Every year, my wife and I have a tradition of seeing every nominated film for “Best Picture,” “Best Actress,” and “Best Actor.”  We love movies.  It has been a trademark of our relationship almost from “day one” together.  We have very similar tastes, which makes the movies that much better.

This is not always the case with our choices of television streaming, but that can be for another post, another time.

Since the Motion Picture Academy changed their policy to emulate the Globes, and made it 10 movies, instead of 5 or 6, we end up seeing a LOT of movies in the months of late December through the broadcast, usually in late February.  We just completed this year’s list over the Valentine’s Day weekend. And as you’ll see, we may have been saving one of the best for last.

Hollywood may not agree with me. Hollywood is fickle. Hollywood tends to go with big-budget spectacles that often leave smaller, and far better crafted films behind.

This has already started, with the list of nominations.  There are some good movies on the list, as well as a couple of SUPER STINKERS.

I’m posting this a week BEFORE the Academy Awards- so you still have time to see a couple of these films!

Read on to see my picks of the pics that should be picked! 
(Sorry…that just came out that way). 

The Official List is in Alphabetical Order.  I’ll keep it that way. I have three films that I really liked, and would in some ways, be satisfied if they won.  I have a favorite. And I also have a “Holyfreakinshirt!  Are you KIDDING ME?” selection.

Best Picture

• “Anora” (Neon)- This film is not for everyone. But, I actually really liked it. It is about a sex-worker. There is a lot of sex in it (because she is a sex worker, who uses her body as currency). There is a ton of humor. The story is compelling, and weirdly makes you pretty much disregard the overt sex.  Mikey Madison is really, really amazing, and deserves the nod for Best Actress. We kind of watched her grow up on the series, “Better Things,” the HBO series starring Pamela Adlon. But she was so good, it took me more than half the movie to actually recognize her. JUST out of my top three.
• “The Brutalist” (A24)- Ok…so…at almost 3.5 hours, with an intermission, this thing is just WAY too long to be a movie. It could have easily been cut down by an hour, as at least an hour of the film is spent on silly crap that doesn’t add anything to the overall story of “immigrant makes good,” by being discovered by a very conflicted rich guy. Let’s be clear. This was made up. It is not based on anyone specific. And as such, just didn’t need the random bits (rape, sex-workers, and worse), while leaving some very big questions unanswered. Glad I got the LARGE caramel corn at the theater. I needed it.
• “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight)- In my top three. The performances by Chalamet and Norton are both exceptional, especially when you realize they did their own singing and playing of their respective instruments, and neither had played a lick before getting the role! Yes, they mess with timetables and facts…which for me was a detriment. They had to know that some of the scenes were so full of “really???” that you were going to go and google them as soon as you left the theater. Most important fabrications were Bob’s meeting of Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash, as well as some antics and appearances at famous (and easily Googled) concerts. But…I liked it. It was a complete movie, with enough real, mixed in with the composite characters (such as Dylan’s actual girlfriends), to make it enjoyable.
• “Conclave” (Focus)- Also in my top three, and might be a front-runner for the Academy. The performances were flawless. Great actors doing some great acting, over some very controversial themes.  No, it does not ingratiate you to the Catholic Church, or the overall falderal involved with choosing a Pope. But, it was absolutely stunning in giving you a “look behind closed doors,” at the process.  The twist at the end was surprising, and maybe a bit more than needed. But, hey…it’s a movie. I suspect this movie may win Best Picture, if for no other reason, than it has the least scandal surrounding it.
• “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) – Putting this into the category of “WHY DO THEY NEED THREE PARTS) for a story everyone already knows? Yeah. It’s HUGE. Yes, the Special FX are noteworthy.  But, I just don’t get why we are rooting for half of the characters, and why I care in the end…knowing the it starts with a pretty bleak, dystopian reality. Just not a fan. But, it was a good “Saturday afternoon, streaming movie.”  I know. I know. My friends will say it HAS to be seen on IMax.  But, I’m just not willing to part with $20 a ticket to see something huge, get even bigger.
• “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)- Sorry. No. There were some aspects to like about this film.  But it really, really, really started to annoy me.  Is it a musical?  Kinda.  Is it an action adventure? Kinda.  Do they force you to root for a whole system of gang-members on the run from other gang members? Yeah. Yes, there are some really great performances. But, I have a hard time thinking that part of the allure for Hollywood, is that it features a Trans-Actress in the leading role, and it coasts a bit on the controversy. I just didn’t care for the content and delivery. Weird musical aspects (that pop up out of nowhere), and enough gory violence to make you wish you didn’t have dinner first.
• “I’m Still Here” (Sony Classics)- This is a GREAT film, and should have been in my Top Three. It SHOULD win best “foreign film” hands down. The acting was so believable and heartbreaking, that you are immediately wrapped up in the the bravery and inevitable sadness, that you are almost afraid to Google it to see if it is based on a real story.  It is.  My only issue, and why it didn’t make the Top Three, is that I admit to being distracted by having to read subtitles. I know. It makes me narrow-minded. But, I like to see the whole picture, and concentrate on cinematography. There was a LOT of hand-held footage in this (mostly home movies shot by the daughter and father). But seeing this kind of jerky imagery, along with trying to read the dialogue was a recipe for motion-sickness.
• “Nickel Boys” (Amazon/MGM)- Hands down, my favorite movie of the year. But, it is not likely to win. It is a small, and very artistically shot film, that is as beautiful in its imagery, as it is confounding by its twist at the end.  Based on a novel, about a REAL boys reform school in Florida, it is a statement on civil rights, and just how quickly your life can change, even after you have lived an exemplary life, beating the odds and challenges of growing up black in the south, in the 1960s.  It is a movie I will watch again when it hits streaming.  And one that made me want to know more of the story. It is really, really, really good.
• “Wicked” (Universal)- Took this one out of order, so I could brush it off quickly, before moving on to a movie I despised. I have nothing against “Wicked,” except that I’ve already seen the story in a couple of formats.  The Broadway show was amazing. And the performances here are “Tony worthy!” But, it’s a movie. And a movie that they decided needed to be put into TWO parts…even though the story is told on Broadway in a single viewing. I get it.  It’s a money-machine.  Like so many other franchises (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc.) once you find pay-dirt, you are going to mine it until the franchise dies under its own weight. I absolutely loved the singing from both leads.  These ladies have world-class pipes!  But, overall…I’d give it a “less than perfect,” because they make me wait for the second part…even though we know it’s already in the can!
• “The Substance” (Mubi)-Holyfreakinshirt!! I honestly don’t get HOW IN THE HELL this is in the “Best Picture” category, and how the hell Demi Moore won a Golden Globe for her performance. Society is really grappling with trying to make sense of the damage Hollywood, Reality-TV and 5th Ave has done to women’s self-image, and trying to meet some unattainable standard of beauty.  And it seems that those who pick the nominees  are looking to reward Demi for her “bravery” to be “of an age,” and go completely naked on film, “flaws and all.”  The problem I have (beyond the absolutely grotesque gratuitous level of gore), is that Demi has famously already altered her body and face to a point as to be almost unrecognizable from her younger self. Someone who has already gone under the knife to try to be “youthful,” is hardly a valid representative for the extremes of what some people go through in the name of “beauty.”  Ugh. No Thanks. And let’s not forget that most of the movie (or at least half) is shared with “the younger version,” who is NOT Demi. Add to this, that most of the “acting” is just watching naked Demi, squirm around on the bathroom floor, waiting for the next graphic gore to happen to her (or her double). It was just, plain, silly.
• MAJOR RANT for a SNUB-  Last Showgirl, and Pamela Anderson for Best Actress
  For all of the reasons I hated Demi and The Substance, I loved Pamela Anderson in Last Showgirl. The movie shows real life in a way that “The Substance” didn’t even try to do. An aging Las Vegas Showgirl is faced with the closing of a longtime cabaret-style show, which leaves her unemployed, and facing the reality of all she gave up to be a “star.”  It is brutally honest, and Pamela Anderson is absolutely magnificent in it. Add to this, she has been overtly honest about leaving Hollywood for a simpler live in Vancouver, BC, while eschewing makeup, fancy clothes, and all of the trapping that made her tabloid fodder during what she calls “the hazy years,” during her “Baywatch” and home video sex tape years.  Is Hollywood punishing her for her honesty?  Are they upset that she rejected the “star-maker-machine?”   I don’t know.  But, I do know that she is far more deserving of a nomination that Demi Moore.

For the remaining categories, I’m going to go short and sweet (or not so sweet), as I believe most of what I think is already stated above.

Best actress

• Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”– Amazing voice.  She is hamstrung by the content.
• Karla Sofia Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”– Good performance in a movie I pretty much hated.
• Mikey Madison, “Anora”– One of my Top Two performances in this category. She was great in the role. And weirdly, believable (considering the content).
• Demi Moore, “The Substance”– Ugh. No thank you. Horrible movie. One-dimensional acting.  It should have been Pamela Anderson in this slot!
• Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”– She won the Golden Globe. She should be hands down favorite here, unless Hollyweird loses its mind.

Best actor

• Adrian Brody, “The Brutalist”– He is great in everything he does. He is really good here. Except I hated the movie.
• Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown” – Yep…Timmy turns in a great tune or five, and pretty much nails Bob Dylan while playing his own guitar and doing his own singing. If I am honest, the one thing that was annoying, is that he sings WAY better than the real Bob Dylan.
• Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”-he was really good. It is a feel good movie, based on a true story, and should have had more love from the Oscar voters for Best Picture (instead of the idiotic “The Substance”). Domingo is a triple threat guy…he can act, sing, and dance. The subject matter is timely, as prison reform is a hot topic.
• Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”- He should win. Really. He was really, really, really good in this movie. Not sure he will. But, if Conclave wins best picture (it seems to be a favorite), he should also win Best Actor. We’ll have an idea which is which early, as Best Actor is announced well before Best Picture at the end.
• Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”- For. The. Love. Of. God.  NO!
  There are a zillion guys who do better “Donald Trump” impersonations.  And let’s be honest…there is almost nothing you can do to make Donny seem real, or anything but a cartoon character. The real problem, is they try to make Donny seem sympathetic.  But after he sells his soul to Roy Cohn (and then dumps him) it’s hard to look at the performance objectively.

THERE YOU HAVE IT..GO SEE ONE OR MANY!
I don’t expect the results to match my desires. I’m getting used to being on the losing end of public opinion. But, hey…that’s what free speech and voting with your dollars is all about…right?