The 96th edition of the Oscars are being held on Sunday. It was a very strong year for films. The cultural meme Barbenheimer (“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”) racked up 21 nominations, but not giving “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig and lead actress Margot Robbie nominations was seen as a snub. This year was also a very popular one for biopics, including “Maestro”, “Rustin” and “Nyad”, in additon to “Oppenheimer”. 

I spent the last week watching the majority of these films and have come up with predictions on who will win in some of the major categories.

Best Actor 

Bradley Cooper – Maestro

Colman Domingo – Rustin

*Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer

Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Paul Giamatti gives such a great performance, and the bond that grows between his character, teacher Paul Hunham, and student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa)  is such a wonderful experience. The relationship develops during a lonely Christmas break, a time of year that brings a lot of people down. The film and Giamatti make the Giamatti’s character relatable as Hunham struggles with depression and is disliked by everyone he knows. The movie becomes emotional as Hunham develops from cruel, selfish person to a kind teacher who cares for others and appreciates life by sharing the similarity of being an outcast with Tully. 

Best Actress

Annette Benning – Nyad

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan – Maestro

*Emma Stone – Poor Things

“Poor Things” had a different vibe than the other films I watched. There was a sense of uncomfortableness when watching Emma Stone, who plays Bella Baxter, a pregnant woman who killed herself, but is brought back to life with the mind of her baby. Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) teach her basic life skills. Later, she travels with a lawyer (Mark Ruffalo), who she ends up in an adulterous relationship with. Stone makes viewers both uncomfortable and humored as she learns about topics such as philosophy and socialism, and eventually her “creation”. The journey Stone takes as this character is hard to watch at first, but the viewer comes finds peace as Bella does, eventually becoming a respected and educated woman.

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

Nominees:

Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction

Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

*Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer

Ryan Gosling – Barbie

Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Robert Downey Jr. should finally gets his first Oscar win after a strong performance as government official Lewis Strauss, an initial supporter of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). As the film progresses, Strauss comes to despise Oppenheimer and transitions into the villain of the film. Strauss shows pure hatred and jealousy towards Oppenheimer, and expresses his feelings through a great monologue.

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

Nominees:

Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple

America Ferrera – Barbie

Jodie Foster – Nyad

*Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

This movie’s strength comes from the performances of actors Paul Giamatti, who plays boarding school teacher Paul Hunham, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays the school’s head cook, Mary Lamb. Lamb recently lost her son, a student at the school, during the Vietnam war. At the beginning of the film, she keeps to herself and doesn’t speak to anyone else except Mr. Hunham. She resents the students, who don’t appreciate the education she wanted for her son. Mary goes from snappy with Mr. Hunham and student Angus Tully — who are stuck at the school over Christmas break with her — to breaking into tears at a  Christmas party to finally accepting the loss of her son and opening herself up to help from others. The journey that Lamb has as she deals with loss is so emotional, and Da’Vine Joy Randoplh is the sure winner for this category.

Best Animated Feature Film

Nominees: 

The Boy and the Heron

Elemental

*Nimona

Robot Dreams

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The film “Nimona” is set in a futuristic medieval setting where an institution trains a group of knights.One knight named Ballister Boldheart comes from poverty and is in trouble after being framed for killing the queen. He gets help from shapeshifter Nimona. Nimona is seen as a monster and hated by everyone at first glance. The story  carries themes of hate of the unknown that the LBTQ community can relate to, and has an emotional ending. Nimona is a satirical film, but it does carry a heartfelt message, and is a film everyone should watch and will enjoy. 

Best Picture

Nominees: 

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

*Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

This was definitely the hardest category to judge, but “Oppenheimer” is the definite favorite to win. The film has great cinematography and scenery, and has a wonderful ensemble cast with surprisingly good chemistry. Cillian Murphy is a strong lead, and Emily Blunt, who plays his wife, is a strong supporting character, while Robert Downey Jr. is an incredible twist villain. During the entire three hours it took to watch the film, I did not look away for even a second. The movie showcases the divide on whether atomic weapons are inhumane. The moral conflict is very present throughout the film and it makes you think. The film portrays America as a country motivated by a desperation to win the war and fearful of communism.