The 95th Academy Awards are approaching fast, so what better time to rank all 10 of this years Best Picture nominees. This is the second year since the Academy changed their rules to ensure a fixed number of ten films nominated for best picture rather than setting an arbitrary limit of 10 based on voting results. The lineup this year is incredibly strong and arguably a lot better than last years nominees with all 10 films being at the very least great. From long-awaited blockbuster sequels to the biopics, character dramas and more typical Oscar bait, this year’s nominees were all vastly different from each other and may have helped permanently redefine what an Oscar movie is. Without further ado, read as we rank all 10 of this year’s nominees.
Women Talking
It almost feels wrong to put Women Talking at the bottom of the list as it is easily one of the most important and timely films in the entire lineup but unfortunately, some tough choices have to be made when ranking a lineup as good as this. The film features one of the best ensembles of 2022 and is such a strong acting showcase for its extremely talented cast. Each performer is firing on all cylinders especially Claire Foy and Jessie Buckley who both deserved so much more recognition this award season than what they received. The entire cast has terrific chemistry together and this simply wouldn’t work without them. Given the subject matter, it can be very difficult to watch at points and while it doesn’t shy away from its dark subject matter, it understands that it doesn’t need to necessarily show it to be any less effective or powerful. Meanwhile, it thankfully has many moments of levity that are implemented at all the right moments. Many were pleasantly surprised that it snuck into the Best Picture lineup but it absolutely deserves to be there and it’s shocking that the film somehow only managed to get 2 nominations. The adapted screenplay award could go any way, but at the end of the day, this seems like this will end up on top and Sarah Polley will officially become an Oscar winner.
Triangle of Sadness
Not only is it one of the most divisive movies in the lineup, it is one of the most divisive movies of 2022. Reactions to Triangle of Sadness are still as all over the place now as they were when it first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May. Some people think it is one of the greatest films of last year thanks to its sharp and biting social commentary, while others absolutely hated their experience watching it. Triangle of Sadness is a very funny and extremely entertaining film if one can get behind it or are fans of its type of humor. The film pokes plenty of fun at the rich and wealthy and though it isn’t exactly subtle, it is admirable at how far it’s willing to take that and it results in some of the more outrageous scenes in a film in recent memory particularly the now infamous puking sequence. The biggest issue with the film and why it’s not higher on the list is the length is how it starts to drag in its last hour and especially in the third act before abruptly ending. However, everything that comes before and the unpredictable and hilarious nature of it all thankfully helps one look back on the experience of watching it very fondly. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t nominated for the one award everybody was predicting it would get and the one it was the most deserving of (Dolly de Leon for Best Supporting Actress). In the end, it’s still highly impressive that the film ended up making it in the Best Picture lineup and earning 3 nominations overall.
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the most brutal, haunting, and hard-hitting war films in recent memory and there’s no denying how daunting, powerful, and absolutely unrelenting of an experience it is as it will leave most viewers completely drained by the end of it. This past year had a lot of technical achievements and this is easily one of the best and deserves to sweep most of the tech categories at the Oscars. Everything from the cinematography to the score, production design, and makeup work is nothing short of excellent and it’s no surprise this is one of the most nominated films at the ceremony because of it. The combat sequences almost play out like a horror film due to the gritty authenticity of them and Edward Berger’s stunning direction makes you feel like you’re in the trenches alongside these men. It’s also a small miracle how brilliant and devastating of a lead performance Felix Kammerer gives and how he’s able to convey so much emotion through his facial expressions alone especially considering this is his first major film. While Everything Everywhere All at Once is the clear frontrunner to win Best Picture at this point, if anything were to upset it, it would likely be this and it seems like it has quite a few awards already locked in for a win.
Elvis
Many seemed to write this film and lead Austin Butler’s awards chances off almost immediately after the film was released in late June, but ever since seeing it all the way back in the summer, it always felt like it could be a major player in this year’s awards race and now here we are only a short distance away from the Academy Awards, it’s one of the most nominated films. Elvis is technically another biopic about a famous musician, but Baz Luhrmann’s touch and style helps it standout and never feel like a traditional biopic. It is one of the most energetic and electrifying films of 2022 that also played well on the big screen, featuring tons of praise worthy technical aspects. However, the biggest takeaway from the film and why it works so well is Butler’s absolutely mesmerizing performance. He captures Elvis’ larger than life persona but also his inner pain and torture. From his voice (which is still the topic of many conversations and debates) to his looks and mannerisms, Butler transforms into Elvis so much so that one has to remind themselves that they are not watching Elvis himself. Best Actor is one of the tougher and more competitive categories this year, and it really could go to Brendan Fraser or Colin Farrell but as of right now, it looks like it could be Butler’s for the taking and he’d be absolutely be deserving of the win.
Tár
Tár is an utterly fantastic film and one of the most fascinating of last year, so it almost feels wrong or weird that it didn’t even crack the top 5 on this list. This is the type of film that stays with you and grows on you the further you are removed from it. It’s a multilayered and ambiguous character study with one of the most compelling and intriguing lead characters in recent memory in Lydia Tár. This film explores so many different things and everything is explored in such a captivating way. A lot of it is left open to interpretation and sometimes refuses to answer certain questions but that only adds to the intrigue, including its lead character. In a career full of brilliant performances and 2 Oscar wins already, Cate Blanchett’s work as Lydia Tár might be the best in her career. She’s a complete revelation who commands the screen throughout the entire 158-minute running time and delivers a towering and breathtaking performance. As much as most of us would love to see Michelle Yeoh win her first Oscar on Sunday night, Blanchett would be equally deserving and arguably gives one of the best performances of all time. Todd Field’s direction and approach to this story won’t be for everyone, but we rarely see films like this get made at all anymore and Field was the perfect person to make this. Hopefully we don’t have to wait as long for his next film.
Avatar: The Way of Water
It does feel somewhat odd that with all the massive success Avatar: The Way of Water saw with critics, audiences and financially, it could only secure 4 Oscar nominations, but it is still amongst the best of the nominees and was absolutely deserving of all of its nominations. The film was worth the 13-year wait and is without a doubt one of the most mind blowing and visually breathtaking movie going experiences of all time. The VFX are some of the best ever put to film and builds on or improves on the original. The characters and emotional core are much stronger this time around and despite its lengthy running time, it keeps audiences engaged and completely immersed in the world even when the story takes a backseat to the visuals. James Cameron continues to establish himself as the master of sequels with a sequel that’s bigger, more personal, more emotional, and ever better than its already iconic predecessor and he continues to push technology to new heights. On one hand, it is a bit upsetting that this scored so few nominations but at the same time, if the rest of the sequels are of the same quality, then there’s still more than a few opportunities for the series in the future. This doesn’t really have any shot of winning, but it’s nice that it got the nomination.
The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin is Martin McDonagh’s best film to date, seamlessly blending pitch black comedy and tragedy together to create such a unique tone that only McDonagh could’ve pulled off. This is a very funny film with several big laughs throughout, but it isn’t afraid to get extremely dark and depressing when it needs to and thankfully McDonagh finds a perfect balance between the two vastly different tones. The film tackles a lot of different themes that will no doubt resonate with a lot of viewers and despite the strangeness of the premise and world these characters live in, it’s the kind of film a lot of people will be able to relate to in more ways than one. It also helps that it has such an excellent cast and the four main performances from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan are nothing short of exceptional, bringing these characters to life in ways that only they can. All of them are worthy of Oscar wins but Farrell in particular gives the best performance of his career. The way he goes from hilarious to deeply tragic in the span of a scene is nothing short of remarkable and his final few scenes in the film are amongst the finest acting he’s ever done. But make no mistake Gleeson, Condon, and Keoghan match him every step of the way and hopefully this isn’t the last time we see Farrell and Gleeson share the screen together. There’s something seriously wrong if this ends up walking away with zero Oscars.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
What more is there to even say about Everything Everywhere All at Once? The film premiered a year ago today at the SXSW Film Festival to glowing reviews and has generated many conversations and opinions that are still ongoing and growing to this very day. It’s chaotic, action packed, hilarious, powerful, endlessly entertaining, unbelievably creative, and deeply heartfelt with four pitch perfect performances from Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and Jamie Lee Curtis. It’s the most nominated movie at the Oscars and as of this moment, seems to be the clear front runner to win the most awards and the biggest prize. It’s insanely impressive how much this has swept nearly every award show this season both big and small, and the Oscars seems to be the next stop in its journey. This could very well win 3 acting awards, Best Director and Best Picture among others when it’s all said and done, and it’s just so refreshing and inspiring to see a film of this nature get this far. There’s never been a movie like this one before and it’ll likely be a long time before a film makes as big an impact as this one did. It might not be our #1 on this list but it’s absolutely deserving of the win, and we can’t wait to see what that means for the future of the Academy Awards if it does.
Top Gun: Maverick
Most of us expected Top Gun: Maverick to be a big hit and most likely to be very good, but were any of us expecting it to be far and away one of the best films of the entire year and one of the most critically beloved alongside breaking numerous box office records? Blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick seldom come along and this is undoubtedly one of the greatest in recent memory. From the extremely immersive action sequences that makes you feel like you’re in the jets with the actors themselves to the surprisingly emotional and touching character work, Maverick is a crowd-pleasing winner in just about every way. Few films can make audiences laugh, cheer and cry as much as this one did and the fact that it brought back a certain demographic back to the theaters can’t go unmentioned. It takes a true movie star to lead something like this and Tom Cruise guides it with ease and injects it with so much heart and genuine emotion. Some still think this has a chance to win based on the preferential ballot and while it’s odds might not be as high as they once were, there would be absolutely no disappointment on our end if this was announced as the next Best Picture winner.
The Fabelmans
If The Fabelmans came out 10-years ago, it likely would’ve been the frontrunner to win best picture and a slew of other awards all season. It started off as the front-runner but like most early front runners commonly do, struggled to maintain that momentum throughout the season and now is looking likely to walk away with 0 awards which is just depressing to think about. The Fabelmans is a magical experience that feels different than anything Steven Spielberg has done before and not only is it one of his best films of the past few decades, but it’s one of the finest films of his entire career. This is clearly his most personal film to date and it’s shocking how much of his life he puts on screen for the whole world to see. It’s a sweetly nostalgic, relatable, and thoroughly entertaining coming of age story that’s made all the more special knowing it’s based on Spielberg’s own childhood and how much heart he pours into every scene. Spielberg cast everyone perfectly, especially Gabriel LaBelle who shows so much range and raw emotion well beyond his years. If we ran the Oscars, this would likely win nearly every award it was up for. Even if this does walkaway from the ceremony empty handed, there’s no denying how special and inspiring of a film it is and how much it will continue to inspire future generations of filmmakers. There’s been countless great films released recently about the power of filmmaking and Hollywood, but this might just be the very best of the bunch and tops our list.
Find out who wins the Oscar for Best Picture tomorrow night as the 95th Academy Awards tomorrow night on CTV and ABC.
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