Oscars 2025: Best Picture Preview
We Know About Pope-ular
Good evening and welcome to the 3rd Annual ILTBTA Oscars Preview Post, hosted by yours truly! With the 97th Annual Academy Awards (otherwise known as The Oscars, though no one definitively knows why) coming up this Sunday at 7 PM Eastern, we wanted to take a break from all those crusty old nominees and turn our spotlight onto the current crop of Best Picture nominees.
And seeing as so many of our friends are having babies of late, we thought we'd use this year's Best Picture nominees to help teach those potential new movie lovers their ABCs:
A is for Anora, which you'll watch when you're much much older.
B is for The Brutalist, which you might never have the stamina to watch.
C is for Conclave, a meeting with all your besties.
C is also for A Complete Unknown, which Bob Dylan would probably prefer to be.
D is for Dune: Part Two, the prophecy fulfilled.
E is for Emilia Pérez, the newest case study in how to lose an Oscar.
F is for five, as in the number of cents referenced in Nickel Boys.
G is for Galinda, the good witch in Wicked.
H is for oh HELL no, the feeling of taking The Substance.
I is for I'm Still Here, a movie we definitely won't forget about even though the title is begging for us not to.
And J and K are for just kidding, we won’t do this for the entire Elphaba alphabet.
For those who prefer their lists in bullet form, we've got you covered too:
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I'm Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Now let’s get to the content!
Oh Sheeeeeeeet!
A peek behind the ILTBTA curtain to see our Spreadsheet comments.
Anora
Tyler: A phenomenal lead performance in a unique, funny, and sad plot
Ellen: What Tyler said, this one stuck with me!
The Brutalist
Ellen: I can tell it's good, I can tell it's Art, but some choices definitely went over my head.
Tyler: It made some capital-C Choices for reasons of capital-A Art, including its 3.5-hour runtime; fantastic acting but the second half lost me
A Complete Unknown
Tyler: Great acting all around lifts an otherwise fine biopic; I appreciate that they did not hide his assholery
Ellen: Seems like an obnoxious guy who brings out the worst in those around him, but hey, the movie had good music!
Conclave
Ellen: A shock and a delight that this movie isn't the most boring slog of all time, and rather is gripping, funny at times, and beautifully made
Tyler: In no world should this movie be this interesting, so it's a testament to every aspect of it that it really really is
Dune: Part Two
Tyler: A visually stunning continuation of sci-fi world-building as only Denis Villeneuve could
Ellen: This is what IMAX is for. It's a spectacle, it's gorgeous, it's Lisan al Gaib.
Emilia Pérez
Ellen: The story dealt with more than just her trans-ness, which I liked, but I'm also not convinced it was good?
Tyler: A bit too overly ambitious and frenetic for my taste, like a weird Baz ripoff; is this camp?
I'm Still Here
Ellen: Incredible job of making you fall in love with this family, then ripping it apart. Pacing didn't totally work for me, but I'm glad to have seen it
Tyler: A touch too long and the "based on a true story" of it all is a double-edged sword, but regardless a well-acted movie and a story from a different perspective
Nickel Boys
Tyler: The first-person perspective is really unique and innovative, but some of the other ~art~ choices were lost on me
Ellen: Definitely another one with some capital-A Art. A really gutting story coupled with a unique perspective and weirdly heightened acting, like a dream.
The Substance
Tyler: It's a shame that my lasting impression of this will be me with a pillow in front of my face to hide from the body horror, and not the stylish shots or unsettling music
Ellen: I'm unwell, but I'm also very impressed with the unique shooting style and powerful acting with very little dialogue
Wicked
Tyler: While I appreciate the grand scale of it all and being back in that universe, it feels out of place as a nominee; I mean, it chopped up Defying Gravity!
Ellen: Both leads crushed, there were some really cool practical effects, but it didn't all quite rise to the level1.
Class Superlatives
What if the Oscars had a yearbook?
Achievement in Facial Coverings → Bene Gesserit (Dune: Part Two)
Marketing Budget Most Akin to a Small Country’s GDP → Wicked
Most Inadvertent But Potentially Relevant Marketing → Pope Francis for Conclave
Most Emotional Support Guitars per Character → A Complete Unknown
What Must Be the Highest Ratio of F-Bombs per Word in Script → Anora
Craziest Bio You Can’t Believe is Real → Eunice Paiva (I’m Still Here)
Craziest Bio You Can’t Believe is Fake → László Toth (The Brutalist)
Boys with the Fewest Nickels → Nickel Boys
Best Apology for the Movie Itself → The Supplier of The Substance
Oscar NomNomNomz
Need some ceremony snacks? We’ve got you covered.
It’s finally here, the number one snacking day of the year: the Big Game Oscars! But before you settle in to watch three hours of pre-ceremony red carpet coverage, you find yourself in need of sustenance for what is infamously a looooooong show. Let us help you with some cinematic snackage suggestions, themed to each of the Best Picture nominees.
For drinks, we have a celebratory champagne flute-alist for the classy folks, and A Complete Keystone Light, High Noon: Part Two, and I’m chilled beer for those looking to party. Aiming for something non-alcoholic? We’ve also got some coffee from Dunkin’ (we hear it’s wicked good) and Prune: Part Tuice.
For fingerfoods, feel free to pick at some prawn-claves, cornmeal-ia Pérez, some dill pickle Boys, and bagels with I’m Still shmear.
For dessert, we have A-smore-as, passionfruit-alist macar-onclaves, and (for a boozy option) A Complete rum scone.
And for a nice palette cleanser, finish it off with a couple of The Subs-mints!
Best of the Rest
In which we stray from our Best Picture specialty and praise some other categories.
Best Actress in a Leading Role for Mikey Madison (Anora)
Tyler: Demi Moore will almost definitely win this one (because she deserves it AND The Academy loves a redemption story of its own making2), but Mikey Madison is the heart and soul of Anora and is the biggest reason why it works. She somehow manages to be sassy, hopeful, confident, vulnerable, funny, sexy, angry, and emotionally broken in the most stunning and impressive way. A lot of that is the writing, but she brings that character to life.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Yura Borisov (Anora)
Tyler: It’s a much more subtle performance than Madison’s, but Borisov’s “goon with a heart” is one that you just don’t see very often and he absolutely nails it.
Best Original Score for Volker Bertelmann (Conclave)
Tyler: One of the things that helps make Conclave much more thrilling than “a bunch of old men sit around” is the score, which adds some excitement and tension
Ellen: Loved the score, it was great, but I’m not here to talk about that. This feels like the best place to yell about the fact that Wicked was nominated for original score. I understand that it’s not exactly the same as from the Broadway show, and there are all kinds of calculations that supposedly say it’s allowed, but you can’t tell me with a straight face that it makes sense for Wicked to be up for this honor and Dune: Part Two is disqualified.
Best Production Design for Suzie Davies, Cynthia Sleiter (Conclave)
Ellen: The production design coupled with the score gives the movie such a sense of place, equal parts gravitas (all these ornate rooms that aren’t open to the public) and practicality (a cafeteria that may as well be in a high school). There are so many little touches that take you inside this very real world that you’ll almost certainly never have access to.
Best Cinematography for Greig Fraser (Dune: Part Two)
Tyler: There were more than a few shots and sequences from this movie that literally made my jaw drop, but none more so than the opening sequence where attackers use anti-gravity suits to float up is just beautifully shot and deserves all of the praise.
Best Visual Effects for Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin, and Shane Mahan (Alien: Romulus)
Tyler: Was I influenced by this YouTube video that The Algorithm served me? Am I biased because we went to Weta Workshop (who did the FX) on our honeymoon? Do I still think the team from Dune: Part Two will deservedly win this anyway? Yes, yes, and yes.
Ellen: And I thought this was the most blood I was going to see in a movie from last year, but The Substance ran away with it.
Tyler: By, like, a lot.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This Best Picture Preview post is brought to you by … a functioning government!
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Ten in Ten!
In which we list our ten favorite non-Spreadsheet movies that we saw in theatres last year and so far this year, and comment on them in ten words or less.
Of the 21 non-Best Picture nominated movies we saw in theatres since the last Oscars (Ellen saw one more than Tyler), these are our favorites:
Ellen
Inside Out 2 → somehow, Anxiety feels good in a place like this
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare → eye-candy, vintage, and justice for all!
Challengers → eye-candy, drama, and tennis for all!
Fall Guy → silly action and gabbing about movies
One Of Them Days → the 90-minute comedy I needed this February
Civil War → occupies a special place in my anxiety
A Quiet Place: Day One → franchise as excuse for wonderful character study
Y2K → bloody, silly 00’s nostalgia
Monkey Man → punch punch, pow pow, fight fight fight!
Deadpool & Wolverine → say what you will: I cackled
Tyler
Inside Out 2 → the introduction of Anxiety was all too real
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare → hot people killing Nazis, only the beginning of the book!
Monkey Man → we stan vengeful, trans-supporting, anti-authoritarian, kick-punching Dev Patel
Y2K → pure 90s silliness with a phenomenal third-act cameo
One Of Them Days → some much needed post-inauguration laughs from Keke and SZA
The Fall Guy → Ryan Gosling is a treasure; a movie about movies!
A Quiet Place: Day One → familiarly tense but still a fresh take in that universe
Civil War → “What kind of American are you?” lives in my brain
Deadpool & Wolverine → meta jokes and gnarly action scenes, as expected
Babygirl → uneven but still sexy, Nicole Kidman is bae
Honorable Mentions: All of the special re-releases (most in IMAX) that we took advantage of: Ex Machina, Interstellar (my second favorite movie we watched this year), Parasite (my favorite movie we watched this year), and (last but not least) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
Basil’s Best
Our social media intern picks her favorite Oscars animals.
Greetings humans! This is Basil, the objectively cutest ILTBTA contributor. While I haven’t seen all of these Best Picture nominees4, I’ve done extensive research on all of them and have been very impressed by the animal representation!
So in honor of those fantastic fauna, I’ll be presenting the ILTBTA Award for Best Animal. And the nominees are:
The sandworm ridden by Paul Atriedes in Dune: Part Two
Dr. Dillamond, the talking goat and professor at Shiz University in Wicked
The lion cub freed from Shiz by Elphaba and Fiyero in Wicked
Pimpão the Jack Russell street dog from I'm Still Here
The metaphorical alligator from Nickel Boys
And the ILTBTA Award goes to … Pimpão! Unfortunately, the sandworm has stormed the stage like Kanye and is claiming a pro-dog, anti-sandworm bias (which is completely unfounded, woof woof woof woof woof!), so I will accept this award on Pimpão’s behalf.
Final Rankings
Who’s the best of the Best?
Without further ado …
Ellen: There are a lot of things to like about this crop of nominees: half of them feature a female lead, one of the crowd-favorite biggest movies of the year is represented, and at least two are absolutely unhinged. Those are not characteristics that you’d associate with a “typical Oscar movie,” and I’m glad to see The Academy nominate more movies outside of the perceived formula. I think that’s why A Complete Unknown and The Brutalist are so far down the list for me: not because they’re bad, but because they’re expected. Conclave avoided that trap simply by being my favorite movie I saw all year5! It, much like Anora, surprised me throughout, though the gorgeous scale of Dune: Part Two managed to edge the latter out.
The cynical view on The Substance is that Hollywood cannot resist a movie about itself, even if it’s a bloody, scathing critique. But it conveyed its (admittedly heavy-handed) message so effectively in the off-kilter camera angles and nearly silent acting that I can’t help but be glad it’s here. I don’t think Emilia Pérez is an effective or good movie overall, but I can’t really bring myself to be mad that it’s nominated. I think I’d rather live in a world where The Academy takes that swing.
Tyler: What a year! While there weren’t any real standout, clear-cut #1 picks for me (unlike years past with Oppenheimer and Everything Everywhere All At Once), I’d put this year’s crop in the following tiers:
I Really Liked It and It’s Better Than It Needs To Be → Conclave, Dune: Part Two, and Anora
Historical
DramasTraumas That Are Uniquely Impressive → I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, and The BrutalistMovies I Have Complicated Feelings About → Wicked, A Complete Unknown, and The Substance
I Did Not Like This and Don’t Think It Warranted A Nomination → Emilia Pérez
Conclave and Dune: Part Two did so many things well that it is a crying shame that neither director was nominated for their work. I’m Still Here and Nickel Boys are movies that I probably would not have found time to watch and certainly benefited from the expanded field of nominees, so I’m happy they were nominated even if I don’t intend to re-watch them. I have to applaud The Brutalist for its grand scope (and the bravery of including an intermission!) and it was a more watchable theatre-going experience than I expected, even if it was all a bit much.
Similarly, I appreciate the big swing and epic scale of Wicked, even if it was really an overlong, miscast episode of The Ariana Grande Show. That being said, it still feels like nearly every nomination was bought and paid for. I struggled with ranking A Complete Unknown (which I found completely inoffensive) and The Substance (which I found very offensive), but ultimately felt like The Substance hit you over the head with its message a bit too much, important as it may be. I also can’t find it within me to celebrate a movie that had me watching from behind a pillow and caused me to literally say “I’m not enjoying this.”
Last but not least, what do you get when you combine the “I’m not enjoying this” vibe of The Substance and the apparent marketing budget of Wicked: Emilia Pérez. While Zoe Saldaña is fantastic and a worthy nominee (even if she belongs in Lead Actress), the rest of the movie is such a mess and a wasted opportunity for a story that is at least intriguing on paper. And for a musical, the only songs that stuck with me are the ones I laughed at for being so ridiculous. For all of Wicked’s music faults6, they at least left an impression.
Alllllll that being said, I share your sentiment of appreciation that The Academy is celebrating big swings. Here’s to hoping it awards the home runs.
Ellen & Tyler: Share your thoughts on our rankings by commenting below or replying to the email!
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
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If you’d like to start a wild Best Picture journey of your own, feel free to download a copy of The Spreadsheet. Bonus: checking off the boxes is oddly satisfying.
Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
What better way to follow up what is sure to be an epic Oscars night than with another ILTBTA epic? As such, our next post (which will drop March 11th, back on our regularly scheduled every-other-Tuesday night) will be the Best Picture-winning classical music biographical drama Amadeus. Starring Tom Hulce as the titular composer and F. Murray Abraham as his rival composer Antonio Salieri, Amadeus follows Salieri as he struggles between admiring and hating the prolific composer.
Amadeus is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV (or, if you’re lucky like us, your local library).
Until then, enjoy the show!
Extra Credit
Who wants to read even more?!
We know that ILTBTA is everyone’s one and only media source for all things Oscars, but should you choose to dip a toe in the waters of other outlets, here are some Oscars articles we’ve enjoyed lately:
Have you made it this far and still don’t know which Oscar nominee to watch? Do you love a quiz? Well, unlike a Kamala Harris endorsement, The Washington Post has you covered.
David Sims writes in The Atlantic about the impact of more international voters on the Best Picture race.
Kyndall Cunningham over at Vox talked about how weird this year was for movies, as evidenced by the Oscar nominations.
Have you heard some rumblings about Emilia Pérez not being woke enough or something? Kyndall’s got you covered on that too.
Ellen: The level of what? I’m not sure how to articulate it. That’s why I simply stopped the sentence.
See: Jamie Lee Curtis beating Angela Bassett and Stephanie Hsu a couple years ago.
Sounds like my ex-wife!
And the ones she has seen she’s largely slept through.
Ellen: I’m not counting Parasite. It’s not fair.
Ellen: I’m assuming you mainly mean chopping up Defying Gravity? Because that’s criminal.
Tyler: That and literally not being able to understand Ariana Grande at times because her notes were higher than the sun.