If you value independent local news, become a sustainer today. Your gift could help unlock a $1M challenge.
For 24 years, I've been bringing together audiences here in Southern California ahead of the Oscars so we can review our favorites together.
Last week, we had a packed house at the Alex Theater in Glendale for our annual Film Week Academy Awards Preview.
We gathered nine of our regular FilmWeek critics, whose voices listeners hear on LAist 89.3 on our weekly review of movies. Hundreds of LAist listeners and readers who attended also got to vote for their personal favorites.
If we missed you March 7, we have clips of all 10 of the best picture nominees and the favorite for best animated feature. I have to say, I really loved sharing the experience of the movies with so many people. We'd love to see you in person at next year's event.
Meet the FilmWeek critics
- Tim Cogshell: FilmWeek critic, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com
- Christy Lemire: FilmWeek critic, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the Breakfast All Day podcast
- Lael Loewenstein: FilmWeek critic
- Wade Major: FilmWeek critic and CineGods.com
- Amy Nicholson: FilmWeek critic, film critic for the Los Angeles Times and host of the podcast ‘Unspooled’
- Claudia Puig: FilmWeek critic and program director for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival
- Peter Rainer: FilmWeek critic and the Christian Science Monitor
- Charles Solomon: FilmWeek critic, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Watch our full Oscar preview story
Sponsored message
Best Picture
Nominees
Bugonia
F1
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Listen
2:29
Best Picture: quick picks
- Critics consensus: Sinners
- Audience: Sinners
Best Director
Nominees
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Sponsored message
Listen
2:19
Best Director: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
"Ryan Coogler, it's the only one I would watch again unless they were holding my cat prisoner on the edge of city."
— Charles Solomon
Some other critics said that while they wanted Coogler to win, they thought the Oscar would go to Anderson.
Best Actress
Nominees
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Emma Stone, Bugonia
Listen
4:54
Best Actress: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Jessie Buckley for Hamnet
- Audience choice: Emma Stone for Bugonia
"Bet it all on Jessie Buckley."
— Christy Lemire
Sponsored message
Lemire said that while she'd love to see the win go to Rose Byrne, she called Buckley the "only lock of the night"
Best Actor
Nominees:
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Listen
3:46
Best Actor: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Michael B. Jordan for Sinners
- Audience choice: Michael B. Jordan for Sinners
"I think Chalamet is going to lose to Michael B. Jordan, who has the momentum right now. This race, though , is ridiculously stacked."
— Justin Chang
Best Supporting Actress
Nominees:
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Sponsored message
Listen
5:47
Best Supporting Actress: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Amy Madigan for Weapons
- Audience choice: Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
"This is maybe the toughest category for an acting category I've seen in years. Any one of these actresses could win in any given year... they're that strong."
— Wade Major
Best Supporting Actor
Nominees
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Listen
5:23
Best Supporting Actor: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
- Audience choice: Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
"This was the most difficult category for me because all of these performances are so unique in the way that they are executed."
— Tim Cogshell
Best Original Screenplay
Nominees
Blue Moon, written by Robert Kaplow
It Was Just an Accident, written by Jafar Panahi; script collaborators: Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian
Marty Supreme, written by Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value, written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
Sinners, written by Ryan Coogler
Listen
4:52
Best Original Screenplay: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Sinners, written by Ryan Coogler
- Audience choice: Sinners, written by Ryan Coogler
"Out of the top 10 grossing movies of this year, only one of them came from an original screenplay, and that's Sinners, and that does not often happen anymore."
— Charles Solomon
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominees
Bugonia, screenplay by Will Tracy
Frankenstein, written for the screen by Guillermo del Toro
Hamnet, screenplay by Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell
One Battle after Another, written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Train Dreams, screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Listen
6:11
Best Adapted Screenplay: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: None
- Audience choice: Train Dreams, screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar
Best Animated Feature
Nominees
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Listen
5:35
Best Animated Feature: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: Tie, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and KPop Demon Hunters
- Audience choice: KPop Demon Hunters
"This is clearly between KPop Demon Hunters and Zootopia 2, two of the biggest films of the year."
— Charles Solomon
Best Documentary
Nominees:
The Alabama Solution
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cutting Through Rocks
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
The Perfect Neighbor
Listen
5:28
Best Documentary: quick picks
- Critics' consensus: The Perfect Neighbor
- Audience choice: no vote
"All of these films, I think, are pretty terrific. Not that I put much store in it, but I think they all have a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes."
— Peter Rainer
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
