Now that the 95th Academy Awards nominations have been revealed, it’s time to catch up on everything you’ve missed. OK, maybe not everything (there is no need to watch Bardo… believe me), but at least the 10 films nominated for Best Picture.
You’ve probably seen at least two of them, considering Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office (or in the case of the Avatar sequel, $2 billion), and maybe the indie hit of the year, A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. But for everything else, and/or if you want to re-watch the beach football scene, here’s where you can find all the Best Picture nominees.
All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)
If 1917 (and to some extent, War Horse) were stories of survival, gussied up with big technical gimmicks, All Quiet on the Western Front is an even more visually beautiful film that never lets you forget the main point about The Great War: it was A Bad Idea That Ended Badly. Edward Berger drives this point home studiously, meticulously, poetically, and by the end, a little repetitively.
Avatar: The Way of Water (it’s still in theaters)
Going into Avatar: The Way of Water, I’d say I was Avatar-neutral. I was looking somewhat forward to this new movie because I love James Cameron movies and they are so far and few between, but on the other hand I don’t have strong feelings about Avatar one way or another and probably would have been even more excited if this were True Lies 2 instead. But, like the first movie, the technical wizardry won me over and the story is deeper and richer.
The Banshees of Inisherin (HBO Max)
Like In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin is a dark movie that is often downright hilarious… It’s quite remarkable that a movie that plays as a giant metaphor also works so well as its own story. And that has a lot to do with Farrell and Gleeson settling back into their comedy routine they perfected 14 years ago in In Bruges.
Elvis (HBO Max)
Baz Luhrmann is a lot like any other director, only more so. Likewise, Elvis has a lot of the scenes and conflicts we’ve come to expect after 20 years with the musical biopic format, only in this case with the volume cranked to 11 and the saturation pinned at 100; sameness to the point that it starts to become hallucinatory and inspired.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Showtime)
What makes Everything Everywhere work is not that it’s zany, it’s that it actually finds a purpose for its zaniness, or least tries to. The Daniels are provocateurs, brilliant technical filmmakers. More importantly, they strive not to be full of sh*t. God bless them.
The Fabelmans (Amazon Prime Video)
While only a man as hopelessly corny as Steven Spielberg would dare to name his own origin story “The Fabelmans,” only as competent a filmmaker as Spielberg could actually make it work. And The Fabelmans is miles better than Spielberg’s last few (West Side Story, Ready Player One, The Post…). It’s at its best when it dares to be what Spielberg movies so rarely are: weird.
Tár (Peacock)
Todd Field’s Tár is fantastic. It’s one of those movies that’s so good, it makes you a little angry that it’s been 16 years since Field’s last movie, Little Children. Then it might even make you more angry that this is only Field’s third movie since his debut with 2001’s In the Bedroom. With Tár, he’s three for three.
Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount+)
It’s been 36 years since Top Gun. Top Gun: Maverick feels like a movie that is looking back on its younger self, noticing how brash and cocky it is. There’s some regret in those eyes about some of the choices made. But, also, yeah, that movie was also pretty cool. What if we take what we know now, and use that reflection on the past to make something even better? But, also, keep a good helping of all that cool? That’s Top Gun: Maverick. A movie that totally didn’t need to exist, but my goodness I’m glad it does. This is how “blockbuster” movies should be done.
Triangle of Sadness (Amazon Prime Video)
At its best, Triangle of Sadness looks something like Below Decks meets Parasite, where the social mores of the yachting class are more deeply delved into than on Bravo, combining highbrow class comedy with universal puke and poop jokes (yes, there is sea sickness). Östlund’s scenes are always memorably shot and staged (which is probably what helped win him his second straight Palme D’or at Cannes — Force Majeure won a jury prize) but it’s also hard not to notice that his skewering stick often doesn’t seem all that sharp, especially compared to the aforementioned Bong Joon-ho.
Women Talking (it’s still in theaters)
Sarah Polley has done justice to the book alongside a powerhouse cast that includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Frances McDormand, and more. The film has earned a spot in the early Oscar conversation, and it’s very, very easy to see why.
