Ranking the 50 Best Picture winners I've seen, based on how deserving they were

Greetings, reader!

The Oscars were one and a half weeks ago, but I still have posts to make before moving on to the next topic. The Academy Awards have now been held 98 times, and out of every Best Picture Winner, I’ve seen exactly fifty - and that calls for a list! Now, bear in mind that I’m not exactly ranking these based on how much I like each movie (although that list would also be interesting - fine, I’ll watch the rest of the BP winners in the next 2 years and rank ’em all after the 100th Oscars), but rather based on how deserving they were of the Best Picture award in my view. So, basically, there are two key differences to a completely subjective movie ranking: one, the other movies (and especially Best Picture nominees) of that year matter quite a bit in terms of whether I think the award went to the right direction, and two, I’m looking more at the ’objectively’ measured factors of a film’s greatness than more niche subjective preferences, to fit the criteria for Best Picture. I hope you enjoy!

50. Gone with the Wind (1939)

Obviously, Gone with the Wind is a well-made movie, and it could be argued to be a very deserving Best Picture winner. But I have two reasons for ranking it at last place. Number one, I'm an idealist and a dreamer, so no matter how much you could argue that "it's a product of its time", I'd like a to dream of a world where racism and propaganda isn't rewarded. So even back in 1939, Best Picture shouldn't have gone to such a film, and its acclaim showcases the racism in the veins of American society.

Also, "product of its time" is a total cop-out when it comes to this film - the movie, as well as the book its based on, was made over 70 years after the Civil War, and it presents the war through a deeply propaganda-heavy lens where the South was fighting for a "noble cause" and their generals are glorified as heroes while the issue of slavery is glossed over. It's like if someone had made a WWII film, where the Nazis are portrayed as the good guys, in goddamn 2019. The people who made this film contributed to teaching Americans a fabricated, whitewashed version of history that still continues to damage American society, and my take is that films that lie about the past and paint people fighting for the right own slaves as heroes should not win the Oscar for Best Picture.

But also, number two - I have a more film-buff reasoning. You see, The Wizard of Oz came out in the same year. Say what you will about Gone with the Wind - I do admit that its set design, costume design, score and acting performances are amazing and it would be a masterpiece if it wasn't for the propaganda - but The Wizard of Oz is one of the few films from that era that was even more groundbreaking, and even greater in terms of directing and aesthetic. That absolutely should have won, both in terms of filmmaking and in terms of not being a f**king propaganda piece.

49. Green Book (2018)

I'm not even as big of a Green Book hater as many - the film, while deserving much of its criticism, does many things right and the leading performances are amazing. But, the thing is - choosing it as the Best Picture for a year like 2018 was pretty goofy at best and downright insulting at worst. Its win is a perfect example of how the Academy's ranked-voting system for Best Picture doesn't always work, as it presents a disadvantage for films that truly push boundaries to do something unique at the risk of not pleasing everyone, while rewarding crowd-pleasing mediocrity.

As much as Green Book deserves to be criticized for its uncomfortable instances of the white savior -trope, it at least is a movie about racism being bad (hence my ranking of it ahead of Gone with the Wind, a film where the message very much is "Racism rules and people fighting for the right to own slaves are heroes"). That's probably why it won, as the Academy loves to award social themes (as long as they're done in a safely, moderately liberal way). The thing is - Spike Lee's BlacKKKlansman came out the same year. Not only is that a vastly better film in terms of writing, directing, acting, music and pretty much any aspect of filmmaking, it also tackles the issue of racism with infinitely more nuance, making Green Book look two-dimensional and childlike by comparison.

Of course, this is why Green Book won - it's a film that presents racism as a thing of the past while portraying racists as such over-the-top cartoons that even actual racists can watch the film and go "well, at least I'm not that bad", while BlacKKKlansman confronts structural racism, draws lines from the past to the present, and challenges us to look inward and grow, in a manner that makes a lot of white people uncomfortable. Sadly, it makes all the sense in the world that the Academy awarded a "yay, we can feel so good about ourselves now that we defeated racism!" film rather than an "oh fuck, we still have a LOT of work do" one, but especially in the middle of the first Trump term, it felt like quite the middle finger.

48. One Battle After Another (2025)

Rewarding this type of political film, in a year when a thought-provoking masterpiece like Sinners was right there, is the very definition of missing the forest from the trees. The most recent Best Picture race was actually very similar to the one between Green Book and BlacKKKlansman, so it was no surprise that it turned out the same way as well. Once again, the message in OBAA is a good one, but in such a lazy and simplistic way, whereas Sinners asked the audience tough questions and made us look inward, as a true Best Picture winner should.

Also, on a pure filmmaking level - One Battle After Another is a thoroughly well-made film, and one that deserved most of its nominations and arguably even a few of its wins. But Sinners is such a vastly superior piece of art in terms of writing, directing, acting, score and cinematography, that I can't help but feel disheartened by the Academy's choice. I'm calling it - OBAA will be more or less forgotten after this Awards Season, with a legacy of "oh yeah, that one Best Picture that year", whereas Sinners will be talked about for decades to come, with a strong legacy of "how the hell didn't this win?!".

47. My Fair Lady (1964)

I mean, I sort of get it - it was a big time for musicals, and My Fair Lady is a well-made film with fun musical numbers and a fantastic Audrey Hepburn performance spearheading it. But still, for Best Picture, it's much too flawed of a film to be a truly deserving winner - the plot, and specifically the ending...it's pretty bad. In the year that gave us gems like Mary Poppins, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, they really could've done a whole lot better.

46. Argo (2012)

Was Argo the best movie of 2012? Yes, it was - unless you count Les Miserables, Searching for Sugar Man, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Looper, Life of Pi, Django Unchained, Prometheus and quite a few others. Yes, it's a riveting true story that made for a decent film, but between Ben Affleck's mediocre directing, Ben Affleck's mediocre leading performance and Ben Affleck's dumbing-down of a multifaceted international conflict into "flawless CIA heroes versus evil Arabs", I just don't see this as a deserving Best Picture winner.

45. The Shape of Water (2017)

I really like The Shape of Water, and it's the type of film that could've deserved Best Picture in another, more mediocre year for cinema. But 2017, man - I would've been so much gladder to see Get Out, Dunkirk or Lady Bird winning. This is a good movie and does well by Best Picture merits - but compared to the groundbreaking and unique nature of Get Out, the incredible directing of Dunkirk or the flawless writing and acting performances of Lady Bird, this win couldn't help but feel a tad anticlimactic.

44. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Much like with The Shape of Water, here we have a film that checks all the boxes for an Academy darling and definitely deserved to be *nominated* - but when looking at the other offerings of the year, I strongly contest that the win went to the wrong address. There's no way in hell that it's a Better Picture, subjectively or "objectively", than absolute masterpieces like Moulin Rouge! and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

43. The Hurt Locker (2009)

This would be ranked even lower, as it's one of my least-favorite Best Picture winners on a subjective level despite its admitted strengths - but 2009 wasn't the best year for movies, so there were no five-star masterpieces that scream "OF COURSE THIS SHOULD'VE WON". Still, there's a handful of films from 2009 that I consider to be more deserving of Best Picture than The Hurt Locker - Inglorious Basterds is a more compelling and ambitious war film, Up would've been a great opportunity to make history for animated cinema, and Invictus wasn't even nominated for some f**king reason despite being total Oscar bait (in a good way) and a more deserving winner.

42. The King's Speech (2010)

Speaking of Oscar bait - The King's Speech isn't quite one of those films that was made with "let's win a bunch of Oscars" being the #1 priority (those films thankfully get the BP win quite rarely, as the Academy sees through their bullshit despite still nominating them every time), but wanting to win a bunch of Oscars definitely figured into the filmmaking process as quite a heavy side-priority.

It's an excellent film, but as is often the case, I do think that there were more deserving winners among works where the filmmaker very likely didn't give a flying fuck about winning awards and just wanted to make a genuine piece of art. Not to take anything away from this beautiful period piece, but The Social Network and Inception are giants next to it.

41. Crash (2005)

The most universally hated Best Picture winner is a difficult one to rank - I watched the film when I was 13 or 14 years old, and I really remember liking it, but so much of what I've read about its backlash later has made me think that I very possibly would appreciate it a lot less if I were to re-watch it at a more mature age (shit, I'll have to do that before I rank all 100 Best Picture winners two years from now).

For now, I can't rank it too high as I've heard so many good arguments for it being an exceptionally undeserving winner, but I also can't rank it too low as my own memory is the film being awesome and I would have to see it for myself before completely changing my opinion. This is a good compromise ranking for now, and I'm guessing that Brokeback Mountain should've won.

40. Nomadland (2020)

Now we're getting from the "I definitely would've rather given the award to another film, and am appalled by the one the Academy chose" tier to "I personally would've gone a different direction, but I see what they were going for" territory. I'm not mad about Nomadland winning - it's a brilliant film, particularly thanks to Chloe Zhao's directing and Frances McDormand's tour-de-force performance, and the film did speak to its time in a way that makes it feel like an adequate Best Picture choice for 2020. Still, there are a couple of films that would've deserved it even more if you ask me - The Trial of the Chicago 7 in particular is a better film overall, and spoke to the year of its release in an even more powerful manner.

39. Patton (1970)

Look, I get it - Patton is an exceptionally well-made film, with some all-time great set design and brilliant overall production values. That being said, I 100% would've given Best Picture to Love Story over it. It's hard to say where this preference lands in terms of the subjective and the objective - a romantic, well, love story is inevitably more to my liking than a war film that isn't especially anti-war. But I'd argue that even besides all that, Love Story is an even greater film, and has stood the test of time better. But I can't rank Patton too low, because there is definitely an argument to be made for its win as well.

38. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Look, I most certainly am not here to talk smack about The Bridge on the River Kwai. It's a fantastic film, deserving of its status as a classic, and in most years, it would most definitely be the most deserving Best Picture candidate. The only reason that it isn't ranked much higher is that 12 Angry Men came out the same year, and if you ask me, that's what should have won.

I mean, I get it - The Bridge on the River Kwai is obviously a more ambitious production, checking many of the boxes...but I would argue that 12 Angry Men was even more groundbreaking, and ended up becoming even more influential, with its immortal dialogue and dynamite acting performances. Still, River Kwai is brilliant enough that I can't be mad about this one.

37. Rain Man (1988)

I'd have to watch Rain Man again in order to analyze how well its portrayal of autism has aged. I'm guessing it's not great from a modern standpoint, but still a decent step forward for its time. Cinematically, I remember the film having excellent acting and directing - it's not among my favorite Best Picture winners, but an understandable winner still.

I haven't seen any of the year's other BP nominees - there are movies from 1988 that I personally respect more, but back then, the Academy was a stickler for conventional Oscar films, so one can't really demand that the award should've gone to My Neighbor Totoro or Die Hard.

36. Chicago (2002)

Between 25th Hour, Adaptation and especially The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 2002 had its share of movies that were arguably even more Best Picture -worthy than the year's winner - yet I'm still ranking Chicago well, because it's a really tight margin. It's a fantastically well-made musical, and one that would be completely deserving in a more average movie year. Yes, the competition was tough and I personally would've left it at a nomination, but still, Chicago's win is an understandable and quite respectable choice.

35. Forrest Gump (1994)

For a normal year, or even an above-average year, Forrest Gump would've been an absolute no-brainer for Best Picture, and would probably be in today's top ten. But, the thing is - 1994 was, if you ask me, the greatest year in cinematic history. The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, Crooklyn...Jesus, what a year. I can't rank Forrest Gump too highly because of The Shawshank Redemption in particular - it's one of my top 3 movies of all time, and having the all-time highest IMDB rating implies that it really kind of should have won Best Picture. But still - it's Forrest Gump, so one can't be too mad.

34. The Artist (2011)

Was The Artist the best film of 2011? For me subjectively, not quite. But did it have the most cinematic merit for Best Picture? Very arguably yes. We're now starting to get to the ones where I at least more or less agree with the choice, but still far from the "I'd be mad as hell if this HADN'T won" territory. I wouldn't have minded if the award had gone to Hugo or The Intouchables, both of which I prefer to The Artist on a subjective level, but as Best Picture nominees, I'd put all three in the roughly same tier.

33. Rocky (1976)

Many cinephiles consider this to be one of the most outrageous "robberies" in Oscar history, and I kind of get it - as much of a classic as Rocky is, it's easy to argue that All the President's Men and Taxi Driver were more BP material. Much like in the previous entry, I do enjoy both of those films more than Rocky on a subjective level, but believe it or not - I totally get why it won Best Picture. Sure, it's not quite as flawless of a production as All the President's Men and it hasn't had as much of an impact as Taxi Driver, but when you think about it, it comes hellishly close in both categories.

In addition to being an entertaining boxing film, it's damn good cinema, and it certainly has had a lasting effect in Hollywood - just think about the iconic imagery of the training montage sequence, Stallone's career-defining performance and the amazing score. Not to mention the underdog story, which makes its Best Picture win all the more fitting - in this scenario, Taxi Driver was Apollo Creed, and Rocky was, well, Rocky.

32. Gladiator (2000)

Once again, there's a handful of films from the year in question that I would personally rank higher, but I get it - in a world of conventions and unspoken rules, Chris Nolan's Memento and Spike Lee's Bamboozled aren't conventional Oscar-winner material, or at least they weren't 26 years ago. Gladiator is such a thoroughly well-made production that its win is very well-reasoned, and out of the films from 2000 to get a Best Picture nomination, I would've picked it as well.

31. On the Waterfront (1954)

With this one, it really comes down to how much slack I'm going to give the Academy for largely disregarding foreign films in the past. On the Waterfront was the best *American* film of 1954 by all accounts, but when considering that Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (not to mention the original Godzilla, for us genre movie dreamers) came out that year, well, that's what should have won.

It's tough to decide how much to judge this America-centric stuff from the fifties - I give them zero slack whenever they pull that shit nowadays, and a lot of slack for understandably not being woke enough to realize that Metropolis should've won in the very first Oscars, so this one lands somewhere in between. In any case, On the Waterfront is a fantastic film and certainly more deserving than a lot of these.

30. No Country for Old Men (2007)

In my dream world, the Academy would appreciate cinema in a less narrow-minded fashion, and Todd Haynes' experimental masterpiece I'm Not There would've won Best Picture. But, in the real world, I must grudgingly admit that out of the at least somewhat conventional cinematic offerings of 2007, there wasn't a more deserving Best Picture winner than No Country for Old Men. Astonishing acting performances, a memorable narrative and rock-solid directing by the Coen brothers.

29. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Much like with the last one, the dreamer/idealist in me can't rank this too highly, because I would've appreciated it even more if the actually best films of 2008, like In Bruges, Mamma Mia! and Synechdoce, New York, had been among the favorites to win. But alas - they were not even nominated. Out of the films that actually had a chance of winning, Slumdog Millionaire is a very reasonable choice - that and Milk are roughly on the same level, and I would have been happy with either one winning.

28. The Sting (1973)

Probably the most deserving Best Picture winner of the year. An argument could be made for The Exorcist, but let's be real - the Academy is still a bit stuck-up about genre films, so back in '73, it was amazing that a horror film even got nominated. Anyhow, this grifting extravaganza has stood the test of time, and is definitely among the BP winners that one has to respect even if they slightly preferred The Exorcist or Mean Streets on a subjective level.

27. The Deer Hunter (1978)

Honestly, this one is valid as hell. In terms of subjective favorites, the very best films of 1978 were Halloween and Superman if you ask me, but A) this gripping Vietnam war picture isn't far behind, and B) I recognize that my subjective favorites are much harder to reason to be deserving Best Picture winners. I'd say this one went to the right film.

26. Spotlight (2015)

2015 was a brilliant movie year, yet with all its great offerings, there was no individual masterpiece that would clearly beat its competitors - therefore, there are many films from that year that would've been a thoroughly acceptable Best Picture winner. I would've been fine with The Hateful Eight, Inside Out or Straight Outta Compton winning, but I'm also extremely fine with the one they went with. Spotlight is a damn fine piece of cinema, and arguably the year's best picture indeed.

25. Amadeus (1984)

Now we're really getting to the deserving ones - no film from 1984, at least out of the ones I've seen, were as deserving of Best Picture than this fantastic Mozart biopic. The only reason that it's not even higher is that there are many that were deserving with even clearer margins.

24. La La Land (2016)

Ah shit, wrong envelope. Let's try again...

24. Moonlight (2016)

I'd personally rank a few of 2016's Best Picture nominees, such as La La Land and Hidden Figures, even ahead of Moonlight as overall movies - but I can't possibly be anything else than happy about Moonlight's win. It's an exceptionally well-made film, and for that particular year in history, I'm actually kind of glad that they gave the award to a film highlighting the Black experience as well as LGBTQ+ upbringing, as opposed to a film like La La Land which might be as good cinematically but doesn't have as much to say. Some things are bigger than cinema.

23. Unforgiven (1992)

For me personally? There are quite a few films from 1992 that I would've given Best Picture to over this one - Malcolm X, A Few Good Men, Scent of a Woman...(sidenote: what a f**king year that was for cinema). But I'd be lying if I called Unforgiven undeserving - it's a hell of a cinematic accomplishment, not to mention being the film that the legendary Clint Eastwood finally got his Oscar recognition for. And since the Academy always overlooked westerns in the genre's heyday, it's kind of poetic that this revisionist masterwork produced this milestone for westerns.

22. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

This one cracks me up - I actually find this film a bit overrated as a whole, I've found myself debating its merits with mega-fans on multiple occasions, and a few of its fellow Best Picture nominees from 2022 are films that I personally liked more (The Banshees of Inisherin in particular). Yet it still ranks very highly on today's prestigious list!

That's because in the bigger picture, EEAAO's Best Picture win symbolized a very positive shift in the cinematic world. A movie this weird wouldn't have won BP twenty, or ten, or even five years earlier, as the Academy has remained a stickler for a narrow, deeply conventional view on cinema for much of its history (to the heartbreak of "every genre is awesome" film enjoyers like myself).

This film's win was a signal that the Oscars had finally changed for the better, at least a little, and that a wider range of films are now in the running. Barbie got nominated the very next year, and Sinners broke the all-time nomination record two years after that, to show that this wasn't just an anomaly - good cinema can get the nominations (and occasionally even wins) it deserves now, no matter how unconventional. You love to see it.

21. Wings (1927)

Let's hear it for the first-ever Best Picture winner! The inaugural Oscars were a fifteen-minute ceremony that wasn't even broadcast on the radio, and on that historic night, Wings took home the big award that was called "Outstanding Motion Picture" back them.

The only reason that this golden oldie isn't ranked even higher is that a far superior film, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, came out the same year - but while Hollywood these days gets a lot of deserved flack for shortcomings in international representation, you have to cut some slack to the first Oscars ever for focusing on American cinema and overlooking a sensational German masterpiece. Anyhow, Wings is an extremely well-made movie for its time, and probably the best American film from its year by a country mile.

20. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Once again, there's a select few films from the year in question that might get my personal "Best Picture" over this one, but in the grand scheme of things, I absolutely love that 12 Years a Slave took the win. I do consider it the most cinematically deserving out of that year's nominees (how 42 wasn't nominated is beyond me), and furthermore, its win speaks to a larger point.

It's not just an excellent film, but a damn important one - many historians have suggested that in the long history of historical films about slavery, this was probably the first mainstream Hollywood movie ever made that accurately portrayed just how brutal it really was, with no elements of whitewashing. It's sickening that it took so long for such a film to be made, but I'm glad that once it did, it got such recognition. 74 years after they gave Best Picture to goddamn Gone With the Wind, giving it to a film that did its opposite culturally was the very least the Academy could do.

19. Braveheart (1995)

Braveheart is my favorite film from 1995, and even on a less subjective level, it does meet the criteria of a Best Picture winner quite handsomely. I can't really rank it higher than this because A) I haven't seen any of its fellow nominees so the exact amount of deserving-ness is hard to estimate, and B) there are films that have "deserving Best Picture winner" written all over them with even brighter colors than this one.

18. Parasite (2019)

Parasite, on the other hand, was not quite my #1 favorite film of 2019 - but I was deliriously happy when it won. While I personally consider 1917 an even Better Picture, I do so with a very tight margin. And honestly, I was glad that in the midst of Trump's first term, the Academy rewarded a South Korean film about class struggle over a Hollywood war movie.

Once again, some things are bigger than cinema - some might say that "they should keep politics out of the Oscars", but I find such sentiments to be, frankly, dumb. All art is political, and cinema can be political in a very powerful fashion, and that deserves acclaim (also, Parasite is just one hell of a great movie).

17. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

There are only three movies, in all of history, that have won the Big Five - the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Actress and Best Lead Actor. It makes sense that all three are quite well-ranked on today's list - you don't win the Big Five by accident.

Yeah, the Academy nailed it with this one - quite often, they embarrass themselves by rewarding what they think will be a "future classic" but end up overlooking the real future classics and giving Best Picture to a film that no one is talking about one year later (*cough cough*, One Battle After Another, *cough*). Here, they went with the film that still remains the film from 1975 (well, right after Monty Python's Holy Grail, but I have to grudgingly admit that Best Picture would be a stretch for that particular kind of masterpiece).

16. The Departed (2006)

Oh, hell yeah, this is a Best Picture right here. Sure, I personally like The Prestige and Inland Empire even more, but when looking at things from an Oscars standpoint, I would've settled for a nomination for both of them. Anyhow, this Scorsese masterclass gave us unforgettable performances, riveting dialogue and a flawlessly executed plot. A very well-earned win.

15. Gandhi (1982)

Okay, now we're really in the big leagues - we haven't quite yet entered the "I'd be mad as hell if this hadn't won" territory yet, but very firmly in the "it is right as hell that this film won" area. Couldn't have gone to a Better Picture. Ravi Shankar's score alone is better than most entire movie productions.

14. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Here we have a Big Five winner that was even more of a no-brainer for Best Picture (and its other wins) than One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest! The Academy was so real for this one - a psychological crime thriller, with elements veering on horror, wasn't the conventional Oscar choice for the early 90's, but it's just such a great piece of cinema that they managed to overlook their biases and give the film its deserved acclaim.

13. The Sound of Music (1965)

Ah, now we're officially in the realm of "it would be weird if the film hadn't won". No film from 1965 has remained as relevant, or influenced cinema as much, as The Sound of Music. The timeless songs, Julie Andrews' performance, the contrast between the light tone and the grim escalation of the plot - yeah, this motion picture rules.

12. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Okay, now we're really getting to the no-brainers. It would be questionable as hell if this anti-war masterpiece hadn't won Best Picture. I can't rank it too high as I haven't seen any of its fellow nominees so one could argue that I can't form a strong opinion, but then again, there are reasons much beyond Oscar acclaim that only one of the 1930 nominees is a timeless household name that regularly comes up when discussing the greatest films of all time, whereas the other four haven't gained a must-watch legacy.

11. Oppenheimer (2023)

Christopher Nolan finally got his Best Picture win for this masterclass, and it couldn't have gone to a better film. I'm glad that Barbie was nominated and I put them very much on the same level in my own personal preference, but in terms of Best Picture merit, I do agree with the Academy's choice that this one was even greater out of two greats. The production values, the music, the camerawork, the editing, the sheer gargantuan scale of things and the thought-provoking narrative...absolute cinema.

10. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014)

On a subjective level, Birdman is in my top three Best Picture winners of all time, and one of my absolute favorite movies ever made. On today's list, I can't rank it quite as high as I would like to - mind you, it was a deserving winner, but with 2014 being such a great movie year, it isn't as clear of its competitors as some BP winners. It was my favorite of the year's nominees by a long shot and I'm so glad it won, but I would've had to have a grudging level of understanding if the award had gone to Boyhood or Whiplash instead.

9. It Happened One Night (1934)

Yeah, out of the three Big Five winners, It Happened One Night is the most deserving when it comes to Best Picture. For that period in Hollywood and the resources at the disposal of the era's filmmakers, it is quite the perfect movie - every acting performance, every line of dialogue, it all just makes for a delightful treat. A true classic, and an exceptionally deserving Best Picture winner.

8. Ben-Hur (1959)

As fate would have it, right after we got done with the Big Five winners we get the first of an even more legendary threesome - the three films that have the tied record for eleven Academy Awards. Whether Ben-Hur absolutely deserved all eleven of its awards could be debated, I suppose, but it certainly earned most of them, and a film worthy of this feat is certainly worthy of Best Picture. While the other two films that tie its record are ranked even higher on my list, I am not here to talk smack about this swords-and-sandals epic - it's a remarkable piece of cinema, and a true Best Picture winner if I ever saw one.

7. West Side Story (1961)

On a purely personal level, Breakfast at Tiffany's is just slightly ahead of this one in terms of 1961 movies - but I can't possibly be mad about this one or even disagree with the Academy's choice, really. West Side Story is a staple of cinematic history, and just such a grandiose production across all aspects of filmmaking.

6. Schindler's List (1993)

One of the best movies ever made, especially when looking at the criteria for a Best Picture. There were many great movies in 1993, from The Fugitive through Jurassic Park all the way to Philadelphia, but honestly, it would feel wrong if Best Picture had gone to anything else than this giant among movies. Spielberg's directing, the massive set design, the genius color schemes and all that the film has to say about humanity's grim history and how it reflects into the present...truly one of the Best Pictures of all time.

5. The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Academy has never been overtly favorable towards any kind of sequels, so you know the movie is next-level amazing when it has "Part II" in its title and it wins Best Picture. This masterpiece is every bit as good as the film that it follows, and fills every possible criteria of a Best Picture winner with aplomb. It's one of the high points for filmmaking as an art form, and an exceptionally deserving Best Picture winner.

4. Casablanca (1942)

More often than not, the Academy gets it slightly wrong - they always try to award Best Picture to what they think will be a future classic, and predicting a film's legacy is an admittedly hard job. Still, it feels weird as hell that films like Citizen Kane and It's a Wonderful Life (or, *cough cough*, Sinners) didn't win Best Picture, when considering what a legacy they ended up having. Therefore, one has to respect the times when the Academy gets it right - and this right here is a big one.

It would be a travesty if Michael Curtiz's masterpiece hadn't won Best Picture - between the dynamite acting performances, the 10/10 dialogue, the intriguing setting brought to life via immaculate production design, and the groundbreaking twist on the romance genre, it's quite simply a Better Picture than hardly any other. The Academy sure nailed it with this one.

3. The Godfather (1972)

I often use the phrase "not exactly The Godfather" to describe various degrees of cruddy cinema on my blog - so you know it's good when you get to the one film that, in fact, is exactly The Godfather. People regularly use this as their go-to example for a great movie - what a legacy that is, and a well-earned one at that. Peak filmmaking, from the performances and score to the screenplay and directing. If this hadn't won Best Picture, it would be considered a ridiculous flub of historic proportions from the Academy.

2. Titanic (1997)

There were very fine movies nominated in 1997, such as Good Will Hunting and As Good as It Gets, but as brilliant as they may be, they had absolutely no business getting anyone's vote to win Best Picture. I can't think of any argument that could be made for any 1997 film to be a deserving Best Picture winner ahead of Titanic. This James Cameron epic won eleven Oscars, and by God, it deserved every single one of them.

Few of the films on today's list rank even higher for me on a subjective level - not that many, but Birdman and The Godfather Part II for example. But when looking at the skill of filmmaking and how deserving of the most coveted Oscar a film is, even they don't hold a candle to Titanic. The work that went into this gargantuan effort of filmmaking deserves all the acclaim, with the Best Picture Oscar being the bare minimum.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

If they ever decide to hold a special ceremony of all-time Oscars, with the same categories as usual but for all of cinematic history instead of a specific year, then The Return of the King should win Best Picture. It's the greatest movie ever made and I'm glad it won.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I rank the greatest TV soundtrack moments of all time.

Top 10 most deserving winners from the 2025/26 Oscars

Greetings, reader!

Well, the 98th Academy Awards were held Sunday night. Some of the awards went to very deserving winners, whereas with some others, I personally would've gone with a different pick (*cough cough*, Best Picture, *cough*). Out of all the winners, these are the ones that I felt to be the most well-earned / the ones that I'm the happiest about!

P.S. for those interested, I got a whopping 17 predictions right (out of 24), tying my record from 2022 and 2023 and beating my scores from 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. I'm feeling good about next year in terms of finally beating that record!

Here are my honorable mentions: Best Casting (Cassandra Kulukundis, One Battle After Another), Best Film Editing (Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another), Best Supporting Actor (Sean Penn, One Battle After Another), Best Supporting Actress (Amy Madigan, Weapons).

10. Best Costume Design (Kate Hawley, Frankenstein)

I was glad to see Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein adaptation getting the recognition it deserved (not to mention that it won the exact three awards that I predicted for it, heh)! The costume design in this film was extravagant and sublime, really bringing out the lavish aesthetic that Mary Shelley's source material called for.

9. Best Music, Original Song (Golden from KPop Demon Hunters)

Honestly, Golden isn't even my favorite song from KPop Demon Hunters - but it's up there, and I was thoroughly happy to see it winning. The only reason why this isn't ranked even higher is that I personally would've given the award to I Lied to You from Sinners over this one, as that is an even superior original song written for a motion picture in my view. Still, it's a tight margin as both songs are so great, so it's no robbery (unlike Best Director, which you most definitely won't be seeing on today's list).

8. Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel & Cliona Furey, Frankenstein)

First of all, I'm relieved that I am now 7 for 7 in my annual "Sharknado bet", so I won't have to watch all nine films in the Sharknado! expanded universe and rank them in excruciating detail! I live to play with fire another day.

Furthermore, this no-brainer was a deserving winner for this category if I ever saw one. The artistry that this team did with Jacob Elordi, transforming him into this particular version of Frankenstein's monster, was pretty f**king next-level.

7. Best Production Design (Tamara Deverell & Shane Vieau, Frankenstein)

The three Frankenstein wins were hard to rank, as they're pretty much in the same tier for me, but Production Design one ended up on top. Out of the sixteen categories where Sinners was nominated, this is one of the very few ones where I would've definitely disagreed with the choice if it had won - not that there's anything wrong with the very fine production values in that film, but because the art direction and set decoration in Frankenstein is so unbeatable. The aesthetic in every scene looks amazing, with the overarching theme of the set design reading as "Mary Shelley's iconic vision clashes violently with Del Toro's wild imagination".

6. Best Documentary Short Film (Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones, All the Empty Rooms)

This harrowing documentary short takes an honest look at school shootings, as the filmmakers visit the homes of families who lost a child to America's death-cult relationship with firearms. The footage of the empty rooms, ones that the parents haven't dared to touch even years after losing their child, is enough to stop anyone's heart, and underscores how a complete lack of heart in our leaders is the only possible explanation for why this still keeps happening on such a regular basis.

It's a powerful and thought-provoking documentary, and the winning speech was just as gripping as you'd expect with this subject matter. An extremely well-earned win, this one.

5. Best Animated Feature (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans & Michelle L.M. Wong, KPop Demon Hunters)

I watched this film twice in one week with my students, and honestly, I wanted to watch it for a third time right after. The animation here, by many of the same people who brought us the groundbreaking Spider-Verse films, is groundbreaking and zany, and as a whole, the movie is one of last year's finest overall offerings. The themes of empowerment and cultural identity, the utterly fantastic musical numbers, all the fun that the film has with its lore - it's amazing stuff, and I'm thoroughly glad that such a blast of fun within the art of animation got recognized by the Academy.

4. Best Leading Actor (Michael B. Jordan, Sinners)

More like Michael B. deserving, am I right!

Look, I wouldn't have been overtly upset if Chalamet had won - I haven't seen Marty Supreme, but he's had a handful of arguably Oscar-worthy performances already and I do appreciate him as an actor no matter how tone-deaf he is as a person. I'm saying this to underscore that I had made my peace with his status as frontrunner - but you better believe I was 100% rooting for Michael B. Jordan to pull an upset.

What a career this man has already had, just shy of forty years of age. From a captivating teenage performance on The Wire, through his acclaimed leading role in Creed all the way to being an all-timer among Marvel villains in Black Panther, this f**king guy is ridiculously good in every project he lands. He's most definitely one of the most skillful actors working in Hollywood, and I was moved to tears when watching his acceptance speech. His role in Sinners was a whirlwind of complexity, heart, humor and nuance, and Best Actor could not have gone to a better film this year.

3. Best Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners)

Let's hear it for the first-ever woman to win this category! It's pretty crazy that it took 98 years, but oh man, what a milestone moment. Watching Arkapaw's acceptance speech, I immediately became a fan of her as a person, but going into the Oscars, I knew exactly one thing about her - she knows her way around a camera, and she better f**king win an Oscar for her work on Sinners.

It says something that the category felt like a total no-brainer, even though the year featured films like Frankenstein and One Battle After Another, both of which had excellent cinematography (I've heard it was one of Marty Supreme's biggest strengths as well). But Autumn Durald Arkapaw's delicate artistry with the camera throughout Sinners was just next-level, and the way she mashed conventions of horror, musical and drama shooting styles into a cohesive melting pot is just beyond me. Bravo.

2. Best Music, Original Score (Ludwig Göransson, Sinners)

I'm inevitably biased here, as I've been the most passionate Ludwig Göransson fan you'll ever meet ever since I discovered his work on Community. To give you some idea of how much I love this man, I can tell you that I'm not joking when I call him the best Ludwig in music history, for me personally.

But it's not just that I'm a fan of his - if his work on Sinners had been bad, or even mediocre, or even above-average, or even really good, I wouldn't have been pulling for him to win with such a passion. But the thing is - his work on Sinners was divine. Do you know what a cool dude you have to be in order to Ryan Coogler to hire you, for a Black film with a Black cast and a Black story celebrating Black culture and Black music in particular, even though you're a white nerd from Sweden? Of course, Coogler had gotten a front-row seat to Göransson's widely reported skills in composition based on respect and constantly educating oneself when they worked together on the Black Panther films. But still, when you listen to the Sinners score, it is absolutely mind-blowing that a white guy composed that.

As a musician, I'm always happy when this particular award goes to the right direction, and boy, did they nail it with this one. Out of the three Oscars Göransson has won so far, this score was probably my favorite, which is really saying something when you consider what behemoths of movie music the Black Panther and Oppenheimer scores were.

1. Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Ryan Coogler, Sinners)

I didn't plan for the four Oscars that Sinners won to be my top four today, but there was no way around it - they were the most well-earned wins of the night, with the widest margins, and the film could've won quite a few Oscars more if you ask me (*cough cough*, Best Picture and Best Director, *cough*). Choosing my #1 favorite out of these was a difficult task, but eventually, I had to listen to the writer in me.

It's a bit cliché to reason this by saying "without the script, none of the other things would've been possible", because that's true for every film every made. But it somehow rings extra true here - a lesser script can make for a film that still wins multiple awards due to other factors becoming the film's biggest strengths, but with Sinners - not to take away from everything else the film does well - it really does all come back to that screenplay.

I mean, Ryan Coogler imagined a story that asks profound questions about race in America, the role of the church in racial inequality, and the ruling class pitting migrants against other migrants. He then decided that metaphorical vampires, out of all things, is the best way to convey this story, and gave his political film an overtone of suspenseful, well-written horror. He also made the film into a celebration of Black culture, filling the story with real-feeling human characters and balancing the bleak parts out with a heavy dose of humor and heart. And this - a Black vampire horror musical - got a record-breaking sixteen Oscar nominations. So yes, the script that made all of this possible deserves, well, all the acclaim in the world.

Ludwig Göransson's exquisite score was possible because there was this incredible screenplay for him to draw inspiration from. Autumn Durald Arkapaw got free hands to commit remarkable acts of artistry with the camera, because the script called for such bold strokes. And Michael B. Jordan acted his heart out, all the way to an Oscar win, by interpreting two thoroughly fascinating characters written by Ryan Coogler. When ranking all the scripts that have won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, I'd rank Coogler's work in Sinners ahead of On the Waterfront, The Sting, even Citizen Kane - into the very highest tier, among giants such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Dead Poets Society.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I shamelessly continue to ride out the Oscar hype, with a post where I rank all 50 Best Picture winners I've seen, based on how deserving they were of the prestigious award.

My 2025/26 Oscar Predictions

Greetings, reader!

Well, it's that time of year again - these are my predictions for the 98th annual Academy Awards! Let's see if I can beat last year's score of 14 correct out of 23 (with the work and thought put into this, I really should).

Best Casting - Sinners (Francine Maisler)

Hooray for the new category! Not only is Sinners a very deserving winner, it's also the one that my money is on - the casting has been praised a lot, and for damn good reason. Every single character was played by the best possible actor here. This category is inevitably a bit hard to predict, as there's no precedent, but Sinners seems like such a logical winner.

Best Documentary Short - All the Empty Rooms (Joshua Seftel & Conall Jones)

This heartbreaking and harrowing documentary about school shootings seems to have the most critical acclaim and awards season buzz around it, not to mention the subject matter being something that the Academy often highlights (as they should).

Best Animated Short - Butterfly (Florence Miailhe & Ron Dyens)

There's always less data on these more obscure categories, but from what I've gathered, the award season hype seems to be centered the most around Butterfly and Retirement Plan. The winner could be either one of them, but my gut is telling me to go with this French film - the animation style seems more artistically vibrant, in the kind of way that the Academy is likely to reward, in this one.

Best Live Action Short - A Friend of Dorothy (Lee Knight and James Dean)

Although the category itself is never such a big deal in the media, this year's Live Action Short is promising to be one of the most evenly matched toss-ups - there appears to be a lot of merit, hype and successful award season campaigning around both A Friend of Dorothy and Two People Exchanging Saliva. I kept going back and forth between these two as I read up on Oscar season, but ended up going with the slightly more "obvious" pick. The premise in A Friend of Dorothy sounds very Oscar-bait-y, and while such films never win all the awards, they always get their share.

Best Visual Effects - Avatar: Fire and Ash (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon & Daniel Barrett)

I'm so sure of this one that I considered doing my annual Sharknado prediction about it, but then decided not to, as there were a select few that I felt even more certain of. But, yeah - the first two Avatar films won this award, and the third looks to be reaching their levels of acclaim in the visual arts. I haven't seen the film yet, but the trailer alone shows promise of Avatar continuing to be Avatar - the story might be mediocre and the lessons mixed, but you just know that James Cameron's team of CGI wizards is going to be taking home yet another Academy Award.

Best Cinematography - Sinners (Autumn Durald Arkapaw)

As will become evident towards the end of today's post, what I'm hoping for and what I'm betting on are two very different things in this year's Oscars. However, there are some categories where the film I want to win is the same as the film I'm guessing to win, and one of these categories is Best Cinematography. The camerawork was excellent in Frankenstein and One Battle After Another, but let's be real - the Academy is kidding itself if they reward those over Arkapaw's delicate artistry in Sinners. Also, what's up with no woman winning this award in 98 years of Oscars? Let's make history this year, please.

Best Film Editing - One Battle After Another (Andy Jurgensen)

While I found this critical darling overrated as a whole, editing is one of those departments where even I can't be mad if they take home the Oscar. The film was very well-edited, and seeing as the film is on track to very possibly win multiple Oscars (including a semi-likely Best Picture), this category seems like a no-brainer for its collection.

Best Sound - F1 (Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo & Juan Peralta)

I haven't seen F1, but the thing is - I've seen so much praise about its sound editing and mixing, and so much either indifference or downright critique about the performances, directing and writing, that it makes the narrative look like the sound design carried the film all the way to its Best Picture nomination. And with this being the case, it would be weird as hell if didn't at least win Best Sound.

Best Production Design - Frankenstein (Tamara Deverell & Shane Vieau)

You can't watch 2025's Frankenstein adaptation without constantly admiring the vibrant world created under Guillermo Del Toro's artistic vision - the gothic style is delightfully loyal to Mary Shelley's source material, while Del Toro's own artistry and twists on the formula make the aesthetic a very specific type of gothic, one that I can't quite find the words for but that you have to see in order to believe. That's award-worthy stuff right there.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling - Frankenstein (Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel & Cliona Furey)

Every year, I pick the category I feel the most sure about and make a bold bet: if I get this one wrong, I will watch every film in the Sharknado! franchise (and its expanded universe) and rank them in excruciating detail. The stakes keep getting higher - by now, there are SIX Sharknado films, as well as two Lavalantula spin-offs and a crossover. So far, I'm six for six in my Sharknado predictions:

2019/20 - Best Cinematography for 1917

2020/21 - Best Animated Feature for Soul

2021/22 - Best Sound for Dune

2022/23 - Best International Feature for All Quiet on the Western Front

2023/24 - Best International Feature for The Zone of Interest

2024/25 - Best Production Design for Wicked

...But can I keep tempting fate forever? We're about to find out, as I'm making this year's Sharknado prediction about Frankenstein winning Best Makeup and Hairstyling. When it comes to this category, there's nothing that the Academy loves more than transforming a recognizable, conventionally attractive actor into a hardly recognizable visual tapestry with a bunch of prosthetics. This film certainly does that, and with tremendous skill, and it's very difficult to imagine any of the other nominees winning over this one.

Best Costume Design - Frankenstein (Kate Hawley)

This one is a bit of a toss-up, as Sinners has a fair shot of winning as well. But, having seen both films, I do see Frankenstein as an even more deserving winner for this category, and not in a totally subjective way but in one that I think the Academy will recognize as well. The film took home the BAFTA in the same category, and the way in which the extravagant period-piece clothes bring out the lavish aesthetic called for by Mary Shelley's source material is just too good not be rewarded.

Best Documentary Feature - The Perfect Neighbor (Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu & Sam Bisbee)

I hate to be that guy who has only seen one of the five nominees yet has the audacity to claim that it deserves to win - but today, I am that guy. I mean, obviously it's very possible that the other nominees are as good or even better than The Perfect Neighbor, and would also be deserving winners. I just know that this one is such an exceptionally top-notch documentary (and with such a timely message), that it must be at least somewhat of a deserving winner, no matter how equally good the other four nominees might be.

My prediction isn't just based on my own feelings about how good the film was, obiously. Objectively, this is looking to be a toss-up between The Perfect Neighbor and Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Initially, the Netflix production that I'm going with seemed to have the award locked with its well-campaigned hype (mind you, it sucks that this PR stuff has so much bearing on Oscar success), but the BAFTAs shook things up to make the race interesting.

As the Golden Globes don't have a documentary category (the hell is up with that, anyway?), the BAFTAs are always the most pressing awards-season precedent for Oscar predictions in this category - and in a somewhat suprising move, Mr. Nobody Against Putin took the win. This might indicate a trend for the Oscars as well, but then again, the Academy never goes completely in line with the other award galas even though they reward many of the same movies. I'm still going with The Perfect Neighbor, but won't be surprised if either one of these two wins.

Best Animated Feature - KPop Demon Hunters (Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans & Michelle L.M. Wong)

A total no-brainer, so much so that I considered doing my Sharknado bet on this one although I ended up feeling even more sure about Makeup and Hairstyling. But, yeah, KPop Demon Hunters checks all the boxes - massively popular, tons of critical acclaim, won the Golden Globe, and the safely liberal Academy can pat themselves on the back for being all multicultural while still rewarding a very much American-produced KPop film. Yeah, I think it's safe to say they have this one locked - the biggest runner-up seems to be Zootopia 2 which took home the BAFTA, but I just don't see the "let's not give any nominations to Wicked: For Good" Academy rewarding a sequel unless they absolutely have to.

Best International Feature - Sentimental Value (Norway)

This category isn't as much of a closed case as it is in many years - quite often, one of the five nominees will be nominated in several other categories (including Best Picture) whereas the other four will be nominated only here, and those are always done deals. However, this year is an interesting case - out of the five International Feature nominees, four are nominated in multiple categories, including two Best Picture nominees. It stands to reason that the winner will be one of those two, and my money is on Sentimental Value over The Secret Agent.

Best Original Score - Sinners (Ludwig Göransson)

I can't believe that the guy who made the Community soundtrack is about to win his third Oscar - not to mention the fact that his first was for a superhero flick, while the second was for a Chris Nolan film and this one is for a Black vampire horror musical. What a time to be alive!

Yeah, I'm rioting if Göransson doesn't win for his work on the exquisite Sinners soundtrack. Between the deserved critical acclaim, the precedent of winning the Golden Globe and just the experience of listening to this score while having two ears attached to a heart, it's pretty clear why this category will go to the right direction.

Best Original Song - KPop Demon Hunters (Golden)

I wouldn't be completely floored if I Lied to You from Sinners took this award home instead, but still, I'm pretty darn sure about this one. Golden has gotten matched levels of popularity and critical acclaim, and the songs (this one in particular) are such a major part of this movie that it would make all the sense in the world for it to win. And once again, if one looks for the Globes for guidance (although one should always play that game carefully, as there's always a fair but not exact correlation between the Globes and the Oscars), Golden took the win there as well!

Best Original Screenplay - Sinners (Ryan Coogler)

I mean...dude wrote a horror movie about vampires that is really about racism (and the church) but also about the beauty of music and a celebration of Black culture, and it got a record-breaking sixteen Oscar nominations. If the script that made all of this possible isn't rewarded with an Oscar, the only possible explanation would be that those damn vampires got to the Academy (which, now that I think about it, seems scarily possible).

This is a bit tricky as Sinners didn't win the Golden Globe for screenwriting, but then again, the Globes have only one writing category instead of the dual system used in the Academy, and it went to an adapted screenplay, so none of Sinners' fellow nominees here got the win either.

Best Adapted Screenplay - One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Look, One Battle After Another is by no means a bad movie, but it is an overrated one, and I'm still pissed that it won the Golden Globe for screenwriting over Sinners. Well, come the Oscars, those two won't be competing against one another when it comes to the screenplay categories, as they're in different races. OBAA won the screenwriting Globe with twice the competition, so it's pretty obvious that it'll win the Oscar as well.

Best Director - One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)

It breaks my heart to make this prediction, as Ryan Coogler deserves this award for his work with Sinners so much more than Anderson does. But, these are my predictions and not my hopes, and while I let a healthy bit of optimism sway my guesses in a few categories, I do have to be a realist as well. If Coogler does end up winning Best Director, I'll be as happy as anyone and I definitely won't give a damn about my predictions going wrong - so, in a way, I'm making this into a win-win for myself. Either I'm right or I'm the pleasantly surprised type of wrong.

Best Supporting Actor - Sentimental Value (Stellan Skarsgård)

I haven't seen Sentimental Value yet, but I'm still hoping for Stellan to win - he's such a brilliant actor with a distinguished career, and finally winning an Oscar at 74 years would be special. I've seen all of the fellow nominees for this category, and as brilliant as Sean Penn, Benedicio Del Toro and Jacob Elordi were, I can easily imagine the year's best supporting performance being even better than them (if Delroy Lindo wins, that'll be earned and I'll be happy, but apparently he's considered to be a bit of an underdog here). Penn won the BAFTA but Skarsgård won the Golden Globe, so it's a bit of a toss-up, but my money is on the Swedish legend.

Best Supporting Actress - One Battle After Another (Teyana Taylor)

This appears to be a close race between Teyana Taylor in OBAA and Wunmi Mosaku in Sinners. Out of the two, I'm hoping for Mosaku to win, as she had the even better performance in my view. That being said, Teyana Taylor is a talented actress so I won't be too distraught if she takes the win - as I'm guessing she will. She took home the Golden Globe, and she (along with the whole film) seems to be having the better award season PR campaign going on, which unfortunately holds way too much sway with the Academy.

Best Actress - Hamnet (Jessie Buckley)

With this one, looking to the Globes for guidance gets a bit tricky, because of how utterly ridiculous their category system is. They divide films into dramas and others (comedy, musical et cetera) with a weirdly arbitrary touch (One Battle After Another is listed as a comedy. I laughed maybe once, twice tops, while watching it), but only for some categories. For supporting actors and actresses, there's only one category, but for leading performances, they have separate categories for drama and "comedy/musical" - you can't make this shit up.

Anyways, it stands to reason that either Jessie Buckley or Rose Byrne will win the Oscar, as they both took home Golden Globes for Best Leading Actress. Out of the two, I'm going with Buckley - her performance has garnered even more critical acclaim, and this seems to be the only category where the 8-nomination juggernaut Hamnet has a fair chance of winning. Eight nominations and zero wins would be rough.

Best Actor - Marty Supreme (Timothée Chalamet)

Yep, I'm calling it - this is the year that Jiminy Chameleon is winning his first Oscar. Obviously, it's not like it's a hot take - people have been calling him a future Oscar winner for about a decade, and this is the first time when he's looking to be the frontrunner. He won the Globe (then again, so did Wagner Moura due the weird-ass system), and his performance has been the most praised aspect of Best Picture nominee Marty Supreme with a wide margin.

I won't mind if Michael B. Jordan wins for Sinners, but I'll be livid if Leo wins for OBAA - and if Timpani Chamomile wins like I'm guessing, I won't have a strong opinion as I haven't seen the movie yet. I know he's a brilliantly talented actor and he's had a handful of arguably Oscar-worthy performances already, so I'm guessing the Academy knows what they're doing. Some have speculated that his recent, ridiculously tone-deaf comments about the fine arts might affect his chances of winning an Oscar, but I'm pretty sure that voting closed before that story blew up, so I'm guessing Timetable Chlamydia is safe.

Best Picture - One Battle After Another

I haven't been this invested in the Best Picture race in years, and unfortunately, my hopes and my predictions are at odds. I cannot find the right words to describe how strongly I feel, on every possible level, that Sinners deserves to win over One Battle After Another. I feel this on a filmmaking level - obviously, OBAA is a well-made movie that deserves many of its nominations and even a few wins, but Sinners is vastly superior in terms of writing, directing, score, acting performances, cinematography, costumes and makeup, production design, and especially the art of being groundbreaking and unique.

But even more so, I feel it on the social and cultural level of a movie having something to say - the Academy has always been political, as it should, because all art is inescapably political, no matter what Neil Patrick Harris says. The race between OBAA and Sinners is all too similar to the race between Green Book and BlacKKKlansman in 2018, and we all know how that turned out. The Academy loves to award a political film, as long as it's political in a safe, sexy, marketable and moderately liberal way, as not to ruffle too many feathers. BlacKKKlansman deserved to win Best Picture, but the Academy didn't want to reward a film that is truly anti-racist through exposing uncomfortable truths about systemic racism and the lines between past and present while motivating white people to educate themselves and change for the better, so it makes all the sense in the world that they rewarded Green Book, which largely presents racism as an issue of the past and taps white people on the shoulder with a "some of us are good ones, job well done!" attitude.

And I fear that the exact same will happen this year. We have Sinners, the perfect film for the Trump era, as it boldly tackles severe and complex issues like the role of the church in systemic racism and the ruling class pitting migrants against other migrants, while celebrating Black culture loud and proud. And then we have One Battle After Another, a film that is political in a cowardly, bare-minimum fashion: it presents a vague metaphor for the current situation with fictional fascists running society and rebels fighting against it, while not really saying anything beyond "the fascists are bad guys". Sure, it's a good message, but in terms of political art, the current time calls for something deeper, and there is a lot to choose from. Sinners is the movie equivalent of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib calling Trump out by shouting "You've killed Americans!" during his SOTU speech, while OBAA feels like the rest of the House Democrats quietly watching the rise of fascism from a front-row seat and later posting think-pieces about "the power of silent disapproval" - so you know the second one is going to win, for the same reason that the media is coronating Gavin Newsom as the next Democratic nominee for President.

I'd be more than happy to be wrong about this, and I'll be overjoyed if Sinners wins Best Picture. But I sure as shit won't be surprised if OBAA takes the win. I guess it's better that they reward moderately anti-fascist movies as opposed to rewarding pro-fascist movies, but still, it can't help but feel like a coward's way out when an actually thought-provoking piece of art like Sinners is right there.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for a post-Oscars post, as I rank the most deserving winners of this year's ceremony.

Top 10 Orange Is the New Black episodes

Greetings, reader!

I recently finished watching Orange Is the New Black from start to finish - sure, the show ended seven years ago so I missed the mark on tackling it while it's popular, but better late than never. Especially since the themes that the show deals with (the final season in particular) have sadly become more relevant than ever under the Trump regime. Anyways, the series was a great find, reading as an earth-scorching indictment of the U.S. criminal justice system and its treatment of women and minorities. The series accomplished some of the most kick-ass intersectional feminist storytelling ever seen on TV - something that a lot of other shows could and should learn from. These are my favorite episodes from the brilliant seven-season run!

Here are my honorable mentions: Can't Fix Crazy (Season 1 Episode 13), A Whole Other Hole (Season 2 Episode 4), It Was the Change (Season 2 Episode 12), Sing It, White Effie (Season 5 Episode 5), The Big House (Season 7 Episode 12).

10. Hugs Can Be Deceiving (Season 2 Episode 3)

Season 2 was the show's best season, if you ask me, and a lot of this is thanks to Yvonne 'Vee' Parker (Lorraine Toussaint) - one of television's finest villain characters. Vee's villain arch really tied everything in season 2 together, making it feel like a cohesive thematic whole, and it's quite impressive how they managed to build a twist on the "all these criminals are actually pretty humane people who were fucked over by society" premise of the show with this remarkable exception: unlike any of the other inmate characters, Vee was a truly evil person, and this episode is where the viewer really starts to realize it.

The most unforgivable thing that this spine-chilling menace ever did was her treatment of fan favorite character Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes' Warren (Uzo Aduba). It must be hard enough to be a a kind, well-intentioned and mentally ill Black woman who is punished and thrust into a cold and inaccessible prison system instead of getting the help she needs, so the last thing Suzanne needed was a cold-hearted gang leader taking advantage of her loyalty and trust in people, making her a mislead pawn for her power struggles. Vee's manipulation of the show's best character fucks the poor woman up for a long period of time, and hardly anything in this series full of gripping storylines made my blood boil quite as much as this.

Still, one has to admit that it's great storytelling in all its bleakness! The flashbacks, which are a big part of the show's narrative style, are focused on Suzanne in this episode - for the first time in the show. It's very intriguing to learn about her touching and gripping backstory, with the reason for her prison sentence still being left a mystery for a later episode (more on that later). As is typical with the series, the content of the flashbacks builds a reflective contrast to what is happening in the present, and this is especially powerful when a character as complex and well-built as Suzanne is concerned.

9. Turn Table Turn (Season 4 Episode 9)

Okay, season 2 is my favorite season, but season 4 comes incredibly close with these two being a shoulder or two above all the rest. With season 4, it's particularly about the endgame, and that begins with its fifth-last episode in a spine-chilling manner.

Blanca Flores (Laura Gómez) is one of the show's most underrated characters, and among my big favorites in terms of characters I care about. Turn Table Turn was her first flashback episode, and in terms of fleshing a character out, it does wonders. This really underscores the present-day storyline, where she protests the worsening conditions in the prison by applying foul-smelling substances on her body to discourage the guards from racially motivated frisking, and eventually refuses to shower and begins to stand on the cafeteria table, refusing to come down.

There are a select few moments in film and television, where an actor conveys a specific type of locked-in determination, delivering a haunting facial expression that will stay with you forever, as though the drive in their eyes promises that something massive is about to go down - Ethan Hawke in the final scene of Dead Poets Society, Martin Sheen in the final shot of The West Wing's season 2 finale, and just a few others. Standing tall next to these giants is Laura Gómez, in the final scene of this episode - the look on her face as she stands on the table, defying anyone to stop her, is something that words can't quite describe. You just know that unprecedented levels of shit are going to go down in the four following episodes, and this moment begins a chain of events that would lead to the show's best storylines, which seemed almost inevitable even before I knew quite where this would lead.

8. People Persons (Season 4 Episode 11)

Despite being the show's best character, Suzanne only ever got two flashbacks episodes of her own - and to no one's surprise, they both make it into my top ten. The second of these two comes towards the tail end of season 4, as the shit that began to stir in Turn, Table Turn had been upped to eleven and tensions were at a maximum leading up to the final episodes. Here, we finally learn what it was that landed Suzanne in prison - and oh man, what a gut punch. I was prepared for it to be something heartbreaking, but I still wasn't prepared for that.

Her flashback scenes resonate deeply with the present-day storyline, which features some of the most gripping imagery in the entire series - the guard Humps (Michael Torpey) pitting mentally ill inmates Suzanne and Kukudio (Emily Althaus) to fight each other for his entertainment confirms that in a series full of repulsive male antagonists, he takes the cake as the most evil one. A hard episode to watch, but crucial build-up for the season's endgame and a properly grim way of conveying the show's overarching message about the criminal "justice" system.

7. Here's Where We Get Off (Season 7 Episode 13)

The series finale does everything right, and could be even higher on my list if it wasn't for the show's nature being more about the journey than the destination. It was always meant to be a look into a rigged and unjust system, telling stories of real-world problems through fictional characters and helping give a voice to the voiceless, more than being about a cohesive narrative leading up to a particular culmination. That being said, the ending is pretty damn fantastic.

The characters that still remain are written off in various poetic ways - some have sadder endings, as they should, because an overtly happy ending would go against the show's message (there are very few happy endings as long as we keep upholding the current system). However, a select few characters did get grace from the writers, for which I'm so grateful - I cried my eyes out when Blanca was released and got to reunite with the love of her life, while Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) becoming the new 'prison mom' was pure poetry. These select few sheds of hope felt particularly earned due to the episode's bleak starting point: Tiffany 'Pennsatucky' Doggett (Taryn Manning), one of the most tragic characters in television history and one who I had grown to care deeply about, had died just at the end of the penultimate episode, and this creates such a haunting and emotionally resonating backdrop for everything else in the episode.

My favorite element of the series finale has to be the Poussey Washington fund - it's moving enough that the character Taystee (Danielle Brooks) goes from contemplating suicide all the way to using her knowledge and skills to start a fund aiding women affected by the system, not to mention the fund being in the name of her deceased friend who was very much the heart of the series (more on her later). But then, they pull the real heartstring-tugger - the end credits reveal that the Poussey Washington fund is real, as the showrunners used their resources to start such a fund in real life, using the show's platform to help actual women. That has got to be the coolest individual thing that a series finale has ever done.

6. Be Free (Season 6 Episode 13)

My very highest-ranking OINTB episodes do have a clear correlation with the most grim and heartbreaking episodes - and it's not due to my TV taste being particularly edgy in a "it has to be sad and shocking in order to be good" way. It's just that with this particular show, from its setting to its big themes and larger points, the most depressing episodes are often the ones that drive the important political points home in the most powerful fashion. There's nothing like seeing what the prison system is like at its cruelest to open your eyes and make you feel a strong need for systemic change.

And that's why I love episodes like the utterly gut-wrenching season 6 finale.

The big event that the episode is remembered for is Taystee's trial coming to an end - in a well-written, all too realistic-feeling example of the justice system failing the people, she is found guilty of Piscatella's (Brad William Henke) murder despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Because the riot needed a face for people to blame, and a Black woman was all too easy of a target. The culmination of this storyline is devastating, but it doesn't stop there - moments later, the episode delivers one of the show's most abruptly heartbreaking twists.

Near the end of the episode, we keep cutting between Linda (Beth Dover) giving a fancy speech for the prison industrial complex and inmates like Piper (Taylor Schilling) and Blanca gearing up for their early release - and then it hits you. Right as you wonder why Blanca is guided to a different line than the others, we cut to Linda unveiling PolyCon's new venture - ICE detention centers.

The imagery of Blanca's lover Diablo waiting outside the prison, with flowers in his hand, while Blanca is guided to the ICE facility and Linda's happy speech is applauded by an accurate representation of America's biggest monsters, is one of those TV moments that will be forever etched into my mind. Especially since the state's brutal targeting of undocumented immigrants was a relevant topic to tackle already then, and it has only become so much more prominent since - watching this in the time of Trump's second regime makes the series feel prophetic, and fills you with a blistering anger towards everyone who let the current situation happen. I wish people had listened, man.

5. Trust No Bitch (Season 3 Episode 13)

Then for something completely different! Amidst all the gripping and depressing episodes, the series does have its share of heartwarming moments of pure humanity. These make for a powerful yin and yang - the existence of the hopeful and humane moments makes the brutal storylines feel more real and hit all the harder, as you care about the characters so much, while the existence of the show's bleak realities makes the happy moments feel all the more earned and special. And the king of those moments is most definitely in the season 3 finale.

Amidst all of the other, more typical season finale storylines, a construction mishap makes for a momentarily unguarded hole in the fence, as the inmates spot a direct path from the prison yard to the nearby lake. In a scene that channels the iconic rooftop moment from The Shawshank Redemption yet also feels like its own unique thing, a vast majority of the inmates we know and love make a run for it, not even trying to escape for good, but seizing the opportunity to go for a swim on a hot summer day.

The moment is incredibly beautiful - the music, the cinematography and the genuine expressions of pure joy on the actresses' faces...it really takes your breath away. No matter what horrible bullshit those characters had endured and would go on to endure, in that sweet and untouchable moment, they're all free for just a while, and no one can take that away. I really, really grew to care about these characters, and this moment just meant the world for invested viewers like myself.

4. God Bless America (Season 7 Episode 11)

The addition of ICE detention centers into the plot wasn't an individual case specific to the season 6 finale, but rather a setup for the show's final, most damning new storyline in its final season. A big part of why I loved season 7 so much was that it really took the show's message to a whole new level: we had already seen how brutal the "regular" prison system was (air quotes because none of this should be normal) and how it affected women of color and other minorities disproportionately - and season 7 sheds a light on how all this is turned to the maximum when it comes to undocumented immigrants. The evil of the American empire is on full display in a season which, despite its fictional story, definitely did its research on how these detention centers work and feels all too real.

This is especially powerful in the show's third-last episode, God Bless America (the irony of the title would be funny if it wasn't so damn depressing). The flashbacks of the episode are not devoted to one individual character, but to many of the women we met as new characters throughout season 7 in the ICE facility. In an all-too-accurate depiction of what undocumented immigrants really are, we see a mother fighting for a better life for her children, a lesbian from an intolerant family thinking she'll be better off in a country like the U.S., and a woman being sexually assaulted while trying to make her way into the country. And, in the present-day storyline, we see a courtroom where removal proceedings are being held for innocent children who are supposed to speak for themselves as they couldn't get an attorney.

Watching this at a time when racist billionaires have convinced a large portion of Americans that undocumented immigrants are the enemy we need to be fighting, leading to large expansions in ICE raids and state violence towards civilians, should be enough to radicalize anyone with a heart. I cannot express strongly enough how much the current system deserves to be burned to the fucking ground, and shedding light on these issues is a big reason why OINTB is so much more than just a TV show.

3. Toast Can't Never Be Bread Again (Season 4 Episode 13)

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable". That JFK quote has a nice ring to it, and boy does it ring true when watching the final episodes of OINTB season 4, leading up to the infamous 'riot season'. The penultimate episode of the season ended with the show's most infamous moment (more on that later), and while the aftermath doesn't quite reach those levels of unforgettable television, it comes really goddamn close.

The aftermath to Poussey's (Samira Wiley) death is just as heartbreaking as you'd expect, and just as infuriating as well. Tensions are built across the episode, all the while the flashbacks give us deeply emotional closure on the character we knew and loved (that final shot of Poussey smiling - right in the feels). The dynamics in the present-day storyline get more and more heated, and in the very last moments, shit starts to get real. Danielle Brooks' acting performance reaches new levels of gripping, as Taystee hears enough of Caputo's TV speech and marches back to the bunks, tears and blistering fury in her eyes, yelling "THEY DIDN'T EVEN SAY HER NAME! THERE'S NO JUSTICE!" - and then it just sort of happens.

The final minutes of season 4 do a brilliant job depicting the anatomy of a riot. Conditions in Litchfield had been pretty unbearable from the start, and had gotten steadily worse throughout the season, with Poussey's death and MCC's reaction being the final catalyst - so when the inmates start their determined order-defying march, it doesn't seem one bit abrupt or reactive. It feels like the only natural course of events. In that moment, you feel for those women so deeply, and truly realize how one can't expect a group of people to be constantly oppressed and kicked in the face without accepting that such behavior might lead to a day of reckoning. Those final moments caused a surge of mixed feelings - it feels like the prisoners are doing the right thing and it feels like a payoff to see them fighting against the system, but at the same time, you just know that this isn't going to end well. Bittersweet.

2. We Have Manners. We're Polite (Season 2 Episode 13)

Season 2 is my favorite season from the show and I consider Vee to be its best villain - so it makes sense that the culmination of that whole storyline, ending with such a massive payoff, is one of the show's brightest highlights for me.

The season 2 finale begins on a dire note, with acts of violence being investigated as it looks like Vee will get away with everything she did - and even worse, she's framing Suzanne for everything and threatening her underlings into backing her story. For a majority of the episode's runtime, it looks like things are headed for a grim end - Vee even decides to use Red's contraband tunnel to escape the prison when it looks like she might be facing consequences after all.

And then, the most wonderful thing happens.

Miss Rosa Cisneros (Barbara Rosenblat), the elderly inmate suffering from terminal cancer, had gotten a flashback episode earlier in the season, so we knew all about her wild bank-robbing past. In a powerful moment of empathy, Lorna sacrifices her privileges as van driver by purposefully leaving the keys in the van with Rosa, encouraging her to make a run for it and live out her last moments out there and not here in lockdown. Rosa makes a drive for the gates that are about to close, and Sister Jane Ingalls (Beth Fowler), another absolutely fantastic character, has a hand in making sure that she gets the time to drive through before she's stopped.

As Rosa drives out into the wide world, we see her turning into her younger self from the flashbacks, which is such a touching style choice to demonstrate how she gets to be her free self again for a fleeting moment. And then she sees it - Yvonne 'Vee' Parker, crawling out of the other end of the tunnel, making her own escape. The last we ever see of Miss Rosa is the absolute legend swerving to purposefully hit Vee, claiming "always so rude, that one!", making for one of the most satisfying villain deaths in TV history. Absolute cinema.

1. The Animals (Season 4 Episode 12)

I can't possibly find the right words for this larger-than-life viewing experience, but I gotta try, so here goes nothing.

The death of Poussey Washington ranks #1 as the most emotionally devastating TV death of all time, if you ask me. I'm the kind of viewer who gets emotionally invested, so I've cried my eyes out at many a TV death - but no other comes close to this one. I was more or less hyperventilating when the credits began to roll. The reasons for this - the ultimate turning point and most monumentally game-changing moment of the series - being such an unforgettable gut punch are many, and I will try to analyze the chief ones here.

First of all, this one is obvious but still needs to be said - it's not just about the fictional character. The mere death of any fictional character in itself couldn't possibly cause as big of a reaction as this one did, no matter how wrapped up I get in fictional stories. My reaction to Poussey's death was, however, amplified tenfold because of the cold, harsh fact that it did not feel fictional at all. There is so much real-world inspiration that went into the writing of this episode, and anyone who has read history and/or followed the news in the United States will know just how real this all is. The patriarchal society's treatment of women, the criminal justice system's treatment of inmates, and particularly American law enforcement's treatment of people of color, not to mention the people who fall into the intersection of all three, make this moment seem all too possible. Watching the scene is extra difficult because there is such a strong parallel to George Floyd - even though the episode aired years before 2020. For anyone with a heart who lived through that god-awful year, the visual imagery of a law enforcement officer's knee on a Black person's neck will immediately conjure up visceral outrage.

Then there's the situation leading up to the moment. The entire fourth season, but this episode in particular, raises the stakes to astronomical levels, with Piscatella and his guards doing their best impression of the Stanford prison experiment as they treat the inmates worse and worse. The final scene of this episode begins with the inmates staging a peaceful protest - inspired by Blanca taking a stand, they all get up and stand on the cafeteria tables, refusing to come down, declaring that they won't hurt anyone but they will stay there until Piscatella is fired. And then, in an all-too-American fashion, violent force takes over as Piscatella calls their bluff and orders his men to start clearing. This sends Suzanne into an emotional breakdown, as the poor woman blames herself, and instead of helping the mentally ill inmate, the guards respond with violence. Screaming "She don't know what she doing", Poussey tries to help her friend - and is rewarded in the same way that Americans like Renee Good and Alex Pretti were rewarded for trying to help their fellow humans.

Then there's the killer. It was an interesting and even out-of-the-box choice from the writers that it was Baxter Bayley (Alan Aisenberg), the nicest guy from season 4's prison guards, who killed Poussey. Having an established sadist like Humps be the killer would've been a more obvious choice, but the fact that it was Bayley sends an even deeper message. The episode was Bayley's one and only flashback episode, and what we saw of his past didn't seem particularly deep at first, until its relation to the present-day narrative hits you. Baxter wasn't an evil guy, nor was he a hero - he was, first and foremost, untrained and deeply out of his depth. He didn't mean to kill Poussey, but that's the whole point right there: he never should have been in that position in the first place. As we keep seeing with ICE, the U.S. keeps giving weapons, armor and power to people who aren't properly trained, especially in areas like crisis escalation - and then people act shocked when the crises escalate.

Furthermore, an especially powerful parallel from Bayley's backstory was the scene where he's caught with possession of weed, but being a white man from a rich family, he gets off with a warning. Possession of weed was the crime for which Poussey was in prison. They both did the same thing, and society put them in a situation where one ends up killing the other from a position of power. That's pretty goddamn powerful storytelling right there.

And finally - as much as the moment was about a lot more than just the individual character, it also was very much about the character. Obviously, such a death would've been tragic and wrong no matter who it happened to, as no one deserves such a fate - but the writers were clearly going for maximum emotional effect, and for that, they could not have chosen a better character from the show's large ensemble cast. Over the course of four seasons, Poussey Washington had grown into an ultimate comfort character - a true friend and a kind soul, with a heart-melting smile. The very face of "a lot of these people wouldn't be in prison in the first place if someone fixed this deeply broken society". A positive influence on everyone around her. And for trying to help her friend, she was killed. The message of the series was never more clear than in this moment, and its aftermath that would paint the rest of the series: while this exact chain of events may be fictional, very similar things continue to happen all the time, because we've built a society that allows for something like this to happen. And that system needs to be broken the fuck down, so that we can build something better.

Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for my annual Oscar predictions, ahead of the 98th Academy Awards.