It’s that time of year! The Oscars are upon us, so here are this year’s ten Best Picture nominees ranked from worst to best. Each ranking is linked to the full review for that individual movie.
“Cameron delivers these moments in a crushingly reverent, pious tone, as if he wants us to believe (or he himself believes) that, for instance, a blue creature befriending a CGI whale is self-evidently a monumental, poignant event.”
9. Elvis
“Must we really do this? Must we break down historical figures and reassemble them into 2020’s-approved versions of themselves?”
“Imagine if Shakespeare had decided that Iago didn’t deserve to be portrayed onstage—who would want to see Othello? What great story could withstand the removal of its primary antagonist?”
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
“Disembodied limbs everywhere, young men crying like babies, kids killing grown men: this movie has it all. Because apparently, it’s now passé to say that War Is Bad. One must say that War Is Really Bad.”
6. Tár
“Chained to mediocrity by a pondering, lecture-y screenplay that nevertheless avoids any real stances on the issues it strains to raise, Tár fails to animate the character drama at the heart of its story.”
“Confusion is a limited aesthetic. It traps the audience in the dark, preventing nuanced reflection.”
“It’s Cruise’s most reflective film. Specifically, the plot functions as a meditation on the approaching end to his own movie stardom.”
“Its power lies in its reminder that, as the loquacious Padraic eventually comes to understand, some problems are unsolvable—that words don’t always help or even illuminate.”
“Together, these episodes form an intriguing examination of the slippery nature of power dynamics.”
1. Everything Everywhere All At Once
“A true cinematic miracle, it transfigures our most annoying genre–the superhero movie–into something artistic and rich.”
Commentary:
This year’s batch of nominees is pretty bad by recent standards. Avatar and Elvis have been gifted token nominations to increase viewership for the broadcast. Women Talking and Tár serve mostly to highlight Hollywood’s ongoing torment over its myriad scandals of sexual misconduct. Amidst weak films like these, there’s room for some unusual entries to climb the list. For example, Top Gun: Maverick, which would ordinarily rank as a borderline nominee, places fourth.
However, the group is redeemed by the incredible Everything Everywhere All At Once. What’s more, as of this writing, EEAAO is the favorite to win the category. If it does win, it would be the first time in seven years that the Academy agreed with my first choice (Moonlight, 2016). That would be a pretty happy about-face: last year, I ranked the Disneylike CODA ninth out of ten, and it won the prize.
Several of the movies I liked the most this year didn’t factor into the Oscar field. In particular, I recommend Nope and The Menu to anyone. And for a lighthearted, fun watch, check out Marcel The Shell with Shoes On. I’m sure there are more gems, and maybe watching the Oscars will point me toward some of them.
Happy watching, everyone!
-Jim Andersen
For last year’s rankings, see 2022 Best Picture Nominees Ranked.