The Academy Awards for 2023 are airing on Sunday, March 10, 2024 on ABC-TV. I’ve given up on seeing all the nominees. The ones I DID see I have starred (*), and I’ve linked to my reviews the first time listed.
Best Picture
*American Fiction – my favorite
*Anatomy of a Fall – maybe the best
*Barbie – good movie, great box office
*The Holdovers – I’m very fond
Killers of the Flower Moon
*Maestro – my least favorite
*Oppenheimer – worthy
*Past Lives – I liked it, but it seemed SO long since I saw it
*Poor Things – surprisingly good
*The Zone Of Interest – it’s good, but so bleak
Best Director
*Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
*Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
*Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer. My rooting interest
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
*Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Best Actor
*Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin – damn Netflix…
*Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
*Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer – maybe the best
*Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction – my favorite
Best Actress
Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
*Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall. I’m invoking the Diane Keaton rule. She won for Annie Hall, but her strong performance in Waiting For Mr. Goodbar sealed it. Hüller was also great in The Zone Of Interest.
*Carey Mulligan, Maestro
*Emma Stone, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actor
*Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
*Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer. The old rust bucket wins in a battle between Iron Man and the Hulk.
*Ryan Gosling, Barbie
*Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress
*Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
*Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
*America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
*Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers. Yes.
Original Screenplay
*Anatomy of a Fall – the best
*The Holdovers – I’m fond of this
May December
*Maestro
*Past Lives
Adapted Screenplay
*American Fiction – very good
*Barbie – adapted from what? A toy? My rooting interest.
*Oppenheimer
*Poor Things
*The Zone of Interest
Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
*Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Robot Dreams
Production Design
*Barbie – three very different movies, but my rooting interest is here
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
*Oppenheimer
*Poor Things
Costume Design
*Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
*Oppenheimer
*Poor Things – my pick
Cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
*Maestro
*Oppenheimer – my pick
*Poor Things
Editing
*Anatomy of a Fall
*The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
*Oppenheimer – my marginal favorite
*Poor Things
Makeup and Hairstyling
*Maestro
*Oppenheimer
*Poor Things – very surreal, so sure
Society of the Snow
Sound
The Creator
*Maestro
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
*Oppenheimer
*The Zone of Interest – in a competition between an atomic bomb and the steady drone of the Holocaust, the latter
Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Original Score
*American Fiction
*Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
*Oppenheimer
*Poor Things -yes
Original Song
The Fire Inside (Flamin’ Hot)
*I’m Just Ken (Barbie) -yes
It Never Went Away (American Symphony)
Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) (Killers of the Flower Moon)
*What Was I Made For? (Barbie)
Documentary Feature
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
International Feature
*The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany
Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
*The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom. For sure
I’ll note the shorts separately after I see some today.
OK, I have to put in a good work for Nyad. If you don’t have Netflix, that makes it hard. But Annette Bening puts it all out there. Bluster, sags, frustration, egotism, grueling physicality. We were both so impressed with her, with Jodie Foster, with Rhys Ifans (you may remember him from the otherwise blah film Notting Hill as the wacky roommate). The swimming sequ3ences range from harrowing to stunningly beautiful. Bening would be a worthy winner, not resting on her laurels at all.
I have only seen Lily Gladstone on two episodes of the latest season of Reservation Dogs on Hulu. That work alone was so impressive, but I haven’t seen Killers, partly because I don’t want to line Scorcese’s pockets after his otherwise lazy casting, the usual suspects, as it were.
My feelings about Barbie are best kept to myself. I find my opinion differs with those of even my closest friends, including my kid and their partner, who thought it was delightful and revelatory. Perhaps I will blog about that one soon.
I don’t even watch the damned show anymore. But we do pick likely winners and those on our “hearts” list. And Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy especially, look like big winners. Amy
I have one female friend who despises Barbie, thinks it’s anti-male, et al. We all bring our experiences to the media we consume, whether it be music, movies, TV, or whatever. Your opinion isn’t wrong.