The Oscar’s Suck, So Let Me Present: Daniel’s Alternative Oscar Awards

Every year, the Academy Awards are controversial, and usually for similar reasons. The Academy is still predominantly composed of older, wealthy, white men. They tend to snub women and directors of color for less interesting, white male choices. They are incredibly biased towards genre films such as horror, comedy, and action films. Winners are determined far more by money spent campaigning than by the integrity and worth of the art itself. They are incredibly American-centric. Countless complaints could be levied against the Oscars, but complaining can only do so much. For the past few years, I have thought about what films I would nominate instead, sharing them on social media. This year, I thought I would go further.

This year’s Oscar nominations were certainly not as egregious as previous years (such as last year, with such travesties as Green Book winning Best Picture, Bohemian Rhapsody winning best editing, etc.), there is still plenty to be upset about. Women were once again shut out of the Best Director despite women directing many of the best films of the year. People of color were entirely shut out of best acting races, with the one exception being Cynthia Ervo for playing Harriet Tubman (the latest example of the unfortunate trend with the Academy only recognizing black actors for playing slaves). Multiple exciting and wonderful genre films got utterly snubbed. Joker got nominated for 11 Oscars, the most of any film this year. There are many sources of complaints. So here we are on the eve of this year's Oscar ceremony, and I am left wondering “what would I do differently?”

First off, I would change some of the categories. I would increase the number of films nominated in each category to 6 or 7 (with several notable exceptions). Likewise, I would modify the Best Picture category to be similar to The Critics Choice awards, where they have the best picture separated by genre. Normally, Best Picture is dominated by prestige dramas, and this approach allows for all genres to be represented. I also have added several categories that represent blind-spots or interesting additions to the Academy Awards, as well as some personal categories about my reaction to specific films.

It goes without saying that if I have not seen a movie, it will not be nominated for anything and of course, even a major cinephile like me cannot see everything (even if between Regal Unlimited, streaming releases and Redbox I have managed to see 83 2019 releases). So sadly, Honey Boy, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Waves, and A Hidden Life can’t be on here because they never released near me, while I have yet to be able to find time to watch films like High Life, Climax, Peanut Butter Falcon, The Souvenir, The Report, Bacaru, Monos, Queen & Slim, Les Miserables, An Elephant Sitting Still, High Flying Bird, Richard Jewell, Toy Story 4, The Beach Bum, Two Popes, Klaus, The King, I Lost My Body, La Flor, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, or One Cut of the Dead. I am sure most of them are amazing from what I have heard, but since they are my personal awards they have to be left out since nobody can see every movie. So with that caveat, let’s do this. The nominees are listed in alphabetical order, and my choice for the winner in each category is bolded.

Best Picture (Drama):

• A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood
• Ad Astra
• The Farewell
• The Irishman
• Little Women
• Marriage Story
• Parasite
• Pain & Glory
• Rocketman
• Uncut Gems

These are the traditional Oscar films, the prestige dramas, crime thrillers, musicals, etc. This year was excellent for films like this, with many of the films I picked also being nominated for Best Picture, including The Irishman, Little Women, Marriage Story, and Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece (and the winner of this category) Parasite. I also nominated several films that were snubbed for Best Picture nominations, including the white-knuckle thriller Uncut Gems and the heartwarming home-cooked-meal of a film The Farewell. Rounding out my choices are the quiet but poignant drama Pain & Glory, Elton John’s painfully honest and subjective biopic Rocketman, Brad Pitt’s quiet wrestling with identity and masculinity in Ad Astra, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood whose stylistic adaptation tackless Mr. Rogers legacy and beautiful perspective on emotional expression with care and compassion.

Best Picture (Horror):

• Doctor Sleep
• The Lighthouse
• Midsommar
• The Nightingale
• Ready or Not
• Us

Horror is a genre that is almost always snubbed by the Academy, not only for Best Picture but also in all other categories. This year, during the continuing indie horror renaissance, this was shown to be truer than ever because the horror genre brought us some of the best films of the year. The Lighthouse and The Nightingale took the horror style and twisted it to tremendous effect by shying away from traditional scares to build dread and a sense of discomfort supported by strong thematic undercurrents. Us and Ready Or Not both brought classic genre thrills, scares, and comedic elements with subversive and sharp critiques of capitalism while Midsommar used a Scandanavian cult as the perfect backdrop to explore a toxic and failing relationship. Doctor Sleep lived up to every expectation I had for it as Mike Flannagan perfectly managed to craft a sequel reckoning with both the legacy of Steven King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining. With many amazing horror films to choose from, this was a difficult choice. But The Lighthouse took my breath away with its oppressive atmosphere, dark comedy, and theatrical performances. It is my favorite film of the year (just edging out Parasite), so I have to give the award to it.

Best Picture (Comedy):

• Booksmart
• Dolemite is My Name
• Jojo Rabbit
• Knives Out
• Long Shot
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Comedy is another genre that is typically snubbed by the Oscar’s but with Jojo Rabbit and Once Upon a Time In Hollywood scoring Best Picture nominations this year, it certainly got more love than normal. Booksmart and Long Shot both breathed new life into forgotten subgenres of comedy (the high school comedy and rom-com respectively), while Dolemite was an electrifying look at the impact that one person's passion can make. But Knives Out is my favorite comedy of the year, with its mile-a-minute gags, subversion of whodunnit tropes, brilliant comedic performances, and razor-sharp script.

Best Picture (Action):

• 1917
• Avengers: Endgame
• Ford v Ferrari
• John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
• Joker
• Shazam

In terms of action films this year, John Wick Chapter 3 continued the franchise's success of bringing old school, stunt-oriented action back to the big screen. The superhero genre had a fantastic year with Avengers Endgame, Joker, and Shazam all being interesting and varying takes on the genre. Ford v Ferrari contained some great stunt driving and exciting races. But nothing was quite as thrilling or intense as Sam Mendes’ war action thriller 1917, who truly trapped you in the horrors of war through its intricate camerawork and directorial choices.

Best Director:

• Benny & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
• Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
• Greta Gerwig, Little Women
• Jordan Peele, Us
• Lulu Wang, The Farewell
• Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
• Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
• Pedro Almodovar, Pain & Glory
• Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
• Sam Mendes, 1917

So, so many directors turned out incredible films this year, so narrowing it to 5 is beyond impossible. 4 of the 5 that the Academy nominated are incredibly deserving (not you Todd Phillips), but female filmmakers like Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang were snubbed while turning out some of the best films of the year. Likewise, genre filmmakers like the Safdie brothers, Jordan Peele, and Robert Eggers made films far too energetic, too fun, and too weird to be truly appreciated by the Academy. Likewise, more subtle dramatic directorial efforts such as Baumbach’s brilliant stageplay-like blocking in Marriage Story and Almodovar’s dreamlike connection of past and present in Pain & Glory (which Gerwig also did exceptionally well in Little Women). I did not end up nominating Quentin Tarantino, not because I didn’t love Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but because he is Quentin Tarantino. Everyone knows who he is, and how good he is. So I wanted to give some accolades to other, equally deserving filmmakers. I especially want to shout out Martin Scorsese’s more restrained and contemplative direction of The Irishman, which perfectly melds the two sides of Scorsese’s career: the gangster epic and the quiet spiritual interrogation. But more than anyone this year, Bong Joon-ho blew me away with his tonal control, subtle visual storytelling, and attention to even the microscopic details with Parasite.

Best Lead Actor:

• Adam Driver, Marriage Story
• Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
• Antonio Banderas, Pain & Glory
• Brad Pitt, Ad Astra
• Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is My Name
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Robert DeNiro, The Irishman

While I am beyond happy for Adam Driver, Leo, and Antonio Banderas being recognized for their incredible work, Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy were absolutely robbed from Best Actor nominations, as both aging comedy stars gave the best performances of their respective careers. Brad Pitt’s introspective and quiet performance in Ad Astra is perhaps even more impressive than his supporting turn in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, which is getting far more attention. Finally, Robert DeNiro gave his best performance in years in The Irishman, with none of the flashiness of his more theatrical performances. Instead, he communicates more with the absence of emotion in Frank Sheeran than with any showy acting which works perfectly for The Irishman.

Best Lead Actress:

• Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale
• Ana de Armas, Knives Out
• Awkwafina, The Farewell
• Florence Pugh, Midsommar
• Lupita Nyong’o, Us
• Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
• Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

I do not agree with the majority of the Oscar nominations in this category. In fact, the only one I have in common with them is Scar-Jo and Saoirse Ronan. Lupita Nyong’o is mesmerizing in Us, and honestly gave the best performance of the year. She fell victim to giving such a great performance in a genre film, which means the Academy won’t likely recognize you. The same happened with Florence Pugh and Aisling Franciosi, both of who delivered unparalleled intensity of emotion. Awkwafina’s effortless charm and quiet grief in The Farewell transfixed me, while Ana de Armas has not received enough acclaim for her role in Knives Out, as her charm, comedic timing, and pathos are the glue that holds that story together.

Best Supporting Actor:

• Al Pacino, The Irishman
• Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Daniel Craig, Knives Out
• Joe Pesci, The Irishman
• Kang-ho Sang, Parasite
• Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse

Where was the nomination for Dafoe? All of the Oscar nominees for supporting actor did a great job, but Dafoe cast a spell on me during every moment of The Lighthouse, to the point where he steals every scene from Robert Pattinson who gives an amazing performance in his own right. Kang-ho Sang was brilliant and quietly tragic as the father in Parasite. Daniel Craig earned a nomination for his amazing comedic timing and perfect accent in Knives Out, I challenge you to find a better comedic performance this year than him. I also just want to shout out Joe Pesci, who plays against type hard in The Irishman, replacing his normal loud and fast-talking gangster with a far more terrifying performance. He is reserved and quiet, carefully choosing every word and body movement before doing anything, and it makes the character all the more menacing as a result.

Best Supporting Actress:

• Billie Lourd, Booksmart
• Davine Joy Randolph, Dolemite is My Name
• Florence Pugh, Little Women
• Jennifer Lopez. Hustlers
• Julia Fox, Uncut Gems
• Shuzhen Zhao, The Farewell
• So-dam Park, Parasite

Just like Best Actress, this category contained so many snubs. Florence Pugh managed to squeeze in a well-deserved nomination for Little Women, but that is where my agreement with The Academy ends. Davine Joy Randolph’s vulnerability in Dolemite deserves applause, as does Shuzhen Zhao’s empathetic performance that perfectly encapsulates the role of a loving grandmother that everyone can immediately relate to. Julia Fox does not get enough credit as the true heroine of Uncut Gems as she grounds the film and goes toe-to-toe with Adam Sandler and stands her ground. So-dam Park does such great work in Parasite, while Billie Lourd steals literally every scene in Booksmart (okay, I lied before. Sorry Daniel Craig, Billie Lourd was the best comedic performance of the year). But Jennifer Lopez was unmatched in terms of charisma, screen presence, and emotional depth in terms of supporting actress roles this year. While Hustlers was not my favorite film of the year, every moment she was on-screen I was fully invested.

Best Acting Ensemble:

• Booksmart
• The Irishman
• Knives Out
• Little Women
• Parasite
• Uncut Gems
• Us

This category is for the films whose entire cast is just stunning. From Booksmart’s cast of mostly unknowns that kills every comedic beat to Knives Out’s all-star cast of genre actors, to the impressiveness of the dual performances from all the actors in Us, every film nominated here showed an understanding of the power of casting. They took every bit part and gave it to someone who made it feel fleshed out. That is the power of an ensemble cast, it makes the most of every small moment and leaves nothing to waste. While they all were impressive, no film had quite as great of an ensemble cast as The Irishman.

Best Youth Performance:

• Julia Butters, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Keith L Williams, Good Boys
• Kyleigh Curran, Doctor Sleep
• McKenna Grace, Annabelle Comes Home
• Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
• Shahadi Wright Joseph, Us
• Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit

Child actors can be very hit or miss, which is why I felt it was a good idea to include this category to recognize the young talent that were able to steal scenes, bring the emotion, and hold their own against the adults in their casts. While Julia Butters managing to out-act Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is impressive as hell, no youth performance was on the level of Shahadi Wright Joseph in Us. The role was so demanding in performing two characters, with their two distinct types of body language and movement. It was just as challenging for her as it was for Lupita, and she is more than deserving of consideration.

Best Cinematography:

• 1917
• The Irishman
• The Lighthouse
• Marriage Story
• Pain & Glory
• Parasite
• Uncut Gems

Another very packed category is Best Cinematography. Oftentimes the Academy nominations for this category (and all categories really) do not reflect the best cinematography, but what film has the MOST cinematography: the flashiest visuals that the audience notices and would be impressed by while watching. That is not how I did this though. All of these picks were selected because of how I thought their visuals enhanced the experience of the film and how efficiently they communicated the story of the film to the audience. From 1917’s attempt at a one-take horror film which traps the audience in the visceral experience of war, Parasite’s brilliant use of visual storytelling to communicate its themes of class without needing a word of dialogue, Uncut Gems’ chaotic and claustrophobic hand-held camerawork, the theatrical staging and breathtaking silhouettes of Marriage Story, Pain & Glory’s quiet intimacy, and The Irishman’s use of Scorsese’s own iconic visual style to starkly more somber and melancholic effect, all did so much to increase the effectiveness of the various films. But for my money, no film had better cinematography than The Lighthouse, with its cramped and claustrophobic aspect ratio, exaggerated and borderline impressionistic shadows, and grimy feeling, the cinematography in the film by Jarin Blaschke creates such an overwhelming sense of mood and dread that is vital to the success of such a surreal cinematic experience as The Lighthouse.

Best Editing:

• Dolemite is My Name
• The Irishman
• Knives Out
• Little Women
• Parasite
• Uncut Gems
• Us

Like the Best Cinematography category, the flashiest editing often wins at the Oscar’s here, when in fact the best editing is often invisible. Little Women’s use of editing to contrast the past and present to beautiful effect is a great example of this, as does The Irishman which manages to make a 3.5-hour film feel more like a 2-hour film. Uncut Gems and Knives Out used their editing to juggle dozens of parallel plot threads and rachet up the tension, while Us uses editing both to increase the horror but also cross-cut set-pieces and flashbacks with great effect. Dolemite is My Name maintained a zippy pace and a fantastic flow to each moment. However, no film’s editing was able to get close to Parasite, which used montage to constantly incorporate new information at a rapid-fire pace, handles its set-pieces with Hitchcockian precision, and juggles tonal shifts to perfection.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Avengers: Endgame
• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Little Women

To address the biggest difference between the Oscar nominations and mine, I believe that the screenplay is by far the weakest element of Joker so it is not present here. To throw another comic book movie in the ring instead, Avengers: Endgame juggles dozens of characters and plot-lines with intricate care, concluding a 22-film saga with such power that it makes a monumental task look effortless. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood brings the core of Mr. Rogers ethos into a wonderful and heartwarming story, The Irishman manages to draw such complete pictures of each character with minimal dialogue, and Jojo Rabbit’s biggest feat is that it actually manages to make a film about the Holocaust and make it hilarious without feeling disrespectful and still maintaining an emotional ethos regarding those horrific events. But no adaptation this year adds as much to the source material as Little Women, with Greta Gerwig’s choice to tell the story non-chronologically fleshing out the emotion of the story, drawing breathtaking parallels, and emphasizes the difference between a romanticized childhood and bittersweet adulthood.

Best Original Screenplay:

• Booksmart
• The Farewell
• Knives Out
• The Lighthouse
• Parasite
• Marriage Story
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

From a witty but significantly more mature new Quentin Tarantino script in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Farewell’s infinite compassion, The Lighthouse and Marriage Story’s stageplay styled, razor-sharp dialogue, Booksmart’s fantastic character work and maturity within a teen sex comedy that never sacrifices humor for heart, and Parasite bringing such nuance and care into a story of class conflict, this was a tough year for original screenplay. But none impressed me quite as much as Knives Out, with its zippy dialogue, brilliant story choices (placing a character who cannot lie without throwing up within a whodunnit where they will have to lie a significant amount was such a great choice and creates so much tension), dozens of twists and turns that gives you a film that is simultaneously exactly what you expect and nothing like it without ever collapsing under its own weight. Rian Johnson delivered a masterclass of screenwriting with emotional character work and subversive political messaging all within a riotously funny whodunnit-crime-mystery-comedy.

Best Original Score:

• 1917
• The Farewell
• The Lighthouse
• Little Women
• Parasite
• Uncut Gems
• Us

Each of these scores adds so much to these films in different moments, but the haunting strings and dissonant music choices from Jordan Peele’s collaborator Michael Abels drilled its way into my eardrums and psyche in a way that no other film did.

Best Visual Effects:

• 1917
• Ad Astra
• Avengers: Endgame
• Detective Pikachu
• The Irishman
• Midsommar
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Every year it seems we have films that push visual effects even further. From The Irishman’s de-aging, 1917’s practical effects, Avengers: Endgame’s visual spectacle, Midsommar’s trippy visuals that add to the nightmarish atmosphere, and the way that Detective Pikachu makes the Pokemon feel like a real and organic part of the world (along with making Pikachu freaking adorable). But the space effects, both practical and CG, in Ad Astra took my breath away in every moment.

Best Production Design:

• Doctor Sleep
• The Lighthouse
• Little Women
• Midsommar
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Parasite
• Uncut Gems

While the set design in Once Upon a Time, Uncut Gems, and Little Women breathe so much life and nuance into their films, and Midsommar and The Lighthouse created an entire village and built a freaking lighthouse to make the perfect environments for their sets, Parasite built the poor neighborhood that the Kim family lives in and created the set for the rich Park family’s home with such care and precision that it communicates so much about the films themes of class in just the juxtaposition of those two sets.

Best Costume Design:

• 1917
• Dolemite is My Name
• Jojo Rabbit
• Little Women
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Rocketman
• Us

The flamboyant and eccentric costumes of Dolemite is My Name perfectly accent the story while also providing jokes and nuance to the characters in their own right, just edging out the other competitors here.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

• 1917
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Bombshell
• Dolemite is My Name
• Doctor Sleep
• The Irishman

For all the beautiful make-up and hairstyling in various films this year, Bombshell absolutely transforms Charlize Theron into Megan Kelly and Nicole Kidman into Gretchen Carlson. Nothing else came close.

Best Stuntwork:

• 1917
• Fighting With My Family
• Ford v Ferrari
• John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Ready or Not
• Us

No area of Hollywood gets less appreciation for its hard work than stunt-people. From the practical driving scenes in Ford v Ferrari, the Bruce Lee and Manson moments in Once Upon a Time, the physicality of the wrestling in Fighting With My Family, the amazing horror stuntwork in Ready or Not and Us, and 1917’s insane level of staging with its long takes all show the talent of stunt people. Yet no film showed this off as well as the purely practical John Wick Chapter 3 which took Keanu Reeves commitment to his craft to whole new levels, incorporating dogs, vehicles, and new locations in a way that builds the scale of each set-piece to ridiculous degrees while always showcasing the care and craft behind each moment.

Best Scene of the Year:

This category serves to highlight the best individual scenes from films this year. One particular moment or set-piece that might take your breath away, make you cry laughing, or break your heart just a little more than the rest of the film. These are the most memorable scenes for me (with some spoilers in each description, so if you have not seen the film and want to remain unspoiled just skip over the description of the scene to the next one).

• “Charlie finds the note,” Marriage Story

Marriage Story begins with Nicole and Charlie in therapy, having come up with a list of things that they love about each other, despite their frustrations. Nicole is frustrated and refuses to read to him what she wrote. After all of the other events of the film, where their marriage implodes, tempers flare, and they end up getting divorced, Charlie visits Nicole to tell her he took a job as an acting teacher in LA to be closer to their son. While visiting, his son finds the note that Nicole had written, and asks Charlie what it is. Charlie begins reading it aloud to his son without realizing what it is, while Nicole walks in halfway through behind them, both of them having to affirm how much they love each other, even if they aren’t good for each other. The emotional climax of the film broke my heart into pieces, with both Driver and Johansson’s acting managing to communicate every single emotion from the entire movie in one small moment as they both have to communicate all of this with just their performances. It pays off a set-up that you did not even realize was a set-up, and is the perfect climax to that achingly human story.

• “Federico’s visit,” Pain & Glory

About 2/3rds of the way through Pain & Glory, Antonio Banderas’ aging director Salvador happens to reconnect with his former lover and muse Federico. The visit is not a lengthy scene, nor complicated. It just involves the two former flames reminiscing about their past. Every moment of this scene is beautiful and perfectly captures the bittersweet feeling of reconnection and of wondering what might have been. It leaves such an impact (particularly due to Banderas’ emotional vulnerability and how much he can communicate with just a glance) that we, like Salvador, just wish that we had longer to spend with Federico.

• “First home invasion,” Us

I don’t have much to say about this scene beyond that it is a perfect example of suspense filmmaking, cementing Jordan Peele as a master of tone as he manages humor and horror hand-in-hand. The introduction of the tethered has already become iconic, and the imagery that Peele creates is burned into my retinas forever.

• “Flare-lit escape,” 1917

There is a scene in 1917 where the lead character has to escape the ruins of a French city at night while it is occupied by German forces, with the only sources of light being burning buildings, gunfire, and flares being shot into the sky. Not only is the lighting and shadows absolutely stunning, but its thrilling escape is the pinnacle of the immersive nature of the films one-shot style. The score will leave you with goosebumps as it crescendos to the action, and it is one of the most memorable moments of the year.

• “Knife shop fight,” John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

As John is trapped in an antique knife shop by a group of assassins and none of them have guns, mayhem and graphic violence ensue. This scene towards the beginning of John Wick Chapter 3 encapsulates everything I love about the series. The hilariously excessive gore, the focus on practical stuntwork, the tension and flow to the action, the dark slapstick humor, it has everything you could possibly want.

• “Manson family break-in,” Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Most of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is quite a relaxed, lackadaisical film. It focuses on humor and characterization instead of Tarantino’s trademark tension, inviting you to kick back and take some time to get to know these characters. Then the last act kicks in, as Tarantino twists history and has the Manson killers attack our protagonists Rick and Cliff instead of Sharon Tate and her friends. Then all of the time spent with these characters reveals its true purpose. These moments have been set-ups for this one amazing set-piece. From the dog training, the flame thrower, the LSD, the pool, every moment here is dependant on something previously in the film. So when it all comes together in a scene of classic Tarantino tension-filled ultra-violence, the series of call-backs is immensely satisfying and results in the most crowd-pleasing moment I have seen in the theater this year.

• “The phone call,” The Irishman

This scene comes at the end of an already brilliant sequence, where our main character Frank Sheeran is assigned to kill his good friend Jimmy Hoffa, and like a good soldier, Frank goes through with it. But this sequence is done so differently from Scorsese’s other gangster movies. There is no music, no quick editing, or dramatic close-ups. Everything is cold, quiet, slowly paced. We are left with the inevitability of it all, detached just like Frank is emotionally detached from his immoral deeds. But this sequence doesn’t end with Hoffa’s death, instead, it follows Frank back home. His family insists he calls Hoffa’s wife to offer his condolences (unaware of his actions). He calls her, and Scorsese traps us in that moment. The whole scene is done in a single take, with the camera finally coming in for a dramatic close-up of Frank, not letting him away from this cherry on top of his horrible deed. We see DeNiro try to comfort her, and in a rare moment of vulnerability for Frank we see him dealing with the emotional consequences of his actions. It seems to break him. Then finally, after he hangs up, we cut to a wide shot of Frank alone in the empty bedroom. The film holds on that silence, and every feeling of regret, isolation, and sadness flows over the audience just like it does Frank.

• “Rocketman sequence,” Rocketman

Rocketman is Bohemian Rhapsody but actually good. It is great, actually. The best thing that it does is take Elton John’s life and make it fantastical, to make it a full-on musical to express Elton’s emotional struggles and turmoil. This sequence, beginning with Elton’s drug-fueled suicide attempt jumping into a pool and fading slowly into him finally singing Rocketman, following his medical recovery and turn-around into performing a hit concert without actually addressing his issues. It captures the emotion of the moment perfectly, with the surrealism of the filmmaking and the lyrics to the song pulling at every heartstring and effortlessly putting you inside Elton’s head.

• “The basement discovery,” Parasite

The first half of Parasite is almost a heist movie, as the Kim family uses deception and their cunning to infiltrate the staff of the rich Park family. This climaxes halfway through when the Park’s go out of town and the Kim family stays in their home, enjoying the luxury under their employer's noses. Then the former housekeeper arrives, begging to be let in. It is at this moment that the film goes fully off the rails, in the best possible way. Everything we thought we knew about what this film goes out the window, as it is revealed that the old housekeeper's husband has been living in a secret bunker underneath the Park’s home this whole time. It goes from a satirical dark comedy to full-on thriller, as suddenly there are dozens of complications to the Kim’s scheme and they spend the rest of the film constantly playing catch up, trying to cover their tracks from a series of tense problems. This discovery and tonal shift are so well-crafted, so tense, and shocking that it stands out in a movie that is a masterpiece from beginning to end.

• “ Final sequence/‘This is how I win’ speech,” Uncut Gems

In the third act of Uncut Gems, things seem to finally come together for Howard. He sells the uncut opal to Kevin Garnett, getting the money needed to pay back the loan sharks outside. However, in the conversation with Garnett, Howard gets hyped up, asking Garnett “do you want to win by one point or fucking thirty points?? This is no different than that, this is me. I am not a fucking athlete. This is how I win.” He then sneaks the money to his assistant Julia, instructing her to place a specific bet on KG’s playoff game that night. He then manages to trap the loan sharks in the area between the two security doors of his business, and we are left to watch the game play out. Our protagonist’s fate is completely out of his hands. He is temporarily safe while the basketball game happens, but the threat is also right there the entire time. I have never seen a thriller’s finale structured in quite that way before, and it works SO well. It frays your nerves up until the last second due to the unique set-up, incredible performances, and frenetic filmmaking within such a stationary situation.

Most-Nominated Films:

• The Irishman, 12 nominations
• Parasite, 10 nominations
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 9 nominations
• Uncut Gems, 9 nominations
• 1917, 8 nominations
• Little Women, 8 nominations
• Us, 8 nominations
• The Lighthouse, 7 nominations
• Marriage Story, 7 nominations
• Dolemite is My Name, 6 nominations
• Knives Out, 6 nominations

Winning Films:

• Parasite, 4 wins (Best Picture: Drama, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Production Design)
• The Lighthouse, 3 wins (Best Picture: Horror, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography)
• Us, 3 wins (Best Lead Actress, Best Youth Performance, Best Original Score)
• Knives Out, 2 wins (Best Picture: Comedy, Best Original Screenplay)
• Marriage Story, 2 wins (Best Lead Actor, Best Scene)
• 1917, 1 win (Best Picture: Action)
• Ad Astra, 1 win (Best Visual Effects)
• Bombshell, 1 win (Best Makeup & Hairstyling)
• Dolemite is My Name, 1 win (Best Costume Design)
• The Irishman, 1 win (Best Acting Ensemble)
• Little Women, 1 win (Best Adapted Screenplay)
• Hustlers, 1 win (Best Supporting Actress)
• John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, 1 win (Best Stuntwork)

Finally, to wrap this up here are some more personal awards to my specific reactions to films from this year:

Biggest Oscar Snubs:

• Adam Sandler, Best Actor
• The Farewell, Best Original Screenplay
• Greta Gerwig, Best Director
• Knives Out, Best Picture
• Lupita Nyong’o, Best Actress
• Uncut Gems, Best Picture
• Willem Dafoe, Best Supporting Actor

Most Disappointing Film of the Year:

• Glass
• Hellboy
• Pet Sematary
• Rambo: Last Blood
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
• Triple Threat

Need I say more? The Rise of Skywalker disappointed me on every level. I am a massive Star Wars fan, and that film left me feeling so empty. It represents every bad habit that J. J. Abrams has as a storyteller, amplified to 11 and mixed with a large handful of studio meddling and unfortunate outside circumstances. It is not only a terrible sequel but a bad movie. Meanwhile, Hellboy, Pet Sematary, and Rambo all squander their properties on boring, mediocre films. Scary Stories and Triple Threat have their highlights and a few standout setpieces, but their grander narrative lets them down. Last but not least is Glass, which is actually pretty great until the last 10 minutes which is not only a bad ending but also goes back and retroactively ruins the rest of the film.

Most Underseen Film of the Year:

• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Ad Astra
• Dark Waters
• Doctor Sleep
• The Lighthouse
• Long Shot
• The Nightingale

All of these films were underseen. Some were larger budget films, some small and intimate projects. But none of them found the audience that they deserved given the scale of their projects.

The Movie I Just Didn’t Get (Overrated):

• Brightburn
• Hustlers
• Joker
• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

I just did not get the appeal to these. While Hustlers was a pretty good time and was led by two powerhouse performances, I did not connect with it as many people did. Brightburn and Scary Stories were major let-downs considering the talent involved. However, the movie that I just did not get from this year is Joker. Phoenix is incredible, the score is great, and the movie itself is entertaining. But it is also muddled, unoriginal, and uninspired. The filmmaking works okay but is ultimately a pastiche of the better films that inspired it (which is hilarious given that Phillips is competing against his biggest inspiration for this film, Scorsese, in the Best Director category of the Oscars). The themes are all over the place, never managing to get out of the nihilistic head of its protagonist. It was certainly overblown by the media. It is not dangerous, nor irresponsible, instead, it is just okay.

The Movie They Just Didn’t Get (Underrated):

• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
• Ad Astra
• Annabelle Comes Home
• Dark Waters
• Doctor Sleep
• Dolemite is My Name
• Last Christmas

None of these films were given the acclaim they deserved. Some received love, such as Ad Astra, Dolemite, and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, but even that acclaim did not sell how amazing they are. Neither Annabelle or Last Christmas is amazing, but both were significantly more entertaining than their critical reception. Dark Waters seemed to be entirely under the radar despite a gripping and infuriatingly true story and a great performance from Mark Ruffalo. Finally, Doctor Sleep was a fantastic film that managed to be so much more than nostalgia-bait for The Shining. It adds nuance to the characters and explores the complicated relationship between the trauma of the past and the mistakes of the present.

Part Great But Heavily Flawed Films:

• Annabelle Comes Home
• Brightburn
• Dragged Across Concrete
• Glass
• Hustlers
• It Chapter 2
• Joker

These are films that have great standout elements, but to me were still mixed bags. For Annabelle, for every exciting set-piece or moment where it twists what you would expect from a film in the Conjuring universe, there is also a moment where it follows the formula to a T. Brightburn contained an interesting concept but struggled with a formulaic execution and a painful lack of trust in its audience’s ability to understand the story. Glass, as I mentioned before, struggled with its ending undermining all of the previous great elements of the movie. Hustlers was an intriguing story with great performances, but I found the framing device to be unnecessary and it just never quite grabbed me. It Chapter 2 struggled with perhaps being a too loyal adaptation, becoming bloated and repetitive despite amazing character work, great performances, and a fairly impressive examination of trauma. I already mentioned Joker being led by an incredible Joaquin Phoenix, but never being able to step out of the shadows of its inspirations. But no film this year was as mixed of a bag than Craig S Zahler’s third feature film, Dragged Across Concrete. It contains his trademarked incredible and layered dialogue, some incredible moments of tension, and a gruesome but thematically deep examination of hatred and violence, but it is dragged down (pun intended) by Zahler’s inclinations to be a provocateur. It tries to walk the “depiction doesn’t equal endorsement” line, but tips its hand on the scale, proving the characters racist worldviews are correct within the world of the film by depicting most of the black characters as sex-crazed hooligans looking to rape white women (a trope straight out of the film racism hall of fame harkening back to Birth of a Nation). It handles the nuances of its loaded subject matter (racism and police brutality) with the carefulness of a sledgehammer, going so far on its bluntness that a character says to Mel Gibson’s face that “the worst thing you could be labeled in our society is a racist because of some remarks made on a phone call,” all while hiding behind the excuse of “not wanting to be a political movie.” It is a shame because the movie's dialogue is amazing, the set-pieces are super tense, and the performances are compelling. But any deeper examination cannot help but notice the nastiness of the themes underneath.