2026 Oscars

Photo taken by RAP in LA, August 15, 2025

As I do annually, this post reviews Academy Award nominees in major categories and provides my rankings within them. I am not predicting winners and only rank the films I have seen. Again this year, I have not seen very many of the movies, so I will be updating this post extensively in the future and noting the edits with yellow highlights. 

You can find my post about last year's Oscars here and work backwards if you want. 

Best Picture

“The Secret Agent”

“One Battle After Another”

“Train Dreams”

“Sinners”

“Hamnet”

“Frankenstein”

“Bugonia”

I suspect that a couple of the films I have not seen will push towards the top of this list, but I can only rank what I have watched to-date. Were most of these films better than Eddington? Or Black Bag?

** Update: The Secret Agent is exceptional filmmaking. 

“F1”

“Marty Supreme”

“Sentimental Value”

Directing

Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”

Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”

Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”

Every year I struggle with ranking in this category -- I usually just put them in the same order as I do the films unless there is a good reason not to do so.

Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”

Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”

Actor in a Leading Role

Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”

Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”

Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”

Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”

I don't think DiCaprio is going to win a second Oscar this year and Jordan did play two characters. 

Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”

Emma Stone, “Bugonia”

Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”

I do not think Stone will win a third Oscar and doubt that she deserves it for this role. I saw a lot of Jessie Buckley last month as we watched the entire run of Fargo, the series. She's talented.

Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”

Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”

Actor in a Supporting Role

Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”

Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”

Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”

Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”

There's apparently a lot of buzz about the one performance I have not yet seen (Skarsgard), but Sean Penn could absolutely win for this role. He was great. I would be very surprised if the other 3 won.

Stellan Skarsgard, “Sentimental Value”

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Madigan, “Weapons”

Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”

Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”

I would not be surprised if Taylor won, but obviously I still have to see several other performances. 

Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”

Animated Feature Film

This is one of those years that I did not see any of these films. 

“Arco”

“Elio”

“KPop Demon Hunters”

“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”

“Zootopia 2”

Documentary Feature Film

I have neglected this category often in recent years. It happened again.

“The Alabama Solution”

“Come See Me in the Good Light”

“Cutting Through Rocks”

“Mr. Nobody Against Putin”

“The Perfect Neighbor”

International Feature Film

Honestly, I probably would have watched "The Secret Agent" in a nearby theater while traveling in the UK if it was shorter (it runs 160 minutes). The problem with "Sentimental Value" and "Sirat" is that they were not showing at a non-chain theater near me. I'll view several of these soon, most likely. 

“The Secret Agent,” Brazil

The Secret Agent would have been a completely defensible Oscar winner. 

“It Was Just an Accident,” France

“Sentimental Value,” Norway

“Sirat,” Spain

“The Voice of Hind Rajab,” Tunisia

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Oscars 2024

This is my annual post about the Academy Awards. I'm not predicting who will win, but instead ranking the nominations in my preferred order of finish. I'll only rank the films and performances I've seen and will update this list in the future once I see a film. Those changes will be noted in yellow highlights. 

You can find my post about last year's Oscars here and work backward if you want. 

Best picture

“Killers of the Flower Moon”

“Oppenheimer”

“Anatomy of a Fall”

“Poor Things”

“Past Lives”

“The Holdovers”

“American Fiction”

“The Zone of Interest”

“Maestro”

“Barbie”

Frankly I'd be OK if any of the top 4 5 6 win. They are all very good films. The Holdovers is the one I could imagine watching again in a few years because of the humor. Maybe Barbie too. Oppenheimer conceivably could be a film for my political science course.

Update: Poor Things was terrific with lots of interesting stuff going on. It explores some of the same themes about science as Oppenheimer but in a very different manner.

Update 2: Anatomy of a Fall is an exceptional film that I watched in late August 2024. It's very long, but I could imagine seeing it again though I suppose the resolution to the mystery at the center of the film won't be a surprise the next time I see it. 

Zone of Interest could also be a film for my course, but it is almost impossible to rate here. It is a singular work of art that is not meant to be entertaining. The other films that feature horrible deeds, including Killers of the Flower Moon, have moments of light humor. The Zone of Interest is unrelenting, but also masterful. See it once. 

Directing

Christopher Nolan, “Oppenheimer”

Yorgos Lanthimos, “Poor Things”

Justine Triet, “Anatomy of a Fall”

Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest”

Martin Scorsese, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

I flip-flopped some of the top films here and it might be mysterious why I did this. It would probably take too long to explain, but some of the rankings of the movies as movies reflect the writing, the acting, the cinematography etc. In this category, I have attempted to weigh the factors that the directors most directly control. It's subjective. 

Actor in a leading role

Paul Giamatti, “The Holdovers”

Cillian Murphy, “Oppenheimer”

Jeffrey Wright, “American Fiction”

Colman Domingo, “Rustin”

Bradley Cooper, “Maestro”

Giamatti was excellent. He may not win, but the performance was award-worthy.

I've seen a lot of Murphy in 2024 because my spouse and I have watched several seasons of Peaky Blinders on Netflix. He's talented and I would not be disappointed if he won.

Wright and Domingo were also excellent though I have not heard serious buzz about their winning and I probably would vote for one of the other performances. But this is a tight category. 

Cooper was fine but the movie really didn't click with me. 

Actor in a supporting role

Robert Downey Jr., “Oppenheimer”

Robert De Niro, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Mark Ruffalo, “Poor Things”

Sterling K. Brown, “American Fiction”

Ryan Gosling, “Barbie”

We were well into the movie before I recognized Downey in his role. It's a very good performance. 

DeNiro played his usual type, a type he has long perfected. Brown was excellent too. I hope this pushes him into larger roles.

Gosling has had many better roles.

Actress in a leading role

Emma Stone, “Poor Things”

Sandra Hüller, “Anatomy of a Fall”

Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Annette Bening, “Nyad”

Carey Mulligan, “Maestro”

Last fall, my spouse and I saw Gladstone in a 2016 Kelly Reichardt film, Certain Women. It was a strong performance and I'm not surprised she delivered an Oscar-caliber performance this year. It's not as loud as Bening's role. If I had to re-rank them from scratch, I could just as easily put Mulligan over Bening. Update: Emma Stone was excellent, as was Sandra Hüller. 

Actress in a supporting role

America Ferrera, “Barbie”

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”

Emily Blunt, “Oppenheimer”

Jodie Foster, “Nyad”

I don't have strong feelings here though apparently Randolph is the overwhelming favorite. She was very good in her role. I've seen Ferrera's speech more than once on TV and wonder if it will carry her to a victory. It was impressive. 

Blunt was fine, but the role was perhaps not Oscar-worthy. Surprisingly, Foster was somewhat mannered in Nyad, delivering a character not a lot unlike some others she has performed in the past. 

Danielle Brooks, “The Color Purple”

Documentary feature film

So far we have not seen any of these. There's work to do, no none of them sound especially uplifting. Most are available on streaming services that we can access, so it is inevitable that I will see some.

“Bobi Wine: The People’s President”

“The Eternal Memory”

“Four Daughters”

“To Kill a Tiger”

“20 Days in Mariupol”

International feature film

United Kingdom, “The Zone of Interest”

Spain, “Society of the Snow”

Germany, “The Teachers’ Lounge”

I've discussed The Zone of Interest above. I am curious as to why it is listed as UK rather than Poland, which is credited in the film.

Society of the Snow is an interesting film (on Netflix right now) that had me recalling the press coverage of the crash and aftermath. The Teacher's Lounge was well-made, but I thought the tone was over-the-top for the setting. Maybe I'm jaded by American schools where "zero tolerance" brings to mind the threat of gun violence. 

Of the others, I really want to see The Zone of Interest, which is also on the top list above. 

Italy, “Io Capitano”

Japan, “Perfect Days”

Animated feature film

I have not watched many animated films the past few years. I saw a few minutes of the new Spider-Man at a brewpub and will probably see it before any of the others. 

“The Boy and the Heron”

“Elemental”

“Nimona”

“Robot Dreams”

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”

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Best Films of 2020

As I've been doing in recent years, I'm posting Metacritic's final compiled list of best films based on the top choices of nearly 300 film critics. This is an aggregation of their end-of-the-year top 10 lists. Last year's list was drawn from 340 individual rankings. 

After the list, I'll place the films I've seen in tiers and briefly discuss any notable changes from my Films of 2020 list posted at the end of that year. Finally, I'll list the films that I still need to see. 

This year, because so many of these films were streaming, I saw a large percentage of them at home in the year they were released. I have personally seen 15 of the 30 listed films, which is about my normal rate when I post these lists in late February each year. 

FILMS MENTIONED ON MOST CRITIC TOP 10 LISTS - 2020

Movie and Metascore		# 1st Place	# 2nd Place	# Other	Points
1	95 Nomadland	35	20	75.5	220.5
2	89 First Cow	18	20	81	175
3	95 Lovers Rock	13	10	72	131
4	91 Never Rarely Sometimes Always	7	8	89.5	126.5
5	82 Da 5 Bloods	10	6	60.5	102.5
6	87 Minari	5	9	53.5	86.5
7	78 I'm Thinking of Ending Things	5	3	65	86
8	72 Promising Young Woman	9	3	42	75
9	81 Sound of Metal	5	7	40	69
10	93 David Byrne's American Utopia	8	5	30.5	64.5
11	79 Mank	4	5	40.5	62.5
12	83 Palm Springs	3	5	39.5	58.5
13	91 Time	4	5	36	58
14	72 The Invisible Man	0	6	44.5	56.5
15	82 Bacurau	2	5	39.5	55.5
16	83 Soul	4	5	32	54
17	83 Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets	7	2	27.5	52.5
18	79 The Assistant	2	5	34.5	50.5
19	89 Dick Johnson Is Dead	5	2	30.5	49.5
	95 Collective	3	5	30.5	49.5
21	74 Martin Eden	8	4	16.5	48.5
22	77 The Trial of the Chicago 7	3	3	33	48
23	88 City Hall	5	5	22	47
24	72 Possessor Uncut	5	2	27.5	46.5
25	86 Vitalina Varela	4	5	16	38
26	87 Wolfwalkers	1	2	30	37
	90 Mangrove	5	2	18	37
28	84 The Vast of Night	1	4	24	35
29	69 Tenet	2	2	24	34
	87 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	1	0	31	34

Note that last-minute release date changes (necessitated by the ongoing pandemic) mean that several titles included on multiple lists (most notably, Nomadland) will technically be 2021 releases rather than 2020 films. Also note that since we include some foreign publications, it is possible for a few titles to repeat from last year's list due to differences in USA and overseas release dates.

Tier I (Outstanding: top award choices)

Nomadland

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Minari

First Cow

This category is always the smallest, but it is smaller than usual this year. Most likely, this is because studios elected not to release some of their best films during the pandemic -- and productions might have been delayed.

However, it probably also has to do with the timing of the Academy Award cycle this year -- films released through February will be eligible for awards. Look for some late-arriving excellent films -- like Nomadland and Minari from this list, which are slated to be released more widely in February.  Also: the highly anticipated Judas and the Black Messiah and The Father are coming soon and the excellent One Night in Miami was released in January, too late for this list. 

2/19/21: I saw Nomadland on Hulu. It is excellent and Frances McDormand gives a great performance. Third Oscar?

Tier 2 (Very good: strong consideration for awards)

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Assistant

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

This category will also fill out a bit after I've seen more of the films.

The new entry here for me is the Netflix picture about the criminal legal proceedings the Nixon Justice Department pursued against 8 men who helped organize protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The protests were marred by violent riots often blamed on Chicago's police department. 

The defendants included Tom Hayden (played by Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne), Abby Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), and Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). The story refers to the "Chicago 7" because [historical spoiler alert] the judge was ultimately forced to order a mistrial for Seale as his lack of legal representation (his attorney had surgery just as the trial was beginning) led to courtroom outbursts by Seale and judicial system over-reaction to those outbursts. 

Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance played defense attorney Willian Kunstler and Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin wrote the script and also directed the film. It will likely receive Academy Award and other top film nominations for prizes in various categories. I rated the film more highly than most critics, probably because I'm especially interested in effective political drama. This is in my wheelhouse. 

Tier 3 (Above average, but flawed in some way)

Palm Springs

Mank

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Tenet

Lover's Rock

Collective

Vast of Night

Time

Dick Johnson is Dead

The Invisible Man

Da Five Bloods

Soul

As I always say, this is not a ranking and on a different day I might alter the order of the films. I did like Palm Springs a lot more than Da Five Bloods and The Invisible Man, but the 5 films after Mank in the center of the list are difficult to compare. 

The new dramatic entry here from the first weeks of viewing in 2021 is Mank, which is a well-acted and fairly entertaining tale about the Oscar-winning and self-destructive writer of the classic film Citizen Kane. I felt that some small edits in the script and/or some modest changes in story-telling (including direction) might have made it more powerful. My spouse didn't find it especially compelling. 

We also saw Time and thought it was a very well-done documentary about the criminal justice system. I personally would put Crip Camp above either of the docs listed here. Indeed, I  saw a number of new narrative films in 2020 that I placed above many on this list, including the excellent Saint Frances. 

Tier 4 (Skip it)

[So far this category is empty.]

Films I still need to see

David Byrne's American Utopia

Bacurau

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets

Martin Eden

City Hall

Possessor Uncut

Vitalina Varela

Wolfwalkers

Mangrove

Once I view these films, I'll move them up to the appropriate Tiers above and note that updated entry with yellow highlighting. 

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