Darts & Flowers

Here are my personal predictions and favorites of the six main categories concerning the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony, taking place on March 12th. BEST PICTURE Will win: Everything Everywhere All at Once Should win:  Tár BEST DIRECTOR Will win: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once) Should win: Todd Field ( Tár ) BEST ACTOR Will win:  Austin Butler (Elvis) Should win: Brendan Fraser (The Whale) BEST ACTRESS Will win: Michelle Yeoh (E verything Everywhere All at Once) Should win: Cate Blanchett ( Tár ) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Will win: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) Should win: Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Will win: Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) Should win: Hong Chau (The Whale)

A (sometimes) exhilarating but somewhat hollow satire dealing with fashion, richness, politics, social differences and discrimination. Nothing new, but everything is polished enough to probably please a certain kind of audience. An interesting product, though. Mark: 7 / 10

Written by the author of the play of the same name, it deals with guilt, sorrow and redemption in a sort of cathartic way, though a bit rhetorical in the second half. The cast is awesome, and Brendan Fraser delivers a lifetime performance. Mark: 7.5 / 10

Tiring, annoying and definitely boring. The main issue here is the director and screenwriter, that doesn't even prove himself a good cast director. Ana de Armas, on the contrary, is absolutely great in the depiction of one of the most iconic cinematic figures of all time. Mark: 5 / 10

The production is Swedish, but the rest is Georgian, from the locations to the cast. A brave and reckless movie about the growing awareness of being gay in a very homophobic country. Not particularly original but strong and very well directed. Mark: 7 / 10

A subtle, understated, deep coming-of-age drama, more intense and desperate than everyone may think and state. The chemistry between Paul Mescal and the young Frankie Corio is astonishing. Mark: 7.5 / 10

This third effort by the acclaimed director Todd Field ("In the Bedroom", "Little Children") is definitely an artwork, in the more intrinsic meaning of the word itself: nuanced conversations, personal interpretations and (abuse of) power are its trademarks. And Cate Blanchett delivers an out-of-this-world performance (as usual). Mark: 8.5 / 10

Critically acclaimed and universally praised by worldwide audiences, this long awaited sequel marks the highest grossing movie with Tom Cruise. In my opinion, it's better than the first chapter, but it lingers in an updated version of itself and nothing more. Mark: 6.5 / 10

From the author of the phenomenal "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri", another intense portrait of the complexity of human nature. The cast is breathtakingly good and the subject is both fascinating and disturbing. Mark: 8 / 10

Inhumanity. Awareness. Loneliness. Alienation. Fate. Fourteen nominations to the BAFTAs and nine to the Oscars, all well deserved. Felix Kammerer, the actor playing the main character, is phenomenal. And the technical setup is awesome. A great movie. Mark: 8 / 10

A wonderful Spanish thriller that deserves more attention and recognition. From the brilliant cast to the ingenious script written by the director himself, it instantly brought me back to "The Usual Suspects". Mark: 8.5 / 10

Acoustically and visually hectic and restless, tremendously funny, confusing and exhausting, a never before seen mix of genres, this product can't leave you unresponsive. And the cast is simply extraordinary, with a more than awesome Michelle Yeoh that grabs the spotlight in every single frame. Mark: 8 / 10

The main issue of this second chapter is the script: frayed and pretty boring. The cast is quite good, though some characters are played by "junior" actors/actresses. The technical aspect is, as you can expect, top notch. In the end, quite a disappointment. Mark: 5.5 / 10