Disclaimer: not all films mentioned are right for all audiences. View with care.
Ahh, the Oscars. Although I would consider myself a viewer, I never put much stock into their significance until this year.
The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are held annually to celebrate achievement in film. This year, on March 10 at 6 p.m. CDT, Oscar recipients will win in categories spanning from Actress in a Leading Role to Best Sound Editing. Historically, the Oscars have also been denoted as a predominantly white institution in which white entertainers received the majority of the accolades, thus birthing the social campaign #oscarssowhite. However, this year is a step in the right direction in terms of diversity.
This year, Lily Gladstone became the fourth Native American nominee for Best Actress in Oscar history, America Ferrera became the first-ever nominee of Honduran descent across all Oscar categories, and three female directors – Greta Gerwig, Justine Triet and Celine Song – have films nominated for Best Picture for the first time. Overall, the nominees and films nominated were more widely diverse and representative of the world as we know it.
This was the inaugural year of the Academy’s implementation of inclusion and representation standards, and four of the eleven films nominated for Best Picture are partially non-English, the majority of the nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category are women of color, 19% of women nominated are women of color, and overall, women make up 33% of the nominees.
Now that I feel as if the Oscars seem more worthy of watching, and my general film interest has also been spurred by one Virginia Skipworth, I have decided to take it upon myself to predict the winners of the Oscars.
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(Netflix)Bradley Cooper in “Maestro”Click through the nominees to find Bianca's winners!
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(Netflix)Colman Domingo in “Rustin” -
(Miramax)Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers”Almost there!
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Jeffrey Wright in “American Fiction”
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Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer”
"Oppenheimer" SHOULD win.
"Oppenheimer" WILL win.
“Oppenheimer” was truly one of the best films of 2023, and one of the main reasons for this was because of Murphy’s performance. He illustrated the tumultuous range of emotions associated with the creation of the atomic bomb with a near-perfect approach, which was truly commendable.
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Sterling K. Brown in “American Fiction”
Click through the nominees to find Bianca's winners!
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(Apple TV)Robert De Niro in “Killers of the Flower Moon” -
Ryan Gosling in “Barbie”
Almost there!
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Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things”
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Robert Downey Jr. in “Oppenheimer”
"Oppenheimer" SHOULD win.
"Oppenheimer" WILL win.
Downey’s performance in “Oppenheimer” was the best I’ve seen from him in his career. Namely, the final scenes of “Oppenheimer,” in which the final pieces come together, are the ones that truly highlight the genius of Downey in this film.
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(Netflix)Annette Bening in “Nyad”Click through the nominees to find Bianca's winners!
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(Neon)Sandra Hüller in “Anatomy of a Fall” -
(Netflix)Carey Mulligan in “Maestro”Almost there!
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Emma Stone in “Poor Things”
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(Apple TV)Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon”
“Killers of the Flower Moon” SHOULD win.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” WILL win.
Gladstone’s performance deserves every award. A must-watch. That’s it.
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Emily Blunt in “Oppenheimer”
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Danielle Brooks in “The Color Purple”
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America Ferrera in “Barbie”
Almsot there!
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(Netflix)Jodie Foster in “Nyad”
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(Miramax)Da'vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers”
“The Holdovers” SHOULD win.
“The Holdovers” WILL win.
“The Holdovers” is a phenomenal movie, and aside from Angus Tully’s performance, Randolph’s matronly role was near perfect. Her presence in the film truly helped supplement the performances of the other actors, a true embodiment of what a supporting actress should do.
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(Disney)“Elemental” by Peter Sohn and Denise ReamClick through the nominees to find Bianca's winners!
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(Netflix)“Nimona” by Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary -
“Robot Dreams” by Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz
Almost there!
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“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” by Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” SHOULD win.
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“The Boy and the Heron” by Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
“The Boy and the Heron” WILL win.
To me, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is the best movie on this list, especially because of how innovative it is when it comes to animation and special effects. However, “The Boy and the Heron” was much adored in the critics’ eyes, and for that reason, I believe it is the front runner.
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(Neon)“Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet
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“Poor Things” by Yorgos Lanthimos
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(A24)“The Zone of Interest” by Jonathan GlazerAlmost there!
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(Apple TV)“Killers of the Flower Moon” by Martin Scorsese
“Killers of the Flower Moon” SHOULD win.
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“Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan
“Oppenheimer” WILL win.
Scorsese and Nolan are two of my favorite directors. I want Scorsese to win primarily because of the attention to detail in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” ranging from the teaching of the Osage language on set to the costume design by the Osage people. However, given the critical acclaim both “Oppenheimer” and Nolan have received, I believe the academy will lean towards Nolan for the nod.
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“American Fiction” with Laura Karpman
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“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” with John Williams
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(Apple TV)“Killers of the Flower Moon” with Robbie Robertson
Almost there!
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“Poor Things” with Jerskin Fendrix
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“Oppenheimer” with Ludwig Göransson
“Oppenheimer” SHOULD win.
“Oppenheimer” WILL win.
Göransson created a score that perfectly aligned with the objectives of the movie. It expressed the sense of urgency, the successes and the failures experienced by Oppenheimer and those in the Manhattan Project as a great score should do.
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“American Fiction” by Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers
Click through the nominees to find Bianca's winners!
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(Neon)“Anatomy of a Fall” by Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, Producers
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“Barbie” by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers
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(Miramax)“The Holdovers” by Mark Johnson, Producers
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(Netflix)“Maestro” by Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
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(A24)“Past Lives” David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers -
“Poor Things” by Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, Producers
Almost there!
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(A24)“The Zone of Interest” by James Wilson, Producer
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(Apple TV)“Killers of the Flower Moon” by Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, Producers
“Killers of the Flower Moon” SHOULD win.
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“Oppenheimer” by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“Oppenheimer” WILL win.
Despite my initial worries about watching a movie for three-and-a-half hours straight, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is easily my favorite movie of the entire year, and I truly believe it deserves all of the awards because of its actors, director and the attention it brought to an often forgotten moment in history. However, I do believe that the award will go to “Oppenheimer” for the same reasons: critical acclaim to both the actors and director as well as how it provides deeper insight into the mentality behind one of the most life-altering inventions in world history.
