Another year, another handful of Best Picture nominees to talk about. I’m not gonna lie, I honestly had no idea the Oscars was coming this week mostly because the way that last year’s Oscars took place at the end of March as oppose to in the middle of it. I have no idea why the Academy Awards feels the need to always change the time stamps with each award show every year but here we go again. Not gonna waste any time and let’s get down to ranking!
10.) Elvis
Each year there comes at least one “WTF!” nomination for me and this year, that award for me goes to Elvis. I’ve already never been a fan of Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby aside) so imagine the horror of having to suffer through 159 minutes of all the most Luhrmann’s tropes imaginable. Glorified aesthetics, pretentious imagery, virtually no substance, convoluted plotting, and actors that feel like they are in a completely different movie.
Austin Butler is fine as Elvis himself but even his Best Actor nomination is as much of a head scratcher as Rami Malek’s was in Bohemian Rhapsody. Not even Tom Hanks can help him or anyone in this bloated mess, feeling like a rejected character from the universe of Cloud Atlas. This just feels like a movie that was added in just for the sake of having a tenth entry for nominations and not because it was actually deserving of it.
9.) All Quiet On The Western Point
Every year or so, there comes a war movie that finds it’s way onto these nominations. Sometimes they are warranted such as Sam Mendes’s 1917 but other times, you get some like All Quiet On The Western Point. While certainly well-made and acted with a handful of standout moments, there’s not much here that leaves that big of an impact or differs itself from any other war movie. Not to mention, it pulls a Hacksaw Ridge where it claims to be an anti-war film that preaches pacifism only to contradict that message in favor of gloriously over-the-top gore and brutality.
Considering there always exists a better version of this movie with the original 1930 film along with a very well-written book that this movie is based on, there’s really no reason to watch this movie when other, better material exist. Not the worst war movie to ever be nominated but certainly one of the more forgettable.
8.) Triangle Of Sadness
Arguably the most “feel good” movie on this list, Triangle of Sadness walks a fine line between between grounded and plain absurdity. The cast are fun, the cinematography is top notch, and the first two thirds of it are intriguing enough. It’s once we get to the third act where the sluggish pacing and bloated runtime becomes apparent that the movie can help but limp itself onto the finish line.
This is one of those movies where the highs and lows practically balance each other out and it’s up to you to decide which end you find yourself leaning towards by the time the credits roll. While I lean somewhere in the middle, this does find itself on the lower half of the list because of it.
7.) Women Talking
Regardless of one can say about this movie, it certainly does live up to the title. Women Talking does indeed have a lot of women talking, along with Ben Wishaw on occasion. Even so, this is a solid watch overall which is carried by a bunch of talented ladies giving great performances who are giving compelling dialogue involving issues back then surrounding feminism and gender equality. I just wish I found a more emotional connect or it intrigued me the way Greta Gerwig’s Little Women did a few years back.
There’s certainly nothing problematic or even particularly bad about it, but it never rises above it’s basic and surface level when it feels like it’s trying to be anything but that. Still, Sarah Polley goes good work here with her cast and should be an intriguing name for the future
6.) Tar
I can’t say I’m in love with this one the way the rest of the world is. Yes, Cate Blanchett is amazing like always, it’s beautifully shot, the score is great, and the subject matter is tackling is certainly some that we need in this day and age. However, just like with a number of films on this list, the pacing and length really hinders the experience for me.
For a movie with this length and material in it, I was at least expecting something more creative in terms of it’s storytelling and structure instead of just something so basic and straight forward. If it was an hour shorter, this might have made it higher. But since it’s not, it’s just off of the upper half. It still has Cate Blanchett in it. And Cate Blanchett can make any movie good or watchable no matter what it is about.
5.) Avatar: The Way Of Water
The fact that this movie is THIS high on the list says more about the nominations this year rather than the quality of Avatar: The Way of Water itself. It’s really difficult for me to say whether or not this is better than the original as a whole or that it was worth the 13-year long wait. The stuff is better is better and the stuff that works does in fact work very well. I love exploring the worlds of Pandora and being able to witness this amazing imagery on the big screen while even find some of the family elements engaging. However, the things that don’t work such as the dialogue, plot points not being given a proper resolution, and not having a cohesive narrative still stick out like a sore thumb.
No doubt that James Cameron has a strange passion and love affair for Avatar and it’s world but I’m still not sure if I’m fully on board with it yet. Just like the original, only time will tell. It’s only then that we’ll see whether or not if better is the new worse or worse is the new better.
4.) The Banshees Of Inisherin
This is probably the one entry on here I find myself right in between really liking it and absolutely adoring it. The performances from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are stellar, it’s shot extremely well, the score is outstanding, and it has the beating heart and soul throughout the feel that makes the whole thing feel genuine. It’s mostly the second half that didn’t grab me as much as the first half and the downer ending kinda felt like a betrayal to the movie that it was building itself up to be.
There’s still a lot of good stuff here and is something I can see myself watching again in the future. However, it’s the direction that it takes by the second half that perhaps makes this movie just short of an all-time classic. Regardless, it’s still worth a watch and one of the better nominations.
3.) The Fabelmans
This is Steven Spielberg’s newest coming-of-age feature that is a part autobiography and part fictional tale of Steven’s early years as a boy and as a filmmaker. While The Fabelmans is not the biggest or most aspiring film in his filmography, this is easily his most personal one. The one that feels like he has waited his entire career of making up to this point. The one that honestly feels like that everything has come full circle from in. The one that symbolically and thematically should be his final one or at least the beginning of an end to one of the most influential directors of all time.
Not only is this one of the best films of the year, it easily stands as one of the top-tier works of Spielberg and possibly my favorite film of his in the 21st century thus far. I’m sure many of you reading this will find that all to be hyperbolic but just like the film itself, I find it to be aspiring. I didn’t buy The Post or West Side Story as being worthy for being real best picture nominees but I totally buy this one.
2.) Top Gun: Maverick
I’ll admit a part of me does respect this movie more than I actually love it. Not just for what it has done at the box office (grossing over a shocking billion dollars worldwide) but what it does for these kind of sequels. However, I still love this movie all the same. You can say what you want about Tom Cruise as a person but he definitely knows his own reputation as an actor and will do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. Whether it’s Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher, or Top Gun, he still act as the best kind of action hero that anyone can except. Unlike other legacy sequels, this seems to give the notion that it’s titled main character can still be on top form with what he is still able to do even if he can’t seem to do anything else. He can still best the best at what he does even when it’s time to pass the baton to a new generation.
Sometimes it’s okay to let Tom Cruise be the Tom Cruise that audience knows and loves about him without the need for anything else. And if the 1.6 billion dollar signs at the box office has anything to say about it, I think mainstream audience would agree. This is the one I imagine the mainstream audiences will be rooting for and it’s easy to see why. However, there is just one movie I like a little more than this.
1.) Everything Everywhere All At Once
My favorite movie of last year is favorite of the best picture nominations! This is a movie that feels like existing at all seems like some sort of miracle. It’s proof that there are still movie directors out there that aren’t afraid to put their own stamp on filmmaking. It’s proof that creativity and surprise is still possible for movies out there. It’s proof that you can take a concept that is sure to get tiresome soon or later by can still make for something completely worthwhile. It’s as if the Daniels are taking a great look at the future of films and decided to make a movie with a familiar concept, not to simply mock or critique it, but show the best possible version of it without the need to neglect or devalue the ones that come before it or will after.
This still stands as one of the most creative, inventive films I’ve ever seen with some of the best execution of any idea or concept on film that I’ve ever seen. I love films that is able to give me an experience I’ve never had before and this excelled greatly at that. This was the best movie of 2022 and is the best of this year’s Best Picture nominations. This is Michelle Yeoh’s universe and we are all living in it. Also, Ke Huy Quan’s world as well. And Stepheanie Hsu.
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