98th Academy Awards

Happy three months into the new year everyone! I hope you're having a great 2026 so far- and, if you aren't, I'm sorry to hear that BUT I'm proud of you for hanging in there. Perhaps you can at least take solace in last year's selection of great movies? I mean, there were some real stinkers, but there were some awesome hits too! What better way to honor these movies than to discuss the 98th annual Academy Awards?!

Our silly little award show did a decent job this year- I've only got one or two complaints regarding the nominees this go around, which is about as good as it gets. As always, choosing the winner is a bit arbitrary, but below I'll do my best to break down what I liked and what I think will win. If the Academy Awards isn't your thing, how about you check out my ranking and reviews of the 50+ movies I saw last year? Better yet, how about you watch my wife and I walk through our favorites and least favorites of 2025?

Before jumping in to my picks, amusing anecdotes, and lovable commentary... I gotta say, this year, I let myself down and totally missed all of the shorts, let alone the Documentary Feature category that I'm usually neglecting anyway. I'll keep those thoughts to myself. Otherwise, without further ado, let's start from the bottom-up:

Best Visual Effects

• Avatar: Fire and Ash – Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett 
• F1 – Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington, and Keith Dawson
• Jurassic World Rebirth – David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan, and Neil Corbould
• The Lost Bus – Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen, and Brandon K. McLaughlin
• Sinners – Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, and Donnie Dean

Props to Big Jim Cameron for yet another $1.5b movie– While Fire and Ash didn’t impress me as much as its predecessors (and, without a Best Picture nomination, voters seem to agree), the visual effects were a cut above as expected. While I haven’t seen The Lost Bus, none of these other nominees attempted to achieve what Avatar excelled at.

Best Film Editing

• F1 – Stephen Mirrione
• Marty Supreme – Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
• One Battle After Another – Andy Jurgensen
• Sentimental Value – Olivier Bugge Coutté
• Sinners – Michael P. Shawver

This is the first of many categories that illustrate the Oscars battle this year: A very close fight between One Battle After Another and Sinners, with Marty Supreme in a distant third and Sentimental Value also running. These movies are all over the nominations this year and it’ll be interesting to see who actually walks away with wins.

Which movie made the most of their sprawling scripts and hours of footage? I have a lot of respect for Sentimental Value which successfully juggled many complex characters across its ~2 hour runtime. Marty Supreme, Sinners, and One Battle After Another are also shockingly well-paced for 2½+ hour epics– and the latter two won the guild awards for their respective genres. Between those two, I’m going with One Battle– It’s a more impressive feat with its unique script, sprawling runtime, and several engaging sequences. Folks can’t stop talking about that grand finale!

Best Costume Design

• Avatar: Fire and Ash – Deborah L. Scott
• Frankenstein – Kate Hawley
• Hamnet – Malgosia Turzanska
• Marty Supreme – Miyako Bellizzi
• Sinners – Ruth E. Carter

Another set of great nominees, particularly for a crowd of voters that frequently favors period pieces. I love the costumes in all of these movies, but Frankenstein’s were certainly the loudest and most spectacular; Mia Goth's outfits alone were everything I expect from a Guillermo del Toro movie, not to mention the rest of the cast's costumes. Kate Hawley has won just about every award she’s been nominated for, including the guild award, so I’m thinking she’ll nab this one too.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• Frankenstein – Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey
• Kokuho – Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino, and Tadashi Nishimatsu
• Sinners – Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, and Shunika Terry
• The Smashing Machine – Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin, and Bjoern Rehbein
• The Ugly Stepsister – Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg

I haven’t seen The Ugly Stepsister or Kokuho so I won’t speak on either of them, but I think this is a battle between Frankenstein and Sinners who shared the spoils of their guild awards. Perhaps this will indicate how powerful Sinners is among the Academy voting body, but I think this will be Frankenstein’s other win- Makeup is core to many of the movie's characters and they all get a significant amount of screentime.

Best Cinematography

• Frankenstein – Dan Laustsen
• Marty Supreme – Darius Khondji
• One Battle After Another – Michael Bauman
• Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw
• Train Dreams – Adolpho Veloso

One of my favorite categories of the night: Who used the camera most effectively this year? Lots of beautiful movies to choose from, but I wanna give a special shoutout to Train Dreams which had a fantastically warm look normally reserved for movies shot on film– but a digitally-shot movie? So impressive! I don’t expect it to win though: Most of the talk this year has been regarding Michael Bauman’s photography for One Battle After Another, which utilized ye olde VistaVision cameras in impressive ways: Bolted onto cars, bouncing around on a Steadicam, and somehow still capturing impressive sequences like that grand finale! There it is again! Folks can’t stop talking about it!

Best Production Design

• Frankenstein – Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
• Hamnet – Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
• Marty Supreme – Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis
• One Battle After Another – Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
• Sinners – Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Which movie had the most impressive set design and decoration? This is another award that tends to favor period pieces. My heart is with Marty Supreme here, where Jack Fisk went to painstaking lengths to faithfully recreate real-world locations from decades past: An authentic table tennis club, dense and gritty city streets, and equally dense-and-gritty tenements where a bathtub falls through the ceiling in one scene– How in the world did they manage that? Still, always the bridesmaid, never the bride; Sorry to Marty Supreme and the legendary Jack Fisk, but Frankenstein’s grand and lavish sets will be more likely to resonate with voters (who already picked it to win at their guild awards this year). They're louder and more obviously present in each scene than anything in Marty Supreme.

Best Casting

• Hamnet – Nina Gold
• Marty Supreme – Jennifer Venditti
• One Battle After Another – Cassandra Kulukundis
• The Secret Agent – Gabriel Domingues
• Sinners – Francine Maisler

For the first time in many years, we have a whole new category to contend with at the Academy Awards! Who did the best job wading through the world’s great actors and actresses to choose the perfect person for each role, big and small? There's something to be said for Jennifer Venditti- who didn't just cast Marty Supreme this year, but Bugonia and The Smashing Machine too! Her ability to identify first-time actors meshed quite well with Josh Safdie's documentary-style technique for Marty Supreme. Still, I'm wondering if Francine Maisler's work for Sinners will be the first to be recognized here; She's had a long, illustrious career and (once again) she did win the guild award for her effort. Hard to guess who will win in a brand new category though... How exciting!!

Best Sound

• F1 – Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, and Juan Peralta
• Frankenstein – Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, and Brad Zoern
• One Battle After Another – José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio, and Tony Villaflor
• Sinners – Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, and Steve Boeddeker
• Sirāt – Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas, and Yasmina Praderas

Are you a little surprised to see F1 at the Oscars this year? It was a fun enough time, though I'm not so sure it's Best Picture material... Still, it was a feast for the senses if nothing else, so I'm not too shocked to see it get a nod in the Best Visual Effects and Best Sound categories. F1 has nothing on Avatar when it comes to visual effects, but sound? I'm not sure what else can compare. Plus, guess who won the guild award?..

Best Original Song

• "Dear Me" from Diane Warren: Relentless – Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
• "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters – Music and lyrics by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, 24, Ido, and Teddy Park
• "I Lied to You" from Sinners – Music and lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson
• "Sweet Dreams of Joy" from Viva Verdi! – Music and lyrics by Nicholas Pike
• "Train Dreams" from Train Dreams – Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; lyrics by Nick Cave

Let's give it up for Diane Warren for her 17th nomination (more than anyone who has never won an award!), this time for a song she made for her own documentary! Wow! Haha, alright... Well, anyway, sorry Diane, but only one of these five songs is a number-one hit. "Golden" topped the charts in over 30 countries, entered the top-ten in more than 20 other countries... not to mention it's an integral element of one of the year's most popular movies, KPop Demon Hunters. No question it's winning this award.

Best Score

• Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
• Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
• Hamnet – Max Richter
• One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
• Sinners – Ludwig Göransson

Ok, here's my one gripe this year: Where in the world is Daniel Lopatin's Marty Supreme score?? That was my favorite movie score of last year by far. The previous year, I felt the same way about Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' Challengers score, which similarly didn't get a nomination. I'll try not to take this personally but frankly I'm very upset. Setting that aside... There's some interesting nominees here, like Jerskin Fendrix's very memorable and mood-altering Bugonia score or Max Richter's affecting Hamnet score... but Ludwig Göransson's inventive Sinners score is woven into the fabric of the movie itself, so I think it's a shoo-in for this category.

Best International Feature

• It Was Just an Accident
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sirāt
• The Voice of Hind Rajab

Unfortunately, I didn't get around to seeing Sirāt or The Voice of Hind Rajab this year... but I really enjoyed the remaining three movies in this category. To predict a winner here, it might just come down to which movie has the most nominees; as strong as the Academy's Brazilian contingent might be, Sentimental Value has an extremely solid nine nominations this year. It may very well be the only opportunity for the Academy to honor Sentimental Value so it's my guess for who is going to win here.

Best Animated Feature

• Arco
• Elio
• KPop Demon Hunters
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
• Zootopia 2

I'm an animated movie guy. I kinda loved all of these movies, except for Little Amélie or the Character of Rain which never came out around here. Elio, very funny, cute, heartwarming. Zootopia 2, about as good as Disney sequels can get. Arco, absolutely beautiful, I was totally swept away. KPop Demon Hunters, now that was a bonafide hit. A bit derivative, sure, but it was a bit of an inventive mix of elements for us Americans. Bottom line: Compared to the competition, KPop Demon Hunters dominated the mindshare of audiences this year, and I think the Academy voters are no exception.

Best Original Screenplay

• Blue Moon – Robert Kaplow
• It Was Just an Accident – Jafar Panahi; in collaboration with Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, and Mehdi Mahmoudian
• Marty Supreme – Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
• Sentimental Value – Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
• Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Bugonia – Will Tracy; based on the film Save the Green Planet! by Jang Joon-hwan
• Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro; based on the novel by Mary Shelley
• Hamnet – Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell; based on the novel by Maggie O'Farrell
• One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson; based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
• Train Dreams – Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar; based on the novella by Denis Johnson

Ok, pay attention: The screenplay categories are really where it's at. If it's nominated for either of these categories, it's worth the watch. I really loved all of these movies and they're easy recommendations for anyone. As I noted earlier, I think this year is a fight between One Battle After Another and Sinners which just so happen to be separated between these two categories. Not to sound like a broken record, but considering they both won their respective guild awards last year, I'm thinking they'll both win here too. No complaints from me.

Best Supporting Actor

• Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another as Sensei Sergio St. Carlos
• Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein as The Creature
• Delroy Lindo – Sinners as Delta Slim
• Sean Penn – One Battle After Another as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw
• Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value as Gustav Borg

Here's where things start to get interesting... I have no idea who to pick here. I'll start by saying, personally, I think Delroy Lindo is my personal favorite from this selection of actors- He had a totally transformative performance in Sinners and he was a massive part of that movie's cast. I don't think Jacob Elordi has a chance to win here, but I really feel like any one of the remaining nominees have an honest shot. Benicio already won this award for Traffic back in 2000, and Sean won Best Actor for Mystic River in 2003 and Milk in 2008... So, let's honor someone new here, eh? I mean, these four guys are all legendary actors with prolific résumés, so I guess there isn't any "new up-and-comer" for the Academy to knight- and these days they never hand out Oscars to the "it's been long enough, this is finally your year" nominees. Since Sean Penn won the guild award, it seems like he might be the favorite but... I'm gonna go with my gut, trust the international arm of the Academy, and pick Stellan for Sentimental Value. I love that guy, I hope he gets it.

Best Supporting Actress

• Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value as Rachel Kemp
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value as Agnes Borg Pettersen
• Amy Madigan – Weapons as Gladys
• Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners as Annie
• Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another as Perfidia Beverly Hills

Alright, here's what I'm talking about: Amy Madigan might have won the guild award for her role in Weapons, but it's hard for me to believe that the Academy feels just as strongly about honoring her legacy with a win here. If I ruled the world, I'd probably give this to Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas- She was such a powerful grounding force in Sentimental Value, and this is a breakout role for her! I don't think she has the power to win this award though; It's sorta between Teyana Taylor and Wunmi Mosaku for me, and I just don't feel like Teyana Taylor showed enough of her stuff in One Battle After Another for me to give her the win, so... Congrats to Wunmi Mosaku I guess? I'm not that confident about this choice either.

Best Actor

• Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme as Marty Mauser
• Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another as Bob Ferguson
• Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon as Lorenz Hart
• Michael B. Jordan – Sinners as Elijah "Smoke" Moore / Elias "Stack" Moore
• Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent as Armando Solimões / Marcelo Alves / Fernando Solimões

This might be the most stacked category of the night. I'd be happy to see any of these guys take home the Oscar here! As much as I love Ethan Hawke and his impressive Blue Moon performance, I don't think he has much of a chance at this. Wagner Moura was great in The Secret Agent but I don't think he has enough of a contingent to get him the win either. Leonardo DiCaprio already got his win years ago- it's not going to happen again for this movie, right? For a while, Timothée Chalamet seemed to be the favorite for this, but... Michael B. Jordan, it just feels right. He's beloved, he's a true blue movie star, he's young but not too young, and it feels like the right time to recognize him. With a win at the guild awards... I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

Best Actress

• Jessie Buckley – Hamnet as Agnes Shakespeare
• Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I'd Kick You as Linda
• Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue as Claire Sardina
• Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value as Nora Borg
• Emma Stone – Bugonia as Michelle Fuller

Another failing I must admit to... I haven't bothered watching Song Sung Blue or If I Had Legs I'd Kick You. Mostly because I don't expect them to win here. Prove me wrong! Still, I was blown away by Emma Stone's work in Bugonia, one of my favorite movies of the year. Renate Reinsve impressed yet again in Sentimental Value too- That final scene is an amazing effort from her, just pointing into the outfield and slamming a home run. Hamnet though? It's 100% Jessie Buckley's movie. There are other characters and they're important and we respect them, but it's not about them. The movie is totally carried by Jessie and I think she's most likely to win this. Not to mention the guild award...

Best Director

• Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
• Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
• Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
• Ryan Coogler – Sinners

It's hard to imagine anyone else winning here. This is a great crowd of people, but Paul Thomas Anderson's narrative is strongest: He's a legendary director, he's never won an Oscar, he won the guild award (which is a very strong progenitor here), and his movie has taken critics by storm. The other nominees don't quite have the legacy that PTA has- but, ya know what, if someone else takes the win, that's fine by me. I loved all these movies.

Best Picture

• Bugonia
• F1
• Frankenstein
• Hamnet
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• The Secret Agent
• Sentimental Value
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

It all comes down to this! Not a bad crop of nominees this year, but I think the choice is clear: One Battle After Another has been the favorite for many months, and it doesn't feel like the hype has died down as time has gone on. Throughout awards season, One Battle After Another stayed winning. It's won the guild awards among producers, directors, writers, editors, cinematographers, costume designers; Critics awards among Los Angeles, New York, the National Film Critics Society, the Critics Choice awards, the Golden Globes; Plus international awards like the BAFTAs in the United Kingdom, the César Awards in France, the Australian Academy... A lot of those folks are also Academy voters! But, just for fun, Sinners feels like the spoiler win. It did win the actors' guild award and they are a large contingent of the Academy. It's probably the more popular of the two movies among wider audiences. But they ain't voting for Best Picture, sooo...

Thanks for reading- or, at the very least, thanks for scrolling all the way down to the bottom of this post. If you want more of my infinite wisdom and humor, watch me play video games on YouTube or check out my Letterboxd profile where I write reviews for other movies throughout the year. Until next year, stay classy San Diego!!!!!!