After multiple delays due to the California wildfires, the 97th Academy Awards, better known as The Oscars, are finally set to officially air on March 2.
With some first-rate films (and some flops) here’s my thoughts on some of the nominations of this year.
Unarguably the biggest category of The Oscars, I can’t help but be bored by most of the best picture nominees this year.
Despite some standouts like “A Complete Unknown,” “The Substance,” and “Wicked,” most of the best picture nominations just felt underwhelming.
There are also some obvious snubs for best picture this year. Most notably, “Challengers,” which didn’t see a single nomination not only for Best Picture, but at all this Oscars season. “Challengers” was a fan-favorite from the 2024 year, with 87% on rotten tomatoes and widespread appreciation online. The acting and directing in “Challengers” was also some of the most notable of the year.
“Challengers” was a film I was sure had a chance at winning best picture after seeing it in theaters and watching the acclaim it received from both audience and critics. Seeing it completely absent from the category was confounding.
“A Real Pain” is also a very clear snub for best picture, though it did see other nominations in best supporting actor and best original screenplay. The movie was one of my favorites of the year, with a moving plot, astonishing acting, and gorgeous cinematography.
No matter what was nominated this year, following up the 96th Oscars was bound to be hard— but I didn’t realize just how big of a letdown it was going to be.
Going from movies like “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Holdovers,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” last year to “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Perez” is almost laughable.
Seeing “The Brutalist,” which used generative AI not only for scenery of the movie (mainly for buildings, which is fascinating to do in a movie literally about an architect) but also to enhance the main characters dialogue, receive 10 nominations while “Challengers” is tossed to the side is disheartening.
Even worse, “Emilia Perez”— which has a score of 2.4/5 on letterboxd and has been widely made fun of online for it’s poor acting, wild songs, and singing that feels worse than an elementary schools winter concert— received 13 appalling nominations, making it equal with films like “Forrest Gump,” “Gone with the Wind,” and “Mary Poppins.”
This also means that it received more Oscar nominations than both “Godfather” films, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Star Wars,” and “Saving Private Ryan.” The only films that hold more than 13 nominations in Oscars history are “All about Eve” and “Titanic.”
Aside from “Emilia Perez” and “The Brutalist,” most the other nominations just don’t have me rooting for them either.
During the 96th Oscars, I was so passionate about what films deserved to win, glued to the tv and throwing my hands in the air when certain winners were announced, and this year I’ve felt none of that. Going back and looking at last years nominations, I’m still thrilled looking at them. Even less popular categories like best visual effects we a huge deal for me. seeing “Godzilla Minus One” take home the trophy for VFX was one of my favorite wins of the night.
This year, I feel almost none of the same punch from this years nominations, especially with the best picture nominations.
Despite the category being an overall let down, I’m holding onto the hope that the win goes to a deserving film, my top choice being “The Substance.”
From the story to the acting, “The Substance” is perfection.
The use of practical effects in the film instead of cgi, the use of lighting, the overall directing, the vibrant colors— all of it works towards the creation of such an elevated movie.
“The Substance” believes its audience is as smart as its writer, and that’s why it really thrives.
Writer Carolie Fargeat had such a clear love for the film while writing, at no point does it seem like it tries to pull itself back, or make it easier for the audience to take everything in.
“The Substance” is something so unique compared to the others on this list. To see a movie discussing such important feminist ideals in such a bloody way was so refreshing after seeing those same ideas be watered down to make them more palatable for so long.
Seeing a body horror film win best picture isn’t something I would’ve ever thought possible, but “The Substance” is more than good enough to win, which would be a groundbreaking moment for the genre.
Moving onto a much more equally matched set of films, Best Animated Feature Film is one of the standout categories this year.
All the films nominated were not only emotional, enchanting stories, but absolutely gorgeous visually.
This category could really go any which way for the win, they all deserve their roses, but for me the film that has to take the cake is “Flow,” though “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” is a close second.
“Flow” is a heartwarming story about a cat and a ragtag group of other animals piloting a sailboat after a flood wrecks their homes.
The movie has no dialogue but still manages to so clearly show the emotions and motives of each of its characters. To have a full film without dialogue is something so unique, it was the only animated film on the list that felt really fresh and special.
While every other film nominated is also a feast for the eyes, “Flow” has such a charming animation style, I couldn’t help but be obsessed.
The cell-shading reminded me of video games I’ve spent hours playing, and the cozy vibe that the animation has is uniquely comforting without even trying.
From start to finish, I never looked away once. The animation of water, the way light shines, the way each character moves and looks is all something so special to this film makes it so obvious that it was crafted with the utmost amount of love.
The love for the characters in this film also made so much sense when I learned that each character was based on research done either on the artists real pets or real animals at zoos.
While multiple films on the list made me incredibly emotional, “Flow” was just something so special.
I don’t think we’ll see anything like it again.
Another standout category this year, best actress is one of the most important categories of the Oscars. It’s no surprise so many eyes are on it this year.
Though it might be a controversial choice, I have to choose Demi Moore as best actress for her work in “The Substance.”
While most of the actresses in this category did stunning work, Demi Moore was the only one that I feel so strongly deserves to win.
“The Substance” is a genuinely fascinating film, and to see a horror film (a genre continuously snubbed at the Oscars) go for so many awards is so exciting as a fan of the genre, and to see its starring actor nominated is even better.
Demi Moore’s portrayal of a forgotten tv star using a lab-made substance to create an “ideal” version of her (played by Margaret Qualley), leading to both a mental and horrifying physical spiral is absolutely show-stopping.
To so accurately represent the pressure women feel as they get older to remain these timeless, beautiful, inhuman people, especially in the entertainment industry, was beyond impressive.
Demi Moore was one of my personal favorite acts of the year, so I’m hoping besides my better judgment that she can take the award home— but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cynthia Erivo win for her performance in “Wicked” either.
In a year full of underwhelming nominations, the one category I really felt strongest about was supporting actor.
There are certainly strong nominations in the category— Edward Norton in “A Complete Unknown,” and Jeremy Strong in “The Apprentice” both had showstopping performances— but the obvious winner in this category has to be Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain.”
Culkin’s performance in “A Real Pain” was one of the best of the year, full stop. His portrayal of Benji Kaplan, a incredibly blunt, straightforward, sometimes childish man struggling after the death of his grandma, is a standout performance.
The most impressive thing about Culkin’s performance is his ability to make the audience uncomfortable. There are multiple moments throughout the movie where I was hiding behind my hands, horrified by his actions or words.
Early in the movie when we meet the secondary characters, one of them introduces himself as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Hearing Culkin burst out with an “Oh Snap” and having all the other characters go quiet was one of our first introductions to his character, and even though it made me cringe, it was a clear showcase of what else was to come from him.
Despite his sometimes uncomfortable and inappropriate comments, Culkin’s character also is shown as incredibly lovable and charismatic. He has a deep understanding of all the other characters and is able to almost instantly connect to them.
Culkin’s ability to depict such a real character floored me. I was horrified by his actions, laughing at his jokes, and even crying during heavier scenes that occurred later in the movie, and never once did I remember that this was all just an actor in a movie.
The ability to make the audience forget that they’re watching a film is something everyone should admire an actor for.
The way that Culkin was able to make his acting so realistic, and express his characters struggles in such subtle ways was what really made him standout. With a story that centers around it’s characters as much as “A Real Pain” does, there’s nothing to take the focus off of its main cast, but Culkin never once disappointed.
For me, no other actor in the category could replace Kieran Culkin for best supporting actor.
The Oscars are always a spotlight event of the year, and despite being less than impressed with certain nominations, I’ll still be on my couch glued to the tv this year like any other.
Before March 2, take your time to watch some of the movies nominated, and I guarantee you won’t be able to peel your eyes away from the screen.
For a full list of nominations, visit the official website of the Academy at https://www.oscars.org
