I've usually seen one or two films nominated for Best Picture by the time the Awards are given out, but this year I decided I wanted to try and see them all - it's led to the point where I've seen 9/10 so far (everything but
Women Talking.) It's kind of made me go Oscar crazy, and try to see
everything that's being nominated. I can get a little obsessive like that. I really like most of this year's nominees - 5 of them especially :
Everything Everywhere All at Once,
The Banshees of Inisherin,
Triangle of Sadness,
Tár and
All Quiet on the Western Front are great,
great movies. Normally there'd only be one like this amongst the nominees, and it's hard for me to choose the best amongst them.
The Fabelmans and
Top Gun: Maverick were really good, and I appreciate them. I think
The Fabelmans is just the type of film that usually wins Best Picture, and has a great chance of winning.
Avatar: The Way of Water was okay. No chance in hell of winning, and I don't know why it's here.
I have a hard time watching Baz Luhrmann films - all show and spectacle and not much underneath. I didn't like
Elvis all that much.
I think Elvis could win this. It's likable and inoffensive (Tom Hanks' accent aside) and could well be one of those films that wins by being everyone's second place.
I'd be genuinely surprised if
Elvis won (and personally I'm praying it doesn't) but like you say, with the preferential voting card anything is possible, and many Academy members might find find it the least disagreeable and most fun film of the lot.
My bet is on Fablemans winning for a thanks for everything Oscar for Spielberg. Then EEAAO winning a lot of the acting awards for the diversity in their cast...at least this time I'd feel it's deserved based on merit. Be happy with Yeoh winning but Blanchett should run away with it.
My bet is the same as yours. It just seems like a "Best Picture" kind of film
The Fabelmans. I loved
Everything Everywhere All at Once as well, and I think it's one of the favourites to win according to outside opinions - I'll be happy if it wins.
Just watched Elvis, which puts me at 5/10 seen. It was good, not great.
I thought it was mediocre, not good. But that's me and Baz Luhrmann.
All Quiet on The Western Front (Berger)
Overall it's a great war film- which shows the true horrors at a level I haven't witnessed since Come and See . It's incredibly well-made and designed, & a worthy nominee for best picture.
I thought it was a really great film, and I've seen it twice already. Wouldn't it be funny if two different versions of
All Quiet on the Western Front ended up winning Best Picture in 1930 and 2023 - I don't think it'll win though it has a chance at Best International Film.
I did see Triangle of Sadness last week, so I've now seen 7 of the ten nominees. Don't know how Triangle got a Best Picture nomination, I found the film a total snooze fest.
I'm continually perplexed as to your dislike of
Triangle of Sadness, but obviously it was a type of film that's really not your thing. I left the cinema feeling like I'd seen one of the films of the decade and in a fist-pumping celebratory mood. I think the reason
Triangle of Sadness got nominated (it has no chance of winning) was to placate nerdy Ruben Östlund anti-establishment types like me - and it worked! I'm placated!