The Oscars at Our House

We saw 9.5 of the 10 Best Pic Nominees

FOR MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS NOW, Mrs D and I have made it an annual quest to see all of the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars telecast.

It started in 2000, when there were only five nominees (instead of up to 10 like now) and we usually had to see them in a theater, because they weren’t available to rent on VHS yet. (Yes, I said VHS).

And we’ve done it every year since, except for 2019 which was interrupted by Mrs D’s infamous extended hospital stay. We have even ventured to other cities to see movies that weren’t playing at the one theater in our little town. I remember seeing Chocolat in Ukiah and more recently The Revenant in Rohnert Park. But now we can usually stream everything, and this year the whole project ran us around a hundred bucks in streaming rentals and purchases on top of our existing subscriptions to Amazon, etc.

Several years ago I started writing about our tradition on Facebook. Now the writeup itself has become part of the deal. As I’ve said before, I’m no film student, nor expert critic. Just a regular dude who loves movies.

Snap reviews and top picks below.

American Fiction – Bold, wryly funny, contrarian, with the ring of truth. Brilliantly calls out the publishing industry, where retread tropes seem to trump story, art and insight, particularly when it comes to depictions of Black characters and writers. And I feel like there’s an even larger truth here about the way culture is degraded in general through over-commercialization.

Anatomy of a Fall – A French film that moves carefully, piece by piece, and manages to be slow and taut at the same time. I found the characters to be inscrutable. I feel like I need to watch again just to see if maybe this time I would fully understand these people. It left me with a suspicion that perhaps all the story’s secrets have still not been revealed, that the resolution we see on the screen is still not the truth of these characters. And, in this case, that ambiguity is a good thing.

Barbie — Cleverly funny in spots, but also unsubtly preachy in spots, an issue I’ve had with director Greta Gerwig before. But Margot Robbie was perfect and the movie is visually stunning in all its pinkish glory and devoted detail. Still, I think this movie appears in the Best Picture category more on the strength of its perceived politics than its success as an artistic endeavor.

The Holdovers — A darkly funny, entertaining, and deeply reflective odd couple sort of story that’s enjoyable to watch. Maybe a little out of its league in the Best Picture category, but elevated to a higher status by Paul Giamatti’s performance, which is irresistibly engaging as always. Well worth a second watch.

Killers of the Flower Moon — Having read the book, I felt the impact of the true part of this story was diminished by the fictionalized part of the movie. Reading the book I was deeply struck by the callous indifference shown toward the humanity of the Osage Indians. It resonated like an echo of Shindler’s List, underlining the incredible and frightening capacity of humans to rationalize literally any behavior in their fear or greed. But the movie revolves around Ernest Burkhardt (Leonardo DiCaprio) and depicts a somewhat tried and true arc of romantic tragedy, a weak-minded man caught up in the schemes of others, pulled along by greed and the need for approval, until he is in the process of killing the only real love he’s ever known. As is often the case, the truth was more complex. And more disturbing.

Maestro – I usually make a conscious effort to limit my preconceptions of these movies. I don’t read reviews or watch trailers. But it’s hard to avoid a relentless ad campaign like the one mounted for Maestro. I’d seen the rousing TV spots touting the performances and the early awards. But I found the movie depressing, its characterization of Bernstein disappointing and unlikeable. But yes, Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan were both outstanding. 

Oppenheimer – Not what I would call a pleasant watch, at times slow and ponderous, even confusing with some of the time jumps. But the acting was so engrossing, immersive, mesmerizing even. Cillian Murphy in the title role was riveting. Robert Downey Jr simply disappeared into the role of Lewis Strauss. Emily Blunt was also captivating as Kitty Oppenheimer. The effects director Christopher Nolan used to heighten the sense of Oppenheimer’s interiority were brilliant and effective. For example when Oppenheimer steps on a charred corpse that only exists in his tortured, guilty mind. But the lasting impact of this film is the way it echoes in the mind afterward—how sad and terrible and absurd it is that we reckless humans have attained the power to destroy the world. It will probably win Best Picture. And it probably should.

Past Lives – Eventually, someone had to do a movie like this — an old romance is rekindled through the internet and complications ensue. In this particular case the past romance is an adolescent crush, cut short by one family’s immigration, and later complicated not just by the years, but also by geographic and cultural distance. This one stayed with me, kept me thinking for days afterward about its larger implications regarding fate, destiny, acceptance, grief and closure. Well worth more than one watch.

Poor Things – Half of this movie was twice as much as I needed. We actually turned it off, extremely rare for us during Oscar season. What we saw played like a terrible excuse for some creepy, gratuitous soft porn. All the weirdness of the sets, costumes, cinematography and makeup felt like a desperate attempt at artistic status. If someone out there actually saw some redeeming value in this thing, feel free to explain in the comments section what I am missing.

The Zone of Interest – This one’s all in German, with subtitles. But the dialog is sparse and the film’s biggest strength is in the fascinating dichotomy presented in its basic premise. It gives us a window into the surprisingly mundane personal lives of a “normal” family literally in the shadow of Auschwitz during the Holocaust. The sense of cognitive dissonance is alarming.

Honorable Mention – I don’t usually do this, but I wanted to mention one film that was not even nominated for Best Picture but, in my opinion, should have been. Nyad has wonderful, engaging performances by Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, and it’s a suspenseful, satisfying, story of friendship, determination, human spirit, and triumph over the longest odds.

Finally, here are my choices for the top awards.

Don’t worry, the Academy almost always disagrees.

Actor in a Leading Role: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer

Actress in a Leading Role: Annette Bening, Nyad

Actress in a Supporting Role: Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Best Picture: Oppenheimer

Soon it’s time to pop the popcorn, get cozy on the couch, badmouth the fashion and root for your favorites.

Happy Oscars folks.

The Oscars airs Sunday, March 10 at 4pm, on ABC