Nominations Thu 23.Jan.25 • Awards Sun 2.Mar.25

Rich's comments: In one of the most refreshingly unpredictable Oscar ceremonies in recent memory, and one of the oddest as far as the way the show was put together, big love for Anora was everywhere. It was a little frustrating that landmark nominations for horror films converted into just one win (for The Substance's astonishing makeup effects). Frankly, this year saw so many ommissions among the nominees that we could have had a completely different list of winners, including Daniel Craig, Denzel Washington, Clarence Maclin, Denis Villeneuve, Kneecap, Challengers, and most surprisingly RaMell Ross/Jomo Fray as director/cinematographer. The Best Actress category was especially brutal, as the absent Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Pamela Anderson, Nicole Kidman, Saoirse Ronan and Angelina Jolie gave committed performances that might have won in another year.