Max Markowitz's Academy Award Predictions at a.cinema

The Oscar nominations have finally been announced and for the first time in years, it was worth the wait! For the lovers of great cinema, there’s nothing like the countdown to Oscar Sunday! Excitedly and anxiously making our predictions and hoping for desired wins, that our favorites make it out on top! To make the days move more quickly until we hear “and the Oscar goes to” …. I’m delighted to inform you that a.cinema will be screening some wonderful Oscar-winning films in the upcoming weeks to the 96th Academy Awards. a.cinema audiences will delight in the majesty of Oscar’s past while enjoying the cinematic present still in theaters everywhere.  To get us through the anxiety of waiting, I thought I’d share my three top Oscar predictions of this year with you. I bet with the utmost conviction that these 3 astonishing bodies of work will bring home some golden knights on Oscar Sunday.  If you haven’t seen these films, I strongly recommend that you see them before Oscar Sunday!

-Max Markowitz, moviecritic.today

Anatomy Of A Fall

Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or and Golden Globe-winning courtroom drama leaves audiences grappling with mysterious and haunting ambiguity after the trial of Sandra Voyter (Sandra Huller) as a famous German writer whose bitter husband’s (Samuel Theis) fatal fall from the top of their home in the French Alps leads to a scandalous series of invasive courtroom interrogations.  As the icy details of their crumbling marriage comes to light, an unforeseen testimony from their blind son (Milo Machado Graner) twists the courtroom drama into a whole new direction. The testimony is shared in a freezing cold tone that will leave your skin in a hue of blue and with goosebumps dancing in despair. Anatomy Of A Fall highlights one of 2023’s top performances from Sandra Huller who somehow manages to hold nothing back without revealing everything. The structural differences in the French vs American court systems are intriguing to witness as the specifics of the case are laid out for the jury. Audiences can expect to reconsider their own relationship with the idea of truth and how important it really is to each individual.

I bet all my cards that Anatomy Of A Fall will win Best Original Screenplay. Additional nominations include Best Film Editing, Best Actress for Sandra Huller, Best Director for Justine Triet and Best Picture!

Oppenheimer

The ultimate masterpiece of Christopher Nolan’s entire career is not to be missed! Having admittedly seen it 8 times in cinemas over 2 addicted months, Oppenheimer chronicles the father of the atomic bombs journey from his early studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during WWII, and his fall from grace during his kangaroo court security hearing in 1954. Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and Kenneth Branagh star alongside Murphy in 2023’s one of most memorable ensembles. Masterpieces take years to bring to life and this one was well worth the wait! 

I am thoroughly convinced that Oppenheimer will win Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Donwey Jr., Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, Best Director for Christopher Nolan, and Best Picture. Additional nominations include Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Emily Blunt. 

Poor Things

Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone reteam from The Favourite and deliver another laugh-inducing magical tale, this time one of celebratory female agency and sexual liberation! Emma Stone is too adorable for words as a woman in Victorian Society who after being resurrected by an unorthodox scientist (Willem Dafoe) ignores the boundaries and limitations of her era and makes her away across Europe on a journey of self-discovery and intellectual curiosity much to the hilarious chagrin of her whiny traveling companion (Mark Ruffalo). 

I am assured that Poor Things will win Oscars for Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Makeup & Hairstyling. Additional nominations include Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo, Best Actress for Emma Stone, Best Director for Yorgos Lanthimos, and Best Picture.

Enjoy weekly screenings, accompanied by Max's reviews of feature films at the following a.cinemas: AKA Central Park, AKA Sutton Place, AKA Rittenhouse Square, AKA University City, AKA White House, Hotel AKA Alexandria, AKA Beverly Hills, and AKA West Hollywood.