Oscar 2024 picks

Every year since 2021, I've managed to see every single Oscar-nominated film before the Academy Awards ceremony. Last year, I was introduced to the Oscars Death Race, which is both a useful site to keep track of what you need to watch and also a leaderboard for some friendly competition; I finished in 137th place. A couple weeks ago, I saw the 50th film nominated for an Oscar this year, which put me in 36th place! (I had some help from a fellow Death Racer, who slipped me some short films that were otherwise unavailable before the Oscar Shorts packages hit local theaters, but she had already finished in 13th place so I'll take the assist.)

Below is my ranking within each category; note that these are my personal preferences, i.e. the way I would have filled out the ballot were I a member of the voting Academy. The number in parentheses is my rating for that movie (out of 10). I also made predictions for who will win but that's less interesting. (I think those aren't visible until the ceremony starts, for some reason. Sorry about that, for those of you reading this in the next hour...)

Best Picture

1. Dune: Part Two (8)
2. Conclave (8)
3. Nickel Boys (8)
4. Anora (7)
5. A Complete Unknown (7)
6. I’m Still Here (7)
7. Wicked (6)
8. The Substance (5)
9. The Brutalist (4)
10. Emilia Pérez (3)

See my thoughts in the previous post. It didn't feel like an especially great year for movies, but this is actually the best field in years, with six films that I'd be happy to see win. The last two years, my least favorite nominee ended up winning, and for a while it was looking like Emilia Pérez was the frontrunner, but hopefully that streak will end.

Best Director

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