Every year the Academy Awards chooses ten (sometimes less) movies to honor as potential best film of the year. The number has varied throughout the history of The Academy, but 10 seems to be the nice round number that everyone can agree upon. Ten is a great number because it gives us the opportunity to highlight some major blockbusters, some indie darlings, and maybe even a great foreign film or two.

2024’s slate has a little bit of everything. There’s a wild super grotesque body horror film. An incredible Gen Z Pretty Women inspired film about social status and wealth. And even a Netflix film with a problematic star. I wanted to weigh in and give my rankings of each Oscar Best Picture Nominee. Not ranked by my favorite, but by how great and deserving of the award each film truly is.

10: Emilia Perez

Emilia Perez is a bad movie. It doesn’t just have a problematic lead actress, bad songs, or an incomprehensible plot. Though all those things are true. Emilia Perez is bad from a technical standpoint, an acting standpoint, and most egregious for a musical, from a sound standpoint. How this movie ended up gaining any traction is beyond me but thankfully, it looks like thanks to the antics of its title star, the film will not win any major awards. Sans maybe Zoe Saldana for supporting actress.

Emilia Perez is so bad in its narrative and themes that it’s borderline offensive to the people it’s trying to represent. Its portrayal of Mexico and Mexican people is painfully one note. The country is bathed in these weird warm tones that visually do nothing to represent the country. And the lead of the film, A woman who transitioned from life as a man as a means to avoid law enforcement, is wildly absurd while also being offensive. The film portrays Emilia Perez as first a violent murderous drug kingpin before her transition to Emilia. With her transition comes a total reversal of her entire personality. Gone are all of the nuances and dangerous aspects of her and the film then portrays her as a Robin Hood type of saint. It’s a wild choice and one that does nothing for the film or the trans community.

9: Wicked

Wicked was a box office sensation and quite possibly the biggest movie event of the year. While the film has some technical problems, there’s no denying its cultural impact on cinema in 2024.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo give great performances and have the vocal talents to back up an undertaking this grand. Wicked is a fine movie, a successful musical, and most importantly, a pretty fun time at the movies. It just isn’t as great as some of the other films nominated this year.

8: Conclave

Conclave is a film that feels like it’s from a different era. The majority of the movie is just a group of men having hushed conversations while they struggle to make a decision that will have a lasting impact on millions of people. It plays like a made-for-TV Aaron Sorkin movie. And I mean that as a compliment.

The biggest issue I had with Conclave is its ending which fails to add anything meaningful to the movie. I won’t spoil the ending but there is a truly bonkers reveal that feels closer to an episode of South Park than an actual plot twist. It does nothing for the plot, makes little sense narratively, and doesn’t say anything meaningful about the catholic church or its antiquated traditions. I try not to base my entire opinion on a film’s ending but sometimes Lazzlo Toth is right. It is about the destination, not the journey.

7: A Complete Unknown

Timothy Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown is barely a movie. I haven’t timed it out, but I would venture to say over half the film is Chalamet singing Dylan tunes while people stare at him in awe. The biggest conflict of the film is between us the audience and the screen waiting to hear the iconic opening riff for Like A Rolling Stone.

This doesn’t make it a bad movie. It’s one of the easiest watches I’ve seen this year and Chalamet gives an incredible performance as music’s greatest poet. The supporting cast is also stellar with Monica Barbaro embodying Joan Baez and Elle Fanning giving a heartbreaking performance as she watches Bob Dylan rise farther into stardom and further away from her. It may be more of a musical play than an actual film, but it’s a damn good one.

6: Dune Part 2

Denis Villeneuve has done the borderline impossible with his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s incredibly dense Dune novel. His, as of now, duo of films may contain just as many proper nouns and difficult-to-follow storylines, but they are also technical marvels which are unrivaled as big screen experiences.

The cast Villeneuve has been able to assemble is also incredible, with up-and-comers and consistent stars alike. If Denis can keep making movies like this, then we are in for an incredible ride with this director at the helm.

5: I’m Still Here

I’m Still Here is the heartbreaking true story of Brazilian congressman Rubens Paiva and the family he left behind after his capture by the Brazilian military in 1971. Fernanda Torres leads the film as Eunice Paiva. The matriarch of the family who must center the family after her husband’s disappearance.

Of all the Best Picture nominees, this is the only one that feels truly grounded on a single performance. I’m Still Here is a good film, but it’s Torres’s performance that elevates this movie to one of the year’s best. It’s almost a parallel to the real-life Eunice who was forced to ground and lead her family after the tragic dealings of a corrupt government. I’m Still Here is an excellent film and while I may have preferred to see Evil Does Not Exist as the token foreign film, I’m happy to see Fernanda Torres be honored for work in this movie.

4: Nickel Boys

Nickel Boys is an experimental film that takes a while for viewers to get their heads around. The majority of the film is shot from a first-person perspective, putting the audience in the shoes of the film’s victims.

Nickel Boys is also grounded by some stellar performances, but it’s the technical aspects where this movie really shines. The camera placement, either in the main characters’ POV or behind them in present-day settings, all add to the themes and narrative of the film. Nickel Boys isn’t the easiest film to watch and doesn’t have a ton of mainstream appeal, but it’s a fantastic film and one of 2024’s best.

3: The Brutalist

Brady Corbet’s third film is an epic American immigrant tale. Monumental some might even say. But what the film does best is hearken back to an earlier style of cinema. The Brutalist feels like a movie made in the 70’s or earlier. A three and a half hour epic with no superheroes or flying cars. Just a story of one man’s struggle for his art in an oppressive new land.

The Brutalist is not a perfect movie. It has an exceptional first act but the film begins to drag a bit after the intermission. This isn’t to say the film isn’t a masterpiece, just that maybe a few edits could have cleaned up this long monumental story. Still, it’s Brady Corbet’s vision that eventually made it to the screen and that is something that should be commended.

2: The Substance

Demi Moore’s leading role in Coralie Fargeat’s gross-out body horror flick is more brutal than any Best Picture nominee in recent memory. This film is definitely gnarly, but its 77 million-dollar global box office run proves there’s more to this film than body horror.

The Substance is the best that horror has to offer. It has an interesting narrative, a thoughtful visual style, and larger themes hiding beneath the surface of its plot. Few films look as good as The Substance and it’s awesome to see a film like this get as much attention as it has.

1: Anora

Anora is not my favorite movie of the year, but it is the best. Sean Baker has become a master of his craft and Anora is both his best film to date and his most approachable.

Anora is propelled by Mikey Madison’s performance as Ani. A street-smart but still naive young exotic dancer who learns throughout the film that not every fairytale has a happy ending. It’s a roller coaster of a film, one that lulls us in with an upbeat score and gorgeous neon colors before quickly shifting gears into a slapstick comedy and finally a tragic finale for our heroine. Like Baker’s best work, the director never offers a moral or gets preachy. He simply shines a light on people on the bottom tier of fortune. Anora is an amazing film and one that I will think about and revisit for years to come.