Oscars 2023

Instead of only talking about the possibly fortunate and unfortunate predictions of the ceremony, I decided to talk about my votes.

And although I won’t mind if “The Fabelmans” or “Tár” receives the big prize, I would vote for “Banshees” as the best film of the year and one of the best of the decade. It’s even more disappointing that this is in the same category as the more subtle choices in “Banshees,” the tense sequences of “Tár”, and the action-packed moments of “Top Gun: Maverick” that make each of these films more memorable. As for “Decision To Leave,” this was one of the best-shot films of the year. There were films in 2022 with much better cinematography, two of which were “Banshees” by Ben Davis and “Decision to Leave” by Kim Ji-Yong. However, the images designed for each film make me disappointed in people seeing “Elvis” as something that is better than what Ben Davis and Kim Ji-Yong did for each of their works. But for me, , “The Banshees of Inisherin” deserves best picture. It makes sense to give the writing award to the film with some of the best banter and conversations on the island of Inisherin. Even as a Spielberg fanboy who thought “The Fabelmans” was A-Tier in his filmography, I realized how much I loved the decisions Todd Field made in “Tár.” Weaving together Monika Willi’s editing and Florian Hoffmeister’s cinematography (both of whom are nominated in these categories and I’m rooting for to win), Field created an ambiguously unsettling tone to Lydia Tár’s world and many secrets. When playing the obese English professor Charlie, Fraser makes you see the character instead of seeing him play a character, like a particular performance this year (cough… Once again, like with Blanchett, I have to go with the popular opinion when I say that Brendan Fraser is the definitive male performance of the year. Although this choice may sound like a cliché this year, the internet is right about Cate Blanchett being the definitive female performance of the year. With this year’s Oscars just three weeks away, I have read countless articles with predictions on who might take home these awards on the evening of March 12.