For the past handful of years I’ve made a point to watch all of the films nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Here are my quick thoughts on what I’ve seen this year, along with some bonus films I’ve seen from other nominated categories.

My Favorite of the Year

• Nickel Boys - this movie felt like the best kind of magic trick to me. I was initially distracted by the first person viewpoint of the film. Eventually that disorientation vanished, leaving me deeply connected to the story. Once I was all in, the changes in perspective, time and other twists felt so well earned. A crime that this wasn’t nominated for cinematography. I’ll be thinking about this one long after this Oscars season is over.

Best Picture Nominees

• Anora - felt like two or three distinct movies in one, but they all worked well as a whole. Mikey Madison’s performance was grounded and believable despite all the surrounding chaos. Would love to see this win Best Picture as is being predicted, but something tells me the Academy will chicken out. Also need to go back and watch some of Sean Baker’s other films.

• The Substance - I love that a movie this fucked up made the cut. I have some structural problems with it, especially in the third act, but I don’t think a movie like this really cares about structure, logic, or reality. Enjoyed the disorienting way it was shot once I settled in, and boy oh boy those last few scenes. Too many needles though.

• Conclave - enjoyable, but a little to soap opera-y for me. And the twist at the end didn’t feel earned at all. Never gonna say no to some Tucci though.

• Emilia Pérez - speaking of movies that are trying too hard… I don’t think this movie really worked overall, but Zoe Saldaña’s performance was excellent regardless. Really wild that controversy has destroyed the chances of what was once an Oscar front-runner. Also wild that a portion of this movie essentially follows the plot of Mrs. Doubtfire.

• Dune: Part Two - did nothing for me unfortunately. Couldn’t remember enough of the first one, and generally found most of the movie baffling. Impressive to look at though.

• The Brutalist - a lot to like here, but ultimately it fell apart in the second half for me. Cinematography and score are incredible and Adrien Brody is well deserving of his second best actor trophy. Too many needles though.

• A Complete Unknown - Bob Dylan is great at music and treats women poorly. Got it. Nothing offensive about this movie, but musical biopics like this just end up feeling like people playing dress up to me.

• Wicked - really enjoyed this when it was firing on all cylinders (which I assume was the stuff more directly sourced from the musical) and could feel it dragging when it was unnecessarily padding things out to support two films.

• I’m Still Here - I was probably just a little burnt out on movies once I got to this one. The meat of the movie was good, but felt that the pacing was off early and late in the film. And I dock this a point for being the only film that didn’t make it to streaming in time. Did get a laugh seeing how many other completists went solo to the 12:45 Sunday showing I was in.

Other Nominated Films

• A Real Pain - A funny yet touching look at generational trauma. Kieran Culkin is great, even if he’s squarely in his wheelhouse. And really appreciate that it is a tightly structured 90 minutes that doesn’t outstay its welcome.

• The Wild Robot - a great adaptation of a book that my son loved when he was younger. The animation is beautiful, but it tried to squeeze in too many competing themes in the third act.

• Flow - glad I rounded out my list of animated films with this one, but think I might like the underdog story of a small team from Latvia using open source software more than I liked the movie itself.

• Inside Out 2 - Pales in comparison to the first unfortunately. And I’m still mad that they low-balled some of the original voice cast.

• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl - Fun! Best use of creepy gnomes for sure. I haven’t seen other Wallace & Gromit films, but the way Wallace was oblivious to Gromit’s feelings bummed me out a little bit. They should break up.

• Incident - extremely effective short assembled from security and body cam footage covering a 2018 Chicago police shooting. Great use of both silence, and competing multi-angle footage.

• A Lien - a dramatization of a green card interview interrupted by an ICE raid. Maybe a little too on the nose, but still a tension filled short.

Nominated Films I’d Still Like to See

• Sing Sing

• The Apprentice

• A Different Man

My Picks

Taking a bit of a flyer here and going with Conclave for Best Picture. With all of the uncertainty this year it feels like one of those years where the academy (and ranked-choice voting) gets it wrong.

Category	Winner
Best Picture	Conclave
Actor in a Leading Role	Adrien Brody in "The Brutalist"
Actor in a Supporting Role	Kieran Culkin in “A Real Pain”
Actress in a Leading Role	Demi Moore in "The Substance"
Actress in a Supporting Role	Zoe Saldaña in "Emilia Pérez"
Animated Feature Film	The Wild Robot
Production Design	Wicked
Cinematography	The Brutalist
Costume Design	Wicked
Directing	Sean Baker, "Anora"
Documentary (Feature)	Porcelain War
Documentary (Short Subject)	Incident
Film Editing	Conclave
International Feature Film	I'm Still Here
Makeup and Hairstyling	The Substance
Music (Original Score)	The Brutalist
Music (Original Song)	"El Mal" from ("Emilia Pérez")
Short Film (Animated)	Yuck!
Short Film (Live Action)	A Lien
Sound	Dune: Part Two
Visual Effects	Dune: Part Two
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)	Conclave
Writing (Original Screenplay)	Anora
Tiebreaker: How many minutes will the awards show run (including commercials)?	213