The Academy Award Nominations for 2025 films were announced last week and since I happen to have seen all the nominees for Best Picture this year, I thought I'd share my thoughts on each film. And by the way, one of the nominees was my least favorite film of 2025, so there's that, I guess...
One Battle After Another
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Secret societies vested with untold power and underground revolutionaries running on empty... PTA depicts a world in which power dynamics are as important as politics and ideologies – something we've been coincidentally living through in real time outside of cineplexes. And I say "coincidence" because, as so many successful movies that touch on our lived reality achieve, OBAA manages to seem of the moment even though its gestation period has apparently been a couple of decades. Of course, the pseudo-source material (from my understanding, at least) is very much rooted in the politics of the 1960s and 1980s, as well as the tension between those two decades. So, as much as anything, I guess that gets at how inescapably ingrained and longstanding the forces at play in our own world really are. Still, though, the serendipity of a film 20 years in the making seeming to really be about NOW is hard not to admire as one of those sporadic miracles of cinema in which production schedules give way to release dates that somehow impossibly align with reality.
Another stray thought... It's hard not to see the clear influence of 1970s cinema on the film, but something that occurred to me the day after watching it was how I could totally imagine the world of OBAA as a Vertigo comic series. I wonder if PTA has read/is a fan of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher series... ?
Additional Nominations:
- Directing - Paul Thomas Anderson
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Paul Thomas Anderson
- Actor in a Leading Role - Leonardo DiCaprio
- Actor in a Supporting Role - Benicio Del Toro
- Actor in a Supporting Role - Sean Penn
- Actress in a Supporting Role - Teyana Taylor
- Casting - Cassandra Kulukundis
- Cinematography - Michael Bauman
- Film Editing - Andy Jurgensen
- Music (Original Score) - Jonny Greenwood
- Production Design - Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
- Sound- José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio, and Tony Villaflor
Marty Supreme
Directed by Josh Safdie
Timothée Chalamet dials up the scum bum charm, which is to say he makes a total piece of shit about as compelling to watch as humanly possible. It's truly a feat when someone can make a character whose every decision amounts to series of compounding train-wrecks for both himself and everyone around him seem so damn watchable. Of course, it helps when the performance is in a film directed and co-written by Josh Safdie, someone who has himself made a career out of bringing those kinds of characters to the screen. Who knew post-World War II ping pong could somehow be both silly and serious enough to center life and death stakes around?
Additional Nominations:
- Directing - Josh Safdie
- Writing (Original Screenplay) - Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
- Actor in a Leading Role - Timothée Chalamet
- Casting - Jennifer Venditti
- Cinematography - Darius Khondji
- Costume Design - Miyako Bellizzi
- Film Editing - Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
- Production Design - Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
Sinners
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Idiosyncratic in mostly the best ways possible. And those quirks that didn't quite land on first go have hit harder with each subsequent viewing.
Also, that "piercing the veil of time" scene is truly one of the best things I've seen on screen in years. It gave me chills.
Seeing this in a packed IMAX screening on a Tuesday night (a Tuesday night!) with folks who were totally locked in and absolutely losing it at each elevation of plot and theme made for the best theater-going experience I've had since seeing RRR with an electrically raucous crowd at Austin Film Society back in 2022.
Additional Nominations:
- Directing - Ryan Coogler
- Writing (Original Screenplay) - Ryan Coogler
- Actor in a Leading Role - Michael B. Jordan
- Actor in a Supporting Role - Delroy Lindo
- Actress in a Supporting Role - Wunmi Mosaku
- Casting - Francine Maisler
- Cinematography - Autumn Durald Arkapaw
- Costume Design - Ruth E. Carter
- Film Editing - Michael P. Shawver
- Makeup and Hairstyling - Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, and Shunika Terry
- Music (Original Score) - Ludwig Goransson
- Music (Original Song) - "I Lied To You," Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
- Production Design - Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne
- Sound - Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, and Steve Boeddeker
- Visual Effects - Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, and Donnie Dean
The Secret Agent
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
There's a confidence and trust on display when filmmakers allow seemingly somewhat disparate story beats to unfold and take their time to coalesce into a bigger picture. And when it works, it's incredibly satisfying as a viewer. Kleber Mendonça Filho lends that trust here and the way it all comes together is incredibly rewarding. Of course, it helps that all those seemingly disparate beats are each fun and interesting as hell on their own.
Also, between this and last year's I'm Still Here, Brazil seems to have a lot to teach us here in the States via depictions of its past political environment.
Additional Nominations:
- International Feature Film - Brazil
- Actor in a Leading Role - Wagner Moura
- Casting - Gabriel Domingues
Sentimental Value
Directed by Joachim Trier
I appreciate when a film makes you think you've got it down, then it pushes past that in a way that deepens every moment that came before with a well of genuine emotion and meaningfulness. And that's exactly what happens in the most simply stunning way in Sentimental Value, a story about reconciling the past with the present and the life you've lived with the life you wish you'd had.
Additional Nominations:
- International Feature Film - Norway
- Directing - Joachim Trier
- Writing (Original Screenplay) - Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier
- Actress in a Leading Role - Renate Reinsve
- Actor in a Supporting Role - Stellan Skarsgård
- Actress in a Supporting Role - Elle Fanning
- Actress in a Supporting Role - Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
- Film Editing - Olivier Bugge Coutté
Train Dreams
Directed by Clint Bentley
I watched this on Thanksgiving and somehow that made a lot of sense. At first, it didn't totally click why that made sense because it's at first blush a movie about mourning what you lost. But in retrospect, hanging out fully beside that mournful quality inherent in the story is a feeling of being thankful for the time you had with what was lost.
All in all, it's gorgeous movie all around, not only in terms of how it looks, but also in how it tells its story and conveys the deep emotions of learning to live with loss and move on in life.
Additional Nominations:
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
- Cinematography - Adolpho Veloso
- Music (Original Song) - "Train Dreams," Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave
Hamnet
Directed by Chloé Zhao
There are certainly uneven stretches in the earlier parts of the film, but one thing that helps to carry through those parts is Chloé Zhao's immense talent as a visualist – skills also clearly on display in 2017's The Rider and 2020's Nomadland, though not deployed nearly as well in the 2021 Marvel sidetrack that was Eternals.
Something else that helps to make up for those uneven stretches early on in Hamnet is just how emotionally satisfying the film's climax is. The moment when Jessie Buckley's Agnes begins to understand that the trauma she shares with her husband has seeded a tragic tale that not only moves an entire theater of people, but may also be the sort of thing that rings out through history is one of the most astonishingly affecting moments in a film this past year.
Additional Nominations:
- Directing - Chloé Zhao
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell
- Actress in a Leading Role - Jessie Buckley
- Casting - Nina Gold
- Costume Design - Malgosia Turzanska
- Music (Original Score) - Max Richter
- Production Design - Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
Bugonia
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Between this and her turn in Eddington, Emma Stone could have had the market cornered in 2025 for movies on the theme of "society is kinda fucked, huh?" if she'd only been in One Battle After Another, too.
Bugonia's cast is all superb, Lanthimos does a solid job of balancing the unease between reality and delusion, and the basic premise is certainly engaging, but as much as I enjoyed the film (and I did), I couldn't help but feel, in the end, like some final climactic punch was being pulled.
Still more than worth a watch, though.
To the Academy: You love Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos... We get it!
Additional Nominations:
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Will Tracy
- Actress in a Leading Role - Emma Stone
- Music (Original Score) - Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
The look and feel of this movie left me feeling cold (no pun intended). And I love Oscar Isaac, but JFC, he is so hammy in this he might as well oink. The reason to see this is Jacob Elordi, whose turn as the Monster outclasses nearly everything else about the movie.
To the Academy: You love Guillermo del Toro... We get it!
Additional Nominations:
- Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Guillermo del Toro
- Actor in a Supporting Role - Jacob Elordi
- Cinematography - Frankenstein
- Costume Design - Kate Hawley
- Makeup and Hairstyling - Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey
- Music (Original Score) - Alexandre Desplat
- Production Design - Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
- Sound - Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, and Brad Zoern
F1
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
All the racing stuff is wildly engaging and I do think the movie does a good job of making those like me, who don't really know much about F1, understand the world enough to follow along and enjoy all that. Beyond that though, the connective tissue of the film —such as it is— consists of piss poor dialogue and unearned moments that add up to something of a slog.
The only person in this movie who truly sells what they're doing is Javiar Bardem, who is delightful to watch. For the most part, all the other performances are about as fine as you could hope for given the barely written characters they have to work with. But Brad Pitt, man... This is one of the least convincing performances I can remember him ever giving.
To the Academy: What the fuck are we even doing here?
Additional Nominations:
- Film Editing - Stephen Mirrione
- Sound - Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, and Juan Peralta
- Visual Effects - Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, and Keith Dawson
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