As a screenwriting major and kinda filmbuff (not in a super annoying way, I promise! I just like movies a lot!), I think I’m obligated to at least pay a decent amount of attention to the Academy Awards. And I have been for the last few years – but if I’m going to be honest, I only usually watched 1 or 2 of the Best Picture nominees before the awards show. This year, however, my roommates and I decided to make a change and actually watch all of the Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars.
In this piece I will be reviewing all 10 of the nominees for 98th Best Picture of Academy Awards. But before that, I’d like to speak on the experience of actually committing to the infamously challenging, polarizing and difficult understanding that the academy seems to have on the “best movies of the entire year”.
Let’s just say that some were deserving, and some were painful to sit through. Among these movies, I had a great time with a few true gems that I would’ve enjoyed and had the same opinion on regardless of their nomination for best picture. They were the fantastic and the new – films that followed all principles of both good filmmaking and good storytelling and expanded on those in new ways. But, there were also a few films that were simply a bore to sit through, both from a filmmaking standpoint, but especially in terms of storytelling and pacing. And because of that, I really think I understand the term “Oscarbait” more than ever.
These films will be listed from my least favorite to favorite – or maybe also from least to most deserving of the award (in my opinion).
F1 – F1 was an unoriginal, boring, predictable sports movie with a severe lack of complex storytelling, emotional depth, and any sense of being ‘inspired’. It honestly makes me angry that this film got the nomination over fantastic pieces like Superman or Weapons – I know the academy hates both superhero and horror movies, but still. F1 is just basic in every sense of the word, watching it feels like watching a 2-hour long car commercial.
The Secret Agent – This was the last film that my roommates and I watched in this marathon, and Jesus did it leave a bad taste in my mouth about this entire experience. It’s not nearly as offensive as F1, but overall it’s just a messy, boring, slow story with some very odd choices in terms of time-jumping. The main character is pretty dull, and there’s generally a very weak emotional strength throughout every aspect of the film.
Sentimental Value – Sentimental Value is the first film on this list that I would say had a good story at its core. The actual storytelling on paper as well as the performances were pretty good. But the problem is that the entire film is drenched in incredibly slow pacing to the point that it becomes extraordinarily difficult to pay attention, feel like things are actually happening, or care about the characters. It also has this extreme film-bro quality about it, like the movie is constantly saying “look at me and how smart I am, now give me an Oscar”.
Hamnet – I truly do understand why so many people loved this film, and it may just not be my cup of tea, but this was another one that felt lifeless and self-aggrandising to the whim of the Academy Awards. I will admit that the ending of this one was pretty good, but everything else about the characters, the plot, and the emotions just felt very impersonal.
Bugonia – Starting here, I actually had a pretty great time with the rest of these, and I would classify them as ‘good’ to ‘fantastic’ movies. Bugonia was a really strange experience with lots of twists, tense scenes and hilarious character decisions. The ending of this one was so stupid in the absolute best way possible.
One Battle After Another – Many people are considering this film to be one of the frontrunners in this year’s best picture nominees, and while I had a lot of fun with it and I thought it was a pretty great movie, I do also have my issues. One Battle After Another is a very bold film with some amazing characters and a pretty good story about a father and his daughter. But it also promises to be a super emotionally resonant story about rebellion and revolution, which it is not at all. Revolution is a very pointed topic at this point in history, and I’ve seen some incredible works that discuss it (like Andor). But this film just completely drops the ball on that theme which is very important to me, so I just can’t enjoy it anymore than I do.
Frankenstein – Frankenstein is a very solid and relatively simple film that somewhat follows the original novel. I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable, well-acted, well-written and extraordinarily well-set film. The costume and set design was incredible and this one very much deserved the award in both of those categories.
I can’t really decide which of these next 3 I like more, but here they are in terms of what deserves to win the most.
Marty Supreme – This was an amazing film about a guy who just keeps destroying his life because of how hubris-filled and ambitious he is. I loved the tension, the comedy, the action, and especially Timothée Chalamet’s performance. He was easily my favorite performance of 2025 and I highly recommend seeing him as the one and only Marty Supreme.
Train Dreams – Train Dreams is the most underrated film on this list. It is a beautiful story about the life of a logger in the Pacific Northwest and how he comes to understand himself and the world through many decades of quietness. It’s a slow and simple film, but because of that it really makes you feel the weight of this man’s life.
Sinners – I saw Sinners when it came out in theaters back in April, and I am so glad that I did. Sinners is a fantastic thriller about the power of music in culture. It’s fun, it’s heavy, it’s emotionally and politically charged, and it is incredibly deserving to win the big award.
Atticus Jackson is a Senior Writing for Film, T.V., and Emerging Media major who both loves and hates watching movies.