Oscars 2024

I haven’t watched all the Oscar movies since 2019, but I decided to this year, which was a choice. I loved some, I hated some, and I struggled to find some. I meant to write this post before the Oscars aired so I could talk about what I wanted to win and what I thought would win, but time got away from me, and here we are now. So instead of that, I will talk about my favourite and least favourites of the Oscar season. There were so many movies so I’m only going to talk about my five least favourites and my ten favourites. 

Alright, I’m not saying any of these were bad movies. They just weren’t my style for multiple reasons. 

5. Napoleon: 

Napoleon is the story of the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

I went into this movie with very low expectations because I’m not a huge fan of Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott is hit or miss for me (except Alien which is a masterpiece), and it still disappointed me. I just found it so boring. I was discussing it with my friend Andrea, and she was talking about how they show the lead-up to big moments, but then they don’t show the big moment itself. Nothing exciting happened other than the occasional battle scene. I also didn’t buy the “love story” between Napoleon and Josephine. I know it was terrible in real life, but I don’t even understand how they got together in the first place. 

4. 20 Days in Mariupol:

This documentary took place over twenty days in Mariupol, showing the destruction of the Russians. 

I get that this documentary was important. It was. However, I don’t watch the news for a reason. War footage sends me into a tailspin, and this film was no different. It was extremely difficult to watch and seeing so many kids die definitely made it hard to sleep that night. 

3. Zone of Interest:

A story of a Nazi family who live next to Auschwitz. 

I know a lot of people loved this movie, but I hated it. Have I mentioned I’m not a fan of war movies? It wasn’t just that though, I didn’t want to sympathize with this Nazi family. I will say that though I found the story a little lacking and infuriating, the acting and sound were very well done. You see very little violence in the film, but you can hear it. I’m torn over whether this was a good movie or not. It was effective, I just didn’t enjoy it. 

2. The After:

A short film about a man’s life after he witnesses a violent act. 

I HATED this short. I thought it was just trauma for trauma's sake. I found a lot of the live-action shorts were kind of traumatic, but I found this one didn’t earn it. Whereas Red White and Blue left some things unsaid and told an important story, I thought The After showed too much violence. And Invincible (which was the short I was the most afraid to watch), didn’t show the trauma and left it up to us to interpret. I don’t know, I just felt like the trauma wasn’t earned and that the man hugged one girl, and then nothing happened. I just didn’t care for it. 

1. Four Daughters:

The story of a woman and her four daughters, and what happens after two of them disappear. 

This and Napoleon were my last movies and I am so mad at myself for not saving something I knew I would enjoy for last. I understand what they tried to do with this film, but it just didn’t work for me. I would have preferred that it was an actual documentary. It just felt so scripted and they got actors to replace the daughters who went missing, and sometimes the mother was played by an actress. I just found the whole production very confusing. 

Okay, that’s enough about the movies I didn’t like. Now onto the ones I did. Unlike the least favourites that are in a specific order due to how much I disliked them, my favourites are in no particular order because I just couldn’t rank how much I loved them. 

1. Barbie: 

Barbie (and Ken) travel to the real world to find out who is playing with her. 

What a fun summer blockbuster! I loved everything about it. The acting, the production design, hair and costumes, “I’m Just Ken”... I knew it wasn’t going to win awards (other than Billie for best song), but I loved it so much. America Ferrera’s speech will stick with me forever, and Ryan Gosling’s performance lives in my head rent-free.

1. Poor Things:

Bella Baxter explores the world and discovers herself in this Frankenstein story. 

It was so weird and fucked up and I loved it. I know a lot of people didn’t like it, but I thought it was new and fresh and the acting was phenomenal. 

1. The Holdovers

A teacher is stuck watching students during Christmas break. 

I will never stop screaming about how much I love this movie. I thought it was charming and poignant and warm and fuzzy. 

1. Past Lives:

Two friends and their journey over the years. 

It was so quiet and understated and I just found it to be really lovely.  

1. Nimona:

A knight teams up with a shapeshifting teen to prove his innocence. 

Disney might not give me queer animated movies, but Netflix sure did and it was beautiful. 

1. The Last Repair Shop:

A documentary short about a music repair shop in LA and the kids it impacted. 

It wasn’t my fav doc short when I first watched it, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. Music is so impactful and has made my life better and I loved seeing it impact kids as well. 

1. Perfect Days:

The day-to-day of a man who cleans bathrooms.

I just found it so quiet and delightful. I loved everything about it. I was captivated the whole time. 

1. Nai Nai and Wai Po:

A short about the filmmaker’s grandmothers who live together.

What an adorable little film. I thought the grandmas were so cute and seeing them have a genuinely good time with each other brought me such joy. 

1. Knight of Fortune:

A man meets another grieving man while saying goodbye to his wife in the morgue. 

What a weird little short. I didn’t expect it and I found it to be so charming. 

1. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

Miles meets a team of Spider-People across the multiverse and must save the day. 

I saw this so long ago I kind of forgot it was an Oscar movie, but I loved it. The animation is just so great. Now I need the third one ASAP. 

There were so many more movies I loved but I can’t mention them all here. Can’t wait to see what the next Oscar season brings. Though let’s be honest, it’ll never top “I’m Just Ken”.