While I’ve always been a fan of movies, it’s only recently that I’ve started keeping up with award show buzz. Last year, I watched all of the Oscars Best Picture nominees with my best friend, and while I didn’t love all of them, it was still incredibly neat to see the range of genres and styles that were featured in the category. This year, I’m continuing the tradition despite it going slower due to a truly unfortunate amount of homework and exams.
Sinners
Probably one of (if not the most) talked about films of the year is Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” With a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations, Sinners is widely loved by critics and audiences alike. I personally saw the movie three times in theaters, and while I can’t say if it’s my favorite without watching all the nominated movies, I can say that it’s certainly a masterpiece. The perfect mix between suspenseful and emotional, the entire cast delivers incredible performances that I was thinking about for weeks after.
The film takes place over a single night in Jim Crow-era Mississippi as young blues singer Sammie (Miles Caton) and his twin cousins Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) open a juke joint, only to be faced with supernatural evil. The cast is stacked, with Jordan delivering a remarkable performance as the Smokestack twins, as does Caton in an incredible debut. The cast is rounded out with Hailee Steinfeld as Mary, Stack’s ex-girlfriend; and Wunmi Mosaku as Annie, Smoke’s estranged wife, among others. Currently sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Sinners” is certainly a fan-favorite movie of 2025, and is worth watching if you’re at all interested in catching up on Oscar nominated movies or even just recent movies in general.
F1
If you’ve been keeping up with the most popular music of 2025, “Just Keep Watching” by Tate McRae has undoubtedly come on your radar. Honestly, the music video for that song was the maximum of my “F1“ movie knowledge prior to my movie binge, but the movie was definitely a fun time. It also successfully convinced me that watching cars drive around really, really fast is actually fun, so I guess it succeeded at its mission.
“F1“ follows Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a former “F1” driver who returns to the circuit after 30 years in a desperate bid to help save the team of old friend Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem). Challenging — and working — with Sonny is Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a young and ambitious driver who frequently butts heads with Sonny as they try to help their struggling team.
Bugonia
“Bugonia” was associated with one thing in my mind – that one screening where you either had to be bald or had to shave your head before walking through the doors. The admittedly hilarious yet bizarre concept perfectly captures the essence of the film, in my opinion, as I was alternating between cracking jokes and staring at the screen in confusion and mild horror. Jesse Plemons stars as a conspiracy theorist who kidnaps the prominent CEO of a pharmaceutical company, played by Emma Stone, as he becomes convinced that she’s a member of an alien species sent to destroy Earth. Both Plemons and Stone deliver performances that left me completely immersed in the world, which was both a good thing and a disturbing thing as the plot progressed. It’s definitely one of the more bizarre films I’ve watched so far, but I was happy to be along for the ride.
One Battle After Another
“One Battle After Another” was a movie that I’d heard namedropped many times last year, but I had no idea what it was about, and I never could have predicted the plot. The dystopian political action movie primarily follows ex-revolutionary “Ghetto Pat” (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his daughter Charlene (Chase Infiniti) as they’re pursued by ruthless Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), with a featured, Oscar-nominated performance by Teyana Taylor as Perfidia Beverly Hills, Pat’s revolutionary ex-wife. It was intense and jarring from start to finish, and while it honestly isn’t a movie that I would’ve gone to see on my own, I admired its boldness and found the high stakes very engaging.
Frankenstein
As a lover of classic literature, “Frankenstein” was probably one of my most anticipated releases of last year. With Oscar Isaac as the mad scientist Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as Victor’s Creature and modern scream queen Mia Goth as Elizabeth Harlander, I’ve been excited for this movie since the cast was announced. Sure enough, Guillermo del Toro’s vision created a gothic world of science and madness, and it was an emotional and thrilling ride that kept me hooked from start to finish. In case you’ve somehow missed it, “Frankenstein” is the story of unhinged scientist Victor Frankenstein’s quest to create life, and the unintended consequences that follow.
Hamnet
Fair warning – I sobbed for most of this movie. Telling the tale of the marriage of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and Agnes Shakespeare (my favorite performance of the year by Jessie Buckley) and the creation of “Hamlet” after the untimely death of their young son. “Hamnet” was moving, devastating and yet somehow hopeful. I may have walked away with smudged mascara, but I also walked away contemplating the meaning of art and why we make it. Everyone in the cast delivers stellar performances, especially Jacobi Jupe, the 12-year-old who played Hamnet, and if there’s one movie that I could recommend (other than “Sinners“ of course) it would be this one.
Final Thoughts
So far, my journey towards the finish line of my Best Picture nominees binge has taken me through genres, tones and styles, with more yet to come. Next on the list are “Marty Supreme,” the infamous table tennis drama; “The Secret Agent,” a Brazilian political thriller; 20th century period drama “Train Dreams,” and perhaps the movie I’m most looking forward to, drama “Sentimental Value” starring Stellan Skarsgard and Elle Fanning. If you’re looking for something to entertain you between homework and extracurriculars, this year’s Best Nominees have something for everyone, and so far, I’ve loved what I’ve seen.