My Personal Ranking of ALL Oscar Nominated Films

I try to be objective, but I’m embracing my personal biases rather than trying to ignore them. The lists below are in order of preference, but I separate them in tiers. The last movie in each tier is closer in preference to the first movie in that same tier than it is the first movie in the next tier. You know how tiers work…

Before I get into the list, these films that were ruthlessly snubbed would be in the awesome tier: The Woman King (my #1 favorite of the year), Nope, She Said, X, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

Awesome Tier

All Quiet on the Western Front – As a big fan of the original Best Picture winner from 1930, I was eager to see a grittier remake and Edward Berger’s gut-wrenching film did not disappoint. The score and cinematography puts this movie over the top.
Everything Everywhere All at Once – A frenetically paced movie that still tugs at the heart strings? Many have tried, few have succeeded. This is one of the few.
The Fabelmans – Have you heard about this director who never makes bad movies? Steven Spielberg is his name. A master of putting universal themes in any movie, adding a semi-autobiographical entry into his repertoire.
Triangle of Sadness – Dark comedy? Social commentary? Bodily functions as the great societal equalizer? Sign me up.
The Batman – Cinematographer Greig Fraser and Score Composer Michael Giacchino got snubbed. This movie doesn’t work without their work. My personal bias love Batman and slow burns, so of course this is in the awesome tier.
Top Gun: Maverick – Spielberg said it saved movies. He might be right. This is what blockbusters should be. Fun, approachable, and face melting technicals.
RRR – OMG! So ridiculously over the top, I was literally cheering during multiple parts. PLUS it has songs in it?? I need to cool off now.
The Whale – I appreciate the one-piece set production design and 4:3 aspect ratio cinematography, emphasizing the size of Brendan Fraser’s Charlie. A difficult movie to watch but I couldn’t look away.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – I cried both times I watched it. I rarely cry during movies, let alone twice.
Babylon – I’m on team Babylon. I love over the top movies, and I appreciated the commentary that two thoughts can simultaneously exist in your head: having gratitude for Hollywood while also recognizing it’s a problematic industry.
Living – Everyone can enjoy this movie, and that’s worth a lot to me. If you’re looking for advice on what “living” actually means, watch this film.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – I like Marvel movies. Don’t @ me. The tribute to Chadwick Boseman hit me, and it was refreshing to see heroes look different than the archetypal heroes of yesteryear.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – It’s a beautiful film, pure and simple.

Great Tier

Tár– I really like character studies and think pieces, and this is a film that can be discussed among reasonable people for hours. Moral ambiguity should be in more films, and we’ve seen that shift more and more in the last 20 years.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Again, a movie everyone can enjoy? And the jokes land each time? Yeah, it deserves a spot in the great tier.
Causeway – Brian Tyree Henry is so magnetic in anything he does. (Bullet Train would also land in this tier had it somehow got nominated.)
The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh somehow is able to consistently make modern fables that seem completely plausible, a sign of a master storyteller.
The Quiet Girl – This is a master class of show don’t tell writing.
Avatar: The Way of Water – Absolutely stunning visuals with an easy to follow plotline. Sometimes I just like to be bombarded with beauty.
Glass Onion – Sure it’s not as original as Knives Out, but who doesn’t love whodunits?
Fire of Love – My favorite documentary feature of the year. Quirky scientists in love need to be in more movies. A narrative feature in the future for this one? I’d watch it.
Navalny – I was so angry yet inspired after watching this.
A House Made of Splinters – A absolute gut punch of a documentary.
An Irish Goodbye – The first short film on the list. Funny and heartfelt.
The Elephant Whisperers – As an animal advocate myself, this really struck a chord with me.
Nightride – Representation matters, and having that representation in a comedy is even better.
Haulout – Are walruses even real? They don’t look they could be. Despite very little dialogue, another stark reminder of the climate crisis.
Turning Red – Pixar doesn’t miss.

Good Tier

The Red Suitcase – Suspenseful short films will always appeal to me.
The Martha Mitchell Effect – A piece of forgotten history. If a Republican is criticizing its own party, listen.
Close – Sheesh it must be tough to be a kid nowadays.
Stranger at the Gate – I was trying to really remember the tragedy in Muncie, Indiana, and by the end of it, I was glad I couldn’t remember it.
Aftersun – Although many will put this in a better tier, I still enjoyed this coming of age story.
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It – Very clever. I’d watch a feature length of the same concept.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – Another movie that everyone can enjoy. Lesley Manville is magnetic.
All That Breathes – Making the connection of the importance of kite birds and that as an allegory to class disparity is done quite well.
Argentina, 1985 – I will never not like courtroom dramas.
Women Talking – The flowery language really appealed to me.
Empire of Light – Mostly forgettable, but I still enjoyed the story.

Okay Tier

To Leslie – Well acted, but would’ve appreciated more focus on the downfall.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed – I really wanted to like this more than I actually did, but the content is important and worthy of attention.
Ice Merchants – A nice little study on loss.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Although it felt like someone reading a gallery full of inspiration posters, I can see the value of it for someone who needs to hear its messages.
Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths – Yes, self-serving, but vignettes full of symbolism put it in this tier.
The Sea Beast – If it was funnier, it’d be in a better tier.
My Year of Dicks – Cringy, but that’s the point. I can’t imagine trying to navigate the world as a teenage girl.
Le Pupille – Very cute, but also a little boring. The best part of this film was the nice lady sitting next to me in the theater who was giggling and saying under her breath things like, “so cute.”
EO – I know, I know, I should’ve liked it more than I did.

Meh Tier

The Flying Sailor – I got more enjoyment from the last sentence saying what the inspiration for the film was.
Ivalu – This almost ended up in the Okay Tier, but I feel like I’ve seen this before.
Elvis – Yes, I do have a personal bias against music biopics, but I really don’t want to. The exhausting voiceover with the cliche of eccentric talent finding success then taking drugs and cheating on the spouse. Barf.
Tell It Like a Woman – I really wish this was better.
How Do You Measure a Year? – A filmmaker asking his daughter the same question on her birthday until 18? Oh that’s new. Oh it’s just a cute girl turning into a moody teenager? Nothing new.
Blonde – Oof. Probably my least favorite Oscar nominee of ANY year, not just this one. This almost got into a whole tier by itself. Sheesh. So how much of this is actually fact? Very little from what I can gather. And why is she crying in every scene? And why is she topless so much? And what’s with the black and white scenes, especially when the title is a literal color? Ugh, it was such a chore to get through this monstrosity. This film did the unthinkable and made me question two things: 1) Is it really okay to shut a movie off without finishing it?, and 2) Maybe this Oscar Death Race of seeing every nominee isn’t a good idea after all. I will not let this awful piece of trash discourage me! (Did I mention I hated this movie?)