Every year when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces their nominees for that year’s awards, I make a personal vow to watch all of the Best Picture nominees.

In years past I have only completed this goal a handful of times. More often than not I fall short and see some of the nominees, but not all. This year I was able to smile with satisfaction as I checked each nominee off my watch list. Maybe it is because of streaming and our ability to make movies accessible and rentable online. Or maybe it was my notably poor performance viewing last year’s nominees. Whatever the reason may be, I have successfully watched each of this year’s nominees and have lots of opinions on all of them.

Now, on the day of the big show, I am going to rank these Best Picture nominees with a complete lack of consideration for the award itself – AKA, I am ranking them based on how much I liked them!

***Caution: Mild Spoilers Ahead!***

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10. Don’t Look Up

I have debated over and over again since watching this movie about whether or not it is actually good. What I do know for sure is that it is extremely effective.

As an anxious person, I knew this would be an uncomfortable if not unpleasant movie viewing experience. I hoped that perhaps the familiar faces of beloved actors would soften the blow. In some ways it did, but in other ways, I carried the stress of this movie along with me for some time after watching it. Kudos to you, Adam McKay, for the achievement of creating a satirical work that is very impactful in it’s message.

But this is not the first time – and hopefully not the last – that McKay has presented a dark if not dismal message by means of an entertaining film. He has the uncanny ability to discuss uncomfortable and heavy topics while also finding the humor in the delivery. It is an impressive feat that has won over audiences and critics alike.

While that is all well and good, it doesn’t take away from the fact that – in this writer’s opinion – this movie had way too much going on. Packing a movie to the brim with recognizable celebrities and stars is a great way to pull in the audience, but is it the best way to get a message across? I am sure that many watched this movie for the star power and walked away with nothing more than a buzz from seeing so many high profile names in one movie. The film was crowded and messy and overstimulating. Yet I wonder, was it crafted to be this way?

For me, there are a lot of unanswered questions surrounding this film. One of the biggest being: did I even really like it?

When the nominations came out I was most surprised to see this film on the list. It didn’t strike me as something the Academy would typically celebrate. Perhaps it is the Adam McKay of it all, as they do seem to enjoy his work. Regardless of the reason why it made the cut into this list of the ten best films of the year, it was hands down my least favorite of the bunch.

9. Nightmare Alley

Hand up, I am not typically someone who seeks out Guillermo del Torro films. It isn’t my brand of coffee, if you will. Whether they are too dark or mystical or fantastical for my liking, I usually chose to stray away from his productions.

Yet, I found myself viewing this movie before it was even announced as a Best Picture nominee for the simple fact that it starred two of my cinematic loves: Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this movie. It was all those things I had expected out of a del Torro film, but was easier going down thanks to the fantastic actors bringing his work to life. This was also one of the better movie endings I have seen in quite some time – stay tuned for the best I have seen in years later on this list. The descent we witness in this film is a beautiful and at times disturbing portrait of how cruel humanity can be to one another and themselves.

Though it isn’t my typical watch, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

8. Belfast

This movie was a delight to watch even at the moments when it was harsh. Any story that can balance child-like wonder with the often cold realities of the world is a triumph. This film takes that very niche genre and challenges all those who follow in it’s footsteps to raise the bar in the way that it has.

What makes this movie even more touching is that it is told from the heart by Kenneth Branagh. This film’s autobiographical origin makes it’s warmth and emotional impact hit a bit deeper. I hope that his family is made proud by the lovely performances delivered by the ensemble cast, most notably by Ciaran Hinds as the main character, Buddy’s, grandfather.

While I enjoyed watching this movie, there was something missing in it for me that prevents it from climbing higher on this list. It’s not helpful or credible that I cannot put my finger on it, but it lacked a certain lasting impression on me in comparison to the other films. While some of these movies stayed on my mind for days or weeks following the viewing, this one promptly exited after the credits rolled. I even have to summon it back to me in order to reflect upon it now.

There is a somewhat intangible aspect of this film that is missing for me and while I feel it as I think about the movie, I also feel the corners of my mouth turn up into a smile. This is definitely a well-crafted and well-deserving film to be honored at this year’s Oscars, it just wasn’t my favorite of these nominees.

7. King Richard

I am such a sucker for sports movies. They pull me right in and don’t let me go. I give in to all the formulaic tendencies of this genre and emote in the exact moments they need me to. While King Richard has it’s own intricacies that elevated it above your typical sports movie, it didn’t need to in order to be enjoyable for me as a viewer.

Rightfully so, Will Smith is the star of this film. Being one of the most well-known actors in the business, makes it even more impressive that he manages to disappear into this role. At times he is nearly unrecognizable as the patriarch of the Williams family. This performance and his character’s complicated personality, elevate this film from being another typical sports drama. But so too does the supporting performance of Aunjanue Ellis and the inspiring true story of the rise to power of two of the most universally loved athletes of the 21st century.

This movie was destined to be commercially successfully. It was destined to make emotional viewers like me smile with tears in thier eyes as the film came to a close. It was destined to be a worthy thematic tribute to the Williams sisters and the man whose plan helped them become the icons that they are. But with the addition of some amazing performances, this film becomes more enjoyable and critically successful.

A sports movie about women starring Will Smith that made me cry? Yeah, there was no way I wasn’t going to love this movie.

6. Dune

This is definitely the commercial draw in this years list of nominees, but it deserves to be here. Dune is one of those rare blockbusters that is also a critical darling. It would have been a sin for the Academy not to recognize it.

For me, Dune worked on nearly every level. As a fan of director Denis Villeneuve, I was primed to be impressed with the scale and method of storytelling he used to introduce the audience to this world. Because when you boil it all down, that’s exactly what this film was: an introduction to the universe that Frank Herbert created in his novels. When viewing this film from that perspective, this movie is even more of a knockout punch. It’s the origin story, the set up, the mapping out of a story that every great franchise deserves. My only hope can be that it lays out the frame work for not only great science fiction films going forward, but great world-building on screen.

The other aspects of this film like the acting, score, and cinematography were boxes checked for me as well.

As a young American woman, I am accurately stereotyped in my excitement to see Timothee Chalamet on screen. He was steady and calm and guided us through the film with a quiet ease. Around him, the supporting cast – namely Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac – elevated the films quality with their performances.

A great many of my favorite film scores have been composed by the legendary Hans Zimmer. The fact that I was impressed if not blown away by the work he did on this film is profound. The man is a living legend and continues to amaze and astonish at every turn. Give this man (another) Oscar!

All in all this was one of the most pleasurable movie experiences I had in 2021, it just so happened that the Best Picture category managed to capture at least five more films that provided me with an even more delightful experience.

The following five films probably differ in their rankings depending on the day. I adored each of them and will cherish the time I spent watching them. Shout out to the Academy Awards for leading me to view three out of these five films that I never would have watched if it weren’t for their nominations.

5. The Power of the Dog

I went into this movie expecting to hate it.

I was anticipating a struggle through the run-time as a story played out at a painful pace before me on the screen. Nearly everyone I knew who had seen this Best Picture favorite was disappointed and extremely turned off.

Needless to say, I was shocked to find myself unable to stop thinking about how clever and subtle this film was days after watching it. My roommate and I literally found ourselves giggling with astonishment when the credits began to roll, the masterful last frame bewitching us both into a state of school girl glee. We had just watched an amazing film whose purpose and meaning was all revealed to us with a single smirk. With this movie, Jane Campion does something that I don’t know if I have ever seen or will ever see again. And it was written all over my face after I watched it.

Truthfully, I could go on and on like an obsessive about how well this film works. How it’s pace and storytelling are all so purposeful and effective. How in a day and age where we are so often granted immediate gratification, Campion is bold enough to ask us to be patient. How each performance bounces off those around it like a masterful game of pinball that leads to a booming crescendo…

Like I said, I could go on and on.

This might be the best film I saw this year. But that doesn’t make it the one I necessarily enjoyed the most.

4. Drive My Car

The Academy’s inclusion of more foreign films in it’s core categories in recent years is something I am extremely grateful for. It can be hard, if not impossible for the casual movie-goer to be exposed to masterful cinema made outside of the United States. The Academy’s decision to highlight these films with nominations for Best Picture, pushes them to be distributed in America in a brand new way. The demand is there and so the supply must respond.

Drive My Car is on the marquee of my local movie theater, it is streaming on HBO Max, and it is being viewed by more Americans that it would have been had it simply been nominated for Best Foreign film. Thank goodness for that.

One of my favorite movies of all time is Ordinary People. There are a lot of reasons why, but a big one is that the film bravely highlights the uncomfortable and difficult topic of grief. Drive My Car does just the same in a very different, but ultimately effective way. And how beautiful is that? Just like humans deal with grief in different ways, so too do these two amazing films portray and work through the grief in their own unique ways.

I was initially hesitant to watch Drive My Car due to it’s length. Clocking in at nearly three hours, the film requires you to carve out some serious time in your day to view it. Perhaps I would decide to skip it like I had longer running nominees in the past i.e. The Irishman. Nevertheless, I picked a lazy Saturday to watch the movie. After watching it, I still wondered for a moment if they could have cut the run-time down a bit, but I understand why they didn’t.

Shortening the length of this film would take away from the impactful release of emotion that we experience along with the film’s two central characters, Yusuke and Misaki. This purging of feelings after hours of stoic expressions and the minimum amount of words spoken to express a thought allow us to experience the depth of that which they have kept buried inside. It is astounding how this effected me as a viewer. The relief of listening to these characters finally let it all out left me feeling lighter. It left me feeling connected with them in an unbreakable way.

The length of this film was purposeful and beautifully effective. Ryusuke Hamaguchi captures something that I wasn’t sure could be captured in film. He created something unique and all it’s own and that deserves all the accolades in the world.

This film touched me in a way I did not anticipate when I sat down to watch it. It held my attention all the way through and allowed me to made bonds with characters unlike any I experienced this year. Not to mention the shot of Yusuke and Misaki holding their cigarettes out the sun roof of his red Saab, that shot is damn-near all time.

3. CODA

This movie made me laugh, cry, and smile. This movie is thoughtful and aggravating and blissful and real. This movie kicks ass.

I have seen some very unkind things about this film around the internet. Those who have decided to call this film a “glorified Hallmark movie” didn’t watch it close enough and open their heart to the possibility that something touching can be crafted in a manner that deserves recognition.

While I could probably write an entire blog post gushing about how lovely this movie is, I will focus my attention to two pieces of this film that truly won me over.

Similar to the way that Steven Spielberg chose not to add subtitles to the Spanish spoken in West Side Story, we are not offered background noise or music for the scenes in this film where dialogue is completely spoken in sign language. The director’s choice to let us see the reality of the conversations had between members of a primarily deaf family is extremely effective. This movie doesn’t aim to make us feel comfortable and cater to the ableism of it all. Instead it is real.

The film’s most impactful moment stems off of this push for realness. During Ruby’s fall concert, the movie cuts the audio and allows us to experience things from the perspective of a deaf person. The sound is cut abruptly as the camera pans through the audience letting us see how the Rossi’s read the reactions of the audience to gauge how the concert is going. Sitting with silence is a brave move for this film to make and Sian Hedar makes the important decision not to overuse it. Instead it’s singular use allows it’s impact to stick with you throughout the remainder of the film. You feel closer to the cast and the story than you may have formerly believed possible.

Again, I could continue to wax romantic about this film and the beauty it brings to the big screen for pages and pages. I could wear my keys down under the pressure of my frantic typing, but I will spare you. However, I would be remiss not to mentioned that each performance – especially the stand out turn delivered by Troy Kotsur – is delightful and nuanced. They help make this film a true triumph.

My final note would be that as a Massachusetts native, I find it peculiar that this film taking place on the North shore is absent of any winter jacket or semblance of cold air. Very odd and wildly inaccurate for New England weather during the school year.

2. Licorice Pizza

It just so happens that the final two movies on this list – the two I most enjoyed out of this years nominees – were the two movies I would have no doubt seen regardless of their nomination.

I love the worlds that Paul Thomas Anderson creates in his movies. They all exist in the world we live in and yet he magically manages to make them all their own. This is the kindest and most smile-inducing of his films thus far. He managed to prove with this latest entry into his filmography that yes, he can do it all…with a pedophilia-laced plot line slipped in there to remind you that this is still a product of the often dark mind of our beloved PTA.

Similar to many entries on this list, I had a lovely time watching this movie. I have a belief that in the world of “good” cinema, you can create a venn diagram. In one circle we have well-made films and in the other we have a lovely, enjoyable movie going experience. In the middle exist the best of the best: those films that are well put together and fun to watch. Everyone has their own venn diagrams and for me this film falls right into that sweet spot. It is equal parts an enchanting, random journey and a meticulously crafted work of art.

There is a reason why so many rush to the theaters when Anderson releases and new film. The man creates exquisite films that stick with you. Licorice Pizza just happens to leave you with a little flutter in your heart and a reminder that we are blessed to be on the same planet as Bradley Cooper.

This movie made me smile long after the credits role and while that might not be the intellectual way to quantify the quality of a movie, it is the reason this film is so high on my list.

1. West Side Story (2021)

Topping my list of this year’s Best Picture nominees is my most sentimental pick of the bunch.

Part of the reason why this was such a triumph in my eyes is that I was extremely hesitant about how necessary this film was. Did we really need to make another version of a flawed, but beautiful film? My fears that it would be lesser and therefore take away from the importance of the 1961 film were rumbling within me as I sat down to watch this movie.

All this pressure and build-up for this movie came from a few different sources. The original film is – I think – one of the best cinematic achievements of all time. It is filled to the brim with knockout performances, unreal dance numbers, and stunning direction. The character of Anita is one of my favorites both on screen and on stage. Not to mention the fact that Moreno’s version of her is one of my all time favorite performances, period. And of course, as a cinephile, I have been seduced by the genius of Steven Spielberg since a very young age.

With all these expectations and feelings in the mix, it was a tumultuous journey leading me to this first viewing. Thankfully, I quickly realized I was worried for nothing.

Nearly every decision that Tony Kushner and Spielberg made as they sewed this film together was a master stroke. All these years later, I was still blown away by the performances – especially those by Mike Faist, Ariana Debose, and Rachel Ziegler – the dance numbers, and the direction. All of it came together beautifully and resulted in a film that was equally moving and impressive as the first film all while being a feat of it’s own entirely.

If this movie proves anything, it’s the importance of a director. And this Steven Spielberg guy? He knows what the hell he is doing. So much of what makes this film successful is his presence and impact in the production of it. His shots and decisions elevate this film up to a level all it’s own.

While I don’t know if this was the best film of the year from an objective point of view, I know that from this very biased and easily seduced perspective, this was the film that both impressed me the most and the one I had the most fun watching.

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Before I leave, I must bow to the power of the Oscars and provide another ranking. This time, I will list the films nominated for this years big prize in order of how worthy they are – to me – of taking home the Oscar.

10. King Richard

9. Nightmare Alley

8. Dune

7. Licorice Pizza

6. Don’t Look Up

5. Belfast

4. West Side Story

3. CODA

2. The Power of the Dog

1. Drive My Car

Best of luck to all the nominees tonight. May the best film win!