The 92nd Academy Awards are this weekend and as I have for the past few years I am going to go over all of the movies nominated for best picture giving you my thoughts on their quality and their chances to win the big prize. I will also list the nominations for the rest of the awards to be given out and tell you what I think will win as well as what I think should win. I’ll cap things off with my personal top 15 movies of the year. 2019 was a great year for movies. The year started off slow, as usual, but it really picked up steam as the year went along. It was hard to pick the order of my five favorites, each being five star films, and there was a lot of depth behind them. Of course you had to look beyond the Hollywood blockbusters which had a very rough year beyond ‘Avengers Endgame’ and ‘Toy Story 4’.

(Feel free to agree or disagree with me and post your own favorite films of the year on the BSL Board here.)

Best Picture:

Ford v Ferrari4 Nominations

The ultimate dad movie. And I say that as a father of two. I enjoyed it. But it feels very out of place among the other best picture nominees (even if I did like it more than ‘Joker’). To me its simply a competently made box office success with two very fun movie star performances at the center of it. About what you would expect after watching the trailer for a movie centered around car racing. Not to take away from all of its nominations, it deserves to be there for both sound mixing and sound editing. The problem is that without being nominated for best picture I would’ve came out of the movie saying “yeah it was a lot of fun, you should check it out!” but instead it alters the perspective I get to look at it from. During the racing scenes I didn’t feel the sense of speed that a movie like ‘Rush’ did. It is also filled with cliches, completely under-utilizes the wife character, and is entirely way too long. But to end on a high note there are two stand out scenes worth mentioning. One is Matt Damon’s character taking Henry Ford II on a test drive and the other is when Damon’s Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale’s Ken Miles get into a fight and Miles’ wife pulls up a chair to watch. It does a good job of showing their dynamic in one funny scene.

The Irishman10 Nominations

I will admit that it took me a couple sittings to get through ‘The Irishman’ (the beauty and the curse of Netflix) and that I didn’t love it after first viewing. But it has stuck in my mind and grown in my estimation in the months since. There is no denying it is an incredibly long movie but at the same time I don’t believe that its ever boring. It must be a feat of editing that it is able to keep such a forward momentum despite a fairly slow pace and so much to get through. It is certainly another example of great direction from the legendary Martin Scorcese as he once again tackles the themes of masculinity in the mafia, revisiting the world he knows so well from such classics as ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’. Hes able to look at the same themes but from the perspective of someone further along in life, closer to the end and looking back. Robert DeNiro reaches back in time to give his first fantastic performance in over 20 years (hes been good more recently in things like ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ to be fair). Joe Pesci and Al Pacino each give award worthy supporting performances as well. It doesn’t look like the film is going to walk away with many, if any, awards but in 10+ years that may look like a mistake as I think it is going to age very well unlike Frank Shereen.

Jojo Rabbit6 Nominations

I wasn’t sure what to make of ‘Jojo Rabbit’ as I sat down in the theater to see it. Critics whose opinion I respect were all over the map with their reactions to the film. Some loved it, some hated it, and everywhere in between. I was a fan of director Taika Waititi’s previous work ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’, and especially ‘Thor Ragnarok’. Turns out I was mostly positive on the film but had some reservations that kept it from being one of my favorites of the year. As expected it was funny but not in the way you might expect from the trailer. The imaginary best friend being Hitler mostly left me unamused, only because the attempts at humor didn’t work the majority of the time. What did work were the interactions between the titular character and his best friend as well as Sam Rockwell’s character. On the serious side of the story it did a good job of landing the big moments and I really liked the way Jojo’s relationship with Thomasin Mackenzie’s character developed. There are plenty of plot contrivances to make the story work and a lot of the commentary is hitting the nail on the head but it gets its point across. All of the controversy surrounding the film is overblown but so are its chances of winning best picture.

Joker11 nominations

Somehow a superhero movie leads all 2019 movies with 11 oscar nominations. ‘Joker’ also won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival and took home a bunch of other awards this winter. I liked the movie for what it was – a Scorcese rip off centered around a typically great Joaquin Phoenix performance. Director Todd Phillips clearly watched ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The King of Comedy’ a lot in the lead up to making ‘Joker’. Its fine. To me the detractors are being too harsh and its fans are over-praising it. Its competently made. It looks and sounds pretty good but theres not a lot of heart to it. Zazie Beetz is wasted, its obvious where the story is headed (of course that is on purpose but its too linear), and there is too much Batman mythology wedged in for fan service. On one hand the comic book fan in me is glad to see some legitimacy added to the superhero genre but at the same time I think it would be ridiculous if ‘Joker’ won best picture.

Little Women6 Nominations

I never read the book this was based on. Embarrassingly I had never even heard of it until I started hearing the buzz around this movie and what it was about. But I did enjoy Greta Gerwig’s first film ‘Lady Bird’ even if it wasn’t one of my favorites of that year like it was for a lot of critics. To me it was a solid directorial debut that showed a lot of promise and she has delivered on that with ‘Little Women’. Gerwig put together a great cast with Saoirse Ronan at the helm earning a nomination for lead actress and the breakout star of 2019 Florence Pugh getting nominated in supporting actress. You also have Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Laura Dern, Tracy Letts, and Chris Cooper doing their typical good work. It was also nominated for best adapted screenplay, best costume design, and best score – all deserved. I won’t say Gerwig was snubbed for best director but there is no way Todd Phillips should be nominated there with many more deserving options including her. This movie also stands out from the pack of best picture nominees because it is one of two that isn’t rated R and has a more pleasant feeling to it. (The other being Ford v Ferrari.) There are some dark moments but its really just about a family of four sisters and how their relationships and ambitions change as they enter adulthood.

Marriage Story6 Nominations

Noah Baumbach has long been a favorite director of mine with 2005’s ‘The Squid and the Whale’ being a real standout but his last two movies have felt like a real progression in putting his talents to good use. Maybe that has something to do with getting in a relationship with actress and director Greta Gerwig, who was snubbed in the director category for her work on ‘Little Women’. 2017’s ‘The Meyerwitz Stories’ was one of my favorites of that year and ‘Marriage Story’ is even better. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson give stellar performances as a married couple going through the process of a divorce. Ray Liotta, Alan Alda, and Laura Dern (who will almost certainly win best supporting actress) are each great as different kinds of divorce lawyers who show off how ugly of a process it is no matter how you’re represented. While it is depressing in the realistic way it shows the struggles and end of a relationship it also manages to be hopeful that love and life can go on afterwards. It is also a very funny movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. There is one scene in particular involving a lot of blood that had me in stitches (and probably involved one character getting them).

191710 Nominations

The best video game movie ever made. That sounds snarky but I really mean it as a compliment. It puts you in the perspective of two specific soldiers on a mission during World War I. The camera angles and exposition reminded me of playing Call of Duty at times as did the cameos from more famous actors popping up at each “checkpoint”. From a technical standpoint 1917 is a marvel. The cinematography and visual effects are top notch and really immerse you in the experience. The visual design of the trenches really stood out in a striking way with each faction having their own distinct look. There are a few standout set pieces including the one that is featured in all of the commercials for the film. Despite all this praise there was still something holding the movie back from reaching that next level. I’m not sure why but I never felt a real connection to the characters so the emotional beats didn’t land in the way that I’m sure they were intended. But clearly that wasn’t a problem for a lot of other people because it is currently the slight favorite to win Best Picture on Sunday.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood10 Nominations

Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite directors. He hasn’t made a movie that I didn’t like, ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is my second favorite movie of all time, and he has four movies in my top 100 including another one that he wrote (True Romance). As much as I liked ‘Django Unchained’ and ‘The Hateful 8’ ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ is in his top tier along with IB and ‘Pulp Fiction’. The performances are great across the board, it has an amazing soundtrack, and as usual for QT the screenplay is almost flawless. Its one of those movies where every scene is like a standalone short film but they mesh perfectly together to make the sum even greater than its parts. Tarantino even plays around with some horror themes for the first time I can remember with the scene set on Spahn Ranch. He should win the Oscar for best original screenplay and it looks like Brad Pitt has best supporting actor in the bag, deservedly so. It has an outside chance at the big prize if ‘1917’ and ‘Parasite’ split votes. Some people had an issue with the gratuitous violence at the end of the film but I thought it worked perfectly for what Tarantino was going for very similarly to the theater scene in ‘Inglourious Basterds’.

Parasite6 Nominations

Bong Joon-Ho is trying to become the first international director to have his foreign language movie win best picture at the academy awards and I think thats exactly what is going to happen. It hasn’t been winning all of the important precursor awards but it did win the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble and SAG is a big part of the Oscar voting body. It has clearly been getting the best reception from the audiences in attendance at these shows including standing ovations. The film is expertly crafted to be an entertaining watch that dips its toes into multiple genres (drama, heist, horror, thriller, etc.) but at the same time has something to say about class inequality. It is speaking specifically about South Korea but it is a theme that resonates throughout the world including in America. Its a shame it didn’t receive any acting nominations because I believe there were three standouts that deserved recognition (Song Kang-Ho, Park So-Dam, and Cho Yeo-Jeong). I have to think the language barrier hurt it there but hopefully it can make up for it by coming home with victories in some other categories.

 

Should Win: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

Will Win: Parasite (Which I would still be very happy about)

 

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

 

Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio

Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix

 

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”

 

Should Win: Scarlett Johansson

Will Win: Renee Zellweger

 

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

 

Should Win: Brad Pitt

Will Win: Brad Pitt

 

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

 

Should Win: Florence Pugh

Will Win: Laura Dern

 

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

 

Should Win: Bong Joon Ho

Will Win: Sam Mendes

 

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4,” Josh Cooley

 

Should Win: Toy Story 4

Will Win: Toy Story 4

 

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

 

Should Win: The Irishman

Will Win: Little Women

 

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

 

Should Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

 

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

 

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: 1917

“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

 

Should Win: Honeyland

Will Win: American Factory

 

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

 

Should Win: Parasite

Will Win: Parasite

 

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

 

Should Win: The Irishman

Will Win: Ford v Ferrari

 

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

 

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

 

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams

 

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: Joker

 

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

 

Should Win: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”

Will Win: “I’m Gonna Love Me Again”

 

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

 

Should Win: Joker

Will Win: Bombshell

 

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

 

Should Win: Little Women

Will Win: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

 

Visual Effects:

“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

 

Should Win: Avengers Endgame

Will Win: Avengers Endgame

 

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

 

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: 1917

 

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

 

Should Win: 1917

Will Win: 1917

 

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song

 

Should Win: N/A

Will Win: Hair Love

 

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

 

Should Win: N/A

Will Win: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone

 

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard

 

Should Win: N/A

Will Win: Brotherhood

 

My Personal Top 15 Movies of the Year

1. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood
2. Parasite
3. Marriage Story
4. Midsommar
5. Uncut Gems
6. The Lighthouse
7. Us
8. Ad Astra
9. 1917
10. Little Women
11. The Art of Self Defense
12. Avengers: Endgame
13. Knives Out
14. The Farewell
15. The Irishman

Bob Phelan
Bob Phelan

BSL Analyst

Bob is a co-host of ‘On the Verge’ an Orioles podcast focused on the O’s farm system here on BSL. He used to run the baseball blog ‘The Oriole Report’ before transitioning to podcasting about movies, TV, Video Games, and MMA. ‘The Redbox Report’ movie podcast was started in 2013 followed by ‘The Redbelt Report’ MMA podcast in 2016. Bob has also written for Konsume.com and BaltimoreSportsReport.com and delivers mail for a living in Baltimore County. Follow him on Twitter @TheOrioleReport.

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