sort of production of any kind since well before 2020. And for the most part, I haven’t missed it. I’ve been telling myself that I need to find something that makes me feel that spark again.

And then, I saw Tick, Tick… BOOM! on Netflix. And it made me remember what I love about theatre and performing with my friends so much.

The film is an adaptation of the late Jonathan Larson’s show of the same title, a semi-autobiographical story about Larson’s (played by Andrew Garfield) struggle to make it as a musical theatre writer early in his career, while the AIDS crisis in New York takes its toll on many people around him.

Now, Jonathan Larson is an over-the-top, often frustrating individual, often sacrificing the people he loves- namely, his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp)- in the name of finding his “one great song” (Rent references lol) for his show Superbia. And it’s difficult to see what his selfishness really is for, until the very end, when he gets his just deserts about his workshop, and, in a way, when he is told to “find the next one” by his agent (Judith Light). But Garfield plays it perfectly, finding the soul of Larson both onstage and off. Plus, he’s not a bad singer either. His renditions of “30/90,” “Why” and “Louder than Words” are really, really great. 

Special shout out to Joshua Henry and especially Vanessa Hudgens who star as Garfield’s friends/backup singers in the overarching musical monologue (the Tick, Tick… BOOM! in question, which started as a show itself)  that is interspersed throughout the film. Both are fantastic additions vocally, and in the case of Hudgens, she’s adorable in her role as Karessa. Having performed the song “Therapy” before in concert, all versions of that song should be performed the way her and Garfield do it in the film.

I know we're all probably sick of yet another wave of Lin-Manuel Miranda, what with Encanto also out which features his music. But the guy continually makes great stuff, including this film, which is a touching tribute to both Jonathan Larson's life and his legacy.

It was the cover of “Everlasting Love” in the trailer that originally made me interested in this film.

And then, as I was watching it, I discovered that Van Morrison was responsible for the music.

And that’s when I fell in love with Belfast.

But music aside, Kenneth Branagh’s film is an excellent movie about finding the meaning of the word “home.”

Described as Branagh’s most personal film (I think it’s at least somewhat autobiographical), Belfast examines the childhood of a young boy whose street corner becomes caught up in The Troubles in the 1960s. 

Though the film deals plenty with the violence, death and destruction The Troubles brought to Northern Ireland, it never delves too far into it. After all, the events of the movie are portrayed through the eyes of the effortlessly winsome Buddy- played brilliantly by newcomer Jude Hill- who navigates the uneasy world around him alongside his hard-nosed but loving family- helmed by his mother and father, known as just “Ma” and “Pa”- exceptionally portrayed by Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan.

Additionally, Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench, who play Buddy's grandparents, have an effortless chemistry that is borne out of lifetime of dedication to each other. Every actor in this film brings an unmatched subtlety to their roles, finding nuance and heartache in even the quietest of moments.

Despite being shot in a gentle black and white, the movie is brilliant in its ability to shift tones, and to have those shifts in tones shot from what almost look like hiding places- after all, we see and hear things the way Buddy does, as snippets and whispers. We watch in secret as Ma and Pa grapple with Pa’s new job opportunity in England, and Ma’s inability to accept the reality that Belfast is too dangerous for them to stay any longer- a heartbreaking reality felt by many of the residents of Belfast. 

There is a constant push-pull that pervades the entire film, oscillating between poignancy and frustration. A scene of Buddy attempting to hilariously woo the smartest girl in his class (who turns out to be Catholic, a fun twist considering the circumstances) is contrasted with the looting of a grocery store by Protestant rioters, which is THEN contrasted by Buddy’s mother dragging him back by the ear to return a box of detergent that he stole during that same looting (as an unwitting participant, of course). I mean, as previously mentioned, Van Morrison’s music is there to provide montages that will somehow make you forget you’re watching a drama about a conflict full of sectarian terrorism. 

Ultimately, the film’s honesty and sincerity wins out, and despite a bittersweet ending, you leave feeling satisfied and, in my experience, helpless to resist the smile that will creep onto your face. 

The film feels true and real in that it’s very clearly Branagh’s memories about growing up and experiencing the joys, confusions, and hardships (for a young boy, anyway) of life, while also paying tribute to a once-lively community that was permanently changed. The film has a touching tribute at the end, dedicated to “the ones who stayed,” “the ones who left,” and “the ones who were lost.” You can practically see Branagh’s heart on his sleeve.
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The Summer of Dev Patel was in full swing in David Lowery’s adaptation of The Green Knight. 

On Christmas Day, a knight, clad in green with a body like a humanoid tree, enters King Arthur’s Court and issues a challenge: he will engage in combat with a willing opponent. If that opponent can land a blow on him, in one year’s time, the Green Knight will return that blow.

And so begins the tale of Dev Patel… I mean, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which is a bizarre adaptation of a bizarre story from the 14th century.

Director David Lowery leans into the weirdness HARD, as we’re not really sure what Gawain’s quest is or symbolizes until the very end of the story. I mean, sure, Gawain slices the Green Knight’s head off in the first 15 minutes of the film, and at that point, we are told “one year hence.” But what then? Does this mean Gawain is literally about to die? I guess David Lowery and Dev Patel will tell us.

For a film with a run time of 130 minutes, the movie moves along pretty quickly, even if you’re not into medieval fantasy films. I loved the use of chapter divisions in the film, making it feel really episodic- with each episode demonstrating a different challenge, virtue, or theme faced by Gawain during the course of his quest. Gawain is robbed and left to die by thieves in the forest, encounters a talking fox, meets the Lady of the Lake, and gets seduced by Alicia Vikander as he journeys toward his fate at the end of the film. And all of these encounters contribute to the overarching theme throughout the story: what does it mean to be a knight? What does it mean (for Gawain) to be a man? And, perhaps most critically- which is more important: integrity and goodness, or your legacy?

Despite its twisting, disorienting camera angles, its brilliant use of color (particularly red, green, and yellow) and imagery, The Green Knight is still grounded in some sense of reality, at least, enough so that it didn’t make me (and I don’t usually seek out “weird” films) feel dizzy or confused in any way. It’s as unusual as it is good- and man, it is very, very good. 

As for the ending- I think leaving it as ambiguous as they did was the best possible option. Maybe being beheaded by the tree version of Santa Claus isn’t the worst thing in the world.
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Steven Spielberg, 2021​

I have a LOT to say about West Side Story so buckle up. It’s been almost a month since I saw this movie and I’m still crying about it.

No matter what you think about him, West Side Story is evidence that Steven Spielberg is a true master of his craft, and can put a brilliant shine on a modern classic with relative ease. If you can make me a like a show that I traditionally do not, that's just another notch in your cap.

I saw this film at the Lincoln Square AMC- which is, ironically, where the entire movie takes place: the vicinity of 68th and Broadway. That made it pretty special viewing.

Let’s start with the casting- which I thought could not have been more perfect. David Alvarez as Bernardo. Ariana deBose as Anita. Mike Faist as Riff. Rita Moreno as Valentina (a brilliant spinoff of the traditionally white male shop owner, Doc). And our star-crossed lovers: Ansel Elgort as Tony, and Rachel Zegler as Maria. Even the law enforcement, Officer Krupke (Brian D’Arcy James) and Lieutenant Schrank (Corey Stoll) could not have been better.

Some other general thoughts about this movie:

The COSTUMES, man. When I saw the Shark Girls yellow outfits in the trailer, I audibly gasped. I did the same when they sang through “America”.

Ansel Elgort is ridiculous. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I think they made up for him being the weakest singer in the cast by making everything so incredibly ridiculous and silly around him. I mean, in his “Maria,” the entire world turns into something of a dream world, but still has New Yorkers sarcastically nodding at him as if to say “oh, that’s nice…” Even the Dance at the Gym scene, when Tony and Maria meet for the first time, that turns into a fantasy world of lights and balloons before we snap back to reality and see the dirty underside of the bleachers. Sure, Ansel’s singing voice leaves something to be desired (especially next to Rachel Zegler), but I think he’s a great Tony nonetheless.

Speaking of Maria- Rachel Zegler is also phenomenal. Usually, when I see a production of West Side, it’s the Maria who is always the less mature one. In this case, it’s definitely Tony. Zegler’s Maria, while young, is definitely not naïve to the world around her. She is constantly aware that she and Tony being together is not a good idea. And her reaction to Tony’s death at the end of the film is absolutely chilling, the way her emotions just melt away and there’s just nothing but despair on her face as she waves that gun around.

The dancing never felt out of place. Actually, from the first scene, I almost had to be reminded that it was a musical when they started dancing in the opening number. From then on, everything was on the table in terms of the moves those actors busted out. Truly incredible work by Justin Peck.

Officer Krupke gets literally zero respect in this movie and it’s so good. Poor Brian D’Arcy James and his ulcer.

Finally- I think I found out where all the budget went. It went to the best scene in the movie, “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love,” where Anita and Maria fight over Tony and Maria’s secret love for each other. The budget went to paying all the emotional damages to people who were absolutely ruined by that scene. Ariana deBose is a phenomenal performer and I will not be taking any questions on that. 

Overall, this is far and away the best thing I saw this year. If you’re not crying by the end of this, you have no soul. The end.

Sondheim left us knowing this would movie would be as incredible as he was. What a guy he is. Thanks, Steve.


I know this is a long article, so if you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with it.

What were your favorite movies from 2021? Leave a comment down below.

If you're interested as well, here is the complete list of movies I saw from the last year:


Underlined- 2021 film
*- seen previous to 2021
Bold- Listed in Article Above


1/2- News of the World (Paul Greengrass, 2020)
1/2- Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell, 2020)
1/12- Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
1/17- Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009)*
1/18- Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018)*
1/18- The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)*
1/21- Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)*
1/22- Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010)*
1/23- The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007)
1/25- Thor (Kenneth Branagh, 2011)*
1/25- Captain America: The First Avenger (Joe Johnston, 2011)*
1/25- The Avengers (Joss Whedon, 2012)*
2/3- Palm Springs (Max Barbakow, 2020)
2/4- Iron Man 3 (Shane Black, 2013)*
2/11- Thor: The Dark World (Alan Taylor, 2013)*
2/14- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2014)*
2/14- Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn, 2014)*
2/17- Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, 2020)
2/20- Avengers: Age of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015)*
2/20- Ant-Man (Peyton Reed, 2015)*
2/20- Captain America: Civil War (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2016)*
2/22- Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)*
2/22- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998)
2/28- Gravity (Alfonso Cuaròn, 2013)*
3/5- Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020)
3/13- The One I Love (Charlie McDowell, 2014)
3/16- Minari (Lee Isaac Chung, 2020)
3/30- Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (James Gunn, 2017)*
4/13- Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)*
4/19- Freaky (Christopher Landon, 2020)
4/23- Judas and the Black Messiah (Shaka King, 2021)
4/23- The Father (Florian Zeller, 2020)
4/23- Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

• The Present (Farah Nebulsi, 2020)
• Feeling Through (Doug Roland, 2019)
• Two Distant Strangers (Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe, 2020)
• White Eye (Tomer Shushan, 2019)
• The Letter Room (Elvira Lind, 2020)

4/23-  Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts

• A Love Song for Latasha (Sophia Nahli Allison, 2020)
• Do Not Split (Anders Hammer, 2020)
• Hunger Ward (Skye Fitzgerald, Michael Shueuerman, 2020)
• Collette (Anthony Giacchino, 2020)
• A Concerto is a Conversation (Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers, 2021)

4/23- Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts

• Burrow (Madeline Sharafian, 2020)
• Genius Loci (Adrien Merigeau, 2020)
• Opera (Erick Oh, 2020)
• If Anything Happens I Love You (Will McCormack and Michael Govier, 2020)
• Yes-People (Gísli Darri Halldórsson, 2020)

4/26- Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2018)*
5/9- Skyfall (Sam Mendes, 2012)*
5/10- Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)*
5/11- Avengers: Infinity War (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2018)*
5/16- The Woman in the Window (Joe Wright, 2021)
5/18- Those Who Wish Me Dead (Taylor Sheridan, 2021)
5/20- Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)
5/23- Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller, 2008)*
5/26- John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014)
6/1- Ant-Man and the Wasp (Peyton Reed, 2018)*
6/5- Captain Marvel (Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, 2019)*
6/6- Avengers: Endgame (Joe and Anthony Russo, 2019)*
6/15- Spider-Man: Far From Home (Jon Watts, 2019)
6/19- Luca (Enrico Casarosa, 2021)
6/20- In the Heights (Jon M. Chu, 2021)
6/20- Long Shot (Jacob LaMendola, 2017)
6/27- Good on Paper (Kimmy Gatewood, 2021)
7/3- Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
7/6- John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski, 2017)
7/10- Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989)
7/13- Black Widow (Cate Shortland, 2021)
7/16- Run Lola Run (Tom Twyker, 1998)
7/17- Zola (Janicza Bravo, 2020)
7/20- John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum (Chad Stahelski, 2019)
8/7- The Wedding Singer (Frank Coraci, 1998)*
8/8- The Green Knight (David Lowery, 2021)
8/23- Atomic Blonde (David Leitch, 2017)
9/5- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Dustin Daniel Cretton, 2021)
9/30- Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998)*
10/16- The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
10/22- Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015)*
10/23- No Time to Die (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2021)
10/25- The French Dispatch (Wes Anderson, 2021)
10/29- Last Night in Soho (Edgar Wright, 2021)
11/5- CODA (Siân Heder, 2021)
11/5- Lake Mungo (Joel Anderson, 2008)
11/6- The Guilty (Antoine Fuqua, 2021)
11/12- Fury of the Demon (Fabian Delage, 2016)
11/19- Eternals (Chloé Zhao, 2021)
11/20- C’mon C’mon (Mike Mills, 2021)
11/20- Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021)
11/20- Spencer (Pablo Larrain, 2021)
11/22- Mr. Jones (Karl Mueller, 2013)
11/30- Tick, Tick… Boom! (Lin-Manuel Miranda, 2021)
12/3- Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021)
12/11- West Side Story (Steven Spielberg, 2021)
12/14- Belfast (Kenneth Branagh, 2021)
12/18- Klaus (Sergio Pablos, 2019)
12/22- Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts, 2021)
12/26- Don’t Look Up (Adam McKay, 2021)
12/26- Being the Ricardos (Aaron Sorkin, 2021)
12/27- The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen, 2021)
12/31- The Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 1974)

We finally made it, you guys. There were parts of me that didn’t think we would make it here, but we did. Today is Oscar Sunday.

Think about where we were a year ago (the ceremony is taking place later than it has before, at least in my lifetime)- the pandemic had taken hold, movie theaters had shut down, and gatherings similar to this were severely in doubt. But after 13 long months, we have a slate of nominees, and things are scheduled to proceed as planned Sunday night in Hollywood.

I want to give a couple shoutouts before I carry on with my predictions:

Shoutout to the streaming services I watched this year- Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney+, etc. You guys are the real MVPs for keeping us entertained and for making things accessible to us this year.
​

Shoutout to the city of Stamford, Connecticut, for having your movie theaters open so I could see a few of them in person. Your city and your cinemas are cuuuuuuute.

And finally, shoutout to the Academy for being smart enough to push this ceremony off as late as you could without being egregious. Should it probably be virtual? Probably. But we’re at a point now where many, many people are vaccinated. I’m sure it’s going to be done as safely as it can. 

Or maybe I’m just completely blinded by the fact that we actually have the Oscars and I’m just recklessly excited for the event.

​In any event, here's what we've seen from the rest of awards season since I last saw you.

Netflix's Mank leads the way with 10 nominations, including those for its leading actor (Gary Oldman), its supporting actress (Amanda Seyfried), and its director (David Fincher). Now, again, I didn't really like Mank, but 10 nominations is nothing to scoff at. There is a good chance that it could sneak in and grab a couple of these awards, including some of the technical awards, as it is the only black-and-white film nominated this year. We'll see how the Academy chooses to honor it (or not).
​

Chadwick Boseman is in the conversation for leading actor, but not for Da 5 Bloods as previously predicted. No, he's nominated for his role in another Netflix film, ​Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
​

Boseman is the favorite for the award, but he faces some strong competition, including Gary Oldman, as well as a strong performance from Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal, and a dark horse of the race, Anthony Hopkins, who plays an elderly British man suffering from dementia in The Father. Best Actor will be the most interesting award of the night.​

But all eyes are on Nomadland, which has many of the Best Picture Awards so far, including the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, the two biggest indicators of the Academy Award for Best Picture. While Frances McDormand has started to fall away from the front of the Best Actress race (I'll get to that in a minute), Chloe Zhao seems poised to become only the second woman to win Best Director. In my humble opinion, I think Nomadland stands a real chance of being upset, just because I feel like more films have gained some momentum during the latter half of Oscar season. 

But who am I to judge? I just write the blog. And I haven't been to a movie theatre in four months.

In any case, please enjoy my predictions for the proceedings at the 93rd Academy Awards.

The nominees:

• The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.)
• Mank (Netflix)
• Minari (A24)
• Nomadland (Fox Searchlight)
• Promising Young Woman (Focus)
• Sound of Metal (Amazon)
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

Without any waiting- I’m picking Nomadland to win Best Picture. I think (in addition to being a relatively safe choice) it’s the one film that has the most subtle artistry in it- more than any other film. It's imperfect and raw, and there's something truly beautiful in that. The only other films I could name that come close to matching Nomadland for subtlety are Minari and The Father- and even they have catastrophic events that happen in them. 

And while I would love to see the Academy pick a film that’s a bit more in your face in the way that Judas and the Black Messiah, or Sound of Metal, or even The Trial of the Chicago 7 (to an extent) are, I just can’t see it happening. It’s one thing to pick a film that’s timely, but there’s picking it just because it’s timely and then there’s picking it because it’s timely and good. I believe they got it right last year by picking the best film of the year (Parasite, you remember, it was the best thing to ever happen), and I’m putting it out in the universe that we won’t have any more safe BS for a while. I’m still upset about Green Book, can you tell?

That said- my favorite film of this year was Promising Young Woman, and if I had to pick a reason for it to win, I would say it’s because the film feels fresh. It’s A) a film that people need to see right now; it tells a story from the perspective of someone that deserves to be heard, and B) it tells its story in such a unique way that no other film can hold a candle to (call it bubblegum-revenge-core if you want). It’s got so many layers to it even Shrek is quaking.

Here are my choices in order of preference for Best Picture, just so there’s no confusion:

1. Promising Young Women
2. The Trial of the Chicago 7
3. Sound of Metal
4. Nomadland
5. The Father
6. Minari
7. Judas and the Black Messiah
8. Mank

​
But this is about me being right, not about my heart wanting what it wants. So there ya go. Nomadland wins Best Picture, but I’m putting Promising Young Woman out there so the universe can hear me.

Just, please, for the love of God, not Mank.

Will win: Nomadland
Should win: Promising Young Woman
Could win: Mank or The Trial of the Chicago 7
Should have been here: Soul
​

The nominees:

• Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
• David Fincher, Mank
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
• Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Only one other woman has ever won Best Director- until this year, most likely. With each passing day it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Chloe Zhao is going to win Best Director. In such a weird year, it’s really become tough for any of the films this year to keep up their momentum- but Nomadland seems to keep hanging around despite other films winning awards leading up to the Oscars. 

Still, despite some NAMES in this category, I think Chloe Zhao has the best shot at winning in this category. Props to the Academy for giving us a very diverse field this year- we love to see names like Emerald Fennell and Lee Isaac Chung in the Best Director field.

Will win: Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Should win: Chloe Zhao, Nomadland
Could win: David Fincher, Mank
Should have been here: Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

​

The nominees:

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Gary Oldman, Mank
• Steven Yeun, Minari

I’m conflicted here. I totally understand the want to give the award to Chadwick Boseman. It would honor his entire career by bestowing upon him the most prestigious individual award in American film. He also gives a heck of a performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. I’ve seen a number of people do that monologue of his and he’s the only one who’s ever really gotten it right. If he wins, it’ll be a well-received move by the Academy.

At the same time- how can you discount some of these other performances? Riz Ahmed deserves some recognition for his brilliant work in Sound of Metal, and Anthony Hopkins in The Father is nothing short of a masterstroke. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Ma Rainey, and so I wonder how much of the award that would potentially go to Chadwick is a career achievement award over an award for his performance in this particular movie. You see my dilemma here.

I’m picking Chadwick to win, but I think I’ve stated my case for both Riz Ahmed and Anthony Hopkins... or at least the case against the Ma Rainey actor's Oscar campaign.

Will win: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Should win: Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Could win: Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Should have been here: Tom Hanks hasn’t seen a nomination in a while, so let’s throw him in here for News of the World.

​

The nominees:

• Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
• Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
• Frances McDormand, Nomadland
• Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

What used to be Frances McDormand’s race has been replaced by the tour de force performance of one Carey Mulligan. In Promising Young Woman, Mulligan plays Cassie, a young woman traumatized by a tragic event in her past, who seeks revenge against those who crossed her path. Mulligan gives an ice-cold performance, killing it in every scene she’s in. She’s like the world's best "villain that you absolutely love to root for". 

Frances McDormand is definitely still in the running for Nomadland, but her field just got a lot more crowded, especially when you factor in Andra Day, who won a Golden Globe for playing Billie Holiday in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, not to mention the likes of Vanessa Kirby, who’s been nominated for this award at both the BAFTAs and Golden Globes; and Viola Davis, who has a strong turn as Ma Rainey in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. 

But seriously, if they don’t give this to Carey Mulligan, heads will roll.

Will win: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Should win: Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Could win: Frances McDormand, Nomadland or Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
​

The nominees:

• Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas & the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami…
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
• Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Either Daniel Kaluuya or Lakeith Stanfield would be the correct choice for Best Supporting Actor. I think the edge goes to Daniel Kaluuya thanks to that Golden Globe he won at the beginning of awards season, but Lakeith Stanfield’s performances as Bill O’Neal has you skittering and shivering right along with him as his character eventually works his way up to betraying Kaluuya’s Fred Hampton. 

Elsewhere, Sacha Baron Cohen didn’t get nominated for playing Borat, but he did get a nod for playing Abbie Hoffman in Chicago 7, so, good for him. Additionally, Paul Raci deserved this Oscar nomination for his kind and reserved performance as Paul in Sound of Metal. This is still a two-horse race, but it’s nice to see some people get nods who clearly deserve them.


Will win: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Should win: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Could win: Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
Won’t win but happy he’s here: Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
​

The nominees:

• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
• Olivia Colman, The Father
• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Youn Yuh-jung, Minari

So I ate my words. Glenn Close got nominated for Hillbilly Elegy, setting up another showdown between her and Olivia Colman. But the spotlight is on Maria Bakalova and her brilliant turn in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Bakalova has been the favorite to win, thanks in no small part to her scene with Rudy Giuliani (putting new meaning to the term “Oscar package”). 

Recently though, things have shifted towards Youn Yuh-jung and her performance as the feisty Soon-ja in Minari. She’s the betting favorite, and I’m going to stick with my gut and pick her to win as well.

Will win: Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
Should win: Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Could win: Olivia Colman, The Father

​

The nominees:

• Judas and the Black Messiah- Will Berson & Shaka King
• Minari- Lee Isaac Chung
• Promising Young Woman- Emerald Fennell
• Sound of Metal- Abraham Marder and Darius Marder
• The Trial of the Chicago 7- Aaron Sorkin

While it’s surprising that Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 wasn’t nominated for Best Director, it’s not at all surprising that Sorkin’s film was nominated for its screenplay. Minari’s unique approach on the American dream, a semi-biographical take from director Lee Isaac Chung’s childhood, is simple in its appearance, but will sneak up on you and break your heart. Sound of Metal has one of the more unique storylines nominated this year, but I think its success is due more in part to its use of sound than it is from its writing. Judas and the Black Messiah deals a lot of emotional weight and plenty of tension, but I think it drags in places, making it feel like longer than a two-hour film.

My predicted winner is Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, which feels fresh at every turn, and whose moments of revenge feel earned. If the film wins anything this evening, it should be this one.


Will win: Promising Young Woman - Emerald Fennell
Should win: Promising Young Woman- Emerald Fennell
Could win: Sound of Metal - Abraham Marder and Darius Marder
Should have been here: Soul (Pete Docter, Mike Jones and Kemp Powers) or Palm Springs (Andy Siara)

​

The nominees:

• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm- Sacha Baron Cohen & others (based on the previous film)
• The Father- Florian Zeller (based on his play)
• Nomadland- Chloe Zhao (based on the book by Jessica Bruder)
• One Night in Miami…- Kemp Powers (based on his play)
• The White Tiger- Ramin Bahrani (based on the novel by Aravind Adiga)

I hate to be this guy- but if you don’t think Nomadland doesn’t really have a screenplay because it’s a) mostly visual shots and b) a lot of what appears to be improvisation, then you should watch the movie (man I hate using that phrase, I’m sorry). Chloe Zhao’s subtle and poignant script ultimately comes to the conclusion that, no matter who you come into contact with on the highway of life, you’ll eventually see them again “somewhere down the road.” It’s simple but very beautiful. 

However, I think The Father’s bending and winding script, adapted by director Florian Zeller from his play of the same name, deserves some recognition. I am flabbergasted by the sheer number of words Anthony Hopkins has to speak in that film. The script is the centerpiece of it all, leaving us just as confused as Hopkins’ character until the very last moments of the film. 

Will win: Nomadland - Chloe Zhao
Should win: The Father - Florian Zeller
Could win: One Night in Miami…- Kemp Powers
Should have been here: First Cow (Julia Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond) or I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman)

​

The nominees:

• Another Round (Denmark)
• Better Days (Hong Kong)
• Collective (Romania)
• The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
• Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

There is Another Round, and then there is everyone else. Thomas Vinterberg’s thrilling and painful approach to the idea of keeping an elevated blood alcohol level bends into the absurd, but pulls the rug out from under you, nearly drowning you in your sorrow for the poor characters (Mads Mikkelson included) that embark on the journey. I’m also going to throw Collective in here, for no other reason than it’s a documentary that has achieved some widespread acclaim, at least enough to get it into the Best International Feature Film category. 

Will win: Another Round (Denmark)
Should win: Another Round (Denmark)
Could win: Collective (Romania)

The nominees:

• Onward (Disney/Pixar)
• Over the Moon (Netflix)
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (StudioCanal)
• Soul (Disney/Pixar)
• Wolfwalkers (Apple TV)

We know it’s Soul’s award to lose here. Pixar’s existential masterpiece faces some competition from the beautifully animated Wolfwalkers, as well as Netflix’s musical fantasy Over the Moon, but I think Soul, for its animation, voice acting, score, and message, has this one firmly locked up. Make some room in the Disney cabinet.

Will win: Soul
Should win: Soul
Could win: Onward or Wolfwalkers

The nominees:

• Collective - Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
• Crip Camp: a Disability Revolution - Sara Bolder, Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham
• The Mole Agent- Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
• My Octopus Teacher - Pippa Ehrlich, Craig Foster and James Reed
• Time - Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

On one hand, Collective is also nominated for Best International Feature Film, and you don’t see documentaries nominated for other prizes honoring best films. On the other hand, both Crip Camp and My Octopus Teacher have received critical acclaim, not to mention their Independent Spirit and BAFTA Awards for Best Documentary, respectively. Collective, a film about uncovering corruption in Romania, could either be an incredible film or taking an advantage of a weak International Feature film category. My guess is that My Octopus Teacher takes home the prize. Does Hollywood love to preach about saving the environment? You bet your sweet bippy they do.

Will win: My Octopus Teacher
Should win: My Octopus Teacher
Could win: Collective
​

The nominees:

• Collette - Alice Doyard and Anthony Giacchino
• A Concerto is a Conversation - Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot
• Do Not Split - Charlotte Cook and Anders Hammer
• Hunger Ward - Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Shueuerman
• A Love Song For Latasha - Sophia Nahali Allison and Janice Duncan

Two films stood out to me in the Documentary- Short Subject category: A Love Song For Latasha, which recounts the shooting of a fifteen year old Los Angeles girl in a convenience store, and Field of Vision’s thrilling and chilling Do Not Split, which gives us a first-hand look into the Hong Kong protests of the past year. Other nominees include Collette, which sees a 74-year old French resistance fighter visit the concentration camp where her brother was killed, Hunger Ward, a bleak look at the famine and its effects on two hospitals in Yemen, and A Concerto is a Conversation; a New York Times op-doc about Green Book composer Kris Bowers, and his grandfather, and the trials he faced as a black man growing up in Los Angeles. While I preferred Do Not Split, and its astounding scope and pulse-pounding action, I think the Academy will shift its focus to A Love Song for Latasha, for its unique presentation style echoing that of a VHS tape, as well as its unflinching look at the harsh realities of the African-American experience. 

Will win: A Love Song For Latasha
Should win: Do Not Split
Could win: A Concerto is a Conversation
​

The nominees:

• Feeling Through - Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
• The Letter Room - Elvira Linda and Sofia Sondervan
• The Present - Ossama Bawardi and Farah Nabulsi
• Two Distant Strangers - Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
• White Eye - ​Shira Hochman and Tomer Shushan

The main theme through all five of the live action shorts nominated this year is communication. There’s The Letter Room, which features Oscar Isaac and Alia Shawkat (a rarity, two well-known actors in a nominated short film), about a prison guard tasked with screening mail to inmates; Two Distant Strangers, which (in the second half, at least) features a conversation between a young black man stuck in a time loop and the police officer who keeps killing him; and two films, one from Palestine, the other from Israel, which offer unique looks at peoples from conflicting countries. Finally, there is my personal favorite, Feeling Through, which centers around a young man in need in New York and his encounter with a deaf and blind man named Artie. Feeling Through is equal parts hilarious and humbling, and this unconventional pair forces us to have a look at life through a different lens. Everybody has a story, and no matter what it is, “you’ll be okay,” according to Artie as he leaves Tareek for the last time in the film. If Feeling Through has any competition, my gut says it’s from White Eye, but I don’t think there’s any stopping this one.

Will win: Feeling Through
Should win: Feeling Through
Could win: White Eye
​

The nominees:

• Burrow - Michael Capbarat and Madeline Sharafian
• Genius Loci - Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
• If Anything Happens I Love You - Michael Govier and Will McCormack
• Opera - Erick Oh
• Yes-People - Arnar Gunnarsson and Gísli Darri Halldórsson

Without a true Pixar nominee, the Animated Short Film category is the most up in the air of all the short film categories; there is no one film that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. Each one has a distinctly unique animation style, and the stories in the films range from the quirky and comedic to the absurd and thought-provoking. My money is on Netflix’s If Anything Happens I Love You, a devastating thirteen-minute short about two parents who lose their daughter in a school shooting. 


Will win: If Anything Happens I Love You
Should win: If Anything Happens I Love You
Could win: Burrow or Genius Loci

The nominees:

• Judas and the Black Messiah - Sean Bobbit
• Mank- Erik Messerschmidt
• Nomadland- Joshua James Richards
• News of the World- Dariusz Wolski
• The Trial of the Chicago 7- Phedon Papamichael

Do you like sweeping, contemplative, panoramic shots of the American southwest? Then Nomadland is the film for you. Phedon Papamichael (who was robbed of a nomination last year for Ford v. Ferrari) will eventually get his, but I think this award belongs to Joshua James Richards for Nomadland. 

Will win: Nomadland - Joshua James Richards
Should win: Nomadland - Joshua Janes Richards
Could win: The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Phedon Papamichael
​

The nominees:

• Emma. - Alexandra Byrne
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - Ann Roth
• Mank - Trish Summerville
• Mulan - Bina Daigeler
• Pinocchio - Massimo Cantino Parrini

Victorian England, or ancient Disney-fied China? Depression-era Hollywood or Depression-era Chicago? Or… fantasy Italy? 

I have no idea on this one. This list isn’t exactly populated with films I enjoyed, so I can’t even choose the one I liked. I’m going with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, for no other reason than they’re the betting favorite. So mark it off in your Oscar pools, folks. Andrew’s brought the stone cold locks for this category.

Will win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Should win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Could win: Mank or Emma.
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The nominees:

• The Father - Yorgos Lamprinos
• Nomadland - Chloe Zhao
• Promising Young Woman - Frédéric Thoraval
• Sound of Metal - Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Alan Baumgarten

Nomadland winning Film Editing early in the evening sets the tone for later in the night when it wins Best Picture. I still think another movie like Promising Young Woman should win it, but when award politics get involved, I’m not going to stick my neck out too far.
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Will win: Nomadland - Chloe Zhao
Should win: Promising Young Woman - Frédéric Thoraval
Could win: The Father - Yorgos Lamprimos
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The nominees:

• Emma.
• Hillbilly Elegy
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• Pinocchio

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How those actors kept it together under all that makeup (and under all that sweat), I’ll never know. Ma Rainey has a strong chance to take home this one. It’s stiffest competition is from Mank, but I think that film’s chances at technical awards outside cinematography and editing are hindered by it being in black and white. Also, there’s no chance in hell Hillbilly Elegy or Pinocchio are winning anything at these awards.

Will win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Should win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Could win: Mank or Emma.
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The nominees:

• “Fight For You,” from Judas and the Black Messiah- H.E.R., Dernst Emile II, Tiara Thomas
• “Hear My Voice,” from The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Daniel Pemberton, Celeste
• “Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga- Savan Kotecha, Rickard Goransson, Fat Max Gsus
• “Io Si (Seen)” from The Life Ahead- Diane Warren
• “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami…- Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth

We all take Eurovision Song Contest seriously now, right? In my humble opinion, “Husavik” (meaning “My Hometown” in Icelandic), is the only true original song nominee, as all of these other songs take place during the credits of their respective films. “Husavik” should win this award. It won’t, but it should.

In a vacuum, you can make the case for “Fight For You,” which is a brilliant mix of soul and hip hop, brought to you from the musical genius of H.E.R. If the Academy doesn’t want to award brilliant songwriting which gives Eurovision’s climax its gratifying payoff, “Fight For You” would  be the next best option, as the other three not mentioned (“Hear My Voice,” “Io Is,” and “Speak Now”) sort of fade into the background. 

Will win: “Fight For You,” from Judas and the Black Messiah
Should win: “Husavik,” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Could win: “Speak Now,” from One Night in Miami…
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The nominees:

• Da 5 Bloods- Terence Blanchard
• Mank- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• Minari- Emile Mosseri
• News of the World - James Newton Howard
• Soul- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Jon Baptiste

There are a number of ways to get a grasp on the Original Score nominees. If you’re overwhelmed by everything else that goes on in a film, how does listening to the score on its own help you do work doing the day? The one that makes you feel the most productive- that’s probably your winner. I like to take these scores out of their films and do something like that. The one that transports me back to the world of its respective film the best is the one I prefer. For me, that means Soul. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are nominated twice in this category, once for Mank, and another for doing what they do best- electronic-based film scoring- for Soul. Pair it with Jon Baptiste’s brilliant jazz arrangements, and it’s like you’re listening to two films in one. 

News of the World’s rousing western adventure score and Minari’s understated but emotional music are two of my other favorites in this category.

Will win: Soul- Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Baptiste
Should win: Soul- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Jon Baptiste
Could win: News of the World - James Newton Howard or Minari - Emile Mosseri
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The nominees:

• The Father
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• News of the World
• Tenet

I will give Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom a concession on its impeccable production design, as it hits all the right notes to give off a cramped, tension filled afternoon in depression-era Chicago. Mank, News of the World, The Father and Tenet are right up there, but I don’t think any set design is more of a character in those films like it is in Ma Rainey. 

Will win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Should win: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Could win: Mank or News of the World
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The nominees:

• Greyhound
• Mank
• News of the World
• Soul
• Sound of Metal

Never has silence sounded so beautiful to me. The things that the sound editors of Sound of Metal are able to capture the experience of Ruben (Riz Ahmed) as he struggles with his newfound deafness, from the loud, overwhelming sound of metal music, to amplifying the sounds of the world outside of what Ruben can hear, to the heartbreaking sounds of a cochlear implant that doesn’t quite work- it’s stellar sound editing from the Sound of Metal team.  

It’s also literally called Sound of Metal. Give this film some love, because it’s likely going to be swallowed up for most of the night.

Will win: Sound of Metal
Should win: Sound of Metal
Could win: Greyhound. War films typically do pretty well with sound design, right?
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The nominees:

• Love and Monsters
• The Midnight Sky
• Mulan
• The One and Only Ivan
• Tenet

You’re saying they film stuff forwards and backwards in Tenet? Sign me up! I love CGI animals as much as the next guy, but this one has to be on Christopher Nolan and his god remote control, right?

Will win: Tenet
Should win: Tenet
Could win: The Midnight Sky
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What are your picks for Oscar glory?

The 93rd Academy Awards will be held on April 25th, 2021, at 8pm, on ABC.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, the pandemic has forced many movie theaters to close temporarily. Even though some have managed to re-open in certain parts of the country, I live in New York City, where they don’t look to be opened again any time soon. As such, I haven’t been inside a movie theatre since very early March. I haven’t been inside a New York City movie theatre since the end of February. 

Still, there was more than enough for me to experience even though theaters were closed. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ and Apple TV+ have all been very helpful with that. Many studios have begun releasing their films on streaming services. And movie nights have become a thing, I’m sure for most people.

I started a list at the start of this year, where I would keep track of every film I watched from January 1st to the end of the year. When it was all said and done, I saw an even 100 movies this year. Some of which I had seen before, but a majority of which I hadn’t. I was even fortunate to see a number of films that came out this year thanks to some releasing in formats I could attain.

And so, this “Best of 2020” films list is going to be a little different this year. I’ll have my favorite films from this year, but I’m introducing a few different lists as well: My favorite first-time viewings from this year, and the weirdest/most questionable movies I saw this year. The former involves films that did not come out this year that I’m just getting around to now, the latter can be a combination of films from 2020 and previous. 

Sure, I’ll probably be shamed for just getting around to seeing some of these movies now, but I’m just happy I got to see them this year. 

I’ll start at the bottom and work my way to the top. Again, keep in mind, every film in this article is a film I had not seen ​before this year.

First, let’s check out the weirdest films I watched in 2020:
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It’s a two-fer of bad horror movies! I watched both The Sand and Zombeavers within a few days of each other, at a time when my friends and I were on a “bad horror movies” kick. A quick premise of both:

The Sand concerns a group of teenage partygoers on a beach waking up to find that anyone who touches the sand is killed by some sort of creature underneath- you’ll stick to the sand, and multiple little tentacles will attach themselves to you and eat through your skin and then through the rest of you. There’s a big dude who gets stuck in a trash can, an actually fairly-scary moment where the teenagers have to get to something in the trunk of a car one of them brought, and just before they’re about to get inside the trunk, it slams shut on one of their fingers, breaking their hand; an asshole police officer who (obviously) doesn’t believe a word the kids are saying until he’s killed by the sand monster (because shoes protect you from the monster- if only for a little bit); and Mitchell Musso from Hannah Montana is in it! It’s delightfully terrible. 

Zombeavers is about, well, zombie beavers, who are poisoned by hazardous material that falls off a truck driven by a pair of idiot truck drivers (Bill Burr and John Mayer, which is clearly where the entire budget for this film went). Enter a group of teenagers girls vacationing at a lake house, where the beavers end up terrorizing both them and the group of boys (one of them an ex who cheated on the main character) who end up joining them. I’d put The Sand ahead of Zombeavers in quality, just because Zombeavers takes itself way too seriously as a horror movie. At least The Sand had a little bit of camp to it… it definitely knew it was bad.
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I was excited for David Fincher’s newest film, Mank, based on screenwriter Herman J. Mankewicz (Gary Oldman) and his struggle to write Citizen Kane. Unfortunately, while it seems like both a cool premise and a love letter to Hollywood, Mank is all over the place. We’re in flashback half the time, all of which appear to be unrelated- there’s Mank’s platonic affairs with actress Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), a bitter political feud between Frank Merriam (backed by both the film industry Mank works for and newspaperman William Randolph Hearst- played by Charles Dance) and Upton Sinclair (Bill Nye- yes, THAT Bill Nye), as well as Mank’s descent into alcoholism both the Great Depression and the campaign begin to overwhelm Hollywood. This all contrasts with Mankewicz being set up at some sort of ranch by writing partner Orson Welles out in the desert, so he can write the script alongside his secretary, Rita Alexander (Lily Collins) for the film without distraction. All of these, apparently, contribute to Mank’s writing of Citizen Kane, as if he had somehow Slumdog Millionaire’d the whole thing. 

I’m still confused as to why this movie exists. What is it trying to prove? That the rich man is bad, but still has power to influence the masses? Also, were there female characters in this movie? I have no idea, because there are A) not many of them to begin with and B) they’re not written particularly well (see Seyfried’s Davies incoherently babbling about nothing during her walk through Hearst’s garden with Mank about halfway through the film. Finally, there’s last scene with Welles (Tom Burke), in which Mank lobbies for screen credit for the film. The whole movie, Mank seemingly doesn’t care about getting screen credit for the movie. But, right after his brother (Tom Pelphrey) told him it’s his best work yet, now all of a sudden he wants credit? And when he tells Orson about it, Orson throws a case of alcohol against a wall, before inexplicably allowing Mank screen credit?? I am confusion. 

Again, I was excited about David Fincher’s newest film. And while I’m happy he gets to put his father’s screenplay out for the world to see… I think this one should have stayed under wraps.
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I knew of Donnie Darko only through the song “Mad World,” which is played at the end of the film. I knew virtually nothing about this tailspin of a movie until I finally watched it this year. 

Donnie (Jake Gyllenhall) experiences doomsday related visions relayed to him by a giant rabbit named Frank- a jet engine subsequently crashes through his bedroom the next morning. 

I will admit that Donnie Darko was difficult for me to understand. It deals with reflexive time travel and alternate timelines, the latter found toward the end of the film where the characters Donnie has touched throughout the course of the film feel some sort of connection to each other but aren’t sure why. Maybe it requires another viewing? I’m not sure. Overall, I certainly understood why they chose “Mad World” to play at the end of the movie.
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Rubber is a film about a sentient tire who murders people. I shouldn’t have to go into any more detail than that about why it’s weird, but I suppose I will. 

The film opens with a sheriff explaining to an audience that things in film happen for “no reason.” I think that’s called “foreshadowing.” Or maybe “irony”? I’m not sure.

Regardless, the tire comes to life (for no reason) and literally murders people with psychokinetic powers. Should I have to tell you any more than that? I don’t think I need to. I think I’m just going to let that resonate with you. I will say, the production of the film, particularly in regards to the tire itself, is astonishing. It’s all practical effects like remote control, and at the beginning of the film, it’s literally a man standing behind the tire rolling it. That part of it, augmenting our reality to make us think a tire is actually sentient, is straight up brilliant.
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Repo Man, a film from 1984 by Alex Cox is an absolute trip, and I’m going to do my best to describe it without looking at a plot synopsis. Here we go. So Otto (Emilio Estevez, before he became the coach of the Mighty Ducks), is a punk-rock loser who doesn’t want to be held down by The Man. He quits his dead-end grocery store job and ends up getting a new job as a car Repo Man after being roped into a job stealing back a car by Bud (Harry Dean Stanton). Eventually they have to go on “their most important job yet.” Sounds pretty simple, right? 

It’s not.

The film’s prologue concerns a man getting pulled over by the police. The policeman looks in the glowing trunk of the car and is zapped away by some sci-fi laser beam. So, the “most important job yet” is to recover this Chevy Malibu (that ends up glowing green by the end of the film). Bud and Otto are chased by a variety of different people, including the police, some gang members, and his former crew. All because this car might be connected to extraterrestrials. 

This film is supposed to be a Reagan-era satire, and maybe that’s so- there’s tons of blatant references to consumerism (countless containers of things bearing white labels with nothing but their contents labeled in black on them), as well as Otto’s parents blindly sending his college money to a hypnotizing televangelist. There’s a lot to unpack. And maybe I’m missing the boat on the whole “alien car” thing. But one thing I definitely understood from watching Repo Man- the 80s were a trip.
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Charlie Kaufman’s newest effort, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is another trip you really have to watch to be able to understand. It’s about a young woman and her boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons) visiting his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis) for the first time. And just when you think you have an idea of what’s happening, turns out you have no idea.

What does the young woman (Jessie Buckley) mean by “I’m thinking of ending things,” which is the first line of the film? Why do the conversational moods of the movie keep changing? Why does her name keep changing? Is she really even the main character of this film? And what the hell is up with that dog?

Ultimately the film dives headfirst into the absurd, changing points of view, treating us to ice cream during a blizzard, as well as a Nobel prize acceptance speech transformed into a production of Oklahoma! It’s a weird, weird movie. Definitely not a horror movie like I thought initially, but this will definitely his you over the head multiple times with the “nothing you thought actually exists” stick.
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I'm very excited for this middle segment: here are the best films I watched this year that were NOT from 2020:
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I was initially terrified to watch The Last Five Years, only because I thought it would ruin one of my favorite musicals for me. After watching it, I can safely say it didn’t. I’m actually more in love with the show because of it. Richard LaGravenese tackles Jason Robert Brown’s musical with love and care, and effectively adapts a musical whose structure is already hard enough to tackle.

Firstly, the musical moves in non-linear narrative, with Jamie (Jeremy Jordan in the film) moving forward through time from the beginning of the relationship to the end, and Kathy (Anna Kendrick in the film) in reverse- the two meeting only in the middle. Secondly, as a two-person musical, the only time the two occupy the same scene together actively is in the middle, during the marriage sequence. Lastly, there is hardly any dialogue in the show. There’s a bit, but not much. LaGravenese has to make some artistic choices for the sake of film clarity, but they work. The characters’ scenes intertwine, and sure, they interact with one another, but the story arcs of the two character remain the same. The added material is just as funny and heartbreaking as the original stage material, and I felt the same emotions watching the film as I did listening to the cast recording all those years ago. Plus, JRB’s orchestrations are, as usual, fantastic, for the film.
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Superhero movies are often tricky. Superhero movies that have some bite to them are even harder to pull off. Kick-Ass does it perfectly. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Dave Lizewski, a Staten Island high-schooler who attempts to become a real-life superhero. 

Kick-Ass’s action sequences are brilliant- if violence and blood are your thing. The character work is even better, as the cast features a brilliant, villainous Mark Strong, a scheming yet nerdy Christopher Mintz-Plasse, a foul-mouthed 11-year old Chloe Grace Mortez, and Nicolas Cage at his finest- literally shooting his daughter (Moretz) in the chest in the pair’s first scene together. The film is delightfully dynamic, bridging the gap between traditional superhero films and reality, where superheroes with actual superhuman abilities don’t exist. It’s a perfect marriage of the two- I would even say Kick-Ass walked so Deadpool could run.

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There is a reason Mr. Rogers is so loved, even now, years after his death, and I think the fact that Tom Hanks played him in a movie only adds to the mystique of both the man and the character. 

Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) is tasked with writing an article about heroes, and is assigned to profile Rogers for Esquire magazine. While he feels the assignment is beneath him, he ultimately finds that Mr. Rogers’ messages about being neighborly are farther reaching than he thought, helping him to rekindle his strained relationship with his father (Chris Cooper). 

Mr. Rogers might be slightly before my time, but there is no doubt that man was full of compassion and love for everyone and everything he came into contact with- but what I love about this film is that it shows that even he wasn’t perfect, and that we’re all human. The only way to really get through this life is to treat others the way you’d like to be treated. That’s all it is. As simple as that. A highly recommended watch.
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Who knew Toni Collette was Australian?? Not me! Muriel’s Wedding sees Collette make her debut as the frumpy Muriel Heslop, as she attempts to prove everyone in her life wrong by moving to the big city, finding love, and having her dream wedding. The first half of the film is rife with comedy, which includes numerous “you’re terrible, Muriel”’s, plenty of ABBA music (the dance sequence to “Waterloo” is unmatched), and tons of secondhand sex embarrassment. The second half is where the heart of the film lies, where Muriel’s idea of a perfect life is turned on its head, not to mention the world she left behind in Porpoise Spit. 

Muriel’s Wedding is two things- the original Mamma Mia! before that musical/movie was even a thing, and a joyous film that is so quintessentially Australian. It’s the best. There’s a reason it’s considered one of the country’s national treasures in terms of cinema.
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The Silence of the Lambs is everything I want in a crime drama film. Tons of suspense, brilliant camera work, exceptional acting from both the captured mastermind, Hannibal Lecter, the rookie cop AND the true bad guy at play, and a deliciously satisfying ending. The movie pulls no punches when crafting a story, and that is often the best medicine when the nature of the crimes is so graphic.

For me it’s the close up shots of actors having a conversation but staring right down the camera. It’s the acting of Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. It’s the crazy suspenseful ending with Buffalo Bill in the dark, of all things. UGH. This movie deserved ALL the Oscars. 

Shame me for never having seen The Silence of the Lambs before, but I’m so happy I finally got around to it.
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Taika Waititi is responsible for so many good things in this world. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is exactly that. The premise: a young boy and his adopted father (uncle? Father? Father) become the targets of a manhunt after fleeing into the woods in New Zealand. 

All of this movie is pure joy. From the chemistry between Ricky (Julian Dennison) and “Uncle” Hector (Sam Neill), to the relentless, borderline insanely over-the-top chase by child welfare worker Paula (Rachel House), to the various characters they encounter, including three hunters in the woods who accuse Hector of kidnapping Ricky, to Psycho Sam (Rhys Darby), a crazy dude living in the woods who dresses up as a bush to scare passerby’s, to the kind family (Kahu and TK), who welcome the young child celebrity into their home, it’s all delightfully absurd but crafted and acted with the utmost love and care.
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I’m kicking myself I never saw this movie in a theatre. I’m kicking myself I got halfway through this movie and had to turn it off halfway through because I got distracted by something and didn’t get back to it until months later. But man, I want to live in the artistry and magic that this movie has to offer.

The colors, the animation, the glitching, the production design. This film came out of nowhere and gave us THESE.

What else? The soundtrack! These artists didn’t have to go as hard as they did, and Daniel Pemberton didn’t HAVE TO mix in his score with the songs. But he did. I get chills still thinking about those final scenes where Miles Morales finally embraces becoming Spider-Man.

And, above all that- I love how Spider-Verse opened the doors to so many new possibilities for the franchise. It’s the fact that anyone can be Spider-Man. It’s the fact that there are even multiple Spider-people out there. A brilliantly animated film- that already has a built-in, rabid fan base- and you give them a message like that?? How do you not tear up thinking about the little kids that see a person of color becoming Spider-Man and go: “he looks like me!” It warms my cold, dead heart.

I consider this film to be Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s revenge for being snubbed for The Lego Movie.
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I’m still thinking about Se7en. I’m thinking about the rain that seems to be happening throughout the entire movie. I’m thinking about the symbolism of the seven deadly sins and trying to figure out what was going to happen next. I’m thinking about that dude who is dead but isn’t really dead. I’m still thinking about that scene at the diner between Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow. I’m thinking about Kevin Spacey’s chilling performance, and how his name was never mentioned in the promotional material in the movie. I’m thinking about what’s in that box. I’m still thinking about Brad Pitt’s emotional reaction to the whole thing. I’m thinking about the masterstroke of a killing scheme plotted out by John Doe. And most of all, I’m still thinking about how Se7en is the perfect mystery film. 

This film keeps you guessing until the very last minute, and then slaps you across the face with everything it has. It is so brilliantly crafted. So very, very brilliantly crafted. This is the kind of stuff I love David Fincher for. It’s this. UGH, if you haven’t seen this movie, you are missing out. I am incredibly sorry it took me this long to watch it.


And finally, here are my picks for the best films from 2020. Anything I saw that came out this year is eligible.
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I give props to Seth Rogen for taking on playing two versions of himself in the same film, as well as tackling drama as well as comedy. An American Pickle is basically “Rip Van Winkle,” if Rip Van Winkle worked at a pickle factory and had a relative living in Brooklyn. While the film addresses issues like cancel culture and the differences in society from the old country to the new, it also addresses things like faith and family, and how we should do our best to keep those two things close to our hearts.
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Laugh if you want- and you’ll want to when you watch it- but The Story of Fire Saga is genuinely very good. It’s Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, the music is excellent, and it actually gets pretty feels-y at the end! Shout out to Demi Lovato who plays a corpse in this movie and keeps popping up to warn the other characters of danger.
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“A woman is convinced by her father that her husband is cheating on her.” I stole that from the Apple TV+ commercial where it features ads for their original content. This Sofia Coppola film starring Rashida Jones and Bill Murray takes us on a hilarious trip through modern day New York, as Laura (Jones) and Felix (Murray) follow around Dean (Marlon Wayans) as he supposedly engages in some supposedly suspicious activity. 

I truly believe Woody Allen could have written this movie and it would not have made a difference. It’s a love letter to New York City, while also being about the obstacles marriages face, punctuated with witty and often irreverent dialogue from Bill Murray. 

Maybe I was just disappointed with the way things in the movie turned out (they did NOT happen the way I wanted them to), but maybe that’s just the genius of it- that I was so sure something was going to happen, only to have the film turn the other way and tell me “no.”
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Scenario: a drummer for a metal band loses his hearing. Riz Ahmed’s acting is the centerpiece of this gripping film by Darius Marder. Ahmed plays Ruben, the drummer in question, who begins to experience intermittent hearing loss. We see Ruben struggle with his deafness, while also wanting desperately to have his life back the way it was, for fear that all he knows will leave him- namely, his girlfriend, Lou (Olivia Cooke). Ruben joins a community for deaf recovering addicts, where he eventually learns to accept the hand he’s been dealt. 

There is so much to love about this film. Primarily, it’s the way Ruben wrestles with managing his deafness and wanting so badly to return to his old life. Just when you think he’s finally learned to come to grips with everything, his heart gets in the way, for better or for worse. It is also worth noting the performance by Paul Raci, a deaf man, playing Joe, the man who runs the community- not to mention the powerful scene in which he tells Ruben that he is no longer welcome in the community after he gets cochlear implants, explaining that the community is built on the believe that deafness is not a handicap. And of course, a film about hearing has a lot, structurally, to do with sound design- it brilliantly manipulating what we hear and how we hear it. Eventually we get to the point where we are experiencing the frustration that Ruben is feeling, only to find that it’s the silence that finally lets us breathe and take in the beauty in this world.
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Every Pixar movie seems to follow the same formula. By that I mean they all seem to ask the same question: What if toys had feelings? What if fish had feelings? What if cars had feelings? What if feelings had feelings? Soul appears to take a different approach on the Pixar formula and ask its viewers- what does it mean to be alive? Jamie Foxx’s Joe Gardner, a music teacher and jazz pianist, has his soul separated from his body after an accident, landing him in “The Great Beyond.” Unwilling to die before his big break, he makes his way to “The Great Before,” where unborn souls prepare for life on earth. He meets 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who has been living in The Great Before for millennia and sees no point in living on earth. 

What follows is an introspective, emotional, and heartwarming tale about what it means to really exist on Earth- perhaps Pixar’s most existential film yet. What does it mean to “find your spark”? And does that spark actually represent your purpose in this life? If you died tomorrow, what will your life have amounted to? And perhaps most importantly, what is your interpretation of living life to “the fullest”? On top of all this introspection and emotional weight, the film adds to an already populated list of animated masterworks. Brilliant lighting, stunning color, a vibrant score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (and jazz pieces by Jon Batiste), and a diverse, well rounded voice cast (Angela Bassett, Phylicia Rashad, Graham Norton, among others) only add to the brilliance of the movie. Soul will leave you thinking about what life means days after you see it.
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I might be a little biased about this one, given I used to work at this very theatre and was in the building the two days it was filmed for the public. I was even tasked with following Spike Lee around as he gathered potential shot locations around the theatre (shoutout to Spike). When the film was announced, I knew it would be good, because the show is good. I could never have anticipated that the film would be GREAT. All the unseen camera angles, the closeups, even some of the added material- it takes what makes American Utopia great and elevates it to another level. I’m personally just happy we’ll have a version of this show that exists in quality video format forever.
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Kelly Reichardt’s indie drama film First Cow is far more than it appears to be in the first 40 minutes or so. Set in Oregon in 1820, the film concerns two men: Cookie (John Magaro), a chef from a group of traveling fur trappers, and King-Lu (Orion Lee), a Chinese immigrant on the run for killing a Russian man, who discover their affinity for… sweets? That’s right. What you think is going to evolve into a Brokeback Mountain-esque story really becomes a delightful tale about friendship, and two guys just… making cookies for people. How do they do this? By stealing milk from the “first cow” brought to the northwestern United States (a cow named Eve- who is the best cow of all time and I will not accept any substitutes). Hilarity- and also drama- ensues when they are asked to bake pastries for a wealthy landowner- the same landowner who happens to own the cow Cookie and King-Lu are stealing milk from. Beautifully shot and subtly acted, First Cow probably won’t get the widespread recognition it deserves as a tiny little indie film, but it more than deserves your respect.
​

The Trial of the Chicago 7 might be a little on-the-nose for the current political climate. Even though it concerns the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aaron Sorkin connects more than a few dots to today’s world, including police brutality, government stopping at nothing to silence the people who disagree with them, and the endless war that goes on both domestically and internationally (the Vietnam war is the primary setting of the film). The film is cast perfectly- Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman and Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, highlight the idealogical differences between Hoffman’s Yippies and Hayden’s Students for Democratic Society, despite their common goal to prove innocence for inciting the riots at the convention. Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Keaton also serve pivotal roles in the film, as judge Julius Hoffman, defense attorney William Kuntsler, federal prosecutor Richard Schultz and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, respectively.

Sorkin’s one of my favorite screenwriters- and I understand the flak he gets for being overly wordy and perhaps a tad unrealistic for writing speech patterns. But The Trial of the Chicago 7 doesn’t feel like a traditional Sorkin film in the same vein of The Social Network, Moneyball or Molly’s Game. It’s written and directed with more subtlety, and I feel like it relies more on the impact of words than the actual saying of them. I feel like Social Network moves things along with its dialogue and everything happens because of what is said- Chicago 7 has more to do with what was actually said and how that impacts the trial and its meaning for what each character stands for.

There are scenes in this film that are chilling- from Judge Hoffman’s constant inability to be unprejudiced toward the defendants, including having Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a chairman of the Black Panther Party, bound and gagged in front of the entire courtroom; to a moment where police officers remove their name badges and assault the protestors; to the chanting of “the whole world is watching” by the crowd outside the courtroom. Considering Aaron Sorkin brought the film out of development hell after the election of Donald Trump, and that the promotion for the film was happening nearly in coordination with the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd- there are more than a few reasons to consider Chicago 7 to be timely.

And because I'm sure you're all curious about the movies I watched this year, here's the full list of 100:

Underlined- 2020 film
*- Seen previous to 2020
Bold- On previous three lists

In viewing order:
- M (Fritz Lang, 1931)
- Uncut Gems (Sadfie Brothers, 2019)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz, William Keighley, 1938)
- A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
- The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
- The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, 2019)
- Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019)
- A Sister (Delphine Girard, 2018)
- Brotherhood (Meryam Joobeur, 2018)
- The Neighbors' Window (Marshall Curry, 2019)
- Saria (Bryan Buckley, 2019)
- NEFTA Football Club (Yves Piat, 2018)
- Life Overtakes Me (Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas, 2019)
- In the Absence (Seung-jun Yi, 2018)
- Hair Love (Matthew A. Cherry, Everett Downing, Jr., Bruce W. Smith, 2019)
- Sister (Siqi Song, 2018)
- Mémorable (Bruno Collet, 2019)
- Daughter (Daria Kashcheeva, 2019)
- Kitbull (Rosana Sullivan, 2019)
- The Bird and the Whale (Carol Freeman, 2018)
- Hors Piste (Oscar Malet, Léo Brunel, Camille Jalabert, Loris Cavalier, 2019)
- Maestro (Florian Babikian, Théodore Dufresne, Lucas Navarro, Victor Claire, Gabriel Grapperon (2019)
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) (Carol Designer, 2019)
- Walk Run Cha-Cha (Laura Nix, 2019)
- St. Louis Superman (Sami Khan, Smriti Mundhra, 2019)
- Birds of Prey (Cathy Yan, 2020)
- Fargo (Joel & Ethan Coen, 1996)*
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Jeff Fowler, 2020)
- Miracle (Gavin O'Connor, 2004)*
- La Bamba (Luis Valdez, 1987)
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Marielle Heller, 2019)
- The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
- In the Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)*
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)
- Onward (Dean Scanlon, 2020)
- Baby Driver (Edgar Wright, 2017)
- Good Morning Vietnam (Barry Levinson, 1987)
- Creed 2 (Stephen Caple, Jr., 2018)
- The Natural (Barry Levinson, 1984)
- A League of Their Own (Penny Marshall, 1992)*
- My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn, 1992)
- Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010)*
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983)*
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015)*
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017)*
- Glory Road (James Gartner, 2006)*
- City Slickers (Ron Underwood, 1991)
- Erin Brockovich (Steven Soderbergh, 2000)*
- Mr. 3000 (Charles Stone III, 2004)*
- Dude Perfect: Backstage Pass (Shane Nickerson, 2020)
- Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess, 2004)*
- The Great Escape (John Sturges, 1963)
- Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
- The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
- Kick-Ass (Matthew Vaughn, 2010)
- Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (David Dobkin, 2020)
- Hamilton (Thomas Kail, 2020)
- First Cow (Kelly Reichardt, 2020)
- The Sand (Isaac Gabaeff, 2015)
- Yesterday (Danny Boyle, 2019)*
- ​Zombeavers (Jordan Rubin, 2014)
- Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)
- Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
- Rubber (Quentin Dupieux, 2010)
- Muriel's Wedding (PJ Hogan, 1994)
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016)*
- The Last Five Years (Richard LaGravenesse, 2014)
- Class Action Park (Seth Porges, Chris Charles Scott III, 2020)
- I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman, 2020)
- Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
- Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)*
- An American Pickle (Brandon Trost, 2020)
- National Treasure (Gore Verbinski, 2004)*
- Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, 2019)*
- Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)*
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (David Mallet, 1999)*
- Rocco and His Brothers (Luchino Visconti, 1960)
- Moneyball (Bennett Miller, 2011)*
- One Royal Holiday (Dustin Rikert, 2020)
- The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Aaron Sorkin, 2020)
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016)
- Moneyball (Bennett Miller, 2011)*
- ​David Byrne's American Utopia (Spike Lee, 2020)
- A Goofy Movie (Kevin Lima, 1995)*
- Babe (Chris Noonan, 1995)*
- On the Rocks (Sofia Coppola, 2020)
- Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984)
- Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu, 2018)
- Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)*
- Molly's Game (Aaron Sorkin, 2017)
- Hail, Caesar! (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2016)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, 2018)
- Mank (David Fincher, 2020)
- Sound of Metal (Darius Marder, 2020)
- The Prom (Ryan Murphy, 2020)
- Swiss Army Man (Daniel Scheitert, Daniel Kwan, 2016)
- Tarzan (Kevin Lima, Chris Buck, 1999)*
- Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter, 2001)*
- Elf (Jon Favreau, 2003)*
- Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Larry Roemer, 1964)*
- Soul (Pete Docter, 2020)
- Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (George C. Wolfe, 2020)


What films did you see this year that you enjoyed? Did I leave any out? Drop a comment down below.

Don't forget to check out the rest of my "Best" of 2020 spread by clicking HERE. 

In honor of Star Wars day, I've published a new list: my ranking of every Star Wars film, from A New Hope to The Rise of Skywalker.

You can check it out by clicking HERE.

Hope you enjoy! And may the Force be with you.

Part 2 (Updated 2/7/20)

It’s Oscar weekend, everyone. 

And unlike a few weeks ago, I’m actually really excited to see what’s going to happen on Sunday night. We have a very well rounded group of nominees in just about every category, with most everyone having a strong case to take home an Academy Award.

Even though the ceremony is happening about three weeks early this year, the road to this point has been long. From the Golden Globes back in January to now, we’ve seen some unexpected twists and turns take place in regards to films nominated for Best Picture and the like. Snubs, surprises, and controversies: there's lots to talk about.

My discussion for each category will explain what I mean.

Here are your nominees and predictions for the 92nd Academy Awards.
​

​The nominees:

• Ford v Ferrari (20th Century Fox)
• The Irishman (Netflix)
• Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight)
• Joker (Warner Bros)
• Little Women (Sony)
• Marriage Story (Netflix)
• 1917 (Universal)
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony)
• Parasite (Neon)

You can tell a Best Picture category is full of great nominees because the awards leading up to the Oscars make for a number of twists and turns.

The silencing of Netflix continues this year, as neither The Irishman nor Marriage Story have picked up very much momentum down the stretch, and my personal favorite Netflix film, The Two Popes, wasn’t even nominated. While it’s probably not winning anything substantial this year, Netflix is likely looking forward to next year’s slew of films, as directors like David Fincher are set to debut films on the streaming site next year.

Films like Ford v Ferrari and Jojo Rabbit are back end surprises that add to the conversation, as they were likely the last two entries into the conversation. Both movies are really solid, but excel in very specific areas- Ford v Ferrari thrives on its excellent editing and filmmaking techniques, while Jojo Rabbit features outstanding writing. While they’re great niche films, we can’t expect either of those to compete, either.

Films like Little Women and Joker also were nominated to great fanfare, with the latter scoring a ceremony-high 11 nominations. Now, we’re positive that it’s Joaquin Phoenix’s turn to win an Oscar, and Greta Gerwig’s snub for director means she’s probably the favorite to win Best Director. If there were any kind of major upset, I wouldn’t be surprised for either of these films to be it.

My original pick for this category was Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and I was ready to burn down the Dolby Theater. That mood has since shifted in a more positive direction. 

The Oscar conversation has shifted in favor of two films: Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, which is vying to defy the odds and become the first foreign-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Sam Mendes’ one-shot war epic, 1917, the latest entry to the field. Both films have cleaned up their respective awards ceremonies, with 1917 winning Best Picture at the Golden Globes, and Parasite winning Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards. Now, with the Academy Awards looming, it’s crunch time. There are strong cases for both to win.

Currently, the edge goes to 1917. It is projected to win both Best Picture and Best Director, and it has the edge over Parasite when it comes to technical awards. But Parasite seems to have a little momentum behind it, as a strong push to honor the South Korean film has yielded dividends, including a huge win at the SAG Awards. And while none of the individual actors are nominated (and they aren’t nominated for 1917 either), it is important for all of them to be honored as a group. Truthfully, I think it could go either way on Sunday.

My heart, head, and gut are in different places this year. I usually have one favorite. But both 1917 and Parasite are my favorites. They were far and away the two best films this year.

And boy, do I really hope Parasite wins.

But this isn’t about me getting what I want. It’s about me just being right.

Lock it in: 1917 wins Best Picture.

Will win: 1917
Should win: Parasite
Could win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Shoulda been here: The Two Popes (Netflix)
​

The nominees:

• Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
• Todd Phillips, Joker
• Sam Mendes, 1917
• Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
• Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

This category is where the battle between 1917 and Parasite hits the trenches. Get it? War film? Trenches? Ha. Sam Mendes is the favorite here, as his one-shot war film was executed brilliantly. It is to be determined if Bong Joon-Ho’s dialogue and phenomenal production design can overcome the obstacle of the frontrunner film. Quentin Tarantino is the one with the third best chance to win, but the momentum has shifted so far away from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, that we’re really not paying him much mind. Also, after seeing Little Women, I understand the reasoning to put Greta Gerwig in the fold for Best Director. However, I still think the field is too crowded. I’m not the Academy, but you can make cases for all five of these nominees to be here. As for my prediction, Mendes takes home his second Oscar for directing. 

Will win: Sam Mendes, 1917
Should win: Sam Mendes, 1917
Could win: Tarantino or Bong Joon-Ho
Shoulda been here: Greta Gerwig, Little Women
​

The nominees:

• Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Adam Driver, Marriage Story
• Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
• Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Joaquin Phoenix is the favorite to win this category, this much is certain. He’s won just about every award so far this season, and it’s probably he’ll win his first Academy Award for his haunting turn as Arthur Fleck in Joker. Much like Heath Ledger before him, Phoenix’s interpretation of the joker is twisted, but in a much more sad way, as his descent into madness is filtered through the lens of mental illness. Joaquin should have won an Oscar a long time ago, but this potential award for Joker is well earned and well-deserved. His biggest competition is Adam Driver for Marriage Story, but I think Joaquin’s momentum is just too great. Also, Adam Sandler wasn't terrible in Uncut Gems, but he didn't deserve a nomination for playing another version of himself.

Will win: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Should win: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Could win: Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Unexpected Surprise: Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
​

The nominees:
​

• Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
• Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
• Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
• Charlize Theron, Bombshell
• Renee Zellweger, Judy

Saoirse Ronan has her fourth Oscar nomination this year. She is only 25 years old. She is this generation’s Meryl Streep. In what is likely her last role playing a young girl, she turns in an extraordinary turn as Jo March in Little Women. A win for her would be an upset, but not surprising. Her biggest competition is front runner Renee Zellweger, who could be returning to the Oscar podium for the first time since she won an Oscar in 2004 for Cold Mountain. Her performance as Judy Garland is well-heralded, and she, like the other front runners in all the other acting categories, is riding a streak of award show wins. Other strong competitors include Charlize Theron for Bombshell, and Cynthia Erivo for Harriet. God bless Scarlett Johansson, but she’s likely not winning for Marriage Story.

Will win: Renee Zellweger, Judy
Should win: Renee Zellweger, Judy
Could win: Charlize Theron, Bombshell or Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Shoulda been here: Awkwafina, The Farewell
​

The nominees:

• Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
• Al Pacino, The Irishman
• Joe Pesci, The Irishman
• Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

This category features legends, all of whom have been here before. All of them are Oscar winners (technically Brad Pitt has won for producing- although, we’ll get to that in a moment), and all of them are stunning performers. Al Pacino and especially Joe Pesci have marvelous returns to form in The Irishman. The fact that Martin Scorsese was able to get Pesci out of retirement, and for him to give a performance like he did is nothing short of miraculous. Tom Hanks playing Fred Rogers is something we could only dream about until A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood came along. Even Anthony Hopkins brash yet pensive performance as Pope Benedict could be worthy of an Oscar. But Brad Pitt is the story here. Having won every Supporting Actor category he’s faced this season, it is likely he’ll walk away with his first Academy Award for performing- a well-deserved win for an actor with a storied career.

Will win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Should win: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Could win: Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Shoulda been here: Song Kang-Ho, Parasite

​The nominees:

• Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
• Laura Dern, Marriage Story
• Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
• Florence Pugh, Little Women
• Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Dern has scored wins at the Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA Awards to this point. I don’t anticipate this changing at all. She has the strongest case, both with her awards track record and in performance. Her closest competition probably comes in the form of Florence Pugh, whose performance as Amy March combines the heightened 19th century text with the nuances of 21st century society. Keep an eye out for Margot Robbie, if you’re looking for any kind of dark horse, but Laura Dern has this one locked up. Also, fun fact, Scarlett Johansson has two nominations for acting in two different films this year. Go ScarJo!

Will win: Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Should win: Laura Dern, Marriage Story 
Could win: Florence Pugh, Little Women
Shoulda been here: Lee Jung-Eun, Parasite

The nominees:

• Knives Out- Rian Johnson
• Marriage Story- Noah Baumbach
• 1917- Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Quentin Tarantino
• Parasite- Bong Joon-Ho and Han Jin-won 

There’s a lot to unpack in the screenplay categories. As far as Original Screenplay is concerned, I have things to say. I love 1917, but it didn’t really have a script. Films like Booksmart and The Farewell definitely deserve to be int its place. The rest of the category is full of exceptional screenwriting. We all know Quentin Tarantino will be featured in the conversation for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- I dare say he’ll be the favorite to win. In his way is both 1917, yes, but more importantly, Parasite. If this film is to score a victory in this category, we may very well see it win Best Picture later in the evening. It’s also nice to see Rian Johnson nominated for Knives Out, as the guy continues to pump out great scripts year in and year out. He turns the whodunit on its head in this brilliant mystery-comedy. One other film I don’t really consider to be a factor is Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. It’s a good movie, but I just don’t think it’s up to snuff with its competition. Overall, I think Tarantino wins another Screenplay Oscar, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bong Joon-Ho pulls the upset.

Will win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Quentin Tarantino
Should win: Parasite- Bong Joon-Ho
Could win: Parasite- Bong Joon-Ho or Marriage Story- Noah Baumbach
Shoulda been here: Booksmart- Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman, or The Farewell- Lulu Wang
​

The nominees:

• The Irishman​- Steven Zaillian
  
• Jojo Rabbit- Taika Waititi
• Joker- Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
• Little Women- Greta Gerwig
• The Two Popes- Anthony McCarten

Much like its counterpart, the Best Adapted Screenplay category is teeming with masterworks of screenwriting from the past year. Initially, the favorite was Joker, one of (in my opinion) one of the better origin stories of Batman’s nemesis. I imagined that, with all the momentum it had a year ago, it would also pick up a huge victory with an Adapted Screenplay win.  All this changed when I saw Little Women. Having never read the book, I learned that the script splices the first and second half of Louisa May Alcott’s famous book, in fact, improving on the narrative structure. If there were any kind of middle finger to the Academy for not nominating her for Best Director, a win for Greta Gerwig in this category would be it. There are some solid nominees is Steven Zaillian’s The Irishman or in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. In my perfect world, I would love to see The Two Popes win, but I am equally as happy to predict a win for Little Women. 

Will win: Little Women- Greta Gerwig
Should win: Little Women- Greta Gerwig
Could win: The Two Popes- Anthony McCarten or The Irishman- Steven Zaillian

​​The nominees:

• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Dreamworks)
• I Lost My Body (Rezo)
• Klaus (Netflix)
• Missing Link (Laika)
• Toy Story 4 (Pixar)

Normally, I am pretty okay with the popular Disney/Pixar princess film getting snubbed for an Oscar, as they’re usually nominated every year. But I have to put my foot down for Frozen II. The animation is beautiful. The voice acting is excellent. The songs, while not as catchy, are more mature than those that came before it. And for it not to be nominated, in my opinion, is a stunning loss. So, we have to make do with the five nominated films. There favorite here is, without question, Toy Story 4. Just when you think they had you pegged in Toy Story 3, Pixar did it again with this (hopefully) final tale of Woody and Buzz’s story. In its way are the fourth How to Train Your Dragon film, which ends its franchise on a high note, and French film I Lost My Body, an existential mystery about a severed hand. There’s talk that How to Train Your Dragon could pull out an upset win in order to award the entire franchise for its four beautiful films. If you’re looking for even more of an upset, try Missing Link, the film from Annapurna (who do animation now, apparently), that won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, or try Klaus, Netflix’s beautiful textured 2D Santa-origin story. If you’re not, stick with the favorite. Stay with Toy Story 4. Pixar’s golden child wins its fourth Academy Award for the franchise.

Will win: Toy Story 4
Should win: Toy Story 4
Could win: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World or I Lost My Body
Shoulda been here: Frozen II (Disney)

The nominees:

• Corpus Christi (Poland)
• Honeyland (North Macedonia)
• Les Misérables (France)
• Pain and Glory (Spain)
• Parasite (South Korea)

There’s no race here. I mean, there technically is a race, as both Parasite and Pain and Glory are both up for big prizes further up this list. However, we all know Parasite’s winning this award. If they don’t, I will eat my computer.

Will win: Parasite (South Korea)
Should win: Parasite (South Korea)
Could win: Pain and Glory (Spain)

The nominees:

• American Factory- Stevon Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert
• The Cave- Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær
• The Edge of Democracy- Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris and Tiago Pavan
• For Sama- Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
• Honeyland- Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Altana Georgiev

I’m going to make an arbitrary guess about the Best Documentary Feature category since I haven’t seen a single one of these. For Sama is the one I keep hearing about, and so I’m going to go with one. I’ve also heard American Factory is pretty good. So, let’s throw that in there too!

Will win: For Sama
Should win: For Sama
Could win: American Factory
Shoulda been here: Apollo 11

The nominees:

• Dcera (Daughter)- Daria Kashcheeva
• Hair Love- Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Ruper Toliver
• Kitbull- Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson
• Mémorable- Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre
• Sister- Siqi Song

The animated short films this year are all beautiful, both in the style of their collective compositions and in the delicacy with which they treat their subject matters. The films address Alzheimer’s, cancer, animal cruelty, the loss of a loved one, and even China’s one-child policy, and each one has the ability to move you to tears. Sony’s well-heralded Hair Love and Pixar’s Kitbull are America’s sole two entrants; with other nominations coming from the Czech Republic (Dcera) and China (Sister). The film that jumps out at me is Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre’s Mémorable, a short with animation reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting (right down to all the lines and even textures that blur the line between two and three dimensions) about a man’s mind deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s disease. The final frame will awe you- although with a bittersweet aftertaste to keep you thinking about it long after it is over.

Will win: Mémorable
Should win: Mémorable
Could win: Kitbull

​The nominees:

• Brotherhood- Meryam Joobeur and Maria Garcia Turgeon
• NEFTA Football Club- Yves Pia and Damien Megherbi
• The Neighbors’ Window- Marshall Curry
• Saria- Bryan Bucjkley and Matt Lefebvre
• A Sister- Delphine Girard

From Northern Africa to a Guatemalan orphanage, to the cityscape of New York to a dark Belgian road, this year’s nominees for Live Action short film all deal with one dire situation after another- each one with its own clever twist to provide fresh takes on conventional storytelling. In The Neighbors’ Window, what starts as a humorous tale of two aging parents spying on their sexy (I mean, flexible) neighbors turns into a truly sad story about life and what might have been; Brotherhood’s intense family drama examines ISIS and geopolitics; Saria recounts the tragedy in a Guatemalan orphanage where 41 teenage girls were tragically killed, and A Sister cleverly uses a simple phone call as a cover for something much more dire. As for my selection to win, it is Yves Pia and Damien Megherbi’s NEFTA Football Club. When one discovers a bag of drugs in the desert, the outcomes are usually not good. NEFTA Football Club delightfully turns this potentially bad situation on its head, as a lost donkey with headphones on, Adele, and multiple bags of cocaine in the hands of a 10 year old all combine together to bring us unexpected joy. 

Will win: NEFTA Football Club 
Should win: NEFTA Football Club
Could win: The Neighbors’ Window or Brotherhood
​

​The nominees:

• In the Absence- Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
• Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)- Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva
• Life Overtakes Me- John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson
• St. Louis Superman- Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
• Walk Run Cha-Cha- Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt

The Documentary Short Subjects take us around the world, from the tragic to the joyful. From a bizarre juvenile condition that only seems to occur in Sweden, to a skateboarding school set up for girls in Afghanistan, to a battle rapper pushing state legislation in the face of racism, to a couple rekindling their love on the dance floor, to the tragic deaths of more than 300 students as a ferry sinks, these nominees quite literally pack a punch into their sub-forty minute run-times. My top three in this category are St. Louis Superman, In the Absence, and Learning to Skateboard. Personally, I think In the Absence, a film about the sinking of Korean ferry Sewol, is the best of the five nominees, but St. Louis Superman, which revolves around Bruce Franks Jr, a Ferguson advocate and battle rapper who was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, is the more topical story given the political climate. I think the film falls short of the drama and tension it promises us, but I’m not the Academy. This has been a huge year for Korean film, and not just Parasite deserves the credit. However, in an election year, it’s probably an easy choice to select the much more galvanizing St. Louis Superman.

Will win: St. Louis Superman
Should win: In the Absence
Could win: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
​

The nominees:

• Joker- Hildur Guðnadóttir
• Little Women- Alexandre Desplat
• Marriage Story- Randy Newman
• 1917- Thomas Newman
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker- John Williams

Scores can make or break movies. As per usual with this category, all five scores brilliant add color and tone to the movies they represent. We’ve also got some veterans, from Randy Newman’s charming, sincere, almost child-like score for Marriage Story, to another John Williams nomination for Star Wars, to Alexandre Desplat’s brilliant work on Little Women, and even Thomas Newman, whose score for 1917 is riveting and provides every little bit of tension with an exclamation points throughout the run of the film. However, it is first-time nominee Hildur Guðnadóttir, who may take home an Oscar for her work on Joker. She is a collaborator of the late, great Johan Johansson, and it shows. The score for Joker is twisted, dark, and full of droning cello. While I personally would prefer the heart-beat of 1917, we can anticipate a win for Joker. 

Will win: Joker- Hildur Guðnadóttir
Should win: 1917- Thomas Newman
Could win: Little Women- Alexandre Desplat
​

The nominees:

• “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” from Toy Story 4: Music and lyrics by Randy Newman
• “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” from Rocketman; Music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin
• “I’m Standing With You,” from Breakthrough; Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
• “Into the Unknown,” from Frozen II; Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez
• “Stand Up,” from Harriet, music and lyrics by Cynthia Erivo and Joshua Campbell

Before I listened to any of these songs, I was sure that Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez could have done better than “Into the Unknown.” The composition is excellent, that much is sure, but some might find the songwriting and lyrics a tad… pedestrian, we’ll say, in comparison to other works like “Let it Go.” But then, I listened to the other nominees, and I have to tell you, that a lot of them sound the same. “Stand Up,” Cynthia Erivo and Joshua Campbell’s rousing anthem from Harriet offers some cool flavor, but it falls into the same kind of uplifting tone that “I’m Standing With You” from Christian drama Breakthrough. I also love Randy Newman, but “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” only fits well with the plot of Toy Story 4, and doesn’t do much otherwise as a song on its own, which I feel a Best Original Song must do. Elton John’s “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman features a cameo by star Taron Edgerton, is pretty forgettable. And so, despite it not being as strong as the tune from its predecessor, Frozen will earn another music Oscar to make up for its lack of nomination in Animated Feature. 

Will win: “Into the Unknown,” from Frozen II
Should win: “Into the Unknown” from Frozen II
Could win: “Stand Up,” from Harriet
Unexpected snub: “Spirit,” from The Lion King

​The nominees:

• The Irishman- Rodrigo Prieto
• Joker- Lawrence Sher
• The Lighthouse- Jarin Blaschke
• 1917- Roger Deakins
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Robert Richardson

There is no question that Roger Deakins will be winning this award. 1917 was done in one shot- that is epic enough on its own. What’s even more brilliant are the little Easter eggs Deakins hides in his shots: a dead dog here, the odd skull there, all while encapsulating the growing tension on Blake and Schofield’s mission. It’s really nice to see Jarin Blaschke here for his work on making The Lighthouse look like something out of the 1940s, but I would have preferred a nomination for Ford v Ferrari here as well. 

Will win: 1917- Roger Deakins
Should win: 1917- Roger Deakins
Could win: Joker- Lawrence Sher
Shoulda been here: Ford v Ferrari- Phedon Papamichael

The nominees:

• The Irishman- Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
• Jojo Rabbit- Ra Vincent and Nora Sopková
• 1917- Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
• Parasite- Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won-Woo

Before I move forward with a prediction, I want to say how genuinely disappointed I am to see Joker actually not nominated here. Designing Gotham to feature a rich, elite world from the 1950s and 60s, and a poor, dingy world out of the late 1970s and early 80s is a genius move, and really tied the movie together. However, its exclusions makes it really easy for Parasite to lock up the award, which I think it will here.

Will win: Parasite
Should win: Parasite
Could win: 1917
Shoulda been here: Joker or Rocketman

​The nominees:

• The Irishman- Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson
• Jojo Rabbit- Mayes C. Rubeo
• Joker- Mark Bridges
• Little Women- Jacqueline Durran
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Arianne Phillips

My initial reaction was to give this award to Jojo Rabbit, but after seeing Little Women, there’s something to be said for Jacqueline Durran’s attention to detail. The one-time winner and seven-time nominee wins again for her brilliant costumes in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation. The only film that comes close could be Joker for re-designing the iconic look for Gotham’s most notorious super villain.

Will win: Little Women
Should win: Little Women
Could win: Joker
Shoulda been here: Rocketman or Dolemite is My Name
​

The nominees:

• Bombshell- Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker
• Joker- Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou
• Judy- Jeremy Woodhead
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil- Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White
• 1917- Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole

It’s Bombshell’s ability to transform John Lithgow into Roger Ailes against Judy’s ability to transform Renee Zellweger into Judy Garland. I personally wouldn’t have included Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in the mix, but I didn’t see it, so who am I to judge? I think Bombshell picks up its only win in this category.

Will win: Bombshell
Should win: Bombshell
Could win: Judy
Shoulda been here: Rocketman, Jojo Rabbit or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
​

The nominees:

• Ford v Ferrari- Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker
• The Irishman- Thelma Schoonmaker
• Jojo Rabbit- Tom Eagles
• Joker- Jim Groth
• Parasite- Yang Jin-Mo

You go see Ford v Ferrari for the racing scenes. You stay for the brilliant film editing by Andrew Buckland and Michael McCusker. The Best Picture nominee gets its one win of the evening in this category.

Will win: Ford v Ferrari
Should win: Ford v Ferrari
Could win: Parasite or Joker
​

The nominees:

• Avengers: Endgame- Dan DeLeeuw, Matt Aitken, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
• The Irishman- Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, and Nelson Sepulveda
• The Lion King- Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman
• 1917- Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Thouy
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker- Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, and Dominic Thouy

Best Visual Effects could see any potential nominee claim Oscar gold. For one, there’s Avengers (which I thought would win last year for its animation of Thanos alone), which could win for not only having great effects for three hours, but also for some kind of legacy award for the filmmakers to have established and completed this leg of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This case is the same for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. 1917’s one-shot technique means that any kind of visual effects are all the more impressive. There’s a case to be made for The Lion King, as its predecessor, The Jungle Book (also directed by Jon Favreau), also won this same award. I am currently leaning toward 1917 for its technical filmmaking alone, although we could be swayed toward The Irishman, simply for its brilliant de-aging techniques for Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. I could be wrong, but if the Academy is going to award The Irishman for anything, it’s its visual effects, but I think 1917 is the more impressive piece of filmmaking.

Will win: 1917
Should win: 1917
Could win: The Lion King or The Irishman​

The nominees:

• Ford v Ferrari- Donald Sylvester
• Joker- Alan Robert Murray
• 1917- Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Wylie Stateman
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker- Matthew Wood and David Acord

Usually, war movies (or, at least, films with lots of moving parts- and guns) have it made when it comes to the Sound Editing and Mixing categories. 1917, along with its brilliant cinematography, also has to ensure that the sounds all fit the one-shot epic in the correct places. If there is one film to look out for, it’s probably Ford v Ferrari. There’s nothing like the hum of a car engine going 200 miles per hour, after all.

Will win: 1917
Should win: 1917
Could win: Ford v Ferrari

The nominees:

• Ad Astra- Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano
• Ford v Ferrari- Paul Massey, David Giammarco, and Steven A. Morrow
• Joker- Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland
• 1917- Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood- Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano

The case is the same for Sound Mixing. While we have science fiction films like Ad Astra and a film that heavily features songs on the radio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 1917 is still the clear favorite in the category.

Will win: 1917
Should win: 1917
Could win: Ford v Ferrari


Who's your pick to win Best Picture? Leave a comment down below.
The 92nd Academy Awards will air Sunday, February 9th, on ABC.

Another year, another slew of great movies gracing our theatre (and computer/television) screens. 


I want to preface this list by saying that I did not get around to seeing every single thing. I could not find time to see The Irishman (because it’s three and a half god damn hours long), nor could I get to the theatre to see Adam Sandler’s tour-de-force performance in Uncut Gems before the year was out. The same is said for Little Women.


I totally, 100% acknowledge that these films are worth watching. 


It’s just that sometimes, life gets in the way. That, and I didn’t purchase my AMC A-List membership until very late in the game. 


Still, what I did see this year were some great movies: Netflix came back from its disappointment at the Oscars with three films (again, two of which I saw in 2019)- The Irishman (which, for those of you who skip the intro, for the THIRD TIME, I did not get a chance to see), Marriage Story, and The Two Popes. 


There were triumphs by directors this year. There were franchise sequels. We saw the culminations of both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises.


From the proceedings of the Golden Globes, it appears we might be in for another shocking Oscar season. 


So, let’s recap the year that was in film. Here are my selections for the best films (I saw) in 2019.
​

I will give Frozen II this: the music is more mature than the original. I didn’t say better- I said more mature- “Let It Go” is iconic (although I guarantee you only hardcore fans know all the words to it) and can never be replaced. I will also say that the film is beautiful. The animation is absolutely stunning, and it’s like you can feel every single emotion that Elsa and Anna are feeling as they discover more secrets about Arundell. And while nothing can stand up to the original Frozen, the filmmakers know that- and they lean into it on just about everything, from an Olaf that boasts a more ironic disposition, to all the callbacks to the first film (like the running gag that Hans sucks), to straying away from a more musical-theatre vibe by giving Kristoff a legendary 80s ballad, Frozen II journeys into the unknown and brings back a lot of heart.
​

Guys who love cars are equivalents of girls who love horses. I know. But man, does Ford v. Ferrari do some really cool things with its cinematography and sound editing. It’s like you’re actually in (or in some cases, on the side of) the cars, and you can feel the roars of the engines pulling your heart out of your chest. There are also some really great performances and moments in this movie from Matt Damon and Christian Bale: from the scene where Damon’s Carroll Shelley takes Tracy Letts’ Henry Ford II out in the test car, to the entire Le Mans racing sequence, it’s all great. Despite the bittersweet ending, Ford v Ferrari is all about that good down-home American willpower that you love to see in a quasi-sports film.
​

A bleak, bleak, bleak look at corporate negligence for the sake of profit, Dark Waters examines Robert Bilott’s duel with DuPont, as the story breaks that the chemical company was poisoning residents of a West Virginia town (as well as the entire world) for decades. We’re all gonna die, by the way. Dark Waters is a lot like Mark Ruffalo’s last investigative reporting film, Spotlight, just a lot bleaker… like a “there’s no hope for any of us” kind of bleak.
​

It takes a special kind of filmmaker to make a satire about Hitler Youths. Taika  appears to have no ordinary balls, considering he a) made this film and b) cast himself as main character Jojo Betzler’s (Roman Griffin Davis) imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. But still, Jojo Rabbit has more heart than most comedies that came out this year. Every character in this movie is built carefully and with so much love, from Sam Rockwell, the director of the Youth training camp, who learns to see Jojo’s kind heart through his more jingoistic view on life, to Thomasin McKenzie, who portrays Elsa, a stowed young Jewish girl harbored within the walls of the Betzler home, whose fearless dance with both Jojo and the outside world’s view of her people constantly makes us root for her, to Scarlett Johansson, playing Jojo’s mother, who steadily (but not heavy-handedly) helps her son grow up as the war nears its end. The friendship between Jojo and Yorki (Archie Yates) is also goals: even though their city is being blown to bits by war, we find there is still time for a hug and for blowing up a storefront with a rocket launcher. Also, if you didn’t expect to cry, watch out for this one.

​

I thought Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the Toy Story franchise, with Andy moving on from his toys at the end of the film. However, I realize that was a satisfying end to the Andy arc; it is the human growing up and parting with his toys. What did not occur to me (until I saw Toy Story 4) was that this film ties up the storyline involving the world’s best friendship among inanimate objects: Woody and Buzz. Bringing back old characters like Bo Peep felt like the correct move, and introducing new ones like Forky (bless Tony Hale for voicing him) and a sympathetic villain, Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) provide some new and interesting ways for toys to find their identities, either emerging out of something ugly, or through a desire to be their old, golden age selfs again. And just when you think that Toy Story 4 doesn’t pack the emotional punch that its predecessor did, we get to the final scene, where Woody and Buzz take center stage. I refuse to spoil the ending to something that provided joy to my childhood. But can you handle the feels? “Yes you Canada!”

​

One of the films in the Netflix trifecta, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story finds two former spouses, Charlie and Nicole (Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, respectively) attempting to navigate the murky waters of divorce in the most lightly-tread way possible. You can gather from my quick synopsis that, as is the case in most lawyerless divorces, hilarity ensues. But really, in the most charming way it can, the comedy/drama attempts to bring to light just how complex and nasty divorce can be. We see a cavalcade of lawyers (Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta) mudsling, pull, and connive their respective clients into wanting all the things their separation traditionally demands- most notably, the custody of the pair’s 8-year old son, Henry (Azhy Robertson)- only to see the two former partners struggle to convey the appearance of an amiable divorce while playing the part of one happy family unit. The big fight scene at the end (thought mocked by every drama student ever) is justified in context, and Adam Driver’s slightly out of tune rendition of “Being Alive” is incredibly moving.

​

I expected this movie to be a harrowing, sad look at mental illness, but never did I expect Joker to be as cutting and haunting as it was. A brilliant Joaquin Phoenix makes his turn as Arthur Fleck, who slowly transforms into the Joker in a bold twist for a super villain backstory: A failed comedian slowly descends into insanity and nihilism, which eventually sparks a revolution in Gotham City against the elite. Apart from Phoenix’s acting, which is always a marvel (puns), the way the film is designed is beautiful. With many grungy scenes exploring Gotham appear to be set up in the late 70s and early 80s reminiscent of crime-ridden New York City, the scenes featuring the upper class (particularly of that involving Murray Franklin, a talk show host played by Robert De Niro) appear to harken to the technicolor days of the 1950s and 60s. From the opening line right on down to Joker leaving Arkham hospital, this movie is just one big constant chill down the spine.

​

The Two Popes is absolutely delightful and I will stand by that it is the best film Netflix put out this year (until I carve out enough hours to see The Irishman). A close look at the transition from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) to Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce), Anthony McCarten’s script is fantastically well-written, as the two struggle with each other’s differing beliefs for the direction of the Catholic Church, and attempt to find a common ground as one pope leaves and another enters. Something I knew: Pope Francis is a stand up guy and is one of the best popes we’ve ever seen. Something I didn’t know: Francis’ backstory is as intriguing as it is moving, as we get to know the man who sits on St. Peter’s Throne in the Vatican. As the two men moves closer towards friendship, we get to know the two religious leaders on a more personal level, as an intimate scene regarding a confession and some pizza is one of the high points of the film. If you’re like me, you’ll finish the movie with a big goofy smile on your face.

​

You may remember Rian Johnson from his work on a little indie film called Star Wars: The Last Jedi. His modern take on the whodunit is on full display with Knives Out, featuring an ensemble cast of (mostly) despicable human beings, including Don Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, and Toni Collette (the outlying good folks being Ana de Almas, Christopher Plummer, and a silver-tonged, southern-accented, donut-hole-pondering Daniel Craig). When the mysterious death of a family patriarch sends a rich Massachusetts family into a frenzy, the subsequent police investigation leads to more questions than answers. The plot building is immaculate, with each character’s interpretation of the even piling on more and more layers until a picture is formed. As the story begins to center on the patriarch’s caretaker (de Almas), the family’s motives begin to become more and more desperate to preserve what they believe is their inherited right. My one critique is the car chase scene about three quarters of the way through the movie- being from Massachusetts, none of the places that are in those follow shots are next to each other. Other than that, this mystery film will twist you in ways you did not expect, building toward a dramatic climax that will leave you spinning in a circle more perfect than a donut hole.

​

God bless Olivia Wilde for this one. A pair of high school seniors discover that you can, in fact, get into a good college AND be a partier. And so, on their last night before graduation, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) break the rules and experiment trouble before they’re deemed as the “nerds who never did anything in high school.” Booksmart is like a bender you wish would just keep going, as the two stumble onto a boat party, hallucinate on strawberries and imagine themselves as plastic fashion dolls. It’s also extremely poignant, as Amy confronts her sexuality and Molly deals with her best friend potentially taking a gap year in Botswana. With some of the best writing you’ll find this year, this hysterical yet emotionally gripping comedy is one of the most touching films you’ll find this year. Also, there is no situation in which “Nobody Speak” by Run the Jewels can be misused; Booksmart is a prime example.

​

They did this whole movie in one shot. In one. Shot. Eat your heart out, Birdman. Sam Mendes’ WW1 epic follows two soldiers dispatched with delivering an urgent message calling off an attack scheduled to take place literal hours from when the movie begins. Lance Corporals Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) trek across miles of destruction, mud, and enemy territory in this absolutely brilliant piece of filmmaking. Much like theatre (where Mendes made his name), the film is constantly in motion, very much a living, breathing thing. From the constant camera work (brilliantly done by Roger Deakins, who deserves an Oscar for his effort), to the score (thank you, Thomas Newman) to just about every little easter egg thrown into this film by Mendes- from the jump scares with the rats to the dead dogs on the side of the shot to the legendary plane crash scene to the 45 seconds of playing with shadows, 1917 is a true tour de force in every sense of the word. This late entry into the Oscar race is one for the ages. This one was heralded as “the best war film since Saving Private Ryan.” Coming from someone who heralds that Spielberg great as his favorite movie, I’d say that particular case for 1917 is pretty strong.

​

A South Korean dark comedy/thriller would not have been on my film radar to start the year. But man, am I now ever grateful for the genius that is Bong Joon-ho (I need to see Snowpiercer still). Parasite begins with the story of Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), and his family, struggling to make ends meet, successfully posing as skilled houseworkers for a wealthier family, stealthily removing the family’s old employees one at a time, and integrating themselves into the wealthy family’s lives. But just when you think that the family is out of the woods, the film takes one of the hardest left turns I personally have ever been a part of. From there Parasite takes on a whole new light. A brilliant performance by Lee Jung-eun will leave you breathless. I really don’t even know how to explain this one any further, because everyone needs to go out and experience this one. Parasite kept me on the edge of my seat at every single moment, and it has taken a long, long time for a film to do that to me. It is twisted, dark, beautiful, and shocking, all at the same time. Do it. Parasite deserves your respect.

​

Every so often, there comes around a theatrical experience that you will never forget. Where were you when you saw Star Wars for the first time? Or how did you feel when you saw Lord of the Rings for the first time? Endgame was that for me. I will never forget seeing Avengers: Endgame for the first time. People applauding. People standing up and cheering. People crying. I wanted to live in that world for so long after the movie was over, I had Alan Silvestri’s epic soundtrack on loop for weeks. Endgame is the payoff of 11 years of incredibly hard work done by the folks at Marvel, all wrapped up into one three hour movie. Truthfully, it could have been eight (I would not have been upset) and it would still be the best movie I saw this year. How do I even give some kind of artistic critique on Endgame? It might not have the gut punch that Infinity War does, nor does it have the five-part tragedy that Civil War does, nor is it as critically lauded as Black Panther was. And sure, even the plot is just a little bit convoluted. But god damn, if this movie doesn’t slap you in the face with catharsis then you straight up don’t have a heart. Every single emotional moment in that story is earned- from the scene (where Natasha sacrifices herself), to the portals scene, to the tearjerking epilogue. Even the homage the film pays to its actors at the end of the film during the credits gets the tears flowing. The Marvel Cinematic Universe all leads up to Endgame. And boy, does that film deliver on everything it promised you. You feel every single shred of blood, sweat, and tears that went into making these movies, and Endgame is the perfect finale. They’re the heroes we don’t deserve.



Films I missed in 2019 (but hope to see in 2020):
- The Irishman
- Little Women
- Uncut Gems
- The Farwell


Agree with my list? Which films did I leave out? Leave a comment down below.

As an update, my MoviePass subscription has officially been deactivated and I’m going to try moving on to AMC Stubs A-List after the Oscars are over.

We’re finally all caught up, though. We have no Oscar host, but the 91st edition of the Academy Awards will go on as planned on Sunday night.

I was seriously so surprised about how soon the ceremony was. It was pushed back last year because of the Olympics, but this is the regular slot for the Oscars, at the last Sunday in February.

Thankfully, after the nominations came out, I was pleased with how little work I had to do with seeing movies.

We’ve got eight nominees for Best Picture, with surprises and stories galore.
​

And finally, there is Vice. I am consistently blown away by Adam McKay’s ability to make impressive films that are historical, satirical, comedic, dramatic, poignant, and well produced all at the same time. Christian Bale’s transformation into the terrifying Dick Cheney is one that will likely not be forgotten.

​
So. The ceremony is tomorrow. Here are my predictions for how the 91st Academy Awards will shape up.
​

The nominees:

• BlacKkKlansman (Focus)
• Black Panther (Disney)
• Bohemian Rhapsody (20th Century Fox)
• The Favourite (Fox Searchlight)
• Green Book (Universal)
• Roma (Netflix)
• A Star is Born (Warner Bros.)
• Vice (Annapurna)

​Surprises: Bohemian Rhapsody
Snubs: Can You Ever Forgive Me?; First Man; If Beale Street Could Talk

In a field of high-profile releases from this season, there is no clear frontrunner for Best Picture. At the start of the summer, everyone was talking about Black Panther, poised to become the first superhero movie nominated for Best Picture. At the start of Oscar season, it became about A Star is Born and later Bohemian Rhapsody, and their subsequent standout performances from less-film-visible stars like Lady Gaga or Rami Malek. After that, it became about the indie films like The Favourite, and how Yorgos Lanthimos was ready to ascend the throne with this film after great works like The Lobster. And now, we are down to two unlikely contenders, it seems, both of whom have been racking up wins at award shows prior to the Oscars.

The first is Green Book. This film has drawn more criticism than most of the films nominated (and more off-screen controversies as well), but it checks off most boxes of past Oscar winners, including Golden Globe and Producers’ Guild wins for Best Picture, not to mention the clout of both its lead actors- Viggo Mortensen and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali- being nominated this year.

The second is Roma, a Netflix release from director Alfonso Cuarón. Roma has a lot going for it, including its stunning visuals, emotional story, and signature touch of Oscar winner Cuarón. But it has a lot going against it as well- it is a foreign film (its primary language being Spanish- no foreign film has ever won the Oscar for Best Picture), and its release on Netflix has been troubling to critics and voters alike, mostly due to the reason that Netflix a) has been very stubborn about its original material being promoted as film and not television, much to the chagrin of producers, directors, writers and actors alike, and b) does not release its box office figures. Now, how much of this will hinder Roma’s potential Best Picture hopes? Honestly all this is a toss up, and we’ll figure it out come Sunday night.

Will and should win: Roma
Could win: Bohemian Rhapsody or Green Book
In Andrew's Perfect World: ​A Star is Born

​

The nominees:

• Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
• Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
• Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
• Adam McKay, Vice
• Paweł Pawlikowski, Cold War

Surprises: Paweł Pawlikowski, Cold War
Snubs: Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born; Peter Farrelly, Green Book; Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

Roma is a stunning piece of filmmaking. Alfonso Cuarón’s passion project is a visual feast- but let’s talk about these other nominees and why they’re here. BlacKkKlansman is a return to form for Spike Lee- It’s a critically important film for the day and age we’re living in right now. The last 15 minutes of that movie slap you across the face and make you realize just how bad things are. Yorgos Lanthimos’ efforts for The Favourite are not to go unnoticed. The Greek director’s traits are all over the movie- shooting in naturally poorly-lit locations; absurdist, snappy, deadpan comedic dialogue; Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz; everything is there. Yorgos is probably second on my list for this category. I also continue to be stunned by Adam McKay’s direction of more serious films (keep in mind, the guy made Step Brothers), and Vice is no different- the random Shakespeare portion and fake credits are among the film’s many high points. As for Paweł Pawlikowski’s film Cold War… well, I haven’t seen it.

Which brings me to another thing the Academy apparently didn’t see, which was A Star is Born, which apparently was director-less. Bradley Cooper deserves your respect, dammit. This film is a superlative debut effort from Mr. Cooper.

Will and should win: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Could win: Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
In Andrew’s Perfect World: Bradley Cooper gets nominated for A Star is Born.

The nominees:

• Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
• Olivia Colman, The Favourite
• Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
• Glenn Close, The Wife

Surprises: None
Snubs: None

​Again, this category has materialized mostly due to the writing on the wall from prior ceremonies. Glenn Close is due for her Academy Award with a tour de force performance in The Wife, and she’s already raked in a Golden Globe and a SAG award. Closely behind her is Olivia Colman, who won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite. Lady Gaga’s tour de force performance in A Star is Born was the early Oscar buzz, and, were it not for Glenn Close, it very well could be hers. But I think her campaign suffered from a loss in momentum (the film was released in September)- and it didn’t help that Glenn Close has had one of those “phenomenal performance in a non-nominated film” performances.


Will win: Glenn Close, The Wife
Should win: Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Could win: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
​

The nominees:

• Mahershala Ali, Green Book
• Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
• Sam Elliott, A Star is Born
• Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Sam Rockwell, Vice

Surprises: Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman; Sam Rockwell, Vice
Snubs: Timotheé Chalamet, Beautiful Boy; Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther

​Truly, I’m surprised Michael B. Jordan’s performance for Black Panther isn’t being appreciated, in favor of, say, Adam Driver’s in BlacKkKlansman. Driver was good, but Jordan was better. As for the nominees, it appears Mahershala Ali has this one in the bag, having won all previous supporting actor awards since the start of awards season. I would be shocked if he doesn’t win the Oscar, too. There’s always one nominee that’s pretty much a lead actor but gets put into the supporting actor category: Ali’s Donald Shirley is that in Green Book. Not to take away from his performance; it’s a damn good one.

Will and Should win: Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Could win: Sam Elliott, A Star is Born or Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
​

The nominees:

• Amy Adams, Vice
• Marina de Tavira, Roma
• Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
• Emma Stone, The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

​Surprises: Marina de Tavira, Roma
Snubs: Claire Foy, First Man

The case is the same for Regina King in the Supporting Actress category. She appears to be the favorite, having won a fair share of her nominations since the start of awards season. Her staunchest competition would be either Rachel Weisz or Emma Stone from The Favourite. As for Amy Adams, she’s due for her award, but she’ll have to wait yet another year to actually receive it.

Will win: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Should win: Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Could win: Emma Stone, The Favourite
​

The nominees:

• First Reformed- Paul Schrader
• The Favourite- Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
• Green Book- Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Peter Farrelly
• Roma- Alfonso Cuarón
• Vice- Adam McKay

Surprises: None
Snubs: A Quiet Place- Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski; Eighth Grade- Bo Burnham; The Ballad of Buster Scruggs- Joel & Ethan Coen; Sorry to Bother You- Boots Riley

Why isn’t Eighth Grade included on this list of nominees? The field is packed, I get that, and credit to Oscar veterans (Paul Schrader) where credit is due, but Bo Burnham’s coming of age comedy-drama was one of the best-written films of last year.

As for the field itself, it’s gotta be The Favourite. The film’s got some clout with its ten nominations, and the witty dialogue has to be recognized somehow, since it probably isn’t winning Best Picture. Roma is more of a visual medium anyways; I don’t think Cuarón’s script work is all that incredible. As for Green Book- it’s a good story, but the script suffers from being just a bit too cliché to garner an Oscar.

Will and should win: The Favourite- Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
Could win: Green Book- Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Curie and Peter Farrelly
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The nominees:

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs- Joel & Ethan Coen (based on short stories All Gold Canyon by Jack London, The Girl Who Got Rattled by Stewart Edward White, and short stories by Joel & Ethan Coen)
• BlacKkKlansman- Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Wilmot and Spike Lee (based on Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth)
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?- Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (based on the book by Lee Israel)
• If Beale Street Could Talk- Barry Jenkins (based on the book by James Baldwin)
• A Star is Born- Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters (based on the previous films)

Surprises: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Snubs: Black Panther

I’m stuck on this one. There some great nominees but none of them stick out to me at first glance. Can You Ever Forgive Me? won the WGA top prize, but writers like Barry Jenkins and the Coen Brothers (who I’m surprised are here) have wooed the Academy in their direction before. I think the strongest case can be made for BlacKkKlansman, though.

Will win: BlacKkKlansman- Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Wilmot and Spike Lee
Could win: Can You Ever Forgive Me?- Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty

The nominees:

• Incredibles 2 (Disney/Pixar)
• Isle of Dogs (Fox Searchlight)
• Mirai (GKids)
• Ralph Breaks the Internet (Disney)
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (Sony)

Surprises: None
Snubs: None

​Spider-Man is that good. It’s just that damn good. Yes, Isle of Dogs is a quirky homage to our canine companions, and we waited ten years for a satisfying sequel to The Incredibles. But Spider-verse’s animation style and intriguing storyline make it the favorite. It’ll cruise to a win here. Also, this is revenge for PhilLord and Chris Miller, who were snubbed for The Lego Movie.

Will and should win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse
Could win: Isle of Dogs

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The nominees:

• Capernaum (Lebanon)
• Cold War (Poland)
• Never Look Away (Germany)
• Roma (Mexico)
• Shoplifters (Japan)

Surprises: None
Snubs: Where is Woman at War?

​Cold War earned its director, Paweł Pawlikowski, a nomination for Best Director. But I think more people have seen Roma since it’s nominated for Best Picture. That tips the scales in its favor, and I anticipate that it will win Best Foreign Language Film. A win here would be the first for Mexico, funny enough.

Will and should win: Roma
Could win: Cold War

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The nominees:

• Free Solo
• Hale County This Morning, This Evening
• Minding the Gap
• Of Fathers and Sons
• RBG

Surprises: Minding the Gap; Hale County This Morning, This EveningSnubs: Three Identical Strangers; Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

​The biggest question will be if the Academy selects subject matter over timeliness. Free Solo has been the front runner with its stunning visuals and unique storytelling, while RBG surrounds Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been more in the public eye since the 2016 election, and especially since she has battled back from injuries to serve on the Supreme Court once again.

Will and should win: Free Solo
Could win: RBG
​

The nominees:

• “All the Stars,” from Black Panther, music and lyrics by Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Sounwave, and Al Shux
• “I’ll Fight,” from RBG, music and lyrics by Diane Warren
• “The Place Where Lost Things Go,” from Mary Poppins Returns, music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
• “Shallow,” from A Star is Born, music and lyrics by Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, and Mark Ronson
• “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, music and lyrics by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Surprises: “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings”
Snubs: “Trip a Little Light Fantastic” from Mary Poppins Returns​
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​“All the Stars” is a bop, and I’m really excited that “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is included on this list. But come on. There’s a clear winner here. We all knew it from the moment this film was released. It has to be Gaga, doesn’t it?

Will and should win: “Shallow,” from A Star is Born
Could win: “All the Stars,” from Black Panther

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The nominees:

• BlacKkKlansman- Terence Blanchard
• Black Panther- Ludwig Goransson
• If Beale Street Could Talk- Nicholas Britell
• Isle of Dogs- Alexandre Desplat
• Mary Poppins Returns- Marc Shaiman

Surprises: Black Panther- Ludwig Goransson
Snubs: First Man- Justin Hurwitz

​This entire category appears to be a toss up, with neither the Golden Globe winner (Justin Hurwitz for First Man) nor the BAFTA winner (A Star is Born) we’re nominated for Oscars. Nicholas Britell’s sweeping score is integral to If Beale Street Could Talk. I am partial to the quirky scores of Alexandre Desplat for Isle of Dogs, and there is a lot to be said about the Afro-infused score from Black Panther. But two more contenders are intriguing- the first being Marc Shaiman, who brings new life to the Mary Poppins sequel, and frequency Spike Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard for BlacKkKlansman, whose swirling and ominous score punctuates through a narrative that can be mistaken as a comedy if not looked at more closely. It’ll be a tough slog, and it could be any of these films winning Best Original Score.

Will win: If Beale Street Could Talk- Nicholas Britell
Could win: BlacKkKlansman- Terence Blanchard, Mary Poppins Returns- Marc Shaiman or Black Panther- Ludwig Goransson​

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The nominees:

• Border- Goran Lundstrom and Pamela Goldhammer
• Mary Queen of Scots- Jenny Shircore, Mark Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
• Vice- Greg Cannom

Surprises: Border
Snubs: The Favourite
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I went back and watched footage of Dick Cheney. The resemblance is uncanny. Props to Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney for helping Christian Bale fully morph into everyone’s least favorite Vice President.

Will and should win: Vice- Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia Dehaney
Could win: Mary Queen of Scots- Goran Lundstrom and Pamela Goldhammer

​

The nominees:

• Black Panther- Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart
• The Favourite- Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
• First Man- Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas
• Mary Poppins Returns- John Myhre And Gordon Sim
• Roma- Eugenio Caballero

Surprises: None
Snubs: Ready Player One

I can imagine that the world of Wakanda will run the Best Production Design category. The Favourite did film on location, and Mary Poppins Returns does evoke the same spirit as the original, but it’s Hannah Beachler’s production design and Jay Hart’s scenic design that are the most impressive of the five nominees.

Will and should win: Black Panther
Could win: Mary Poppins Returns or The Favourite
​
​

The predicted nominees:

• BlacKkKlansman- Barry Alexander Brown
• Bohemian Rhapsody- John Ottman
• The Favourite- Yorgos Mavropsiridis
• Green Book- Patrick J. Don Vito
• Vice- Hank Corwin

Surprises: BlackKklansman; Bohemian Rhapsody; Vice
Snubs: A Star is Born, First Man
​
The battle is Vice against BlacKkKlansman. Two historical comedy/dramas, both with their own fun editing styles. BlacKkKlansman features vintage Spike Lee quick cuts, interspersed with images both during and at the end of the film. I think Hank Corwin’s editing for Vice is more creative though, as its unique narrative is told through many different styles reminiscent of documentary, soap opera, and even Shakespeare (the latter should get an Academy Award if its own for being such a daring choice and paying off so well). It’s tough to choose, but I think Vice has it in the bag.

Will and should win: Vice- Hank Corwin
Could win: BlacKkKlansman- Barry Alexander Brown

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The nominees:

• Black Panther
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• First Man
• Roma
• A Star is Born

Surprises: Roma
Snubs: Mary Poppins Returns; A Quiet Place

Rami Malek with Freddie Mercury’s voice. That’ll just about clinch it right there. No contest, Bohemian Rhapsody wins this one.

Will and should win: Bohemian Rhapsody
Could win: A Star is Born


God help us all.

Who's your pick for Best Picture? Leave a comment down below.

The 91st Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 24th, at 8:00pm on ABC.

HAHAHAHAHA.

A true story. The real heroes. Shut the heck up, Kyle.

I’m sorry to say that this film was doomed from the start. With all due respect to my father, who really enjoys Clint Eastwood’s work, as well as any kind of historical fiction involving American heroism, but this had probably one of the worst campaigns I’ve ever seen. From a trailer played endlessly before just about every film I saw both this year and last, to using the real people who experienced the event (pretty cool, but they’re still untrained actors), to a thin backstory leading to a climax of an event that lasted but a few minutes, there was no question this one was going to fail. The film made $57 million against a $30 million budget. Nobody cared about this one, and for good reason.

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2. Welcome to Marwen

A Wrinkle in Time had all the makings of the summer’s next blockbuster: A $150 million budget; Upcoming and Oscar-nominated director Ava Duvernay; An all-star cast including Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon and Zach Galifianakis; Not to mention one of the most famous pieces of literature ever written. They even had backing by Disney. And still, they found a way to mess it up in every way possible. First, the positive: It was a very important film in 2018, celebrating female empowerment and diversity. That’s probably about it. The film didn’t make sense, and it relied way too much on CGI for me to feel any kind of invested. Disney has been known to make flops every once in a while, and, to be fair, they aren’t really major players when making live-action dramas (for example, Tomorrowland and Finest Hours), but this is unprecedented. The film grossed $137 million worldwide against its nearly $150 million budget. It would have needed to gross at least $400 million in order to turn a profit. This bomb most likely resulted in the studio losing anywhere from $86 to $186 million. If this doesn’t define the term “disappointment,” I want to know what does. With all the right cards in its hand, A Wrinkle in Time managed to fold its way into mediocrity.


What other films this year were you disappointed by? Leave a comment down below.

And be sure to check out the rest of According to Andrew’s Best of 2018 spread by clicking HERE. ​

Alright, kids. Here we are. It’s that time of the year again. Oscar Sunday is upon us.

I’m not going to give much intro here, since a lot of my elaboration is done in each category. But this ceremony could get very interesting. And I don’t just mean because they’ll announce the wrong best picture AGAIN.

So let’s get into it.

Also this article is unofficially sponsored by MoviePass. 

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The Nominees:
- Call Me By Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Darkest Hour (Focus)
- Dunkirk (Warner Bros.)
- Get Out (Universal)
- Lady Bird (A24)
- Phantom Thread (Focus)
- The Post (20th Century Fox)
- The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight)
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight)

Will win: The Shape of Water
Should win: Dunkirk
Could win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
According to Andrew: A nomination for The Big Sick.

I have never been so wrong as I have this awards season. In all the years I’ve been seriously going to the movies and seriously predicting the winners, I’ve been wrong before- but not like this. Originally I thought we’d finally see the advent of Christopher Nolan as an Oscar-winning filmmaker, as I found his film Dunkirk to be the better pieces of filmmaking I’ve seen, potentially his best since The Dark Knight. And then came Greta Gerwig’s quirky coming-of-age comedy Lady Bird, which became the best reviewed movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes. And then, from out of nowhere came The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. These two are also terrific, but I really hadn’t considered them to be on my radar to win Best Picture… until they started winning all the Golden Globe and SAG awards.

Overall, this was a pretty solid year for movies. Perhaps not in comparison to years past, but movies this year pushed the envelope in terms social commentary, filmmaking techniques, and storytelling. There’s something for everyone this season. We had everything from gay love stories to bleak romance dramas, from fantasy love stories to biting satire, from period dramas to horror films, of all things; from coming-of-age stories to gritty war films. This season really had it all, and there’s not much to complain about.

Since I am required to pick a winner, I’m going to choose The Shape of Water. In the grand scheme of things, major recognition for this film (and Three Billboards) has made other films like Dunkirk, Get Out, and Lady Bird lose momentum in the race. Don’t get me wrong. Those three are great (and if I had my way, I’d pick them myself). But Shape of Water appears to be the frontrunner at the moment. While it didn’t win the Golden Globe, BAFTA, or SAG Awards, it has picked up a Critics Choice win for Best Picture. The current frontrunner is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. It’s garnered a lot of praise, and synchronizes itself well with the political climate, and especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the Parkland School Shooting, it makes sense that a film about political activism should receive the praise it has. And with a filmmaker like Martin McDonough at the helm, a cool blend of dark comedy and sharp drama (a signature of the British wordsmith) is certainly a big help. As it stands right now, Three Billboards should beat Shape of Water for Best Picture.

But we’re not the ones who make the decisions on who wins and who loses. Award shows are dumb, I know.

Three Billboards has also garnered its fair share of controversy due to sloppy radical politics, dare-I-say ridiculous plot points, and its supposedly “redemptive” arc of a racist cop. It’s also just not as good as McDonough’s other films, particularly In Bruges.

Now, I don’t think those factors are enough to lose Best Picture for Three Billboards. Nor are they enough to sway the pendulum the way of Shape of Water.

But I think the Academy has a tendency to fuck with us. And so, with everything going on outside the walls of the movie theatres around the country, I think the Academy will play it self.  They’ll choose escapism over facing the harsh reality of the world just because they can. Another thing The Shape of Water has going for it is the charisma of its director, Guillermo del Toro, who has just about swept the best director race at every awards show this season.

You’ll notice that (again with the Academy-fuckery) Martin McDonough is NOT nominated for Best Director, as he has been at these other ceremonies. Three Billboards is probably not a part of what I call the “Argo effect,” in that it wins Best Picture despite not being nominated for Best Director. The absence of McDonough will prove that the Academy probably doesn’t have the faith in Three Billboards to win Best Picture.

And so, we have The Shape of Water. Maybe by default- and maybe because it’s an entrancing tale of unorthodox romance that pushes the envelope of both film and the contemporary Oscar campaign.

Or maybe I’m just plain old wrong and the Academy will pick Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Who knows.

(Also LOL remember when they announced the wrong Best Picture winner last year and the world EXPLODED? Good times. Gooooood times.

​

The Nominees:
- Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
​- Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
- Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
- Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

​Will win: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Should win: Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Could win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread

Once again, good on you, Academy, for not nominating James Franco. I mean, yes, his performance as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist was great, his behaviour off-screen did him no favors on the Oscar campaign trail. While I was a bit shocked not to see Tom Hanks in this category, I was pleasantly surprised to see Daniel Kaluuya there for Get Out, as well as Denzel Washington for Roman J. Israel, Esq. Will we see his scowl when Gary Oldman wins best actor this year? Probably. After seeing Phantom Thread and seeing that Daniel Day-Lewis isn’t really even the main character in that movie (I mean, he is, but he’s really just a catalyst for Vicky Krieps’ performance), Oldman is the favorite to win the category. His performance in Darkest Hour as Winston Churchill may not be the film he rightfully should win for, but Oldman will finally cross his name off the list of greatest actors to never win an Oscar. Don’t count out Timothée Chalamet, all you Chalametniacs, as the young man could add to his already fantastic breakout year with a surprise win as well.

The Nominees:
- Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
- Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
- Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
- Meryl Streep, The Post
​
Will and should win: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Could win: Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

This is a two-horse race, no matter how much you think Margot Robbie deserves to win. It’s all the talking vs. none of the talking. Frances McDormand vs. Sally Hawkins. McDormand delivers a powerhouse performance as Mildred Hayes, a mother attempting to get the police to reopen the case on finding the man who brutally raped and murdered her daughter. Hawkins plays a mute woman, Elisa Esposito, who falls in love with a mysterious sea creature held in captivity at her place of work, a government laboratory outside Baltimore. Meryl and Saoirse and Margot are all great in their own rights, but Hawkins and McDormand are a cut above. I think McDormand has the edge in this fight.

​

The Nominees:
- The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon
- Get Out, Jordan Peele
- Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig
- The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Martin McDonough

Will win: I refuse. But also Get Out, Jordan Peele.
Should win: The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon
Could win: Literally all of them. This category is so stacked and I wouldn’t be mad if any of them won. Realistically, The Shape of Water.

I will restate my “Could win” section. Literally all of them could win. This category is so stacked and I wouldn’t be mad if any of then won. Dunkirk and Star Wars aside, these five films were all featured in my “Top 10 Films of 2017” list. In fact, I think they were all featured inside the top 7 or so. I am predicting an upset win for Get Out here, which also won the Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay, a category in which Three Billboards was not nominated. With a category like this (UGH these screenplays are all so good), there are bound to be some snubs. Since only one script can win, we'll have four other equally deserving nominees like Lady Bird and The Big Sick going through unrecognized.  But seriously, think about any of these people winning an Oscar, and how happy that would make them (and me, because it’s all about me). Seriously! Think about it!
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The Nominees:
-Call Me By Your Name, James Ivory
- The Disaster Artist, Scott Neustadler & Michael H. Weber
- Logan, Scott Frank, James Mangold, Michael Green
- Molly’s Game, Aaron Sorkin
- Mudbound, Dee Rees & Virgil Wiliams

​Will and should win: Call Me By Your Name, James Ivory
Could win: Molly’s Game, Aaron Sorkin

Again, the nominees in this category are all just as deserving of a win as the five in the original screenplay category. I like Call Me By Your Name here. I think we’re treated to some instantly classic lines and moments penned for the screen by James Ivory. Mudbound and The Disaster Artist might also pose threats to the prize, as might Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin, who makes his directorial debut with Molly’s Game. Or, could it be, for the first time, a superhero movie getting a win in a major writing category? Maybe Logan could surprise us all. For now, expect the 89-year old Ivory to take home his first Academy Award.

​

The Nominees:
- The Boss Baby (Dreamworks)
- The Breadwinner (GKids)
- Coco (Pixar)
- Ferdinand (20th Century Fox)
- Loving Vincent (Altitude)

Will and should win: Coco
Could win: Loving Vincent

It’s not really much of a contest here. Pixar churned out another brilliant animated flick with Coco, which combines gorgeous visuals, gripping, emotional drama, and heartbreaking music with the spirit of Dia de Muertos. Every other nominee should fall by the wayside here. If there’s any second choice, I would probably take Loving Vincent, the which was that film created by hundreds of artists moving the film in traditional-animation style. ​
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