I saw all the Oscar nominated films. My opinion if anyone cares…
I think you could make the case that 4 or 5 of them didn’t deserve to even be nominated.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Arguably the worst movie ever nominated. 49/100 on metacritic. Generic music biopic, but I wouldn’t even say it’s a top 15 movie in that genre. Rami Malek did a solid job lip-syncing. Super weird it’s nominated.
"BlacKkKlansman" - I liked it overall, but a lot of the things being hailed as features felt like bugs to me. Really bizarre editing choices resulted in what I felt were pacing issues. Tonally, it was all over the place. Went from being comedy, to serious, to preachy, to a made up slapstick ending that kind of undermined the serious points of the true story. If Spike Lee wins awards, it’s probably to credit him for better movies he’s made throughout his career.
"Green Book" - Saw it last night and enjoyed it, but it’s paint-by-numbers Oscar bait. Quality choice to watch on an airplane. Similar to above, if this wins any awards I’ll assume it’s to credit director Peter Farrelly for his storied career of better films - classics like Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin.
"Black Panther" - It’s a top-tier Marvel film and I'm a fan. One of the most intriguing superhero villains. Deserves credit for production/costume design. Very likable, but 88 out of 100 on metacritic was a bit extreme and it’s odd to see it nominated for best picture.
"Vice" - This one is pretty polarizing. Critics had this as the second lowest rated movie (67/100), but I understand why some would have it as the top film of the year. I really dig the style Adam McKay brought to this (similar to “Big Short”) so I was more slanted towards the positive side and could see Bale winning best actor.
"Roma" - This one is being hailed as a masterpiece. The highest rated film by critics (96/100). I got mad at myself for struggling to get into it and I partially blame the fact it wasn’t released in theaters where I could allow myself to be immersed instead of Netflix where I too often felt a desire to reach for my phone. I love the director, but I also think I didn’t love this movie for the same reasons I didn’t love “Dunkirk”. In both movies, story and character are less important than the masterful cinematography and sound design creating a sweeping immersion which can be described as “virtual reality without the headset”. I expect it to win.
"A Star is Born" - I was impressed with Bradley Cooper’s directing. It had a couple of the most memorable scenes of the year. I could see either of the leads winning best actor/actress. I felt that an adherence to the tradition of the story (the 4th version dating back to the 1937 original) held it back a little. The home stretch just feels a little ridiculous despite Cooper making some clever choices to modernize the familiar beats.
"The Favourite" - Critics adored it (90/100) for good reason. Exceptionally well done. Gorgeous cinematography. Brilliant performances. It’s a tough hang, though. It’s hilarious, but also really dark and at times pretty uncomfortable to watch. It’s outstanding, but not necessarily likable. I expect Roma to win, but if I had to choose, I’d probably give the award to this one.
… There were some movies that didn’t get nominated that I thought deserved more credit and arguably belonged on the list:
"Sorry to Bother You" (80/100 metacritic): One of the most creative and unique films I’ve ever seen. It’s a little insane, but I dug it and would have nominated it over several of the above movies.
"Eighth Grade" (90/100 metacritic): I loved this one so much I watched it twice. My second favorite film of the year. I’m really surprised it didn’t get nominated for anything. Maybe Bo Burnham didn’t campaign hard enough? The movie had such a clear voice. The pool party scene might be my favorite of the entire year. Maybe I just strongly relate to being an anxious 13 year old girl?
"Shoplifters" (93/100 on metacritic): I just saw this one a couple days ago and loved it. It would be my choice over “Roma” for best foreign language film.
"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (87/100 on metacritic): Legit my favorite movie of the year. I’ll just cut and paste what I saw a critic write, because it's spot-on: “This movie is what would happen if you took all the action and complex plots from the live-action Marvel movies, added the heart, humor and relatability of a Pixar film, with all of the dialogue by the staff writers of Atlanta.” Add to that, stylistically it’s a groundbreaking animated film that belongs on the list of the best all-time. The Oscars don’t matter, but I’ll genuinely be angry if this doesn’t win for Best Animated Film.