Who should really win at the Oscars? 

The Academy Awards are on March 2nd and The Conservative Critic has seen all of the Best Picture nominees except for two (The Substance and I’m Still Here). While the Academy rarely nominates all the movies of this year that were actually the best and once again failed to do so (Wild Robot should be a Best Picture nominee), see below the ranking of the Best Picture nominees from least deserving to most. 

10. SCRATCH: The Substance 

A weakness of mine as The Conservative Critic is that I cannot see horror films. I have a weak stomach and anything “gross” on screen will cause me to vomit. I simply cannot view them; it’s not worth it. Demi Moore is the front runner for Best Actress at the awards and I have no idea if that’s deserved (there has been a lot of chatter that it is more out of respect to her entire body of work than this particular part) because I didn’t see it. If you’ve seen it, hit me up on X and tell me if it’s good. 

9. SCRATCH: I’m Still Here

I hear this film is excellent and a lot of “filmie” types want it to win Best Picture but I could not actually find anywhere to watch it. It didn’t distribute widely in theaters and it isn’t streaming anywhere I can find (even for purchase on Amazon or AppleTV). Sorry to this movie! I don’t know this movie. I’ll watch it when it becomes available and say where it ranks. 

8. The Brutalist 

Once a front runner for the win, The Brutalist has suffered controversy for the use of generative AI in the film to make the actors’ Hungarian language sound more realistic. Adrian Brody remains a front runner for Best Actor and his performance was very strong. Additionally the cinematography was beautiful and interesting. That being said, I couldn’t ignore the political undertones of the film which essentially villainize Americans and all Christians (catholics and protestants alike). The story seems to realize its not selling its own bill of goods toward the ends and throws in a violent rape scene to make sure the audience is clear that despite all of the protagonists many flaws and troubles, American Christians are evil people and only Israel can be safe and pure for jewish people. I hope this movie loses in every category. I wish no one well. 

7. Nickel Boys 

To start, Nickel Boys is objectively a very good movie. That being said, the cinematography which is being lauded and nominated for an Oscar made me extremely sick. It is shot largely in first person from the perspective of different characters and the level of camera movement just does not work for me. It was difficult to get into the story and the content because of how difficult I found the camera work. Additionally, the story is very tough. I had to stop it half way and take a break and come back to it. Just because a story is hard doesn’t mean it isn’t an important story to tell. However, in a year with so many interesting entries I find it hard to put a  “tough to watch” movie toward the top of the pile especially when filmmakers sometimes do this just to bait awards voters. The Jim Crow south was a horrible thing and a black mark on American history. But I would find the villainization of the racists who perpetrated the crimes against black people in the south more compelling if they didn’t make them into essentially Yosemite Sam. The cartoonifying of these people make it seem like those people weren’t real and it makes them less scary. Nickel Boys falls into this trap. 

That all being said, it is a good movie with very strong performances especially on the part of Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard) and the two leads, Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson. 

6. Emilia Perez

I kind of liked Emilia Perez and it is my most controversial take of the entire awards season. Do I think it is the best movie of the year? Absolutely no. But do I think it deserves a nomination? In the sense that it fits the criteria that the Academy usually looks for? Yeah. The movie is about a violent drug lord in Mexico who transitions to a woman, fakes his death and then wants to come back into the world as a whole new person but stay connected with his/her family. Oh also its a musical. Despite taking place in Mexico and featuring the spanish language, the film is French made and boy is it French. The movie is extremely weird but also nothing like it has ever been seen at least in any kind of mainstream. Its unique quality and quintessentially French style do make it a good fit for Award season.

Liberals and Hollywood have criticized the movie because it doesn’t represent Mexican culture authentically and I don’t think they were particularly happy with the depiction of the trans experience. Additionally the movie has faced controversy because the leading performer, Karla Sofia Gascon, has some social media posts that show she’s pretty based. She expressed concern over the growing population of muslims in Spain and discontent with how Islamic men treat women and she was critical of the performance art that was the BLM movement following the death of George Floyd. She had the audacity to point out the Floyd was a drug dealer and that there were wrong people on both sides of the BLM movement. 

Personally, I thought Emilia Perez dared to be campy and interesting. It dared to have a trans character serve as a complicated lead and not a black and white hero. There was a metaphor in the transition where the violent drug lord thinks that because he’s become a transwoman he can wash away every decision he’s made and enemy created but that’s not true. There’s a lot of depth to it and a lot of correct criticism of the Mexican government. 

5. A Complete Unknown 

The Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown is a narrow story of Dylan’s rise to fame in the folk genre and his crossover to rock and roll. The performances make this movie. Timothee Chalamet one of the front runners (behind Adrian Brody) for Best Actor and for good reason. He spent years creating the character and finding his way into Bob Dylan’s persona without going method or halting other projects. In addition, Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) is excellent as Joan Baez. Elle Fanning and Edward Norton also provide exceptional performances which lend the movie a lot of emotional credibility. A Complete Unknown leans heavily on music which is all well performed and loads of fun to listen to. It runs about 10 minutes too long with the correct concluding scene two or three scenes in front of where it ends. Otherwise, its a strong entry and broadly enjoyable. 

4. Anora 

Anora is one of the main front runners to take the top prize home and it is a very good movie. The story is special in that it takes on so many lives through the course of the film. It starts as a modern Pretty Woman and morphs into a mafia comedy and comes out the other side something else entirely. Mikey Madison as the titular character is the darling of award season and the second place front runner for Best Actress (right behind Demi Moore). She is nothing but charisma and she eats every inch of screen. 

Despite the fact that the film is about a prostitute, the graphic sex and nudity was actually too much and really not necessary to the development of the plot. All the best parts of the movie were outside of the graphic sex and nudity. I find it increasingly perverse of Hollywood to insist these ingenues must be fully displayed and objectified in order to have their big break out moment. Madison’s performance sings outside of her nudity, so why include it? And why so much of it? 

3. Conclave 

Conclave has been met with some controversy on the right wing of politics which I fundamentally disagree with (mostly). The movie is about the process in which the Catholic church selects a new pope. For the most part, it is extremely pro-Catholic. It depicts good men falling prey to their own egos and ambition as well as politics. But at no time does it imply that these men are irredeemable or indefensible. Instead, the movie upholds a core tenant of the Catholic faith which is that its Cardinals and its Pope, while considered holy, are not considered Christ. They are not perfect. They are men. 

In this way, the story made Catholicism more approachable than so many other depictions of the faith. And also it features a Cardinal who is considered the conservative voice and he makes some really compelling points. While the protagonist of the story played by Ralph Fiennes is not politically aligned with that Cardinal, they don’t make him out to be evil or unhinged. He has a point of view which is presented along with everyone else’s and in fact the wheelers and dealers who are shown to be acting badly, are the liberal Cardinals. There is one moment at the end of the movie (to be fair a pretty defining moment) that is anti-Catholic. But if you stop the movie 5 minutes before the end it’s as if it never happened. And even then, its deeply nuanced. 

The movie is so well filmed. The cinematography is beautiful and so is the edit. All of the performances are strong including John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci. If not for two other movies this year being so sensational, The Conclave would easily be number one in this group. And so well timed as the Pope’s health declines and he may retire. 

2. Wicked 

Wicked is one of the most beloved musicals of the last 30 years. The expectations for the film adaptation were extremely high. The movie met and exceeded all expectations despite splitting into two parts. The production design of Wicked is meticulous. They planted millions of tulip bulbs and constructed entire towns including the train tracks and train to make the beautiful world of Oz. The costumes and styling are all impeccable, drawing from the stage musical but adding its own flavor. All of the performances are top notch. Cynthia Erivo without a doubt gave the best female performance of any other actor this year with her incredible singing but also her surprisingly youthful depiction of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West. It is a crime that she is not the front runner for Best Actress. Ariana Grande also was exceptional as Galinda the Good, providing insanely beautiful vocals as well as pitch perfect comedy and heart. She will be beaten by Zoe Saldana in the Best Supporting Actress category and it is a crime. There is no world where any other film on this list except the number one (and that’s debatable) should be considered better than Wicked and that it is not up front in the pack is proof that Hollywood simply hates a good time. 

1. Dune: Part 2

Its a close race between Wicked and Dune but in the end Dune: Part 2 is something very special. The movie filmed on Earth’s most beautiful deserts in Jordan and Abu Dhabi and that effort pays off big time. It is a breathtaking movie. There is a scene toward the conclusion of the film where two characters are locked in a duel to the death with the sun truly setting behind them and it is by far the best visual scene of the entire year and probably the last couple of years. There isn’t a wasted frame in the entire movie when it comes to the visuals. It is sweeping and special and there’s not been anything close to it this year. 

Dune: Part 2 has a much faster paced story than its predecessor with plenty of high tensity action sequences but also a lot of political and character development. It takes a special movie to have released an entire other movie first just to set up the necessary background to make the story work. Usually, sequels exist because the original film is so popular. But in this case it’s clear the real story was always Dune: Part 2 and Dune: Part 1 only exists to make sure it’s properly set up to shine.

The performances are very strong especially for its genre (sci-fy) and in fact, Austin Butler who was so celebrated for his portrayal of Elvis was completely overlooked this award season in his excellent portrayal of Fey-Rautha Harkonnen. Rebecca Ferguson was also slighted for her performance as Lady Jessica which is at once creepy and extremely nuanced (does she believe the prophecy? Or is she self fulfilling it?). Dune: Part 2 is a do not miss movie that if you haven’t seen you should. 

It’s a pretty big deal that a movie that features giant worms is so credible.