BY JIMMY WILLDEN
The Year in Movies for 2023 was absolutely fantastic, and truly one of my favorites in a long time. We had the two gigantic blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — both released the same weekend to create the ultimate “Barbenheimer” pop culture movement that took over last summer. We had Scorsese’s long-awaited “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-bait of a film, “Maestro.”
But to be honest — some of the best moments of cinema last year were they always are: in the smaller films. “Saltburn”, “The Holdovers”, and — of course — “Past Lives” reminded me of why I love movies in the first place. It’s that unmatched human understanding we all get immediately from that other side of the screen.
While Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is a triumph in so many ways, I still found myself wanting. I had small issues with its structure and ending. All this to say that Nolan’s best movie since “Interstellar” wasn’t my favorite of the year, as much as I wanted it to be.
For a while, that title was held by Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers”. Such a lovely, classic film, that hit everything right for this film goer, it became my go-to — because it’s so well-written and…my god…those performances from the entire cast.
But then things changed when I finally saw Celine Song’s perfect little film lamenting about past loves and present longing, and everything in between. It’s quite simply one of my favorite movies in a long time — and it’s delivered from a first-time director.
There is also much to say about Emma Stone’s unwavering and committed performance in “Poor Things” — and quite frankly, it is one of the best performances of her career thus far. But Gladstone had such control in “Killers of the Flower Moon”, viewers could feel every little thing she was feeling — often without her saying a word.
Also, we all know Bradley Cooper desperately wants the Academy Award tonight, but tonight belongs to either Paul Giamatti for his career-best performance in “The Holdovers” or to Cillian Murphy for his transformative turn in “Oppenheimer”, with the latter in a better position to win.
While we’re at it, I absolutely loved Jodie Foster in “Nyad” — just as much I loved Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s in “The Holdovers”, but tonight is Randolph’s night and it’s her statue to lose.
Much has been said about Gosling’s performance in “Barbie” — along with the outrage that he was nominated, while Margo Robbie or director Greta Gerwig both were not…for a film that promotes female empowerment. The irony is not lost on us.
While Gosling’s performance was wonderful, tonight, however, the award should go to Robert Downey, Jr.
That being said, as always, what follows are all of my 2024 Oscars Picks and Predictions — which means, I will first pick the (nominated) movies I think SHOULD win…and then I will predict the ones that actually will. At the end of the night, I’ll report back with my grade.
Let’s get started!
2023 Oscars Picks & Predictions
BEST PICTURE
Pick: “Past Lives”; Runner-Up: “The Holdovers”
Prediction: “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: “The Zone of Interest”
BEST DIRECTOR
Pick: Celine Song, “Past Lives”; Runner-Up: Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”
Prediction: Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”
BEST ACTRESS
Pick: Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon” – NO CONTEST.
Prediction – Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon“; Runner-Up: Emma Stone, “Poor Things”
BEST ACTOR
Pick: Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”
Prediction: Same as my picks.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Pick: Jodie Foster, “Nyad”; Runner-Up: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”
Prediction: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers“; Runner-Up: Jodie Foster, “Nyad”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Pick: Robert Downey, Jr., “Oppenheimer” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: Robert Downey, Jr., “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Pick: “Oppenheimer” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: Same as my pick.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Pick: “The Holdovers”; Runner-Up: “Past Lives”
Prediction: “Anatomy of A Fall”; Runner-Up: “Past Lives”
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Pick: “Barbie” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: “Barbie”; Runner-Up: “American Fiction”
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Pick: “The Zone of Interest” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: Same as my pick.
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Pick: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”; Runner-Up: “The Boy and the Heron”
Prediction: Same as my picks.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Pick: “20 Days in Mariupol”; Runner-Up: “To Kill A Tiger”
Prediction: Same as my picks.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Pick: “Oppenheimer” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: “Killers of the Flower Moon”
BEST SONG
Pick: “Barbie” — “I’m Just Ken” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: “Barbie” — “What Was I Made For?”; Runner-Up: “Barbie” — “I’m Just Ken”
BEST EDITING
Pick: “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: “Anatomy of a Fall”
Prediction: Same as my picks.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Pick: “Godzilla Minus One” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: “Godzilla Minus One”; Runner-Up: “The Creator”
BEST SOUND
Pick: “The Zone of Interest” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: “Oppenheimer”; Runner-Up: “The Zone of Interest”
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Pick: “Poor Things”; Runner-Up: “Maestro”
Prediction: “Maestro”; Runner-Up: “Poor Things”
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Pick: “Barbie”; Runner-Up: “Poor Things”
Prediction: “Poor Things”; Runner-Up: “Barbie”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Pick: “Poor Things” — NO CONTEST
Prediction: “Poor Things”; Runner-Up: “Barbie”
The 96th Academy Awards will air tonight on ABC, beginning at 7pm Eastern. I will release my annual grade shortly following the broadcast.
