Best Picture Deep Dive

The Oscars are in one week, and it's time to take a serious look at this year's Best Picture contenders. My brother, William, and I discuss what we liked and didn't like about this year's movie roster. And Sam stops by to give her thoughts halfway through! Beware... there are spoilers below for several of the movies, so if you plan on watching, you may want to skip that section.

All Quiet on the Western Front | Nine Nominations | Available on Netflix
[Editor's Note: I couldn't watch this movie because it's too violent.]
William: I haven’t seen a lot of war movies, so I don’t know how to compare it. But it’s very anti-war. It’s very dangerously repetitive, but that’s the point they’re going for to show how people are dying over and over for no reason. So you’re watching it and you think, 'Oh they’re doing this again.' But that’s exactly what they’re going for and they’re not shy about it. It’s weird. I think I liked it. Who likes war movies? Who says that’s their favorite genre?
Annie: I think some people do… Do you think it should have gotten as many nominations as it did?
William: When you’re watching, you're thinking it’s impressive that they pulled all of this off. There are a lot of effects. It’s covering the same war as 1917 [World War I], and I thought it would be really funny if we saw the guy running, the famous scene from 1917. They’re so different because 1917 takes place in real time, whereas All Quiet takes place over a couple years. It's a really well made movie. A weird Best Picture Contender though, but people have really been recognizing it. It got the most nominations at the BAFTAs. It has the second most nominations here.

Avatar: The Way of Water | Four Nominations | Available in theaters
William: Avatar is… a masterpiece.
Annie: Do we need to tell people what happened?
William: We thought… Avatar is a long movie. It’s a big movie. It’s got VFX. We should see it in a movie theater or else we’re never going to want to watch it. And what happened? We watched half of it in a movie theater and half of it at home. Not because we wanted to leave. But because we were forced to leave. Someone smelled smoke and the rest is history.
Annie: Basically someone smelled smoke in our theater and we all evacuated, and the movie theater staff didn't tell us much. So we left and watched the rest on the TV. 
William: It did ruin the experience a little bit. I loved Avatar, and maybe I would have loved it even more if it wasn’t interrupted. I was having a blast! I did not expect to like this movie at all, and I had a great time. It’s a lot of fun and you do feel like you were hanging out with your buddies! 
Annie: Oh my god…
William: I cannot believe it. But I had a blast. Now you say what you think because you’re crazy.
Annie: It’s just not for me! I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I liked when they learned the way of the water. I don’t know how people watched the first movie in just the forest. I’ve never seen the first movie, except for Sam doing a dramatic reading of it.
William: A dramatic reading of the plot synopsis! Not the entire movie.
Annie: I liked the sibling dynamics and them meeting people and going on adventures. I liked the shunned whale.
William: The whale scenes were my favorite too.
Annie: It was just too long.
William: Well it felt longer because we had a 20-minute intermission!
Annie: Did it feel like a cop out to you that it's the same villain as the first movie?
William: It’s hard to say because I saw it so long ago… it feels like that.
Annie: That’s what it felt like to me.
William: It seems like… spoiler alert…
Annie: It might be the same villain for the third?
William: I liked how the water people thought the land people were such losers, even though they’re war heroes! But they were like, 'Well you don’t know how to swim!' And it’s because they were busy saving the entire world!
William: Avatar received four Oscar nominations.
Annie: That’s it?

The Banshees of Inisherin | Nine Nominations | Available on HBO Max
Annie: I really liked this movie. It’s very sad and haunting and kind of disturbing, so I was surprised I liked it. Colin Farrell was incredible. Kerry Condon was incredible… I love a sister character! And I thought it was really funny and well written. It was an interesting exploration of how people view themselves and their needs in a friendship and loneliness and how selfish or selfless people can be in their relationships.
William: I thought it was boring. It wasn’t interesting. I didn’t care about what happened to anyone.
Annie: You weren’t rooting for anyone?!
William: Not really… Brendan Gleeson’s character was just a jerk. I was so uninterested and I thought it was going to be my favorite movie. The further I get from it, the more I don’t like it. People lied and said it was so funny… and they advertise it as a comedy.
Annie: I definitely don’t think it’s a comedy. What did you think of the performances?
William: They were fine. Barry’s performance was my favorite.
Annie: Colin Farrell was amazing.
William: What was he doing?
Annie: Breaking my heart!
William: It’s a front runner for Best Picture. I feel like I gave it a scathing review.
Annie: You kind of did, but I think it’s because you were so disappointed.
William: I know. The whole time I was watching I was going, 'This is the movie everyone is talking about?'

Elvis | Eight Nominations | Available on HBO Max
William: Elvis is a complicated movie to talk about because it feels like 10 movies. I’m so glad Baz Luhrmann didn’t get nominated for director because the movie doesn’t have a direction. Elvis was disappointing because there’s a good movie in there. You feel like if someone else had edited or directed all of this footage, it could have been a good movie. It’s ridiculously too long. It’s too much about Tom Hanks [who plays Colonel To, who is giving a horrible performance. It’s barely about Elvis, it should have been called Colonel! Elvis is a supporting character, especially for the first half. It did have some entertainment value and that’s about its only redeeming quality. Austin Butler is good. But then it would cut away from him. Every time someone starts to be good it would move to the next scene or time jump or spin around. I also thought Olivia DeJonge [Priscilla] was very good but barely in it.
Annie: I completely agree with everything you said. It was a weird movie, filled with weird choices. Austin Butler is incredible in it. Every time he's not there, I wanted him to come back on screen. It’s sad that you’re stuck with so much Tom Hanks, making some of the weirdest choices I’ve ever seen. I’d love to know why they were made.
William: I’d like to know why they were accepted.
Annie: His accent is wrong!
William: There are videos of the Colonel talking.
Annie: There are videos of the Colonel talking with a completely different voice, so I don’t know what Tom Hanks is doing but he’s not doing that! So what is he doing? It’s bizarre.
William: Why is it narrated by him? Why is he always popping up?
Annie: The best scenes were concert performances – they were so good. The filming of the Christmas special was the best sequence in the movie.
William: The best.
Annie: I don’t think this should be a Best Picture nominee. And I’m upset on behalf of snubbed biopics from other years, specifically Rocketman, which was such unique take and took directing risks that really paid off, exactly the opposite of Elvis.

Everything Everywhere All at Once | 11 Nominations | Available on Showtime
William: This is my favorite of the Best Picture nominees. It’s just totally original and crazy and it has the most nominations at the Oscars with 11. It’s a blast. It’s so much fun. There’s a lot of love for it, and I’m into it.
Annie: I’m really rooting for this movie. It wasn’t my favorite best picture. I had a mixed reaction to it. I didn’t expect it to be so fantastical. I thought I was going to love it more than I did. My favorite scenes were the ones where you got the characters interacting in a more grounded setting – like the parking lot scene with Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu, which made me cry, followed closely by the scene with Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh where he says, “In another life I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”
William: That’s my favorite scene.
Annie: I’m rooting hard for it to succeed in pretty much every category. The acting is amazing. I thought this was going to be a movie people loved but award shows wouldn’t recognize, and I'm so glad I'm wrong. It’s been so fun to watch Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan finally get to give these beautiful speeches after years of either leaving the industry or struggling to get leading roles or roles at all. It’s fun to see them have a platform to shine and be the stars of this movie, which wouldn’t be the same without them.
William: There’s something about this whole ride that the movie has been on that’s just so incredible! There was so much put into it. I can’t compare it to anything I’ve ever seen before and the way it’s touched people. It has a really good chance of winning Best Picture and hopefully a lot of other categories as well.

The Fabelmans | Seven Nominations | Available to rent
Annie: I loved The Fabelmans. Until…
William: Until it became West Side Story near the end.
Annie: The high school scenes were such a step below the rest of the movie.
William: My big issue with The Fabelmans is it’s about Spielberg’s life. But it is and it isn’t… I’m annoyed he didn’t double down on it. Why can’t we say, 'This is Steven?'
Annie: Have you seen that now they’re more explicitly saying it’s about Spielberg? They weren’t doing that earlier in the press tour.
William: Yes! At first they were like, 'It kind of is…' I’m imagining if someone is watching this and has no idea it’s about Spielberg. Some people don’t know all the context behind it. The movie needs to stand on its own. If you didn’t know it’s about Spielberg’s life, do you care?
Annie: I really liked thinking about how Spielberg became the director he is today and how is brain works and how he conceptualizes movies. And that’s what I was thinking while I was watching. That’s what made it interesting to me.
William: Me too.
Annie: You think it should have been The Spielbergs?
William: Yes.
Annie: It’s bizarre that they want it to be a step removed. Because when you look at pictures of Spielberg’s parents, these people were cast to look like his parents. It’s weird to make that many specific choices but then change the name. I guess it’s to make it a more universal story.
William: But then if that’s the attempt, I think it falls short. Because I don’t think I would have cared as much. I don’t know if it’s good enough to stand on its own without it being about Steven Spielberg.
Annie: Gabriel LaBelle was incredible.
William: I agree.
Annie: And if you’re giving an acting nomination to this movie, it should be to Gabriel LaBelle and not anyone else.
William: It does go all over the place… is it a family movie? Is it a coming of age, high school movie? Is it about the passion of filmmaking? And it’s really all of them. It felt like it was structured a few different ways and it would focus on one aspect and then jump to another, and that made it a little inconsistent. In the end, it felt like it all came together, and that’s why I had a great time watching it. I love the final scene.
Annie: The final scene was great. I imagine, and it sounds like based on interviews, that it was a difficult movie for Steven to do. It’s a very honest portrayal. It critiques himself. It critiques his family members. It’s very impressive to take such an honest and critical approach to his childhood and how it shaped him.

Tár | Six Nominations | Available on Peacock
Annie: I have never seen you look to check how much time is left in a movie before and you did that during Tár.
William: In the movie theater!
Annie: And I think that sums it up.
William: Tár is my least favorite of the best picture nominees. People whose favorite movie of the year is Tár, I worry about them. I don’t know what on earth they are talking about. Tár is so weird. It’s a character study; it’s not a narrative. The more you find out about this person… you’re realizing the scenes previous were not what they seem.
Annie: Which I think is the most interesting part.
William: People say if you rewatch Tár, it’s very funny, because this woman who thinks the world of herself is actually egotistical to the point of craziness. She’s a predator.
Sam: Cate Blanchett's ability to get the nuance of the lack of self-awareness was what I liked about her performance.
William: It’s way too long. I thought it was really boring. She becomes so unlikeable to the point where I stopped caring what happened.
Sam: The aspect I really enjoyed and thought was the most real was the commentary on intellectuals and academics and the lack of self-awareness. It was interesting to look at power dynamics from a female point of view, especially from a queer woman, and to have an anti-hero like that. But I don’t think they fully succeeded in delving into that.
Annie: Cate Blanchett did a great job.
William: I think anyone could have done a great job with it. We also had a weird theater experience… there were those people sitting on the floor laughing and on their phones. Why were they there?

Top Gun: Maverick | Six Nominations | Available on Paramount+
Annie: Unfortunately... this is my favorite Best Picture nominee. I don’t think it should win Best Picture! I don't think it is the Best Picture. But it’s the movie I enjoyed the most.
William: Top Gun is a fun movie. It’s a blockbuster.
Sam: It’s a really good sequel.
William: It had so much to live up to and it really surpassed expectations. People expected it to be bad or not feel like a sequel. But it’s fun and suspenseful.
Annie: I had so much fun watching this movie. I don’t support Tom Cruise. But I do like that they did so many real stunts with the planes and to me that’s what makes it worthy of getting into Best Picture. I don't think it should have gotten a screenplay nomination. My biggest issue with the movie is that Miles Teller’s character needed to go through more of a journey to trigger a change. Instead it felt like suddenly a switch flipped and I think that could have been improved.
William: And the whole argument that it’s making about manned planes doing dangerous things… and they just show over and over again how dangerous it is! And it proves the points of the antagonists that the plans should be unmanned.
Annie: That’s why it shouldn’t be nominated for its screenplay!

Triangle of Sadness | Three Nominations | Available on Hulu
William: Triangle of Sadness.
Annie: [Groans]
Sam: What didn’t you like about it?
Annie: Too much vomit. This is literally my nightmare [being trapped on a boat in the middle of a storm with choppy waters and vomiting nonstop]. I had to skip through a bunch of it.
Sam: That part was long…
William: Sam was very vocal during this movie!
Sam: This director was not holding back. He said, 'They’re going to have the worst night of their lives because of their own disdain and now they’re either going to die or get stranded on an island!' What an idea.
Annie: Let’s talk about the ending.
William: It’s hard to talk about.
Annie: I thought the ending was a cop out.
Sam: That’s what I thought. They just didn’t want to decide.
Annie: They tried to play it off like some artistic choice but they just didn’t want to pick an ending. And writers need to stop doing that! Make a choice! 
William: We could not believe it when it ended. [Sam and I] were screaming. I think it’s the best acted movie of the 10 Best Picture nominees. I was blown away by everyone.
Sam: It was the most surprising movie I’ve seen since Parasite.
Annie: That’s a really good comparison!

Women Talking | Two Nominations | Available to rent
William: Women Talking is great.
Annie: It's so well directed. It was shot in such a visually interesting way, even though it functions very much like a play.
William: I loved it. It’s under nominated. I’m glad it got into Best Picture.
Annie: I think it’s unfortunate that it didn’t get any acting nominations. You’re probably right that votes were split because there’s no clear lead; the parts are spread out across the ensemble. But compared to some of the people who did get nominated… Women Talking should have been in the acting categories. Ben Whishaw and Rooney Mara specifically should have gotten in.
William: Yeah, everyone has an equal sized part so it gets tricky around who you vote for, and that was unfortunately the downfall for acting nominations.
Annie: Every character had a well-rounded part, and to be able to accomplish that in an ensemble movie is huge.

Our Best Picture Rankings: Ranked in order of how much we enjoyed the movies, not necessarily who we think should win

Annie’s Best Picture Ranking
9. Triangle of Sadness
8. Tár
7. Elvis
6. Avatar: The Way of Water
5. Everything Everywhere All at Once
4. Women Talking
3. The Fabelmans
2. The Banshees Inisherin
1. Top Gun: Maverick

William’s Best Picture Ranking
10. Tár
9. Elvis
8. The Banshees Inisherin
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
6. Triangle of Sadness
5. Avatar: The Way of Water
4. The Fabelmans
3. Women Talking
2. Top Gun: Maverick
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Sam’s Best Picture Ranking
10. Elvis
9. Tár
8. Avatar: The Way of Water
7. The Fabelmans
6. Triangle of Sadness
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
4. Top Gun: Maverick
3. Women Talking
2. The Banshees Inisherin
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once