The Oscars have wrapped up the end of awards season and the best of the best movies have been given their final flowers.
Although the season is over, I want to look back on the Best Picture Nominees and acknowledge each film, even if it didn’t go home with any awards. After watching each nominee, here are my thoughts.
- “Oppenheimer”
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“Oppenheimer” won best picture and it was highly deserved. As the second half of the Barbenheimer spectacle of the summer, it stood its ground against the success of “Barbie” and prevailed through awards season.
Alongside Best Picture, it also took home other awards, including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor by Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., respectively.
The film revolutionizes the biopic by creating a great display of visual effects, produced by Nolan himself.
- “Past Lives”
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One of the most amazing directorial debuts in the last few years comes from Celine Song, who was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
The emotional story about two people and what could’ve been is captivating from the start. It begins in South Korea and ends in New York City, taking the watcher on a journey that will bring tears to your eyes.
It will have you rethinking every relationship and every intimate moment you have had and wondering what your past life looked like.
- “Poor Things”
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“Poor Things” took home multiple technical awards, including Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling and Production Design, and lead actress Emma Stone won the award for Best Actress.
The uniquely created world portrayed in the film, brought to life by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, followed the life of Bella Baxter, a brought-back-to-life woman who is experiencing the world for the second time new through her eyes.
Supporting actors Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo (who was nominated for an award) bring life and laughter to the scenes and make it a unique watch.
Note: Do not watch this movie with your parents.
- “Barbie”
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Greta Gerwig’s first movie since 2019’s “Little Women,” “Barbie” was the biggest movie of the summer, if not the year.
It was a love letter to women, was funny and light-hearted and touched peoples’ hearts — including mine (I don’t know about you, but the woman montage near the end of the film made me cry).
The music was so fun, the performances were engaging and the original content of the film made it such a beacon of light for the future of movies. Although it only won one Oscar for the Best Original Song, it will be a movie that is talked about for many years.
- “The Holdovers”
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“The Holdovers” is not a movie I heard too much about, so going in I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.
The warmth that this film exudes from its cast and its set decoration is like nothing else. Newcomer Dominic Sessa, a perfect match for the role, shines on the screen, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph gave a very Oscar-worthy performance.
Watching this movie during Christmas time was the cherry on top, since it is set right around Christmas.
- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
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The first theater release in years, Martin Scorcese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a three-hour drama that holds your attention for every second.
The nominated performances from Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro are engaging from the start. Gladstone especially stands out by bringing real-life emotions to the screen, making even the biggest of movie stars, like Leonardo DiCaprio, feel like they have a smaller role.
- “Anatomy of a Fall”
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Messi the dog is the standout star from the French film, “Anatomy of a Fall.”
Just kidding, it was actually Sandra Hüller (but the dog really did kill it).
Director Justine Triet led Hüller to a nomination, and rightfully so. In this courtroom drama, I spent the entire runtime wondering if her character was guilty or not. Not to mention, Milo Machado-Graner, the child star in the film, shines in his last scenes, and possibly makes you change your mind about his character.
- “The Zone of Interest”
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Winner of Best International Feature Film, A24’s UK-made film depicts a German family that lives next to the Auschwitz internment camp.
The father, Rudolph Hoss, is a Nazi who the story is based upon. Jonathan Glazer utilized many hidden cameras to depict the family and their activities in and around the house.
Rightfully so, the film also took home the award for Best Sound, because they were able to create an eerie background to a somewhat calm family life. While the concept of the film was interesting, overall it didn’t engage me enough to follow along intensely. However, I still enjoyed a look into their life.
- “American Fiction”
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Another first-time director and writer, Cord Jefferson, took home the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on “American Fiction.”
The film follows a professor and writer who writes a new book as a joke, but it quickly becomes popular in the literary world, and he then has to deal with the consequences. Weaved within the book’s plot is a mess of family problems that anyone can relate to, which makes for an emotional and compelling story.
Meant to be satirical, it ends in a way that I was not expecting, which is why it is so low on this list.
- “Maestro”
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After seven years of work, Bradley Cooper’s second film was released on Netflix and has been immediately called “Oscar bait,” which is essentially what people call movies that were seemingly made just to win awards. Regardless, “Maestro” ended up going home empty-handed.
The work put into the film was clearly seen and acknowledged with its many nominations, but for me I did not empathize much towards the main character, Leonard Bernstein, played by Cooper.
However, Carey Mulligan’s performance as Felicia Montealegre was emotional to the core, and was the rock that carried the movie to its Best Picture nomination.
I recommend watching any of these films, especially if you’re passionate about all different kinds of movies. Happy watching!