Tag: Oscars

My thoughts on (some of) the Oscar-nominated shorts | 98th Oscars

Luana Bajrami and Zar Amir Ebrahimi in TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA — PHOTO: The New Yorker (Still image from YouTube).

In the build-up to the 98th Academy Awards, I tried to watch as many of the Oscar-nominated short films that I could. Some were readily available on YouTube, others were readily available on HBO Max, Disney+, or Netflix, and then there were four films that I don’t think I had the opportunity to see, either due to them not being made available or due to me not having the right subscription that would allow me to watch them. In any case, in this article, I have collected my short reactions to the four live-action shorts, four animated shorts, and three documentary shorts that I got the chance to see. And, as luck would have it, that meant I got to see the eventual winners, including in the historic tie category. Let’s get to my reactions.

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One Award After Another for Warner Bros. | 98th Oscars – Recap and Review

On Sunday night, Conan O’Brien hosted the 98th Academy Awards — Hollywood’s biggest night. It was time to celebrate the great movie year that 2025 had turned out to be, and, though there were many great, deserving films, much of the online discussion surrounding the event was about building it up as a battle between Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Fortunately, one film didn’t steamroll the other, as they together accounted for 10 wins of the night’s 24 categories, and both films picked up a handful of wins. It ended up as a celebration of Warner Bros.’ slate, as One Battle After Another, Sinners, and also Zach Cregger’s Weapons took home 11 awards, including in 7 of the 8 above-the-line categories. When the show came to a close, it was One Battle After Another that won Best Picture, but thankfully, both PTA and Coogler went home as winners.

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Who Will Win? – Final Predictions | 98th Oscars

It’s time for the 98th Academy Awards. Here comes the Oscars! This awards season has felt incredibly long. Certain above-the-line categories have zig-zagged over and over again, thus leaving us in a pretty exciting situation where only 1 acting category seems locked. Best Picture is a two-horse race between Sinners and One Battle After Another, and these two Warner Bros. crowdpleasing juggernauts are both deserving of the top prize. As is always the case, I am now ready with my predictions for each and every category, and I’ll also add some comments, personal preferences, and potential alternate winners. However, unlike for members of the Academy, AMPAS doesn’t make sure that I, or any viewer around the world for that matter, am ensured an opportunity to see every nominated film; I do have some blind spots. Thus, if there are categories where there are so many blind spots that I don’t think it’s fair to personally choose one over the others, I simply won’t put a personal preference but solely make a prediction.

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IFSCA Awards 2025-2026 | Winners

Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Yesterday, on February 5th, 2026, the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA / @IFSCritics on Twitter), of which I am a voting member, announced their full list of winners for the ongoing 2025-2026 awards season. Like any other film critics’ association, their awards celebrate the best films of the past year. IFSCA currently has 111 members from around the world, including, but not limited to, the US, the UK, Spain, Italy, and, of course(since I am a member), Denmark. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners set a new record with 23 IFSCA nominations, and, as you’ll see, it also tied the record for most wins with wins in 8 separate categories. Below you can read the full list of winners, runners-up, and nominees.

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Oscar Nominations – Reaction | 98th Oscars

The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards have been announced! There were surprises, headscratchers, shocks, and snubs, as is always the case. Below, I’ve assembled bullet points and explanations of the biggest headliners, in my opinion, from this year’s nomination group. Let’s get to them.

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Who Will Be Nominated? – Final Predictions | 98th Oscars

AMPAS is announcing its list of nominees for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards on the 22nd. So, yes, now is the time to fill in your final Oscars nominations predictions. This is exactly what I’ve done here. Below you’ll see what I’m predicting. The choices are ranked from one to five or one to ten, based on how confident I am that something is getting nominated, with 1 being the most confident. One thing of note: I am predicting that Sinners will break the record for most Oscar nominations (by getting 15).

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Top Ten Films of 2023 | Flashback

Looking back years from now, I think 2023 will be remembered similarly to how people remember 2007 and 2019. It was an incredible year for cinema, and it was therefore incredibly hard to cut this list down to only ten (with one honorable mention). Some of the films that almost made it onto the list, but came up just short, include All of Us Strangers, Fallen Leaves, The Promised Land, Infinity Pool, and La Chimera. It’s wild to think that even though I really loved Barbie, it wouldn’t even have found its way into a top twenty for the year — that’s how good of a year for film 2023 was.

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Hollywood’s Biggest Night Celebrated Indie Film’s Greatest Champion | 97th Oscars – Recap and Review

On Sunday, Conan O’Brien hosted the 97th Academy Awards. It was the first time that the tall red-haired beloved comedian had hosted Hollywood’s biggest night for AMPAS, and it was in a year where it felt like one film ran away with the major awards. Indeed, multi-hyphenate filmmaker Sean Baker — someone who is known for his decidedly non-mainstream indie oeuvre, which has made him a true critical darling — became a 4x Academy Award winner with his very first nominations. Baker’s Anora took home Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Lead Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture. Baker’s film dominated the night, but how should we feel about it as a winner and how did Conan do as an Oscar host? Well, let’s run through The Great, The Good, The Mixed Feelings, The Bad, and The Ugly of the 97th Academy Awards.

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Who Will Win? – Final Predictions | 97th Oscars

The wait is almost over. In mere hours, stars will be walking the red carpet, Conan O’Brien will take on hosting duties, and, not long thereafter, awards will start to be handed out. But, hey, before we get to that, I still have to tell you which films I think will be victorious on Hollywood’s greatest night. In the race for Best Picture, for instance, it’s been a rollercoaster ride where I, initially, thought Anora would go all the way, only for the Golden Globes (and the Oscar nominations) to indicate that the real fight was between Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist. However, when controversies surrounding toxic social media posts, ill-advised statements, and AI started happening, the Globes’ darlings started to fall into the background. Now, after the guilds and BAFTA, it certainly looks like the big winner of the night will be either Conclave or, the early favorite, Anora. What do I think? Well, let’s get to it.

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IFSCA Awards 2024-2025 | Winners

Adrien Brody in Brady Corbet’s THE BRUTALIST — PHOTO: Universal Pictures / A24.

Yesterday, on March 1st, 2025, the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA / @IFSCritics on Twitter), of which I am a voting member, announced their full list of winners for the ongoing 2024-2025 awards season. Like any other film critics association, their awards celebrate the best films of the past year. Below you can read the full list of winners and runners up.

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