My other annual pre-Oscars post. If it was up to me, this is who I would’ve nominated in each of my main categories!
Best Leading Actor – Several shakeups in this category. It was a strong year for leading actors, and it took me a while to work my way down to just five—good problem to have!
Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme)
Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)
Robert Pattinson (Mickey 17) – Pattinson really, really should’ve gotten nominated for these performances, so good!
Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) – Fantastic performance, equal parts ridiculous, menacing, and affecting.
Tonatiuh (Kiss of the Spider Woman) – Stellar! Tonatiuh is just wonderful as Molina. (I know they’re non-binary—I wound up putting them in this category mainly because it was easier to free a slot for him here compared to Best Leading Actress.)
Best Leading Actress – Just one change here, and it was a toughie. I knew I had to fit Cynthia Erivo’s excellent performance in there, but the original nominees were all so great! Somebody needed to go—apologies to Rose Byrne, who was still excellent. I also wished I could’ve fit in Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, but there was simply no more room.
Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good) – Even though I thought Part One was the better film, Erivo remains fantastic in For Good. Her performance on “No Good Deed,” oh my god!
Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue)
Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)
Emma Stone (Bugonia)
Best Supporting Actor – Another single change. Let it be known that Diego Luna and Jonathan Bailey both gave great supporting performances this year too, but I was objective enough not to shoehorn them in. (Not to mention, I also loved Joel Fry in American Sweatshop! I can admit that’s not a Best Supporting Actor-caliber role, though.)
Miles Caton (Sinners) – An exquisite film debut!
Benicio del Toro (One Battle at a Time)
Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)
Delroy Lindo (Sinners)
Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value)
Best Supporting Actress – Even though this was a pretty solid category to start with, I made a number of changes here. There were just too many great supporting actress performances to pick from!
Margaret Qualley (Blue Moon) – I thought she played beautifully off of Ethan Hawke in this movie!
Mia Goth (Frankenstein) – A nicely layered performance that revealed itself more and more as the film went on.
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value)
Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)
Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good) – A matched set with Erivo—do not separate!
Best Director – A couple changes to this one. Apparently, I’m on my “directors from non-English-speaking countries making English-language films” agenda!
Frankenstein – I really wanted this one. Guillermo del Toro’s direction was sublime!
Hamnet
Mickey 17 – Nobody is out here doing it like Bong Joon Ho, and that’s a fact!
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best Original Screenplay – The only category where I didn’t change a thing! Pretty solid—a mitigating factor, though, is that I just didn’t see very many movies with original screenplays this year.
Blue Moon
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay – A few changes. Still banging on the Mickey 17 drum, as you can see.
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man – Loved this script! Another winner for the series.
Mickey 17 – Absolutely wild and off-the-wall, but in a way that I still really care about Mickey and Nasha.
Best Cinematography – A couple changes to this one. I had to do a double take when I checked the nomination list and realized Hamnet isn’t up for this award! I’d been thinking it was.
Frankenstein
Hamnet – Gorgeous. So well done.
Sentimental Value – The camera work really contributes to the story here, right from the opening montage.
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Picture – Ten movies always seems like a lot, but the slots fill up fast. Overall, pretty decent lineup this year—still, this is what I would’ve picked.
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident – Just a really interesting film. I’m still thinking about it!
Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man – Great characters, excellent mystery, wonderful exploration of the themes.
Marty Supreme
Mickey 17 – Of the movies that didn’t get any Oscar love this year, this is the one that surprised me the most. I know it came out a while back, but come on!
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
