The Big Picture – Oscars 2023 Preview
The 95th Oscars air Sunday; who should win ‘Best Picture?’
The 95th annual Academy Awards will be hosted on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Graphic created in Canva by Elena Burgé and Gavin Hudson.
March 9, 2023
It’s been a wild year for film.
True-to-form blockbusters returned in the shape of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun: Maverick” while cult/indie films like “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” saw great success with general audiences.
The 95th Academy Awards gave some big nominations to both groups.
“The Whale” brought the return of Brendan Fraiser to Hollywood along with a nomination for “Best Actor,” “The Fablemans” gave a look at one of film’s most legendary directors’ childhood and “Elvis” sucked but still deserves a few nominations anyway.
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‘‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’’
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The instant cult-classic “Everything Everywhere All at Once” leads the Academy Awards with 11 nominations and deservedly so. Easily one of the best films of 2022, it beautifully blends fun action with an emotional story of parenting.
Stephanie Hsu deserves “Best Supporting Actress” by far with Michelle Yeoh being my second pick for “Best Actress.” Both demonstrated a wide range throughout the film while remaining entertaining, authentic and engaging in every scene they had.
Both of the film’s directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert would be a great pic for “Best Director,” I hope they have two trophies to give.
I’d be happy to see it win “Best Picture.”
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Every year, the Oscars give an unnecessary amount of recognition to a random biopic like “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Being the Ricardos.” The Marilyn Monroe film “Blonde” was only given a single nomination for Ana De Armas’ performance of the ‘Blonde Bombshell.’
The academy favorite is “Elvis” with eight nominations, namely Austin Butler’s performance of the rock ‘n’ roll superstar for “Best Actor” – which he’ll likely win. Though it may have been one of my least favorite films from last year, the costume design and makeup teams did stellar work and deserve the recognition the academy is giving.
The editing, however, is on par with “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That’s to say, if “Bohemian Rhapsody” can win best editing with jump cuts that could give non-epileptic people a seizure, so can “Elvis.”
“Elvis” winning best picture is the worst case scenario.
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Probably the most Irish film I’ve ever seen, “The Banshees of Inisherin” has a strong case to win “Best Actor” and an even stronger case for “Best Supporting Actor” for Barry Keoghan’s subtly depressing performance.
If Stephanie Hsu wasn’t nominated, I’d give Kerry Condon the award without question.
I’d love to see it win “Best Picture,” but there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell it happens.
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If this movie doesn’t win for “Best Visual Effects,” I’ll donate every dollar I have to the Variety charity they advertised while the film was in theaters.
This film is the second worst movie nominated for “Best Picture.”
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (2022)
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This movie has garnered a ton of attention recently through the help of Netflix. The incredible makeup work really painted the horrors of war on the faces of the actors while the production design tied the entire experience together.
It’s an easy lock for “Best International Film,” as it’s the only international film nominated for “Best Picture.”
I would be thoroughly surprised if it wins “Best Picture,” but not in a “Parasite” way where it deserves the win.
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This movie was a huge win for old-school blockbuster fans. Even if stunts are considered visual effects, it’s going to be extremely tough to beat “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
A lazy pick for “Best Picture.”
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Steven Spielberg gets a nomination with every movie he releases, so “The Fablemans” was a given choice for at least “Best Director” and “Best Picture.” The academy loves having a story behind its awards so Spielberg winning “Best Director” sounds realistic as the movie is literally about how he became a director.
I’d wager it has a good chance at “Best Picture” but it would be a boring pick.
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One of the best films nominated, “Tár” has a compelling argument to win every nomination. Cate Blanchett has my pick for “Best Actress” for a dynamic portrayal of the fictional composer with Michelle Yeoh being a close second.
Blanchett played the role with such an authentic arrogance until the third act where she’s reduced to an insignificant figure with a PR nightmare attached to her name.
A great candidate for “Best Picture,” something I’m rooting for if “Everything Everywhere all at Once” doesn’t win.
