It’s the 16th annual blog ranking. In this pretty great movie year, I’m joined by a large group of family members- my parents, siblings, wife, and parents-in-law. Thanks to them all! A few of us (Ben, Emily, and Barb) wrote a bit about each movie, and others gave their rankings.
Here’s where we landed. The Best Picture is down to a race between One Battle After Another and Sinners, and we agree! We also had lots of love for Sentimental Value and Hamnet.
As to our acting, directing, and screenplay winner, here are our picks, with just 3 movies (One Battle, Sinners, and Hament) taking all of our consensus prizes.
Actor
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners: Greg, Emily, Terri, Kevin, Jason, Taylor
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent: Ben, Sarah
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another: Barb
Actress
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet: ALL OF US
Supporting Actor
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another: Barb, Sarah, Terri, Jason, Tyler
Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value: Greg, Kevin
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another: Emily
Delroy Lindo, Sinners: Ben
Supporting Actress
Amy Madigan, Weapons: Sarah, Jason
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value: Terri
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners: Tyler
Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another: Ben, Emily, Sarah, Jason, Kevin, Barb, Tyler
Ryan Coogler, Sinners: Greg, Terri
Original Screenplay
Sinners: Barb, Sarah, Jason, Emily, Terri, Kevin, Greg, Tyler
Sentimental Value: Ben
Adapted Screenplay
One Battle After Another: ALL OF US
Ben
One Battle After Another: A masterful one-of-a-kind movie by my favorite director. From the absolutely enthralling and electric opening 30 minutes to the final car “chase,” there isn’t a wasted moment in this movie. I didn’t think it was possible, but I loved it even more on a second viewing.
Sentimental Value: A Norwegian family drama about family, art, and generational trauma, all led by the hand of masterful director Joachim Trier. An amazing quartet of central performances, and a movie I can’t wait to see again.
Sinners: The best movie yet by director Ryan Coogler, a tapestry of history, music and, oh yeah, vampires. While I became slightly less enthralled when the action sequences hit, the world building and musical scenes are absolutely terrific.
Hamnet: Open-hearted, emotional filmmaking by director Chloe Zhao, built around a Jessie Buckley performance that’s sure to be remembered as one of the greats. I love a movie that isn’t afraid to make you truly feel something.
Marty Supreme: One of my favorite theater experiences of the year was the kinetic energy I got from watching Marty make a boatload of questionable/terrible decisions. While it’s not as emotionally rich as the films higher on my list, it was a whole lot of fun, anchored by a great Timothee Chalamet performance, and what a joy to see Gwyneth back in a terrific part!
Train Dreams: Like Hamnet, another big-hearted, emotional tearjerker. I loved the narration, sense of history moving on, and the gorgeous cinematography.
The Secret Agent: A Brazilian movie that moves to its own logic, genres, and pace, throwing off those who are expecting an American thriller. I felt like I was in Recife, and loved the unique and authentic characters we meet in this story. Above all, Wagner Moura’s masterful performance hooked me and kept me invested throughout this story of living in an authoritarian time.
Bugonia: For me, this is second-tier Yorgos Lanthimos, which is still really good! Emma Stone and Jesse Plemmons are both excellent in this story of the clash between a corporate girlboss and a couple of conspiracy theorists. It got a little repetitive in the middle, but won me back with a terrific and hilarious ending.
Frankenstein: A lovingly crafted version of a classic story, yet something about this movie didn’t quite click for me. Oscar Isaac is miscast, I really felt the length, and the cinematography seemed very “Netflixy.” I did think Jacob Elordi was very good!
F1: Best Picture? Really? This felt like an almost exact retread of the themes of the much better movie Top Gun: Maverick. Other than the scenes on the tracks, nothing about this movie is anything special.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Supporting Actor: Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Original Screenplay: Sentimental Value
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Emily
Profound grief in breathtakingly beautiful forest settings, herbal medicine, two-faced animals, fractured parent-child relationships, top-of-the-line and bottom-of-the-line car races, monsters, vampires, and (maybe?) aliens! What a fun group this year. Happy Oscars everyone!
Reviews in haiku:
Sentimental Value
Poignant, Norwegian,
Intergenerational.
My kind of movie.
One Battle After Another
How gross was Sean Penn?
Dang, those forgotten passwords!
Quite entertaining.
Sinners
That time travel scene!
Those Irish vampire folktunes!
Michael B. Jordan!
Hamnet
Jessie and Chloe:
During all of the crying,
I lost a contact.
Train Dreams
Stunning setting, but
logging looks so hazardous!
So gorgeous and sad.
Bugonia
So weird, but maybe
he’s not wrong about the bees.
A hopeful ending?
The Secret Agent
Supporting Actress
Dona Sebastiana
would have been so fun.
Marty Supreme
I was impressed by
Timmy’s table tennis skills!
Could’ve been shorter.
Frankenstein
I was like, “Is this
a Shape of Water moment?”
when she first met him.
F1
Giant movie star
Cast as the old-timer like
Top Gun: Maverick.
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley
Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro
Best Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Barb (Spoiler alerts on some of these!)
I’m excited to be heading to Washington D.C. to watch the Oscars with my favorite movie lovers! For the first time that I can remember, I liked ALL the nominated movies. Some more than others.
One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another seems very timely. Issues of immigration, resistance, and unrest seem way too close to home. An all-star cast delivering award-worthy performances. Action-packed from start to finish. I once heard Leo DiCaprio describe working with Paul Thomas Anderson on One Battle After Another as “controlled chaos”. That fits. I loved this movie and all the characters. Sean Penn gave me nightmares.
Sinners
Well that was interesting. And strange. And frightening. And bloody. But somehow it all works! Thought provoking, but also amusing at times. Hard to imagine a group of vampires sitting at a picnic table singing Irish tunes. Set in the 1930’s, twin brothers, both played by Michael B. Jordan, return to their hometown to open a tavern. Little did they know they would be greeted by a group of blood-thirsty vampires. The battle for survival ensues. In the end, it’s hard to tell who the real winner is. Maybe nobody? I really liked the ending. I didn’t see it coming. I know there was a lot of symbolism in the movie but it all went over my head. I enjoyed reading reviews after I saw the movie that discussed the symbolism. It made me appreciate the movie even more. Superb cast. Michael B. Jordan was incredible!
Sentimental Value
My kind of movie. A movie about complicated family relationships. A renown filmmaker returns home after a long absence and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughters. His return brings up early childhood trauma which they must all now deal with as adults. A superb cast led by Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve. Loved the ending.
Hamnet
Hamnet explores the life of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, and the emotional turmoil after the death of their son, Hamnet. Each struggles with this tragedy in their own way, leading to family conflict.The most beautiful and emotional scene is at the end of the movie when Agnes attends William’s play, Hamlet. Agnes, for the first time, recognizes their shared grief. The cinematography in this film is extraordinary. Outstanding performances by both Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. I’m surprised Mescal didn’t get an Oscar nod.
Train Dreams
Train Dreams takes place in the Pacific Northwest in the 1900s and follows the life of Robert Grenier (Joel Edgerton) as he navigates a changing world and is forced to deal with immeasurable grief and loss. Initially Robert finds work on the railroad, but is forced to move from job to job due to modernization and a changing landscape. Along the way he meets other laborers who would leave a lasting impression on him. After the devastating loss of his wife and daughter, he must find some way to go on. The final scene is beautiful. Robert goes up in a small plane and has a chance to reflect on his life. As the narrator says, “He felt at last connected to it all.” A touching story about a fairly ordinary man navigating life. Visually stunning.
The Secret Agent
I found this movie intriguing, although I had no idea what was going on half of the time. It was hard to follow when it skipped around in time. I got the general gist, but not much more. I thought it started out kind of slow but picked up. I still don’t understand the significance of the leg. In spite of all that, I still really liked the movie. Wagner Moura as Marcelo/Armando was outstanding.
Bugonia
An interesting movie. Michelle (Emma Stone), the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, is abducted by Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his rather dim-witted cousin. Teddy believes Michelle is an alien and her species are here to inhabit Earth. For most of the movie you believe Teddy is just a conspiracy theorist. Until you don’t. I admit I did see this coming. I think the major takeaway from this movie is that humans seem to be their own worst enemy. I loved the ending of this movie, especially Marlene Dietrich singing ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”. Although the humans are gone, the bees have survived. A hopeful sign? A warning about what we are doing to the planet? I’m really surprised that Jesse Plemons did not get an Oscar nod.
Marty Supreme
I thought this was going to be a light-hearted film about table tennis. Not so much. Marty Reisner was an arrogant, self-absorbed hustler whose single goal was to be the best table tennis player in the world. He was a user who had little regard for the people who supported him. He was once described as: one decision away from disaster. I don’t think Gwyneth Paltrow’s side story was necessary. I think the main reason I didn’t like this movie as much is because Marty was such an unlikeable character. I hope he was more likeable than portrayed in this movie. I did like the tennis table scenes and Timothée Chalamet was, of course, outstanding.
Frankenstein
I didn’t like this movie as much as a lot of people. Although it diverts from Mary Shelley’s original book, I didn’t particularly mind that. I thought it was interesting to see the description of events from both Frankenstein’s perspective and the monster’s. It seems most of the controversy in this film was the ending. I didn’t have strong feelings either way. The most difficult part for me was the assembling of the monster, which seemed to go on forever. I had to look away when he started sawing off legs. I guess there was a lot of symbolism in this movie, but once again it went over my head. Jacob Elordi made a pretty believable monster.
F1
I think if you’re a Formula 1 junkie, you really liked this movie. There certainly was a lot of exciting racing. I thought the story itself was pretty predictable. Retired racecar driver comes out of retirement to mentor a cocky young rookie. I wish I had seen this on the big screen rather than streaming.
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Greg
Sentimental Value
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Hamnet
The Secret Agent
Train Dreams
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Bugonia
[Did not see F1]
Best Director: Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Best Supporting Actor: Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Sarah
One Battle After Another
Hamnet
Sinners
Bugonia
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Marty Supreme
Train Dreams
Frankenstein
F1
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Best Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Terri
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams
The Secret Agent
Marty Supreme
Frankenstein
Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actress: Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Jason
One Battle After Another
Sinners
The Secret Agent
Train Dreams
Marty Supreme
Hamnet
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Sentimental Value
F1
Best Actor-Michael B Jordan
Best Actress-Jessie Buckley
Best Supporting Actor-Sean Penn
Best Supporting Actress-Amy Madigan
Best Original Screenplay-Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay-One Battle After Another
Tyler
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sentimental Value
Bugonia
Marty Supreme
Hamnet
Train Dreams
The Secret Agent
F1
Frankenstein
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Actor: Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Actress: Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another (Jesse Plemmons!)
Supporting Actress: Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
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