Since the Academy moved their awards forward by about three weeks, it’s time to get into the best and worst of the year.
🏆 – indicates likely Academy Pick 🐎 – indicates Academy darkhorse
Worst Movie of the Year
Replicas – Written by Chad St. John, Story by Stephen Hamel, Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Dishonorable Mention:
Men in Black: International – Written by Matt Holloway & Art Marcum, Directed by F. Gary Gray
Most Original Movie
Uncut Gems – Written by Benny and Josh Safdie, & Ronald Bernstein, Directed by Benny and Josh Safdie
Best Soundtrack
Rocketman
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best of Enemies
Captive State
And the winner is…
Rocketman
Weirdest Movie
The Lighthouse – Directed by Robert Eggers, Written by Max & Robert Eggers
Honorable Mention:
Midsommar – Written & Directed by Ari Aster
Must-See Documentary
Apollo 11 – Directed by Todd Douglas Miller
Most Disappointing
Men in Black: International
Directed by F. Gary Gray
Written by Matt Holloway & Art Marcum
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Written by Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields, Directed by Michael Dougherty
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Written & Directed by Simon Kinberg
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker
Written by Chris Terrio & J.J. Abrams, Directed by J.J. Abrams
Cats
Written by Lee Hall & Tom Hooper, Directed by Tom Hooper
And the “winner” is…
X-Men: Dark Phoenix – Written & Directed by Simon Kinberg
Best Sequel, Prequel, Reboot or Remake
Little Women – Written & Directed by Greta Gerwig
Toy Story 4 – Written by Andrew Stanton & Stephanie Folsom, Directed by Josh Cooley
Avengers: Endgame – Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo
Spider-Man: Far From Home – Written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, Directed by Jon Watts
Doctor Sleep – Written & Directed by Mike Flanagan
And the winner is…
Little Women – Written & Directed by Greta Gerwig
**For those who made a noticeable splash without necessarily factoring into the rest of the larger awards picture**
Breakthrough Performers
Kelvin Harrison Jr. – Luce, Waves
Kaitlyn Dever – (Booksmart, Them That Follow)
Breakthrough Directors
Joe Talbot – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Olivia Wilde – Booksmart
Comeback Performer of the Year
Shia LeBeouf – Honey Boy, The Peanut Butter Falcon
**Recognizing the best cumulative body of work throughout the year**
Actor of the Year
Adam Driver – (The Report, The Dead Don’t Die, Marriage Story, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)
Actress of the Year
Florence Pugh – Fighting with My Family, Midsommar, Little Women
Director of the Year
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman, Rolling Thunder Review: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, The Irishman: In Conversation
Best Original Song
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” by Elton John, Rocketman
Best Use of Sound
Ford v Ferrari
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
1917
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Ad Astra
And the Winner is…
Ford v Ferrari
Best Original Score
🐎 Thomas Newman – 1917
🏆 Hildur Guðnadóttir – Joker
Max Richter – Ad Astra
Alexandre Desplat – Little Women
Emile Mosseri – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
And the Winner is…
Thomas Newman – 1917
Best Visual Effects
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
🐎 Avengers: Endgame
🏆 The Lion King
The Irishman
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
And the Winner is…
The Lion King
Best Costume Design
🏆 Jacqueline Durran – Little Women
David Crossman & Jacqueline Durran – 1917
Arianne Phillips – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
🐎 Mayes C. Rubio – Jojo Rabbit
Mark Bridges – Joker
And the Winner is…
Jacqueline Durran – Little Women
Best Production Design
Charles Wood – Avengers: Endgame
🏆 Lee Sandales & Dennis Gassner – 1917
Mark Friedberg – Joker
Ha-jun Lee & Won-Woo Cho – Parasite
🐎 Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh – Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood
And the winner is…
Lee Sandales & Dennis Gassner – 1917
Best Cinematography
🏆 Roger Deakins – 1917
Lawrence Sher – Joker
Kyung-Pyo Hong – Parasite
🐎 Jarin Blaschke – The Lighthouse
Robert Richardson – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Adam Newport-Berra – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Jörg Widmer – A Hidden Life
And the Winner is…
Roger Deakins – 1917
Best Original Screenplay
🐎 Rian Johnson – Knives Out
🏆 Noah Baumbach – Marriage Story
Benny and Josh Safdie, & Ronald Bernstein – Uncut Gems
Bong Joon Ho & Han Jin Won – Parasite
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
And the Winner(s) are…
Noah Baumbach – Marriage Story
Best Adapted Screenplay
🐎 Greta Gerwig – Little Women
🏆 Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit
Mike Flanagan – Doctor Sleep
Steve Zaillian – The Irishman
Micah FItzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
And the Winner is…
Greta Gerwig – Little Women
Best Animated Feature
🏆 Toy Story 4 – Written by Andrew Stanton & Stephanie Folsom, Directed by Josh Cooley
Missing Link – Written & Directed by Chris Butler
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – Written & Directed by Dean DeBlois
🐎 I Lost My Body – Written by Jérémy Clapin & Guillaume Laurant, Directed by Jérémy Clapin
Klaus – Written by Sergio Pablos, Jim Mahoney, & Zach Lewis, Directed by Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martínez López
And the Winner is…
Toy Story 4 – Written by Andrew Stanton & Stephanie Folsom, Directed by Josh Cooley
Most Interesting Foreign Film
Parasite (South Korea) – Written by Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han, Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Best Supporting Actor
🏆 Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Joe Pesci – The Irishman
Christian Bale – Ford v Ferarri
🐎 Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Kang-ho Song – Parasite
Jonathan Majors – The Last Black Man in San Francisco
And the Winner is…
Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway – Dark Waters
🏆 Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers
🐎 Florence Pugh – Little Women
Diana Lin – The Farwell
And the Winner is…
Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Best Actor in a Lead Role
Taron Egerton – Rocketman
🏆 Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
🐎 Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems
And the Winner is…
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
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Best Actress in a Lead Role
🏆 Renee Zellweger – Judy
Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
Awkwafina – The Farwell
Jessie Buckley – Wild Rose
🐎 Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
And the Winner is…
Renee Zellweger – Judy
Best Director
🏆 Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
Todd Phillips – Joker
Greta Gerwig – Little Women
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
🐎 Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Marielle Heller – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Lulu Wang – The Farwell
Sam Mendes – 1917
Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit
James Mangold – Ford v Ferrari
And the winner is…
Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Best Picture
The Irishman – Written by Steve Zaillian, Directed by Martin Scorsese
Joker – Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Directed by Todd Phillips
Little Women – Written & Directed by Greta Gerwig
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood – Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino
🐎 Parasite – Written by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Directed by Bong Joon Ho
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood – Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster, Directed by Marielle Heller
The Farwell – Written & Directed by Lulu Wang
🏆 1917 – Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson Cairns, Directed by Sam Mendes
Jojo Rabbit – Written & Directed by Taika Waititi
Ford v Ferrari – Written by Jez & John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller, Directed by James Mangold
Marriage Story – Written & Directed by Noah Baumbach
And the Winner(s) are…
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood – Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino
AND
Parasite – Written by Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won, Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Best of the Rest
The Peanut Butter Falcon – Written & Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz
Uncut Gems – Written by Benny and Josh Safdie, & Ronald Bernstein, Directed by Benny and Josh Safdie
Dark Waters – Written by Mario Correa & Matthew Michael Carnahan, Directed by Todd Haynes
Rocketman – Written by Lee Hall & Directed by Dexter Fletcher
Booksmart – Written by Sarah Haskins, Emily Halpern, Susanna Fogel, & Katie Silberman, Directed by Olivia Wilde
The Last Black Man in San Francisco – Written by Joe Talbot, Jimmie Fails, & Rob Richert, Directed by Joe Talbot
Avengers: Endgame – Written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo
The Lighthouse – Written by Robert & Max Eggers, Directed by Robert Eggers
Richard Jewell – Written by Billy Ray, Directed by Clint Eastwood
Honey Boy – Written by Shia LeBeouf, Directed by Alma Har’el
Doctor Sleep – Written & Directed by Mike Flanagan
Thank you to all those who took the time to read through this list and a special thanks to those who read my stuff throughout the year!