It’s true. I still haven’t seen “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the most awarded film at this year’s Oscars awards ceremony. I’ve been meaning to watch it, but haven’t quite gotten around to it. They managed to win seven Oscars, including best picture and best original screenplay, and I look forward to watching it.
However, I did see some other movies nominated this year. Most notably, over the course of 2022, I saw “Elvis”, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and “The Batman.” Each one of these films was nominated for various awards this year — some won, certain ones were snubbed, and others were deservedly recognized.
“Elvis”: Nominated for eight Oscars, won zero.
Personally, I loved this movie because I grew up listening to Elvis. From “Suspicious Minds” to “Hound Dog,” I have always been familiar with him as an artist because my grandparents adored him. This movie reminds me of my family and the music I grew up listening to. From the nostalgic music to the brilliant acting, I believe it should have won in some of the categories it was nominated for.
This movie should have one for the best makeup and hairstyling. I also believe Austin Butler should have won best actor. He did a great job at channeling his inner Elvis with immense help from the costume design as well as the makeup/hairstyling team. They perfectly emulated his look. At certain points, I forgot it was an actor playing a role. He looked, sounded, and acted the part. That sounds award-worthy to me.
“Avatar: The Way of Water”: Nominated for four Oscars, won one.
Considering almost everything in this movie was made with CGI technology, I agree that it deserved the win for best visual effects. The beautiful and mesmerizing world of Pandora was once again brought to life by James Cameron in this second installment of the original
“Avatar (2009).”
Although the movie was incredibly long, holding a run time of three hours and 12 mins — just two minutes less than James Cameron’s other blockbuster, “Titanic (1997)” — it was overall pretty incredible and deservedly recognized for its breathtaking visual effects.
“Top Gun: Maverick”: Nominated for six Oscars, won one.
This second installment of the original “Top Gun (1986),” rightfully deserved the award for best sound. Tom Cruise, once again, proved that he can make a great movie and a lot of money at the same time.
His decision to wait and debut this film when people could safely view it in theaters proved to be very beneficial. Their Oscars win shows the hard work and training by the actors and crew paid off. The realistic sounds of planes flying by and pilot communication during flight made them the prime candidate for this award.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”: Nominated for five Oscars, won one.
Out of the 5 awards this sequel to the original “Black Panther (2018)” received this year, they won for best costume design. I absolutely agree with this award, considering the costumes perfectly emulated the vibrant and inspiring culture of Wakanda.
Angela Bassett’s performance in this movie was also incredible. She deserved her nomination and the costume designer for this movie, Ruth Carter, earned her win.
“The Batman”: Nominated for three Oscars, won zero.
To be honest, “The Batman” was one of my favorite movies I saw this year. It was nominated for best visual effects, best sound, and best makeup and hairstyling. Although I believe the winners of these categories deserved their awards, I think this movie should have gotten some recognition.
In my opinion, Robert Pattinson became Batman in this role. He became a dark and more complex Batman, but his portrayal of the famous character was spot on. The music was also very distinguished, with hints of Kurt Cobain’s vocals (one of my favorite artists) in Nirvana’s “Something in the way” on the movie soundtrack. All in all, this movie deserved some more love than it received.
The Oscars this year proved to have some of the most remarkable films of 2023. Although I disagree with some snubs, all of the movies that won deserved it. And now that I laid out my opinions of the movies I’ve seen, it’s probably time for me to watch “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
