Source: DALL-E.
The Academy
Awards will be given out Sunday, March 2, 2025. I've seen all the
nominees for Best Picture. That means my opinion means something.
Right? Regardless, I've ranked the movies in order of my preference
for "Best Picture."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science uses ranked
choice voting (RCV) to ensure that the winner has broad support
throughout the Academy members. I wish US political elections used
something similar (see proportional
voting). But that's for another post.
My personal ranked choice of the Oscar nominees is based on the
grades I gave the movies immediately after seeing them. In case of
ties, I ordered them by my judgment today. Note this is not my
prediction of which movie will win (Anora) but how I would vote, if I
had a vote.
The envelope please. The winner of "The Wheel Award for Excellence
in Motion Pictures" goes to...
The Brutalist (2024): Hungarian architect who is a traumatized Holocaust survivor rebuilds his life in America. He gets a major commission for a community center. Are we seeing an immigrant success story? Or a story of an arrogant, obsessed, artistic genius? Deeper study reveals it may really be a love story. A-
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Congratulations to the runners-up, in my ranked order:
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Emilia Pérez (2024): Spanish. Head of a Mexican drug cartel wants to transition into a woman. The existence of a wife and children pose a problem. If that premise isn't implausible enough, the movie is a musical. But somehow Jacques Audiard pulls it off. A-
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A Complete Unknown (2024): Bob Dylan biopic. I admit I can't be objective. This is the music of my life. I titled my blog after a Dylan lyric for gosh sakes. The movie has more Dylan music than story. Unfortunately, the movie disses other heroes of mine, but does give Joan Baez the best line: “You're kind of an asshole, Bob.” A-
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Nickel Boys (2024): In the 1960s, a wrongfully convicted Florida teen gets sentenced to an abusive boys reform school. With first-person POV, closeups, handheld camera shots, quick cuts, it feels immediate. Fictional but based on a real story, it's a tragedy that ought to madden you. A-
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Conclave (2024): The cardinal running the conclave picking the next pope uncovers one deep secret after another. An intelligent plot that sheds light on the ancient practice of Vatican politics. Informative if maybe implausible at times. It keeps you guessing who it's going to be. A-
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I'm Still Here (2024): Portuguese. In 1971, a Brazilian man is "disappeared." Movie focuses on his family's helplessness in seeking answers and his wife fighting to keep the family together. A history lesson that's powerful without sensationalism. Oscar-nominated Fernanda Torres carries the film. A-
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Dune Part Two (2024): Epic. Outstanding world-building. Spellbinding cinematography. The stakes grow. The allegories get biblical. Paul is a prophesied messiah who drinks from a chalice, falls into a deathlike state, and is revived. Some plot points are still silly (e.g, with "atomics" in use, why is most fighting with swords?). A-
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Anora (2024): Worker in a strip club gets involved with the immature son of a Russian oligarch. The relationship goes too far, the parents find out and send some heavies to put a stop to it, who get more than they expected subduing Ani. Mikey Madison deserves the Oscar buzz. Movie deserves its R rating. B+
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The Substance (2024): TV fitness instructor sells her soul for a drug promising restored youth. A satire of Hollywood's treatment of women that starts small but grows increasingly over-the-top and absurd. An instant cult classic whose last 30 minutes leave you wondering WTF. It's great but is it any good? B+
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Wicked (2024): Didn't live up to expectations. Last 45 minutes of action, music, and storytelling were great, but first 90 minutes (Shiz University) was more "where is this going?" I buy Elphaba's back story of being discriminated against because she's green, but Glinda as a sheltered and privileged airhead? No way. B-
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To see which other movies might have deserved to receive Best Picture
nominations, read "Oscar
Snubs".
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