Oscars

One of the most beautiful aspects of film is its ability to artistically express a thought, but thoroughly conveying a concept in a limited time frame is a challenging process; thus, the purpose of the Oscars. Serving as recognition for the high level of filmmaking achievement, the Oscar award ceremony is the perfect opportunity to reflect and reward the artistic quality of films from the previous year. With the wide range of films released, the winners for this year’s Oscars are highly anticipated. Here are the contenders for this year’s Academy Awards:

Lily Gladstone for Best Actress 

Leading in the film Killers of the Flower Moon, Lily Gladstone provides an outstanding performance showcasing the cruelty and murders that took place in the Osage Nation. Her performance has won various awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, making her the first Indigenous woman to do so. 

Paul Giamatti for Best Actor 

Starring in The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti seamlessly embodies both the professional and humane aspects of a teacher. As the film progresses, Giamatti’s role transitions from a strict and prestigious instructor to a solicitous mentor while remaining consistent with the character’s stringent behavior and personality. His performance has already received critical acclaim as well as a Golden Globe Award. 

Christopher Nolan for Best Director

Known for directing films such as The Dark Knight and Interstellar, Christopher Nolan is most probable to receive his overdue Oscar for Best Director. His latest film, Oppenheimer, a biopic based on the life of Robert J. Oppenheimer, provides an elaborate vision of Oppenheimer’s career that perfectly illustrates the rise and fall of the atomic bomb’s creator.

Oppenheimer for Best Picture 

With captivating performances, score, and cinematography, Oppenheimer beautifully conveys the message of the consequences that come with having too much power. Oppenheimer gives audiences the opportunity to understand the theoretical physicist’s perspective, but the implications of this story are then connected to the audience, establishing the film’s relevance in our time.

Razzies

With an enthralling collection of performances and stories for audiences, 2023 also brought rather disappointing experiences for viewers. Similar to how the Oscars reward filmmaking excellence, The Golden Raspberry Awards isolate the specific filmmaking area in which they can improve. These are the frontrunners for this year’s Razzie Awards.

Ana de Armas for Worst Actress

Starring alongside Chris Evans in Ghosted, Ana de Armas plays a committed CIA agent who is understanding how to balance her work and love-life. Unfortunately, the film’s script seems to be more concerned with providing actor cameos and underwhelming humor, than exploring this intriguing character. The script’s lack of focus leads to an underdeveloped character, leading to a poor performance from de Armas.

Chris Evans for Worst Actor

As previously mentioned, the performances from Ghosted are primarily due to the script. Evans is cast as a farmer who decides to track down de Armas’ character and as a result is dragged into CIA shenanigans. While it’s great to see Evans take up a comedic role, the bizarre progress of the character prevents the film from having a protagonist worth following.

Peyton Reed for Worst Director

Reed’s work with the previous two Ant-Man films, provided audiences with engaging heist-like adventures that properly fitted the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, with the wide range of storylines juggled in Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania, Reed failed to effectively develop the central characters and instead focused on teasing the future of the MCU.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey for Worst Picture 

When an intellectual property enters the public domain, all creative liberties are given to the public. This freedom, however, led to an unsolicited take on the lovable bear. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is an independently produced slasher film that turned the titular character, along with Piglet, into feral murderers. Along with the appalling concept, the film lacks any creativity when exploring the backstory of these versions of the characters. The film’s financial success has now inspired other independent filmmakers to turn iconic characters such as Bambi, Peter Pan, and Mickey Mouse into slasher film focuses. 

The realm of cinema is unpredictable, but regardless of the outcomes, the Oscars and Razzies will be an amazing opportunity to reflect the work that was put on our screens.