With the Oscars coming up tonight, I\u2019ve put together this post with some loose predictions, my own picks for each award, and, most importantly, links to every one of these films I\u2019ve reviewed. I\u2019ve seen all of the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay nominees, but missed a few others due to my schedule, my job change, and especially getting sick around the holidays, so I’m only at about 29 films for the calendar year 2019 so far, with maybe a half-dozen others I want to see as they hit streaming. Once I get those, I’ll do an actual ranking, but I know I’m missing a couple of critical titles for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1917<\/a> Who will win: 1917<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Who should win: Parasite<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope I’m wrong about 1917<\/em>; it’s fine, but nothing more,\nand I would much rather see Parasite<\/em>, Once Upon a Time \u2026 in Hollywood<\/em>,\nor Little Women <\/em>(which has zero shot) take this honor. I am just\nguessing that voters will see 1917<\/em> as an achievement, or as a\nfilmmaker’s film, with its one-shot gimmick (which is almost certain to get\nRoger Deakins his second Best Cinematography win) and attempt to imitate real\ntime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snubs: I saw fewer movies outside of the nominees this year,\nso I missed Uncut Gems<\/em>, but of films I did see, Knives Out<\/a><\/em>, The Farewell<\/a><\/em>,\nand Pain & Glory<\/em> were all better than Jojo Rabbit<\/em> and Joker<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Director<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Who will win: Mendes<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who should win: Bong<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snubs: Greta Gerwig getting passed over for Little Women<\/em>\nin favor of Phillips was the worst snub in any category this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Actor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Antonio Banderas, Pain & Glory<\/a><\/em> Who will win: Phoenix<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who should win: Banderas<\/p>\n\n\n\n I would pick at least three of the other four nominees \u2013\nBanderas, DiCaprio, or Pryce \u2013 over Phoenix, but the award has been presumed to\nbe his for months now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snubs: Kang-Ho Song for Parasite<\/em>, although I think it\nwould be unprecedented for two actors in non-English-speaking roles to get nominated\nin the same year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Actress<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cynthia Erivo, Harriet<\/em> Who will win: Zellweger<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who should win: Zellweger <\/p>\n\n\n\n I still haven’t seen Harriet <\/em>or Bombshell<\/em>, but\nof the three nominees I’ve seen, Zellweger is my pick. She completely becomes\nJudy Garland, and as much as I’m skeptical of performances where the actor just\nplays a real person, she’s really that good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snubs: I don’t have any for this category, especially since\nI’ve only seen 3\/5. I thought Awkwafina was good in The Farewell<\/em> but\nwouldn’t take her over Ronan, Zellweger, or Johansson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Actor in a Supporting Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/em> Who will win: Pitt<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who should win: Pesci<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have no objection to Pitt winning; he’d be my second\nchoice behind Pesci. I still haven’t seen A Beautiful Day<\/em>,\nunfortunately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snubs: Christian Bale gave the best and most pivotal\nperformance in Ford v. Ferrari<\/em>; I would have nominated him over Pacino\nor Hopkins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Best Actress in a Supporting Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell<\/em> Who will win: Dern<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who should win: Pugh<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is likely to be my biggest disagreement of the night; Pugh was amazing, and brought something new to an old and familiar character. Dern was good, but the role wasn’t all that complex, and she was better in Little Women<\/em> than she was in Marriage Story<\/em>. I haven’t seen Bombshell<\/em>, and I will not give Richard Jewell<\/em> any of my money given its defamatory treatment of a real journalist who is no longer alive to defend herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snubs: I thought there was enough momentum for Jennifer Lopez\nto get a nod for Hustlers<\/a><\/em>.\nI would have picked her over Johansson, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best International Feature Film<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Corpus Christi<\/a> <\/em>(Poland) Who will win: Parasite<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ford v. Ferrari<\/a>
The Irishman<\/a>
Jojo Rabbit<\/a>
Joker<\/a>
Little Women<\/a>
Marriage Story<\/a>
Once Upon a Time \u2026 in Hollywood<\/a>
Parasite<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1917<\/em> (Sam Mendes)
The Irishman<\/em> (Martin Scorsese)
Joker<\/em> (Todd Phillips)
Once Upon a Time \u2026 in Hollywood <\/em>(Quentin Tarantino)
Parasite<\/em> (Bong Joon-ho)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nLeonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time \u2026 in Hollywood<\/em>
\nAdam Driver, Marriage Story
\n<\/em>Joaquin Phoenix, Joker<\/em>
\nJonathan Pryce, The Two Popes<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nScarlett Johansson, Marriage Story<\/em>
\nSaoirse Ronan, Little Women<\/em>
\nCharlize Theron, Bombshell<\/em>
\nRen\u00e9e Zellweger, Judy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAnthony Hopkins, The Two Popes<\/em>
\nAl Pacino, The Irishman<\/em>
\nJoe Pesci, The Irishman<\/em>
\nBrad Pitt, Once Upon a Time \u2026 in Hollywood<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nLaura Dern, Marriage Story<\/em>
\nScarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit<\/em>
\nFlorence Pugh, Little Women<\/em>
\nMargot Robbie, Bombshell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honeyland <\/em>(North Macedonia)
Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/a> <\/em>(France)
Pain & Glory <\/em>(Spain)
Parasite <\/em>(South Korea)<\/p>\n\n\n\n