This Year’s Best Pictures Ranked Best To Worst

Words by Waverly Loyd

Ladies, gents, and theydies alike. The cinephile superbowl is here.

The 97th Academy Awards is inching closer with a whopping 48 films receiving nominations. With some controversial takes that have most netizens scratching their heads (*blows a kiss at Emilia Pérez*) and some truly outstanding ensembles that remind me why I love cinema (*winks at Anora*), and some that I imagine had the Academy circle-jerking each other off while watching the first screenings — but had everyone else falling asleep (*trips “The Brutalist” while it walks by.*) I won’t be covering all eight Academy Award Best Picture Nominees, but here are the ones that I have seen. The ratings provided next to each film are from the average rating they received on Letterboxd, while my personal rating will be listed at the end of my review. Enjoy.

“DUNE: Part Two” (4.4/5 star rating)

Coming in strong, we have “Dune: Part Two” with a whopping 4.4 average rating, which is extremely high for a Letterboxd review. Among all of the movies nominated for Best Picture, it doesn’t surprise me that this movie has the highest rating in this category. In every way, this movie is captivating. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, is this masterpiece of interplanetary sci-fi that has rarely been seen since “Star Wars.” Villeneuve truly knows how to bring these fictional worlds to life and without overusing CGI. This movie was shot at multiple locations including Jordan, Budapest, Italy, Abu Dhabi and Hungary, in order for Villeneuve to attempt to capture the most authentic looking landscapes possible and to find all new shooting locations so nothing looked as it did in “Dune” (2021). With a budget of $190 million, you can tell that every cent was used to create a world so immersive and tangible that it’s hard to doubt its existence.

Though there are many remarkable scenes from this movie, my favorites were probably scenes including Giedi Prime, the home planet of the Harkonnens. Giedi Prime has a black sun, therefore, their world would reflect light much differently than planets with a sun like ours. In order to capture this on-screen, infrared cameras were used to add more depth and texture to the characters and their surroundings. I think that the Giedi Prime sequence held some of my favorite shots in the movie because of the beautiful use of lights and shadows. There is a gorgeous moment with Feyd and Lady Margot, where they stand in a hallway while fireworks go off outside. Because of the infrared camera, the lights created from the fireworks look like thunder and lightning, and it is so beautifully done.

So visually, this movie is gorgeous. However, some fans feel that due to the dedication to the visual effects, the plot/acting falls short. I, personally, do not agree with this. I think that every performance given was spectacular. One of my favorite performances was that of Austin Butler as Feyd Rautha. It’s always jarring to see someone who only plays “heartthrobs,” then play someone intentionally grotesque, and Butler really embodied this role. Feyd’s sadistic, monstrous nature was captured very well by Butler, and every scene with him made me feel ill at ease. Including his cannibal harem. Was not expecting that!

Rebecca Ferguson and Timotheé Chamalet gave excellent performances, as usual. Stellan Skarsgård gives such a disgusting performance of Baron, my skin crawls whenever he’s on the screen. Zendaya, Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem and more all gave great performances that added to the success of this film.

I do not think this is going to win Best Picture considering it’s not nearly pretentious enough for the Academy to get off to. But I loved this movie, and clearly the people did, too. 4.5/5

“The Brutalist” (4.0/5 star rating)

Now this is the Academy’s wet dream of an Oscar-winning film. Shot in 34 days — with a run time of almost four hours (3 hr, 35 min. to be exact,) — we have a drama starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce just to name a few. Written, produced and directed by Brady Corbet, we are told a story of the American Dream, through the eyes of László Tóth, a renowned architect in Hungary, who has escaped war-torn Europe post-WWII. He comes to America for better opportunities and meets a powerful industrialist named Harrison Lee Van Buren, who recognizes László’s potential and wants László to build him something unlike anything the citizens of Doylestown, Pennsylvania have ever seen. We are taken through this tale for nearly four hours. It took me almost a week to get through this one. Here are my thoughts.

There are two acts, an intermission, and an epilogue. The amount of times I paused it to see how much I had left because it had felt like I had been watching this for at least six hours, only to see it had been 30 minutes was a consistent mistake I made while trudging through this movie.  

The first half of this movie is excellent. This is Brady’s magnum opus and is going to have his name spread throughout the entire film world through his tenacity to produce such an intense work of art. I completely understand why it has been praised so highly and garnered 10 Oscar nominations. The camera work and cinematography are stunning. Through intelligent use of natural lighting, as well as being told through various seasons, all throughout the ’50s through the ’80s, this movie feels as old as it is. Brady wanted his film to feel as authentic as possible, and he largely achieved this by choosing to film with the rarely used VistaVision 35mm. This is a high-resolution widescreen film format developed in the 1950s. It’s great for capturing widescreen shots, and for a film that captures many different types of liminal space, this kind of format seemed like the perfect choice for Brady.

In Act I, we see László learn how to adjust to living as an immigrant in America during such a volatile time. We see him reconnect with his wife after years of separation. We see him struggle with heroin abuse. We see the cost of artist vs. commerce and how, often, artists are made to compromise their work to appease someone else, therefore, causing them to lose the love they originally had for any given project because they feel like it is no longer their creation. The first half is really special. And then there’s the second half… There is no reason for this movie to be as long as it is other than the fact that Brady just wanted it that way. There are so many pointless scenes and boring side quests. It becomes monotonous after a while and you begin to feel restless waiting for any kind of change in pace or excitement that never really comes. This was a movie I finished where I thought, “I’m glad I watched that but I’ll never watch it again.” Just because of how dense it is and how excruciatingly long with hardly any stimulation.

The acting was, of course, superb. Brody is a master of his craft. He makes acting seem so effortless and real. You forget you are watching an actor play a character. You are instead watching László Tóth through his life. His brilliance with his facial expressions, as well as his little nuances with his speech that make Tóth’s Hungarian heritage feel so tangible. It was no surprise at all that he has been nominated for Best Actor.

But this has come with quite a bit of controversy. When I was watching this movie, I remember being mesmerized by his excellent accent. So much so that I researched into his preparation for the role, only to find out his voice, and many others in the film, were fine-tuned by AI to make their accents sound as realistic as possible. I honestly felt betrayed when I found this out because a movie that puts so much work into feeling like it could’ve been filmed in the ’50s, ’60s, etc., to then use something as modern as Artificial Intelligence really disappointed me. We are all aware that AI is becoming a part of our new normal, whether we want it to or not, but I think that artificially changing parts of a movie meant to feel so historical is a frustrating juxtaposition. It would be like watching the Titanic and Rose pulls out her phone to take a selfie of her and Jack. This has caused some confusion within the cinephile world because audience members, myself included, feel as if we have been manipulated into thinking Adrien’s acting is better than it actually is. If there was no AI, then what would his Hungarian accent actually sound like? How convinced would we be? I know Adrien Brody is an incredible actor and if he wins, this will be his second Oscar win in his well-established career. But, is it fair that he would win when his accent wasn’t created by himself? But rather AI? I am curious to see if this will win Best Picture, and I think it is very likely Adrien will be winning Best Actor, regardless of the AI enhancement. 3/5.

“Anora” (4.0/5 star rating)

Tied with “The Brutalist,” we have “Anora.” To be frank, this is one of the best movies I have seen in the last decade. It has a mix of all my favorite components of a movie. It is a comedy drama with some thriller elements as well as romance and some dark content. It is serious yet playful, sexy, yet sweet, hilarious, yet heart-crushing. And I was glued to the screen for every single moment. When I heard about this movie, I knew I would be in for a fun ride. A rich Russian boy falls for his parents’ worst nightmare, a young, broke sex worker. Think Russian Cinderella. They get married, his parents find out, and now they’re stuck in a humorous mess to convince his parents he made the right decision. I was not, however, expecting to cry and feel the level of betrayal that I felt, as I did at the end of this movie. Anora (Mikey Madison,) breathes so much life into this film. We see her fall for Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), and we see her falling into this fairy tale where her prince swoops in to save her from her hard life … and they live happily ever after. Anora is passionate and alluring, yet also naïve and accidentally blurs the lines of work and play to become so crossed she doesn’t know what’s real anymore. As a woman, I think a lot of us can empathize deeply with Anora and where this movie ends up taking us.

So many of us have blindly trusted and not seen the signs for what they were (love bombing) and were left to be the only one suffering in the end. I think one of the most painful moments is watching Anora stick up for Ivan for most of the movie, and then when they finally are back together, he is this cold, uncaring person — the person he was all along — a selfish, spoiled, weak boy with no feelings for anyone but himself. And all of a sudden, we realize that so many of the characters we’ve met and dislike because they seem to be the antagonists trying to destroy Ivan and Anora’s relationship, are actually decent people who truly do have her best interests at heart because they have always seen Ivan for what he is. The sequence of events that follows once Toros and his men arrive at the mansion to take Anora and Ivan to get their marriage annulled was hilarious and so overstimulated. I loved that scene so much.

Another scene I loved was one of the final moments Anora shares with Ivan where she tells his mother “Your son is a f***ing p*ssy,” while taking off her coat he had gifted her and calling him out for being the pathetic man he is, while Ivan just sits there with a blank look on his face. Ivan’s father bursts out laughing and continues to do so for the rest of the scene. It further emphasizes with the audience how fed up everyone is with Ivan’s charade and that he truly is not a good person and Anora has been played for a fool. His own father has been pushed past his limits and is watching his loser of a son have his ass handed to him by some girl while she reads him and his family to filth.

I have a feeling Madison will be bringing home her first Oscar. This movie would not have been nearly as emotional and impactful if not for her addictive performance. 5/5

Conclave (3.9/5-star rating)

“Your Eminence, might I take a puff off your vape? I fear mine has died, and I have just discovered DoorDash doesn’t deliver to the Vatican.” :/

An intelligent religious political thriller starring Ralph Fiennes as he unravels dark secrets within the church while being sequestered in the Vatican among his other powerful brothers to choose a new pope after their previous one passed away. (For the brain rot girls: Cardinal Lawrence clocking the tea while moody divas spread rumors about each other to try to win first place for the “most popular” award.)

Cardinal Lawrence: “Leave me alone, I am above such things as gossip!”

Also, Cardinal Lawrence: “Wait, he did what? GIRL, spill rn.”

I strongly believe Ralph Fiennes will be winning Best Actor for his work in this film. I also think that this is likely to win Best Production Design and is neck and neck with Dune: Part Two for Best Original Score. I think this was an underrated film and highly recommend watching. 4/5.

“The Substance” (3.8/5 star rating)

A gruesome depiction of what it is like to be a woman in Hollywood, and the lengths you’ll go to in order to preserve your younger self in a world where aging is seen as a failure and proof that they only want you when you’re young and hot.

I just know A24 is kicking and screaming knowing that a MUBI movie has been recognized by the Academy after already having to deal with Peacock’s exclusive streaming of “Conclave” and Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez.” We love to see underdogs fight their way to the top among the big dogs. Except Emilia Pérez. Get back in your crate.

This movie is vile and repulsive and completely over the top, and yet somehow, the most disgusting scene of all was Dennis Quaid throat-goating that shrimp.

Coralie Fargeat has been nominated for Best Director, and I think it’s a tie between either her or Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”) The sound design, the visuals, the unique camera angles, the gorgeous set design, the stunning yet horrifying musical scores, the acting, the costume design. This movie truly has it all and would be monumental if it won Best Picture, as horror movies are rarely given so much praise in such eloquent settings such as the Academy Awards. It’s not going to win Best Picture, but the fact that it was even nominated with how graphic and disturbing the content is, is still a huge achievement for horror fans. I highly recommend Coralie’s other brilliant creation called, “Revenge” (2017), if you loved the gore in “The Substance.” Coralie has mastered showcasing the horrors women go through without them being exploitative and is the blueprint for how all rape plot devices should be portrayed. 5/5

“Emilia Pérez” (2.1/5 star rating)

I need you guys to know that I tried watching this movie three separate times and turned it off each time and then finally finished it yesterday only by watching it at 2x speed.

This movie is a joke. There were countless scenes where my jaw was on the floor because I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that this movie has more Oscar nominations than “Pulp Fiction,” “Parasite” and “The Godfather,” just to name a few. I am not one to feed into conspiracies about things being rigged. But first, Beyoncé wins Country Album of the Year (?!) and now Emilia Pérez has been nominated for 13 (!!!) Oscars? Yeah, I’m calling bullshit.

This is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The acting is trash, the songs are trash, the plot is trash, the characters are trash. You could show me a dumpster and one of Emilia Pérez next to it, and I would identify this movie as being closer to trash than the dumpster.

For a quick recap, this movie is about a Mexican cartel drug lord who wants to restart his life to repent for his past by becoming transgender to start living her new life. *Slams hand down on extremely loud and incorrect buzzer* Right off the bat, a heinous start. Deciding to transition into your preferred gender is not a moral decision. It is something that has been a thing you have innately known about yourself most of your life. Yet, in this goofy ass movie, it’s presented like Emilia is choosing this to cleanse herself of the man she was. Changing your gender doesn’t change the fact that you’re a shitty person!

God, this movie is pure nightmare fuel for the Leftists. This is exactly what Donald Trump thinks is gonna happen by allowing foreigners into our country. Sigh. It is so upsetting to see this ridiculous, offensive, inaccurate movie being praised so highly when most all netizens see this for what it really is: a cisgendered mockery of what they think it means to be trans. There is literally a scene where one of Emilia’s children says Emilia “smells like a man.” ?? This feels like cis people desperately trying to prove they aren’t transphobic by brown-nosing the hell out of the LGBTQIA+ community, and most trans people have openly rejected this film and regarded it as a major setback for the community. It’s like when J.K. Rowling decided to make Dumbledore gay to amend for her past homophobic comments. Like, girl… that’s not what we meant but OK.

I think we are all aware of “La Vaginoplastia” and how there are lyrics that literally read “Man to woman. Woman to man. From penis to vaginnaaaaaaa…” and that is not even the worst song in this movie. How is it possible that every single actor can’t sing? That’s step number one when creating a musical — make sure everyone can sing! No, not even Selena Gomez sounds good here.

I am certain that the director, Jacques Audiard, had never met a trans person until casting Karla Sofía Gascón.

Speaking of Gascón, she has been nominated for Best Actress, and if she wins that would be historic as she would be the first openly trans person to ever win an Academy Award. I would support her 100% if she was a good actress. And a good person. However, neither of these are true. Soon after the movie’s release, tweets resurfaced from Gascón where she made a plethora of racist remarks about Muslims, called George Floyd a “drug addict swindler,” and during 2020 tweeted, “The Chinese vaccine [comes] with two spring rolls [and] a cat that moves its hand,” and refers to COVID-19 as “this Chinese shit.” So, there went Netflix’s chance at winning Best Picture. And Gascón’s shot at Best Actress. I’m curious to see how the rest will play out…

And if you think I’m being overly-critical, on Letterboxd you have to scroll through 50 bad reviews before you get to a four-star review where someone genuinely enjoyed it. And Letterboxd reviews are organized from most to least popular so those 50 reviews each have thousands of likes with people agreeing.  Barring the five-star review I came across that says “Dogsh*t movie. F*cking awful.”

Do I think “Emilia Pérez” deserves to win any Academy Awards? No. But do I think it is going to win most of them anyway? Honestly, before Gascón’s controversial past was uncovered, which, mind you, these are tweets from only a couple of years ago (2020 and 2021) I would’ve said yes, Emilia Pérez will be dominating each category. But in light of this new information, off-screen, I’m not exactly sure where this places the film. I still, sadly, think it’s likely to win Best Supporting Actress, Best International Feature Film and Best Original Score. .5/5

Thanks for reading! See you next time