best film: Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is the best film of 2023. Nolan opens Oppenheimer with a simple title – fission (a thread largely shot in color, focused on Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer) and then shortly after, another title – fusion (largely shot in black and white, more centered on Robert Downey Jr.’s Lewis Strauss). The entire film can be viewed as montage – particularly the cutaway-heavy commencement – which is a rapid sonic boom of audio/visual design made in the vein of Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011) – capturing the inner workings of atomic energy as well as placing the viewer in J. Robert Oppenheimer’s head space. With Oppenheimer, Nolan again proves himself to be a parallel editing savant – slicing and dicing the various time chronologies, subjective versus objective, fission versus fusion, and color versus monochrome. On top of Nolan’s muscular filmmaking – the dialogue fires – lines like “power stays in the shadows” delivered by the heavyweight ensemble.
a stunning composition from Nolan’s Oppenheimer – Nolan is more of a grand compiler, organizer, orchestrator (much like Oppenheimer himself at his little town in Los Alamos – a sort of Nolan surrogate – much like Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb character in Inception) than a painter – but the 70mm/Imax large format pays off in spades regardless.
most underrated: The critical consensus did an admirable job in 2023. They acknowledged the worthy films of Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves) Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), and Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) – all of their films landing in the consensus top ten (10). But the works of Pablo Larraín (El Conde), Emerald Fennell (Saltburn), and Chad Stahelski (John Wick: Chapter 4) were not duly recognized and appreciated. These three (3) films failed to even register on the TSPDT top fifty (50) – and that is frustrating given their rather obvious cinematic achievements. This is Larraín’s third (3rd) top ten film (Jackie in 2016, Spencer in 2021) and Fennell confirms that 2020’s Promising Young Woman was not the work of a one-hit wonder. Clearly, it is time to pay attention to Stahelski as an artist – not just confine him to his miraculous aptitude for stunt work or even the backhand compliments as one of the contemporary action genre’s finest directors. John Wick: Chapter 4’s cinematographer Dan Laustsen should certainly be given his credit – but even Lausten’s collaborations with Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak in 2015, The Shape of Water in 2017, and Nightmare Alley in 2021) may not hit the highs of his latest project with Stahelski.
from John Wick: Chapter 4 – the Osaka Continental at the 45-minute mark. Chad Stahelski nods to Lawrence of a Arabia with the blowing out of the candle on the horizon edit transition in the desert as well. The film is occasionally slowed by just the sheer amount of stunt work (even if it is virtuoso stunt work) on display – but not enough to detract from the greater accomplishment. The Japanese lanterns setting makes for a breathtaking backdrop for the duel between Caine (Donnie Yen) and Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) – but really it is just one tremendous sequence in a film filled with them – one awe-inspiring set piece after another.
from the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan opening – just one of the many immaculate photographs from John Wick: Chapter 4. And the final duel is as satisfying (and elegantly composed) as anything in 2023 cinema – or the history of the action genre.
Stahelski unquestionably cares about background as much as foreground. There is a lengthy fight episode in front of the glowing glass displays of historical Japanese weapons. Later, at the 65-minute mark, there is a wide shot of the Marquis (a very game Bill Skarsgård) at the Berlin opera. The Marquis and Winston (Ian McShane) have a scene in front of a wall of paintings, and here a great arrangement in front of the Eiffel Tower.
doubling and mirroring in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn – pairing style with content. Barry Keoghan’s Oliver envies Jacob Elordi’s Felix – his house, family, life.
There is a dazzling tracking shot when the location of Saltburn is introduced – the tour given by the Felix (Jacob Elordi) character (where Oliver’s eyes, and the camera, do not leave Felix) – that is brought back (doubled) for the bold, memorable final tracking shot.
most overrated: Todd Haynes’ May December (#3 on the consensus list), Justine Trier’s Anatomy of the Fall (#5) and Celine Song’s Past Lives (#7) are all commendable films. All three (3) are unhesitantly archiveable – but they lack the cinematic ambition to be ranked that highly among the year’s best. Past Lives is a well written story about love. Anatomy of a Fall has a superior domestic argument scene – and May December may be the best of the three – they are just told in a pragmatic fashion.
trends and notables: July 21st, 2023, is certainly the most important day in cinema for the 2020s thus far. The date marked the release of “Barbenheimer” – contending films released on the same day: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Both films had strong reviews from critics (neither debuted at any festival) and obviously touched something in the cultural zeitgeist. These were easily the two (2) most talked about films of the year – and both were triumphs at the box office. 2023 is the best single year in cinema since 2019. Like 2019, 2023 featured a big year at Cannes – titles like Asteroid City, Fallen Leaves, Killers of the Flower Moon, and The Zone of Interest all premiered on the French Rivera. 2023, like 2017 with Dunkirk, is a tough year for Nolan-deniers. Nolan has cemented himself with the all-time great montagists and on par with the leading auteurs of his generation. Speaking of that generation – it is fun to track the influence of say David Fincher on contemporary cinema. Oppenheimer owes a debt of gratitude to Fincher’s 2010 masterpiece with the dueling hearings and rat-a-tat dialogue. BlackBerry or Boston Strangler probably do not exist without the director who delivered The Social Network, Se7en, and Zodiac. 2023 is yet another extraordinary year for animation with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and then the great Hayao Miyazaki coming out of retirement for The Boy and the Heron. It is worth noting that that this superior year for animation is achieved really without much help from Disney. The underrated category gives room for budding talents like Fennell and Stahelski. Yorgos Lanthimos is no longer in this class. Lanthimos has bumped up to the next tier with his 2023 entry – Poor Things. His latest both stands alone and compliments 2018’s The Favourite –– putting Lanthimos closer to that master canon. As for Jonathan Glazer, he may not be Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky or Carl Theodor Dreyer, but it feels like a win for cinephiles any year he releases a film – his last film prior to 2023 was 2013’s Under the Skin – so that is a ten year gestation period – here is to hoping Glazer’s next effort lands before 2033. Overall, 2023 is a impressive year for cinema – and usually this page and category is reserved for the what was accomplished and what did come to fruition – but one of the most anticipated titles of 2023 and exciting newer voices has to be mentioned when discussing 2023. Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid is a film ambitious in content – but not form or style – and that comes as a resounding disappointment after his previous two efforts – 2018’s Hereditary and 2019’s Midsommar.
Ben Travis from Empire on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse “…Nowhere does that come through stronger than in Gwen’s Earth-65, all washed-out watercolours that shift seamlessly with the storytelling, her emotions blossoming into a symphony of swirling hues — pure cinematic synaesthesia. And as the film opens with an extended section in her world (this is Gwen’s film as much as it is Miles’), your mind will be blown ten times over before the opening credits even roll. It’s utterly breathtaking.” https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse
Gwen’s Earth-65 excerpts make for some of the finest moments in animation history
from Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest. Glazer starts and ends the film on a prolonged blank screen – dwelling on the visual emptiness and tuning the audience’s ears with the score from Mica Levi – both foreshadowing and reminding viewers of the crucial audio component of The Zone of Interest. Much of the horror is not shown – but can be heard from the Höss’ villa. The Zone of Interest is told with an icy severity – a debt to owed to both Kubrick and perhaps Michael Haneke. Glazer’s compositions are not Roma or Kubrick – but he does let the action play out in long shots without close-ups like say Jacques Tati. Like Under the Skin’s weaker van pickup handheld camera episodes – Glazer blinks here in The Zone of Interest a few times formally – there is a singular fade to red, a flash forwards to a modern day cleaning company tidying up the concentration camp, and that running infrared thread that subtracts from the greater whole. But still, there is much to praise here – including the gobsmacking frame where Rudolph (Christian Fridel) is at a Nazi gathering (one of few scenes away from that home set piece) surrounding by antlers on the wall – Glazer captures it all in one sublime painting.
gem I want to spotlight: Highlighting two (2) films here – Cord Jefferson’s debut American Fiction is a sharp satire with juicy roles for lead Jeffrey Wright (who also has a small role in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and continues his 2020s hot streak) and Sterling K. Brown in support. But David Fincher’s The Killer is probably the hardest film to leave off the top ten (10) of the year. Fincher employs a philosophical voice-over, chapter breaks, the violent (from an unexpected source) needle drops lyrics from The Smiths. Fincher’s work is never less than exacting – with his trademark dark lighting with green and yellow hues. The Killer also features a dedication to specific color in the mise-en-scene (the green taxi and recycling uniform/sign are no mistake). The Killer also serves as a bit of a comeback for Michael Fassbender who had a whopping thirteen (13) archiveable films from 2008 to 2016 but then nothing of particular note from 2017 to 2023 until he connected with Fincher.
after a one (1) film hiatus dabble in greyscale for 2020’s Mank – David Fincher returns to his trademark lighting and color palette for 2023’s The Killer
best performance male: Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. give the two (2) best performances of the year – and then both happen to be in the same film. Murphy plays the titular character and gets the center of Nolan’s spotlight. Murphy gets some fabulous large format 70mm/Imax close-ups – and Nolan even use changes lens focus (with an aggressive audio arrangement) as Murphy’s face acts as the backdrop for a subtle delivery of complex emotions – heavy guilt – chief amongst them. Downey’s work as Lewis Strauss is nearly as spectacular. Downey is formidable throughout – but, in particular, his verbal sparring with Alden Ehrenreich as the noose tightens around him and Strauss loses his cool – is evidence of Downey’s genius. Strauss is frothing with anger – Downey has never been better . Barry Keoghan lands amongst the best of 2023 with his work as Olivier Quick in Saltburn. Quick is Emerald Fennell’s Tom Ripley – and Keoghan is up to the task of portraying this serpentine character. Mark Ruffalo nabs the final spot for 2023 as Duncan Wedderburn in Poor Things. Ruffalo takes some big swings (Lanthimos sets up every actor in the film so well) and can confidently add comedy to his long list of competencies as an actor.
a devastating Jonathan Demme or Barry Jenkins-like close-up from Oppenheimer – these aid Cillian Murphy’s nuance performance. Nolan often opts for a shallow focus to direct the viewer to his subject’s murky psychological state.
best performance female: Emma Stone is back in this category for her work Bella Baxter in Poor Things. This is Stone’s second consecutive Lanthimos film (2018’s The Favourite) mention for this category – giving her a whopping four (4) total for her career already. Stone’s performance is in tune with Lanthimos’ bizarro-brilliant world-building – fisheye lenses of Frankenstein meets The Wild Child. 2023 is a huge year for German actress Sandra Hüller. She is in two big films: Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest – both debuted to rave reviews at Cannes (Anatomy winning the coveted Palme d’Or) and both would end up nominated for best picture at the Oscars. It is Hüller’s work in The Zone of Interest that will live on as her finest work to date and the higher-ranking of her two (2) 2023 films. in The Zone of Interest Hüller plays Hedwig Höss – a ghastly woman. Hedwig is vain – caring about her home, her garden, her minks – and unlike her visiting mother, Hedwig sleeps soundly despite what is going on just beyond her own backyard. Scarlett Johansson stands out from the rest in the ever-growing traveling band of Wes Anderson actors. Johansson plays Midge Campbell in Wes’ Asteroid City – and it is no surprise that Scarlett nails Wes Anderson’s deadpan delivery ask. Lily Gladstone gets the final mention of the year in Killers of the Flower Moon. Gladstone has excelled before (Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 effort Certain Women is evidence of her gifts) – but to walk away from Martin Scorsese’s opus with the best performance in the film – a notch above both Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro – is enough alone to warrant a spot here.
Scarlett Johansson as Midge Campbell in Asteroid City – among the finest frames of 2023
top ten
- Oppenheimer
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Asteroid City
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Poor Things
- The Zone of Interest
- Saltburn
- Fallen Leaves
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- El Conde
Wes Anderson is moving closer to the Akira Kurosawa The Bad Sleep Well (1960) or High and Low (1963) territory with the staging of heads and bodies in the frame. Anderson also utilizes the white bungalow (pictured here) and window to create a frame within the frame – always symmetrical and designed with rich detail (look at the blue tiles on the floor in the observatory – these would serve as the background for the overhead shots). Wes Anderson loves exploring the impact of art on life – that whole dissection – but that aspect aside, the film may work better without the black and white making of a play sequences. Though by including them, it does make the color Asteroid City sequences pop – like The Wizard of Oz door opening.
from Killers of the Flower Moon – the slow motion oil blowout in the opening is a standout scene – as is the frame layout here at the 170-minute mark of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest reuniting with Lily Gladstone’s Mollie
this shot is just a few minutes later – reminiscent of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s jaw-dropping “the stare” cinematic paintings in 1974’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Scorsese’s radio show epilogue is a tough choice. Still, Scorsese succeeds in his goal of telling this story – and it is a powerful one – even if, as a piece of cinema, it sits a tier or two below his best work.
from Pablo Larraín’s El Conde. The film combines violence with tongue in cheek voice over narration. It features elegant classical music and beautiful black and white photography. Luis Buñuel would have been proud of El Conde sharp attack on Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. El Conde features great doorway frame at the 58-minute mark (another later at the 83-minute mark), the low-angle show in the pool hall at the at the 67-minute mark. The cinematographer here is Edward Lachman. And it may tell the story of two 2023 films that Lachman worked on El Conde and did not work on Todd Haynes’ May December (Lachman is the cinematographer of both Far from Heaven and Carol from Haynes).
from Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. This is yet another accomplished entry in the storied career of Coppola. Her protagonist (Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla Presley) is insolated, isolated, affluent and stared at – thrust into an eccentric, often dangerous world she is unprepared for. This is The Virgin Suicides (1999), Lost in Translation (2003) or Marie Antoinette (2006).
Archives, Directors, and Grades
| A Haunting in Venice – Branagh | HR |
| Afire – Petzold | R |
| Air – Affleck | R |
| American Fiction – Jefferson | R |
| Anatomy of a Fall – Triet | R |
| Asteroid City – W. Anderson | MS/MP |
| Barbie – Gerwig | R |
| Beau is Afraid – Aster | R |
| BlackBerry – M. Johnson | R/HR |
| Boston Strangler- Ruskin | R |
| Dumb Money – Gillespie | R |
| Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – Daley, Goldstein | R |
| El Conde – Larraín | HR |
| Evil Dead Rise – Cronin | R/HR |
| Extraction II – Hargrave | R/HR |
| Fair Play – Domont | R |
| Fallen Leaves – Kaurismäki | HR |
| Full Circle – Soderbergh | R |
| Infinity Pool – B. Cronenberg | R/HR |
| John Wick: Chapter 4 – Stahelski | MS/MP |
| Killers of the Flower Moon – Scorsese | HR |
| Leave the World Behind – Esmail | R |
| Maestro – B. Cooper | R |
| May December – Haynes | R |
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – McQuarrie | R |
| Oppenheimer – Nolan | MP |
| Passages – Sachs | R |
| Past Lives – Song | R |
| Poor Things – Lanthimos | MS |
| Priscilla – S.Coppola | R/HR |
| Rye Lane – Allen-Miller | R |
| Saltburn – Fennell | HR/MS |
| Sharper – Caron | R |
| Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Dos Santos, Powers, Thompson | MS/MP |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Rowe, Spears | R/HR |
| The Boy and the Heron – Miyazaki | R/HR |
| The Holdovers – Payne | R |
| The Killer – Fincher | HR |
| The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – W. Anderson | R |
| The Zone of Interest – Glazer | MS |
| They Cloned Tyrone – Juel Taylor | R |
| You Hurt My Feelings – Holofcener | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-See- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
*** one final note here. As of publish date here (though the page will be updated in the future of course) there are forty-two (42) archiveable films from 2023. Unfortunately, at the time of putting this page together, I was unable to get to a number of the best reviewed films of 2023 including Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, Close Your Eyes, The Delinquents, Music, All of Us Strangers, La Chimera, About Dry Glasses.
Who’s 2024’s Dion Waiters? I’d go Dennis Quaid for The Substance or Plemmons for Civil War
Best films of 2024:
1.Anora
2.All We Imagine As Light(a rare Indian film)
3.Dahomey(Documentary from Mati Diop-Atlantics)
4.No Other Land(Another Doc)
5.The Substance
6.Nickel Boys
7.I Saw the TV Glow
8.Hard Truths
9.Challengers(Another Josh O’Connor vehicle)
10.Caught by the Tides
11.Grand Tour
12.Misericorde
13.The Brutalist
14.Afternoons of Solitude(A Doc from the director of Pacifiction)
15.Juror #2
16.Megalopolis
17.Love Lies Bleeding
18.Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat(A doc)
19.The Seed of the Sacred Fig
20.A Different Man
21.Emilia Perez
2024 seems quite weak when compared to the great films from 2023
Kind of stupid actually as Dune Part Two was at No.6 in most critics’ lists and also had some of the most #1 mentions. Same for Oppenheimer. It had the most #1 mentions and was No.2 overall after KOTFM.
@Parmeet-You are not taking into account International Critics.
Best film of 2023(Correct list):
1.Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
2.La Chimera
3.The Zone of Interest
4.Killers of the Flower Moon
5.Fallen Leaves
6.Evil Does Not Exist
7.Close Your Eyes
8.Anatomy of a Fall
9.May December
10.Poor Things
11.Oppenheimer(whoops)
12.The Beast
13.Past Lives
14.Barbie
15.Last Summer
16.Janet Planet
17.Afire
18.The Human Surge 3
19.All of us Strangers
20.The Delinquents
21.Perfect Days
22.The Holdovers
23.Music
24.About Dry Grasses
25.Asteroid City
26.Passages
And the 2024 list:
1.Anora
2.All We Imagine As Light(a rare Indian film)
3.Dahomey(Documentary from Mati Diop-Atlantics)
4.No Other Land(Another Doc)
5.The Substance
6.Nickel Boys
7.I Saw the TV Glow
8.Hard Truths
9.Challengers(Another Josh O’Connor vehicle)
10.Caught by the Tides
11.Grand Tour
12.Misericorde
13.The Brutalist
14.Afternoons of Solitude(A Doc from the director of Pacifiction)
15.Juror #2
16.Megalopolis
17.Love Lies Bleeding
18.Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat(A doc)
19.The Seed of the Sacred Fig
20.A Different Man
21.Emilia Perez
No sign of Civil War
And Dune: Part Two. The first one was in the top 10 of 2021.
Heavy downgrade to Killers of the Flower Moon in the updated TSPDT list for 2023 going from #1 to #4. Now the top 25 is:
1.Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
2.La Chimera
3.The Zone of Interest
4.Killers of the Flower Moon
5.Fallen Leaves
6.Evil Does Not Exist
7.Close Your Eyes
8.Anatomy of a Fall
9.May December
10.Poor Things
11.Oppenheimer(whoops)
12.The Beast
13.Past Lives
14.Last Summer
15.Janet Planet
16.The Human Surge 3
17.All of us Strangers
18.The Delinquents
19.Perfect Days
20.The Holdovers
21.Music
22.About Dry Grasses
23.Asteroid City
24.Passages
No sign of John Wick: Chapter 4(first one is in the list), Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse(the first one is very high in the list and would come at #2 for 2023)-Sequel phobia? And no sign of Saltburn(Promising Young Woman is in the list) either.
2023 was a very strong year. That is a strong top 10, although I would have About Dry Grasses in there and a different sequence.
@Palmer-About Dry Grasses is here at #22. I don’t think Do Not Expect Too Much at #1 and Oppenheimer at #11 is a good look for the TSPDT Consensus.
@ Drake- How is 2024 looking? Do you like what you seen so far. Is this a year that changes the story of this decade or another downer?
I am hearing a lot of great things about Nickel Boys. Have you had a look?
@AP- just caught The Brutalist and some others. I have not yet had a chance at Nickel Boys. I have some wood to chop so to speak on 2024 still. How about you? What are your thoughts?
@ Drake-Did you caught I’m Still Here from Walter Salles?
@rxaxp-How can you say Anora is a stronger contender to win Best Picture than Emilia Perez? Emilia Perez literally beat Anora at the Globes for Best Picture. It’s a serious threat for Best Picture. You bring up CODA and especially Green Book, they are no worse than Emilia Perez. At least they were enjoyable and Green Book especially is a very nice film to turn on around Christmas time. It just breezes by.
You were saying? Anora won the Critics’ Choice, the PGA, the DGA and the WGA. The only film who won all those awards and lost Best Picture was Brokeback Mountain, and we all know why that happened. So, I guess I wasn’t that far off on my predictions. Even if some other film were to beat Anora, it would definitely not be Emilia Perez. And as far as the Globes are concerned, let me remind you that The banshees of Inisherin also beat Everything Everywere all at Once two years ago, and that meant absolutely nothing.
Also, I stand by what I said about Emilia Perez being better than CODA and Green book. Miles better, I would add.
@rxaxp-Clearly there is a big controversy going on with Emilia Perez now. It’s titular person is not even allowed to attend the ceremonies with the others. Before the controversies Emilia Perez was definitely the favourite and won over Anora at the Golden Globes.
Emilia Perez is not miles better than any worthy film. Being ambitious and falling flat many times doesn’t make it better than a well made conventional film like Green Book.
Like I said, winning the Globes doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.
@Malith- I’m aware of him but I’ve not seen his films. I wish to get to Central Station and now this also.
My pleasant surprise was Maria getting cinematography nom.
@M*A*S*H-I think Salles’ most famous film is The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004 actually. All 3 of these were Oscar nominated.
@Malith- i didn’t realise that motorcycle diaries was him. I guess I should check him out.
@M*A*S*H-The Cinematography branch loves Edward Lachman. They nominated him for El Conde last year too. So in a way, it’s quite predictable.
@Malith- this means the film was under their radar but no Jolie.
@Malith-I think the Cinematography branch is more individual than other branches. El Conde, Maria and Inarritu’s Bardo as well only got in for Cinematography and nothing else.
when we seeing 2024 in review?
@wingnutzredux75 – appreciate the comment and interest. I don’t actually know if I’m going to do a 2024 page. I wish had the time to dedicate to it- right now I’m fighting to just have time to watch the films and hop on for a few comments once a day. If I did a 2024 page- it would be in the spring
@Drake-What are the archivable films do you have for Margaret Qualley? I was sad she missed out on a nom for The Substance.
@Malith- again, haven’t double-checked- so here’s the rough draft – four (4)
2019- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2023 -Poor Things
2024- Kinds of Kindness
2024- The Substance
@Drake-Did you see her films with Ethan Coen(Drive-Away Dolls) and Clair Denis(Stars at Noon)?
@Malith- I did see both of these- yes
I don’t take Oscars very seriously but couldn’t stop thinking that Villeneuve missing on the nomination is such a travesty. Audiard’s nom over Villeneuve is a joke. I don’t wanna sound baseless l judgemental as I’ve not seen a complete unknown but (considering Mangold’s previous works) , Mangold’s nom over Villeneuve is also a joke.
Even bigger joke is the fact that Eggers wasn’t even a contender.
I know Academy’s definition of best picture (socio-political relevance > quality of the film or social message > quality of the film etc)
but now I seriously wanna know it’s definition of best director.
As for acting Maria is Angelina Jolie’s Single best work. She’s probably the best female performance of the year. Kirsten Stewart got nominated for Spencer with just GG and CC noms so I thought she would too. What a miss? It’s also a biopic performance something that Academy just savours to death. Idk what happened.
(I’m glad that Maria got Cinematography nom.)
They should totally change the name of acting categories with “best campaigner” then Cynthia Erivo can win.
@Drake and others what are your thoughts on some of noms. Although I don’t think anyone here takes Oscars very seriously. That’s good!
@M*A*S*H- Yeah, it can be frustrating- but I try to come in with very low expectations and be pleasantly surprised when they get it right (like a number of nominations for The Substance).
@Drake- haha. That’s really a nice way to do it.
I was not surprised by The Substance getting many nominations. I knew it would. It probably belongs in Parasite category of films based on their way of looking at it. They are not appreciating it for the reasons we’d appreciate it but for its uniqueness.
@M*A*S*H- Good point, actually. Many are probably appreciating The Substance for the statement it makes
@Drake- yepp. If they appreciated it the way we appreciate it here, then they’d appreciate Dune part 2 as well.
@M*A*S*H-Walter Salles is a decent auteur and I was pleasantly surprised by the Fernanda Torres and the Best Picture noms for I’m Still Here.
@Malth- Austin Butler for Dune Part II best supporting actor.
@nick connolly-This is not happening. I think out of the non nominations this year Kirsten Dunst-Civil War and Timothee Chalamet-Dune: Part Two are the major misses.
@Drake-Who do you like to get Oscar nominated out of these possible contenders?
Best Director:
Brady Corbet(The Brutalist)
Jacques Audiard(Emilia Perez)
Sean Baker(Anora)
Edward Berger(Conclave)
Coralie Fargeat(The Substance)
James Mangold(A Complete Unknown)
Denis Villeneuve(Dune: Part Two)
Payal Kapadia(All We Imagine As Light)
John M. Chu(Wicked)
RaMell Ross(Nickel Boys)
Best Actor:
Adrien Brody(The Brutalist)
Ralph Fiennes(Conclave)
Timothee Chalamet(A Complete Unknown)
Colman Domingo(Sing Sing)
Daniel Craig(Queer)
Hugh Grant(Heretic)
Sebastian Stan(A Different Man)
Sebastian Stan(The Apprentice)
Jesse Eisenberg(A Real Pain)
Best Actress:
Demi Moore(The Substance)
Mikey Madison(Anora)
Cynthia Erivo(Wicked)
Karla Sofia Gascon(Emilia Perez)
Fernanda Torres(I’m Still Here)
Pamela Anderson(The Last Showgirl)
Angelina Jolie(Maria)
Marianne-Jean Baptiste(Hard Truths)
Kate Winslet(Lee)
Tilda Swinton(Room Next Door)
Nicole Kidman(Babygirl)
Amy Adams(Nightbitch)
Saoirse Ronan(The Outrun)
Zendaya(Challengers)
Best Supporting Actor:
Kieran Culkin(A Real Pain)
Edward Norton(A Complete Unknown)
Yura Borisov(Anora)
Guy Pearce(The Brutalist)
Jeremy Strong(The Apprentice)
Denzel Washington(Gladiator 2)
Clarence Maclin(Sing Sing)
Jonathan Bailey(Wicked)
Mark Eydelshteyn(Anora)
Best Supporting Actress:
Zoe Saldana(Emilia Perez)
Ariana Grande(Wicked)
Isabella Rossellini(Conclave)
Danielle Deadwyler(A Piano Lesson)
Jamie Lee Curtis(The Last Showgirl)
Margaret Qualley(The Substance)
Felicity Jones(The Brutalist)
Selena Gomez(Emilia Perez)
Monica Barbaro(A Complete Unknown)
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor(Nickel Boys)
Adriana Paz(Emilia Perez)
Elle Fanning(A Complete Unknown)
Best Picture:
The Brutalist
Anora
Conclave
Emilia Perez
A Complete Unknown
The Substance
Dune: Part Two
Wicked
A Real Pain
September 5
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Challengers
@Malith- still catching up. I caught Emilia Perez two days ago, A Real Pain last night. So I’m still in the phase where I’m catching up on them
Was Emilia Perez archivable? The backlash against its Golden Globes win has been pretty brutal.
@DeclanG- I do have it in the archives. There will end up being 35 better films from 2025 or more but it certainly has its strengths as well
@Drake-You consider Emilia Perez a 2025 film?
@Malith-Emilia Perez is a 2024 film
I probably would have raised an eyebrow at it getting as many nominations as it did, but the backlash against it has been so brutal, so narrow-minded and so unrelated to its merits (or lack thereof) as a piece of art that I’m actually enjoying all the senseless whining. I hope the Academy doubles down on it, to be honest. At least they would prove they’re not easily swayed by random social media tantrums.
@rxaxp-This thing is the favourite to win Best Picture with the most Oscar nominations given to any film in 2024. It’s not absurd that it is getting backlash.
@Malith-The backlash started way before nominations were announced, and if we’re being fair, the film is highly unlikely to win Best Picture. People just look at the number of nominations and assume that means it’s the favourite to win, but it doesn’t work like that. Emilia Pérez is not the favourite to win in any major category. Writing? It’s gonna go to Conclave. Directing? Corbet has been unstoppable for months now. Cinematography? There’s no way. Lead actress? Deeply unlikely. Editing? Well, there’s a chance there because there is no clear favourite, but I doubt it happens. It absolutely needs to win this award if it wants to get a chance at BP, but even if it does I don’t think it’s gonna be enough. The last film who won Best Picture without winning in at least one of these key categories was The greatest show on Earth, and that was more than 70 years ago. My money would be on The brutalist (which is definitely gonna win Best Director and could very well add Best Actor and Best Cinematography to its total) or Anora (which is definitely gonna win Best Original Screenplay and still has a chance of winning Best Actress).
But that being said, let’s pretend for a moment that Emilia Pérez were to win BP. Would it be the end of the world? Would it be such big a tragedy as to merit having thousands of people whining about it online for months now? The problem is that people take these things WAY too seriously. Don’t give me wrong: I love award season, as you can probably tell. I have a lot of fun following the state of the race and so on, but you have to take it for what it is. I’m not expecting my favourite film to win because that rarely happens, and I’m old enough to not get angry at the choices they make. I hated CODA, and CODA won. Ok, I mean, that’s fine, I guess. Would I have liked The power of the dog to take it? Sure, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t make me love it any less. One of my favourite films of the century lost against Green effing book. Whatever. It’s not a big deal.
@Drake- Any Jiří Menzel films in the archives?
@Alt Mash- Closely Watched Trains
Hi I have just discovered this page and have been browsing through the site and your work is very impressive. Just wanna ask if you have watched the Brutalist and how many archivable films are there for Adrien Brody? Thanks!
@Jackson- thank you for visiting the site and the kind words here. The Brutalist is next on my list- I haven’t seen it yet. I haven’t vetted this yet- so could be some errors- but here’s the archiveable list for Brody:
1993- King of the Hill
1998- The Thin Red Line
1999- The Summer of Sam
2002- The Pianist
2004- The Village
2005- King Kong
2007- The Darjeeling Limited
2011- Midnight in Paris
2014- The Grand Budapest Hotel
2021- The French Dispatch
2022- Blonde
2023- Asteroid City
@Drake – Have you caught All We Imagine As Light yet? If yes, how was it for you?
@Parmeet- It is on my radar- but I have not had the opportunity to see it yet
@Drake-Do you think The Substance is Demi Moore’s best performance? How many archivable films do you have for her?
@Anderson- six (6) films I believe for Demi in the archives. I think its Ghost or Substance.
1990- Ghost
1991- Mortal Thoughts
1992- A Few Good Men
1997- Deconstructing Harry
2011- Margin Call
2024- The Substance
D. Moore was also in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).
@Anderson- thank you- but you should not feel obligated to send notes like this. If I ever did publish some of these resumes on a page I’d have them researched and vetted before.
Is every Nicole Holofcener film in the archives?
@Lionel – I believe so- 7 for 7
@Drake-What’s your pick for her best film out of the 7?
@Lionel- I’m not sure there’s a standout- and they work better as a collection
Isn’t Killers of the Flower Moon very similar to Dogville in its narrative? A female character getting tortured, especially by the one who she loves the most in the town. Then the FBI/gang comes and put those murderers in jail/kills them.
@Drake What are the standout performances from whatever you have seen in 2024? For me, it was Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Andrew Scott on the male side; Demi Moore, Qualley and Jolie on the female side
@Joel- Thanks for sharing your standout performances here- I haven’t really sat down yet to think about 2024 as a year- still too much to see
Makes sense. Also, this year has been rather quiet – hopefully 2025 is better but I heard Inarritu’s next is releasing in 2026 and rumours of PTA being pushed to 2026. But let’s see
@Drake-Did either Rustin or Sing Sing made the archives? What’s your thoughts on Colman Domingo as an actor?
@Lionel- I’ve seen Rustin (and no on the archives- a better performance than film) and have not caught Sing Sing yet.
The Sight and Sound Poll of 2024 just dropped its results and you won’t believe the rankings.
All we Imagine as light at #1, Anora at #2,, The Substance at #6 and surprise, Emilia Perez and MEGALOPOLIS at #17 while DUNE PART TWO is #41.
It’s just unbelievable. Just goes to show the quality of critics we have today. If such critics were in the 70s, some of the greatest auteur-driven blockbusters ever like The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Jaws or Star Wars wouldn’t be half as acclaimed as they are today.
Critics these days barely understand the craft behind filmmaking and just look for cultural or political messages they identify with.
This poll is a clear proof of the level of film criticism in mainstream media today.
@Alex-Did you watch All We Imagine As Light?
@Anderson – I did, here in India. It was brilliant. I have it in my top 3 this year along with Dune Part Two and Ripley. The Substance is wonderful as well and I haven’t seen Anora and The Brutalist yet but the list is totally shocking. It’s completely imbalanced.
@Drake – When can we expect your 2024 page to be uploaded?
@Alex – appreciate your interest here. I currently do not have any plans to do a 2024 page. Maybe that’ll change. But it would be like Spring of 2025.
@Drake-Did you manage to catch The Apprentice or A Different Man with Sebastian Stan?
@Lionel- Both are on my radar- but not yet on catching them
Cannes didn’t have a significantly better year than Venice in 2023.
Cannes:
Asteroid City
The Zone of Interest
Killers of the Flower Moon
Fallen Leaves
Anatomy of a Fall
May December
Venice:
Poor Things
El Conde
The Killer
Priscilla
Maestro
Hit Man
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar