Film quarter of 2026 old film retrospective

 So I am opting in 2026 to try and catch up on some old “must see” films in part inspired by the fact I needed to watch Breathless before I saw Nouvelle Vague (maybe I need one of my favourite directors to make films about the making of old films more often). The plan was to watch at least four “must see” older films a month. I also added to that in January maybe watching one campier cult film in the mix- mainly inspired by a film I saw was expiring soon on SBS on Demand that falls in this group in January. Now things like get chaotic with this plan as we are about to have some major nerd IP releases that might result in rewatches of those things (I suspect I won’t rewatch any Star Wars prior The Madalorian and Gorgu but I already started long haul prep for Avengers: Doomsday - I’m rewatching Agents of SHIELD (not that my hopes of it coming up in Doomsday are likely to be realised) and later in the year there will be many film rewatches coming). Anyhow , here is what I watched in January through April and my thoughts on them…

Breathless (or A bout de Souffle) (1960 France dir Jean-Luc Goddard)

Michael, a small time con man, accidentally shots a cop whilst fleeing from his latest con. He decides to flee the country and returns to Paris to get the funds for this and to convince his American journalism student girlfriend, Patricia, to come with him.

This was an interesting film to watch in 2026 for the first time. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg are outstanding and so charismatic as Michael and Patricia. The film is beautifully shot and comes together seamlessly which is shocking when you see the backstory of how Goddard shot it (which is chronicled in Nouvelle Vague). I would deeply love someone to make me or point me in direction of where to buy the dress Seberg wears in the final scenes. This sounds like a rave but I will own that when I rated this on Letterboxd, I only gave it a 4.5 as I had to knock 0.5 off for the fact that the presentation of women is a mess and more than a wee bit sexist.

Clare’s ranking- 4.5 stars

The Terminator (1984 US, dir James Cameron)

A young woman finds herself the target of a murderous cyborg sent from the dystopian future to kill her. She finds help from a young man who also travelled from the future who tells her that the cyborg is targeting her as her son will take down the robots in the future- the son she is yet to have.

Until this January, this was one of the two films I most often got lectured on not having seen (honestly it is second to the other film as every white man my age appears to be obsessed with the other one, Shawshank- I might get to it this year but TBH also might not just to be petty).  The Terminator of the two was the one I felt worse about not having seen as it does seem very much my jam with its cheesy 80s sci fi with a strong female protagonist vibes. I did love it and I will definitely make time for the sequel this year too. Great action, cheesy 80s effects, and quality synth music- yes to all of that. I also was lucky enough that a cinema near me did a screening of the 8mm of it in January so I even got to see it on the big screen. Also knew it was coming as a line in the movie, as like others I’ve heard it quoted even without seeing the film, but I think “come with me if you want to live” might be a better pick up line than any line in any rom com ever.

Clare’s ranking- 4.5 stars (testament more to the vibes than the quality of the film)

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989 Japan, dir Hayao Miyazaki)

When a young witch comes of age, she is required to send a year living independently. Kiki, therefore, leaves her village and goes with her cat to a larger town. She finds a home above a bakery and sets up a delivery business.

People are often surprised that there are Miyazaki films I’ve not seen and well now there are two less- I’m about to get to the second. I really enjoyed this. I thought it was a delightful coming of age story with kinds of questioning of identity that happens in adolescence occurring in the middle part of the film. Kiki as a heroine is one of the earliest of Miyazaki’s super independent young women (since many of his later films are marked by strong women especially one of my fave films of all time, Princess Mononoke) and she isn’t the only strong female character in the film, and it is delightful to see this presentation of a young woman coming in a film from the 1980s written and directed by man. I would definitely say if you have kids in your worlds that you should show them this especially young girls.

Clare’s ranking- 4.5 stars 

But I’m a Cheerleader… (1999 US dir Jamie Babbit)

Everyone in Megan’s life suspected she might be a lesbian even though she is a popular cheerleader at her school. Her parents and friends send her off to conversion therapy.

This was the film that made me add a more cult film to my mix of films each month. It has an opposite flavour to the only other film I’ve seen about conversion therapy, The Miseducation of Cameron Post (which remains one of the toughest films to watch that I’ve ever seen- really good film but also very tough watch and a much more realistic portrayal of the practice). I’m a huge fan of many people in this film and it has always been one I have considered watched. It is a camp ol’ time which gave a slight echo of John Waters at times. Ru Paul attempting to play straight- hilarious even if he really isn’t a great actor. I will say that as conversion therapy of this type did claim many young lives not 100% sure how I feel about making light of it. On another point, first film I have watched that is directed by a woman- sadly I have so far mainly watched male directed films.

Clare’s ranking- 3.5 stars 

My Neighbour Totoro (1988 Japan, dir Hayao Miyazaki)

Two young girls move to a rundown house in the country with their father whilst their mother is in hospital ill. Soon they discover the surrounding forrest is full of spirits and in particular they befriend the totoros.

Second Miyazaki and the Miyazaki I’ve most been told off for not having seen in the past. Straight up adorable and the first film I’ve watched in this run that I gave five stars on Letterboxd. The animation is beautiful and there is something just delightfully wholesome about the whole thing. Again as with Kiki this is a great film for kids if you want them to get into anime.

Clare’s ranking- 5 stars

Ten Canoes (2006 Australia, dir Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr)

In a world removed from western influence, a narrator tells the story of a group of indigenous men preparing canoes for the hunting season. A young man is in love with one of his brother’s wives and an older men tells him the story of similar young man in the past.

I watched this film on 26 January and it was the perfect day to spend that day with a film that removes western impact from Australia’s indigenous community and instead telling its own indigenous morality tale. This is a beautiful film with the two timelines marked out by the colour palate- the past is in black and white, and the present in colour. It is also great to see a film that is in indigenous dialects- it is the Yolngu Matha language is Wikipedia is to be believed but various dialects of it (it was submitted for Best Foreign Language at the Oscars but didn’t get a nomination which is bonkers to be- should have been nominated- oddly also watched the film that won I also watched in this quarter). I have to say that the narration on this is one of the best I’ve ever heard-exceptional work by David Gulpilil. 

Clare’s ranking- 4 stars

The Red Shoes (1948 England, dir Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)

A young ballerina finds herself caught between her relationship with a ballet composer and her passion for the dance that is also driven by the controlling director of her company.

It is weird to say that I’m not watched any Pressburger and Powell films because this run of films- now I have watched two and this was the first. This film is often cited by many directors as one of the best films ever made (Scorsese, Coppola (the older one), and Spielberg all say it is one of their favourites) and is given as an example of film that should have won best picture and didn’t (Olivier’s Hamlet bet it). This is a very close second favourite for me of the films I watched this quarter and I can say both feature amazing eye make up. It is an excellent basically perfect film about the arts ,and about women being told that they cannot choose a career and a relationship, and about men being controlling as all get out. The performance by Moira Shearer is amazing especially considering that this is her first film and also that she is a ballerina so all the dancing is her. Also me being me and loving a dance sequence, the 17 minute ballet sequence in this film AMAZING.

Clare ranking- 5 stars 

The Witches of Eastwick (1987 US, dir George Miller)

Three women, whose husbands aren’t in the picture (one divorced, one widowed, and one deserted by her husband but not divorced), don’t know that they are witches and don’t know that them meeting on the regularly has unknowingly made them a coven. A mysterious man arrives in town and tries to seduce all three women.

This had some camp appeal but it is the weakest film I’ve watched so far in my opinion. It is so 80s with the giant hair on women and so horny. The horniness is what tips it from campy to cringe at times. It is a bit disappointing that it isn’t better as the cast is stacked and George Miller is a capable director. Jack Nicholson does get to do some OTT scenery chomping which is fun and I particularly enjoyed Cher’s performance. The music is also good as it is John Williams- so odd that he did the music for a film like this. The big thing here is that the passing of 40 years have not been friendly to films of this type.

Clare’s ranking- 3 stars

All the President’s Men (1976 US, dir Alan J Pakula)

In the lead up to the 1972 election, two investigative reporters start to work on minor stories that link them to start to uncover a huge scandal for the Nixon administration. 

This film was exceptional. I do love a fast paced script driven drama and that is what this is. There is a some controversy about the script which makes me surprised at how good it ultimately is- the legend that William Goldman is listed as the writer but supposedly some involved didn’t love the original script and  Carl Bernstein punched it up with help of then girlfriend, Nora Ephron (yes the rom com writer/director) making Goldman not happy. The performances by Redford as Woodward and Hoffman as Bernstein are great. The film might completely fail the Bechdel test but otherwise great.

Clare’s ranking- 5 stars

Cabaret (1972 US, dir Bob Fosse)

In Weimar era Berlin, a young English man meets a free spirted young American cabaret performer, and the two form a friendship.

This film… what to say… it is EVERYTHING. I read the short stories it is partly based on years ago and even that didn’t prepare me for how much I would enjoy this. As someone who loves musicals, who loves strong female characters, who loves complex characters, and who loves diversity on screen, this is absolute perfection. This is my favourite film so far of everything I’ve watched and not just that but as soon as I saw it, I was like this might shoot up there to be one of my favourite films full stop.  The swirling camp of the cabaret headed with the exception performances of Joel Grey as the emcee, expertly balanced with the personal drama for Sally and Brian and the broader societal drama that is present throughout as the film hints at the looming threats to their life style that is the emergence of the Nazi party (some of which are quite confronting). This film is so progressive for the early 70s in that multiple characters are queer and there is a plot line about abortion, and it is wild that it even got made at that time. Much like Terminator, I lucked out with Cabaret and got to see it on the big screen due to a retrospective screening, and so happy again to get that chance.

Clare’s ranking- 5 stars and if I could give it more than 5/5 I would

The Talented Mr Ripley (1999 US, dir Anthony Minghella)

A wealthy older man plays a young man he believes was at college with his son to go to Italy and retrieve his son who is living there with his girlfriend. 

I knew the plot of this going in as I had been told and also I saw a play based partly on the book but also partly inspired by this film last year. I was unsure that I would buy Matt Damon as Ripley but somehow he makes it work and comes across as the right balance of at times naive and at others manipulative. Jude Law oozes charisma as Dicky even if his American accent does flatter at times. I also completely forgot Cate Blanchett was in this and always nice to have an Aussie pop up. The film looks beautiful which considering the setting of coastal Italy would be hard not to be. This is very well made so it does have some flaws.

Clare’s ranking- 3.5 stars

In Bruges (2008 Ireland, dir Martin McDonagh)

Two hitmen are sent by their boss to spend downtime in Bruges after one of them makes an error on a job.

Many people told me to watch this as they think Irish black comedies with some violence are very much my vibe it seems. I definitely made a note to watch it after I saw McDonagh’s brilliant follow up with the same stars that was The Banshees of Inishireen (OK there are two other McDonagh films I’ve seen that came out between those two but I just really love Banshees- I prefer it to this even). This was so fun and I loved both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in it- whilst Gleeson is great in basically everything he is in, I do think there is something in Farrell that shines even brighter when he pairs with McDonagh. Also two films in a row that just make a part of Europe look great- even if in this case one of the characters is constantly complaining about how boring said part of Europe is.

Clare’s ranking- 4 stars 

Das Leben der Andern (or The Lives of Others) (2006 Germany, dir Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

In East Berlin in the mid 80s, a dedicated Stasi agent is tasked with surveilling a popular playwright and his actress partner even though there is no evidence initially that either is actively working against the Soviet leadership. 

This is an interesting film to watch in 2026 when the scent of authoritarianism is again in the wind in many countries and innocent citizens are again victim to this. It is interesting to balance out the fact that neither of the people being surveilled may have leant into support for the West if their fellow artists weren’t targeted- especially as the actress is sleeping with a politician to help her career even though she does love the playwright. The centre of the film though is the Stasi agent who is the ultimate company man until he starts for the sympathise with those he is observing. Ulrich Mühe is just exceptional as the Stasi agent and the film really belongs to him. I mentioned earlier that I watched Ten Canoes didn’t get nominated for Best Foreign Language film in its release year even though it submitted, this is the film that won that year.

Clare’s ranking- 4 stars

Misery (1990 US, dir Rob Reiner)

A famous romance writer has a car accident on a country road and is rescued by a local nurse who is his self-declared biggest fan.

I have been trying to avoid horror so as I will certainly watch some classic horror films in October but I failed at avoiding them just a tad. Second William Goldman script of the quarter and as my last October viewings showed I don’t hate a film based on a Stephen King novel (unless it is the most recent version of Salem’s Lot and yes I know my not having seen Shawshank also is contrary to that statement but I’m definitely more of a horror person than a prison film person). I did know what to expect going in as if you like horror at all, people tend to spoil the plot of King content. It is interesting as a reflection of King’s personal experience as he wrote this in response to his real life experiences in the late 80s- not the buckets of cocaine he was on, but more the fact that he started trying his hand at not horror and his fans came for him (though not as violent as happens here). Kathy Bates is perfectly unhinged as Annie Wilkes and the film belongs to her even though she was the less known of the leads- James Caan is solid, but Bates just steals the show.

Clare’s ranking- 3.5 stars

Black Narcissus (1947 UK, dir Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell)

A group of nuns are sent to a remote village in the Himalayas, and seek to run the local school and hospital even though the locals only welcome them as they have been told to by the local general.

As I said I watched two Pressburger and Powell films this quarter and this was the second. Whilst a good film, this is also an interesting relic of the 1940s as you would never see a film about the English occupation of India played this way nowadays. The film itself is beautifully made especially the exceptional painted backgrounds which are lovely- it was completely filmed in Pinewood Studios in the UK and the backgrounds are used to convey depth as well as location. Deborah Kerr is outstanding as the young woman who is suddenly put in the position of leading this group of nuns. The ways the nuns start to question their beliefs as they interact with the locals and with a government agent in the region really starts to show or at least to hint towards the idea that colonialism might not be a wise idea. The film is also very horny for a film about nuns- well 1940s horny when it comes to two of the nuns (Kerry’s character and a second who becomes completely obsessed with him) interact with the government agent. I enjoyed it especially as the nuns unravel as the film goes on but there are many elements that have not aged well- is that a hint of the “exotic” East corrupting the “pure” West? Yes it is. Is that a cultural stereotype that isn’t flattering? Yes it is. Worst of all, is that brown face casting? Yes with the exception of one character all the featured Indian characters are played by white people.

Clare’s ranking- 4 stars (though with the strong warnings about the poorly aged cultural representation)

 Predator (1987 US, dir John McTiernan)

A team of commandos is sent into the jungle of somewhere in Central or South America to investigate a possible arms deal only to find there is something more dangerous hunting them.

That is right I have watched two Arnie classics since the beginning of the year and yes again did tip into the world of horror (since this has horror elements even if it is mainly sci fi action). John McTiernan directed what I believe to be the best action film ever made, Die Hard, so I had high hopes for the action sequences in this and boy did they deliver. Is a lot of this film very silly especially when compared to how smart the other Arnie action film I watched this year was? Damn right it is. At the same time, is this film a good time? Damn right it is. Arnie def should be dead in a world where science works but a lot of fun regardless. Also did love as an Arrested Development fan to see where the Carl Weathers clips in it came from. I want to see some of the more recent Predator content eventually as it ties in with the Alien world- I mean the super recent stuff not Alien vs Predator as I’ve already seen the first of those and it is bad- so I might need to keep going with these but I do hear that this films generally are more dumb, bad fun than actually good. To confirm this was my more cult thing for April having skipped doing one of those in March.

Clare’s ranking- 3 stars

The Lady Vanishes (1938 UK, dir Alfred Hitchcock)

A young woman is on a train travelling back to England to reunite with her fiancé after a trip to Europe. She meets an older woman on the train but then the older woman disappears and everyone else on the train claims she never existed except one guy who offers to help her out.

Got to love some gaslighting- so much gaslighting. It is worrying how many old films that is the premise of.  I do like a story set on a train as you are moving but at the same time stuck so for something like this, you have a set group of people to interview about this disappearing woman but you are still travelling. You know you are in safe hands with anything Hitchcock directed- he was a not great human but he was talented director and no getting around that- and I will even fight for some of the ones that others aren’t fans of. The film is very tense and it is excellent that even though there is a lot of gaslighting that there is one person who sides with the protagonist so she isn’t just treated as if she is going crazy. It is also at times a lot of fun with the some comedy from the supporting characters including what is a barely coded gay couple who are obsessed with cricket (they legit share a bed and a pair of PJs- good thing Hitchcock was in the UK at this point as no way this would have got through in the code era US). I do love a bit of early Hitchcock and when he dips his toes into something not thriller or horror as he does with the supporting characters here.

Clare’s ranking- 4 stars 

So that is my older films to date this year- well until April, I just watched my first one for May. I’m going to keep powering through looking for more films I have managed to miss this year and continue to hope for more random big screen viewings as I got for a couple of these.

Oscar predictions 2025

 It has been a two years since I’ve done this but let’s try my luck again. This year oddly there are in most categories a lot of things I agree with so it will be less contentious than previous rounds of predictions. Importantly, just flagging up top how awesome it is that the film that now holds the record for most nominations is a horror film about people of colour directed by a black director- so happy for Sinners even if I think its wins will mainly come in the the technical categories.

I’m not going to predict the docos, shorts, or animated films as I’ve not seen enough of them. I do think the one animated nominee I’ve seen has a lock on the award though (yes K-Pop Demon Hunters is the only animated nominee I’ve seen).

If you want my speed points, I would have liked less nominees from sports (or IMHO “sports” as motor racing is not a sport) films and more love for Korean paper workers and films directed by Richard Linklater. Though if you read details I have thoughts on best actor…tin foil hat style thoughts.

In detail predictions:

Best Picture

Nominees- Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams

Shouldn’t be nominated in my opinion- both sport films. I’ve not seen nor do I plan on seeing F1, but unpopular opinion I nearly fell sleep in Marty Supreme

Should be nominated but isn’t- No Other Choice,  and It was just an Accident. Also these are outliers as they didn’t get heaps of nominations elsewhere but I would have liked to see Sorry, Baby, Nouvelle Vague, and The Mastermind get nominations.

What I’d like to win- honestly remove the sports films and most of these I’m OK with. I personally would love a Hamnet or Sinners win

What will win- Either One Battle After Another or Hamnet. I suspect one takes this and the other takes director and I would hazard this will go to One Battle After Another and Chloe Zhao will win for directing Hamnet

Best Director

Nominees- Chloe Zhao for Hamnet, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value, and Ryan Coogler for Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated in my opinion- Josh Safdie

Should be nominated but isn’t- Richard Linklater for either Blue Moon or Nouvelle Vague, and Park Chan-wook for No Other Choice. I may be biased as these two have been two of my favourite directors for a long while but it is bonkers to me that Park is yet to get a directing nom at the Oscars, and that Linklater is yet to win and with two Linklater films this year, it would have been the perfect time to make up for not awarding him for Boyhood.

What I’d like to win- again remove the sports film and any of these are fine. I would say I would most like Zhao or Coogler to win.

What will win- As mentioned I suspect they will split director and best film between One Battle After Another and Hamnet, and I do suspect this will go to Zhao.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees- Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan for Sinners, and Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent

Shouldn’t be nominated in my opinion- Chalamet

Should be nominated but isn’t- I call conspiracy! I see you Oscars and you setting up to award this to the person who I think shouldn’t be nominated. It is beyond insane that Paul Mescal is not nominated for Hamnet and I cannot not see this as the Academy removing the strongest contender for the type of role it likes to award (since it isn’t big on awarded foreign language films in this category or people of colour or people called DiCaprio, and though I think Hawke is amazing in Blue Moon it hasn’t win any lead up awards) from the mix. Though removing the tin foil hat, a friend did suggest that maybe the studio for Hamnet put Mescal up for supporting which is bonkers in IMHO but it is a tighter category which might explain him missing out.

I would also would have loved nominations for Jesse Plemons for Bugonia,  Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams, Guillaume Marbeck for Nouvelle Vague, Josh O’Connor for The Mastermind, and Lee Byung-hun for No Other Choice

Who I’d like to win- I would love the Oscars to go against type and award Moura. That said again sport film aside, fine with any of these winning

Who will win- Chalamet

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees- Jessie Buckley for Hamnet, Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue, Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value, and Emma Stone for Bugonia

Shouldn’t be nominated in my opinion- oddly no-one, I have someone I would add in but largely this is a solid group of nominees

Should be nominated but isn’t- Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby 

Who I’d like to win- Rose Byrne. I think all of these performances are great and I know she isn’t likely to win but this performance was a revelation and Byrne deserves her flowers.

Who will win- Buckley which honestly I’m not bummed about but I just thought Byrne was a tiny bit better.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees- Benicio del Toro for One Battle After Another, Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein, Delroy Lindo in Sinners, Sean Penn for One Battle After Another, and Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value

Shouldn’t be nominated in my opinion- again no-one. These were all good.

Should be nominated but isn’t- I would have been here for more Sinners noms in this category namely Miles Caton and Jack O’Connell. Also Andrew Scott for Blue Moon 

Who I’d like to win- Jacob Elordi- I have waited so long for a decent Frankenstein adaptation and Elordi was amazing as the monster. I know between this and best actress I seem to be backing Aussies but I do think both Byrne and Elordi were outstanding beyond me being biased by patriotism.

Who will win- Skarsgard and again I’m OK with this- I’m OK with any of these nominees winning, I would just like Elordi to.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees- Elle Fanning for Sentimental Value, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleeaas for Sentimental Value, Amy Madigan for Weapons, Wunmi Mosaku for Sinners, and Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another

Shouldn’t be nominated- once again no-one, Except for the lead actor category, I have no qualms with the acting noms

Should be nominated but isn’t- Zoey Deutch for Nouvelle Vague, Margaret Qualley for Blue Moon, and Hailee Steinfeld for Sinners

Who I’d like to see win- Madigan as I live for Gladys

Who will win- Madigan- with all the horror noms in the non technical categories, they need to award one somewhere I suspect this is where.

Best Original Screenplay

Nominees- Blue Moon, It was Just an Accident, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- Marty Supreme

Should be nominated but isn’t- Sorry Baby

What I’d like to see win- Sinners or Blue Moon

What will win- actually not sure- I think the bigger screenplay fight this year is in the adapted category. I suspect they might award Marty Supreme

Best Adapted Screenplay

Nominees- Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, and Train Dreams

Shouldn’t be nominated- it was a year for excellent adapted screenplays and I have no qualms with any of these nominees

Should be nominated but isn’t- No Other Choice

What I’d like to see win- One Battle After Another

What will win- One Battle After Another 

Best International Film

Nominees- It was just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sirat, and The Voices of Hind Rajab

Shouldn’t be nominated- I cannot speak for two of them as I’ve not seen them (super keen for Sirat which is out in Australia soon) but generally fine with these

Should be nominated but isn’t- you can likely guess as I’ve mentioned it in a lot of categories… No Other Choice

What I’d like to see win- Sentimental Value

What will win- I think it will come down to the acting categories if the male acting categories go to The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value, this will go to It was just an Accident. It is a battle between those three and I suspect that it will be It Was Just An Accident as the other two though brilliant do strongly hang on the performances.

Best Music (Score)

Nominees- Bugonia, Frankenstein, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- none of these- there is a clear should win here and it is nominated so the other nominees don’t matter

Should be nominated but isn’t- see last comment

What I’d like to see win- it will be flat bonkers if this goes to anyone other than Ludwig Goransson for Sinners- it is not just the best music in a film in the window for these nominees but also one of the best for the last five years to a decade- along with every other Goransson score.

What will win- Sinners- unless the voters are high

Best Music (Original Song)

Nominees- “Dear Me” from Diana Warren: Relentless, “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters, “I Lied to You” from Sinners, “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from Viva Verdi!, and “Train Dreams” from Train Dreams

Shouldn’t be nominated- I’m happy with the three songs from films I’ve seen being nominated- don’t know the other two so cannot comment

Should be nominated but isn’t- I wasn’t a fan of the second Wicked film (it should have been a single film) but I did think “Girl in the Bubble” should have got a look in here as it was a lovely song that Ariana Grande performed well that fit seamlessly into the existing vibe of Wicked

What I’d like to see win- I love “I Lied to You” and if it weren’t up against a juggernaut, it would have won but I suspect they will award the more popular song

What will win- “Golden”- I don’t hate this as it is a great song but I just like “I Lied to You” more (bonkers that the Nick Cave fan in me isn’t saying “Train Dreams” should or will win)

Best Casting

Nominees- Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- this is predictable but Marty Supreme, I don’t think it should be nominated in any category

Should be nominated but isn’t- Sentimental Value (with four acting noms HOW is it not nominated- seriously it tied with Sinners for the most acting noms), Blue Moon, and Frankenstein

What I’d like to see win- One Battle After Another or Sinners

What will win- I suspect the Academy might be on the same page as me with this one- One Battle After Another or Sinners

Best Sound

Nominees- F1, Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, Sinners, or Sirat

Shouldn’t be nominated- Since I’ve not seen F1 or Sirat, I think all of these are fine as a car film needs to have good sound editing  (so I will let the “sport” film through)

Should be nominated but isn’t- I don’t have a film this year that blew me away from a sound editing POV so don’t have anything to add

What I’d like to see win- Sirat- I’m just going off trailers but the use of sound looks excellent. Otherwise Sinners

What will win- F1 (they nominated it in a few categories and they might just award it here) or Sinners

Best Production Design

Nominees- Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- Marty Supreme

Should be nominated but isn’t- The Secret Agent

What I’d like to see win- Frankenstein or Sinners

What will win-  Sinners or Hamnet

Best Cinematography

Nominees- Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners, and Train Dreams

Shouldn’t be nominated- Marty Supreme

Should be nominated but isn’t- No Other Choice 

What I’d like to see win- Sinners

What will win- Sinners 

Best Make Up and Hair

Nominees- Frankenstein, Kokuho, Sinners, The Smashing Machine, and The Ugly Stepsister

Shouldn’t be nominated- I’ve not seen three of these so cannot make a call on this

Should be nominated but isn’t- again no strong thoughts as there is a clear winner I think

What I’d like to see win- Frankenstein

What will win- Frankenstein

Best Costume Design

Nominees- Avatar: Fire and Ash, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- no blue cat people should be nominated for any category ever (urgh Avatar just no). I will be nice and say that Marty Supreme is fine here just for Gwyneth Paltrow

Should be nominated but isn’t- Fantastic Four: First Steps - I love me some retro-futurism and some 60s fashion. Also Song Sung Blue for its chaotic 90s fashions

What I’d like to see win- Sinners

What will win- Sinners or maybe Frankenstein

Best Film Editing

Nominees- F1, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- Marty Supreme and likely F1

Should be nominated but isn’t- It was just an Accident and Nouvelle Vague

What I’d like to see win- Sinners

What will win- Sinners or maybe One Battle After Another

Best Visual Effects

Nominees- Avatar: Fire and Ash, F1, Jurassic World Rebirth, The Lost Bus, and Sinners

Shouldn’t be nominated- most of the nominees. It is bonkers that Jurassic World Rebirth is Oscar nominated, but aside from that anything that isn’t Sinners should not be nominated with the possible exception of The Lost Bus which I’ve not seen

Should be nominated but isn’t- Superman, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts, and Frankenstein- seriously did the Academy forget that we had THREE good comic book films this year.

What I’d like to see win- this category’s nominees just mean that there is only one answer here and that is Sinners

What will win- for the above reason, Sinners

——-

And there you have it, my predictions. We will see how I go come Oscars night but with the exception of two or three categories, I don’t think I disagree with the Academy too much this year- which either scares me a tad or means they are starting to see sense.

Films of 2025

The year has changed so time for the best films of the previous year list. According to Letterboxd I watched 132 films in 2025. Deducting my last 2024 film which I watched on New Years last year and the many older films I watched for the first time or rewatched (esp in October) and adding the eight 2025 films I’ve watched in the last three days I think I likely saw around 70-80 films in 2025 (plus the last few days) that were 2025 films. I have seen basically everything that is up for major awards to date that came out in 2025- either for normal release or at the Sydney Film Festival. As always it is worth noting some big award contenders will be 2026 releases in Australia (I already have my tickets for what are early screenings of Hamnet and No Other Choice next week- both aren’t actually out until the middle of the month).

So here we go:

5. One Battle After Another

Pat Calhoun (Leonardo Di Caprio) and his partner Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) are members of the French 75, a militant left wing group. When attacking a military base that is stopping people at the US/Mexico border, Perfidia dominates Colonel Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn) and he becomes obsessed with her and they start a slightly twisted relationship. Perfidia gets pregnant and she is not really interested in the baby. Colonel Lockjaw captures her and she names names of member of the group. She then escapes, leaving her baby with Pat. Skip forward around 16 years, Pat now goes by Bob Ferguson and he is raising Charlene (Chase Infiniti), now going by Wilia, as his daughter. Colonel Lockjaw is now trying to get in good with a white supremacist group and he is both still obsessed with Perfidia and also worried about the group discovering his relationship with her including that Wilia might be his daughter. Lockjaw figures out where Bob and Wilia are, and he starts to come for them.

I think for a lot of people will have this as their film of the year, and I think it will be a head to head between it and Hamnet for most major awards. I didn’t jump to see it as I think the trailer made it look like something it isn’t. It is very quirky and very funny, and I don’t think the trailer sells that well. The three hour run time also turned me off- I do love some Paul Thomas Anderson films but the length of his films at times turns me off. After hearing the buzz and people saying it was funny, I figured that the trailer might have undersold it and that the length might not be a deal breaker. The films above this resonated with me more but this is an exceptionally well made film with great performances and a very smart and funny script. Definitely say just give it a go and don’t let the trailer sway you.

Where to see it- Max or I think still in some cinemas

4. Sentimental Value

Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) is an actress for a theatre company in Oslo. She is suffering from some anxiety, and she and her sister, Agnes (Inga Idsdotter Lilieaas), are dealing with the death of their mother. Their father, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgard), arrives for the funeral of his ex wife much to Nora’s annoyance. Gustav is a film writer/director who used both of his daughters as child actors in his films. As adults, both women have complex relationships with their father- Agnes working an historian and researcher for her father, and Nora does not speak to him much and knows that he has shown up and left during some of her plays (he claims to hate theatre). Gustav has written a script for Nora to star in and he offers her the role but she immediately turns it down. Gustav heads to a film festival in France that is doing a retrospective of his films and meets actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), an American actress, who he casts in the role he wrote for Nora. Nora and Agnes are also struggling with the fact that the house they grew up in (even after their father left) belongs to their father and he is planning to use it to film his new film and then may sell it now their mother has passed away.

A few years ago, I loved Joachim Trier’s last film, The Worst Person in the World , which was anchored by an exceptional performances by Renate Reinsve- had I written a top five in 2021, it would have featured. With the same combo of lead actress and director, this film had high expectations from me and it met them. The four lead performances are outstanding especially Reinsve, and it is not shocking that they are up for awards. The mediation of the borders between artistic expression and emotional processing is front and centre as not only is there the blurrying of Gustav’s relationship with Rachel as him idealising his relationship with Nora, but also the fact his film is inspired by real family tragedies. There is also the interesting way in which the living spaces take on the personalities as the film starts and at times returns to narration about the house in which most of the film takes place, and the house is very much the fifth lead character. I particularly found the character of Agnes fascinating (though Reinsve’s is the best performance, Idsdotter Lilieaas’s is nearly as good) as the straight person to a family of creatives and the burdens she has to take on due to that. 

Where to see it- currently in cinemas

3. Sinners

In the Jim Crow south, the young black son of a preacher, Sammie (Miles Caton), is recruited by his cousins, Smoke and Stack (both Michael B Jordan) to help them set up a juke joint for the local black community. Smoke and Stack are WWI veterans who have spent years working various mobsters in Chicago and have returned to the South as Chicago is now unsafe for them and they have money for their juke joint. Sammie is a talented musician and the twins are keen for him to play for them. During the day, Smoke and Stack travel the town recruiting local harmonica player Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), bouncer Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller), cook and hoodoo practitioner and Smoke’s entangled wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), and shop owners Grace and Bo Chow (Li Jun Li and Yao) to help with the opening night. Stack also runs into his ex-girlfriend, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), who is often mistaken for white and lives as such even though she is partly black and therefore no more at home in the Jim Crow South than the other characters, and Sammie meets Pearline (Jayme Lawson), a singer he becomes infatuated with. When night arrives, the juke joint is buzzing with Delta Slim and Pearline both taking the stage. Then Sammie takes the stage and his performance pierces the veil of reality, and other performers are drawn from the past and the future into his song. Also drawn by his song though are the forces of evil and Remmick (Jack O’Connell) an Irish vampire and two locals (who are former KKK members) who he has turned show up at the juke joint and offer to pay with money and a song to enter the juke.

Vampires, Ryan Coogler, two Michael B Jordans… so much yes. Aside from superhero films, this was my anticipated film of 2025 and it definitely delivered. I don’t even know where to start with the things I loved here. As I love beautiful cinematography, I will start there. I never got to an iMax screening of the film even though I wanted to, but you want tell the effort that was put into how this film looked. It is a beautiful film Even just the scenes at the train station or in the town it looks meticulously constructed. Moving on the performances, Michael B Jordan is exceptional and you really feel like the twins are two people not one actor wearing different hats. Then the supporting performances also brilliant especially Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, Jack O’Connell (very keen for him in 28 Years Later: Bone Temple in a few weeks), and Hailee Steinfeld (I have mainly seen her in teen roles or Marvel roles, and I think Mary was an excellent turn from her). And you have noticed I left off the second lead (aside from Michael B Jordan times two) and that is because of what a revelation as both an actor and singer Miles Caton is. This is Miles Caton’s first major role and he holds his own with a perfect level of naivety against Jordan and Lindo which is a feat. Now the concept, I loved the idea of music connecting through times and to the supernatural (if Coogler wanted to make further films with this idea underlying it with different supernatural creatures I would be there for it), and also the way that Coogler creates complex villains to touch on the complexities of race and colonialism- from Killmonger’s experience as a black man in America in Black Panther, to Namor as a person from another group of colonised people who is pitted against the inhibits of Wakanda in Wakanda Forever, to Remmick’s Irish identity here and that experience of being a colonised and persecuted group. And now to the logical final point, the music… damn the music. The intersection of the blues of the Black characters and the folk of Remmick with the beautiful score from Ludwig Goransson just sublime. As much as I love me some “Golden”, I think sadly for K-Pop Demon Hunters all the music and song related awards of the upcoming award season are going to Sinners and the beautiful song, “I Lied to You”. 

Where to watch- Max

2. Sorry, Baby

Agnes (Eva Victor) is an English literature academic at a small New England college. She lives in a remote cottage and is clearly trying to isolate herself from society. She is visited by her friend and former housemate Lydie (Naomi Ackie), and they have others who did their doctoral study around for dinner. One of them mentions that Agnes has just got a full time professorship and occupies the office of their former adviser on campus. Lydie’s reaction shows that there is something less than ideal about this set up. Circle back to a few years earlier, Agnes and Lydie are doctoral students. Their adviser is clearly showing favouritism to particular grad students, and Lydie jokes that he appears to be attracted to Agnes. When Agnes goes to their adviser’s house to get notes on her thesis, he rapes her. She returns home and tells Lydie who comforts her, and takes her to the doctor the next morning when they also discover that the adviser has quit his job and left the college, and when Agnes tells the college about what happens they tell her that they cannot do anything about it as he no longer works there. The film then cuts between the next few years of Agnes’s life as she deals with the aftermath of the rape and the way society isn’t built to support the survivors of rape.

It may shock you based on the above that this film is actually a comedy.That said it is very black comedy. As someone who works at a University, it has been interesting to watch over the last few years as in tge aftermath of MeToo, Universities have attempted to deal with the fact that they are the sites of a substantial amount of sexual assault. This film doesn’t steer clear of the horrors of the actual rape or the long term mental health impacts of it. It is the feat of a brilliant script by first director, Eva Victor (that is right the same person is the writer, director, and star here), that finds empathy and dark humour in pain. This script is in my opinion the strongest of 2025 and Victor who is tasked with carrying most of the film delivers it perfectly. The film will break your heart but also make you laugh to remedy that pain.

Where to watch- rentable on Amazon Prime and Apple TV

1. The Last Showgirl

Shelly (Pamela Anderson) is a showgirl at a club on the Vegas strip. She is in her late 50s and has worked there since her teens. She acts as a mother figure to the younger girls in the show (Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song), and her closest relationships are with the stage manager at the show (Dave Bautista) and a former dancer from the show who is now a cocktail waitress (Jamie Lee Curtis). Eddie, the stage manager, tells the showgirls that the club will be closing their show and replacing it with a circus performance as people don’t see old style showgirl shows anymore. The younger dancers start auditioning for more risqué shows at other clubs but that is not an option for Shelly and also Shelly doesn’t want to perform in anything she thinks is too raunchy. With no funds for retirement and no good prospects for further employment, Shelly reaches out to her college student daughter, Hannah (Billy Lourd), from whom she is estranged to a degree due to the fact Shelly worked through Hannah’s childhood, often forgets details about Hannah and her life, and has never told Hannah who her father is. Hannah sees one of Shelly’s shows and tells her that she finds the show vulgar and hates that her mother wasted her life on this instead of raising her daughter or getting a normal job. Shelly is shaken by Hannah’s comments and when the younger dancers refuse to help her get ready the next night leading to her missing her cue and tearing her costume, she breaks down in tears.

A classic case of film that was a 2024 film in most of the world but was a late February 2025 release in Australia. This film… it was beautiful and I adored it. I couldn’t even put my finger on why but with its reflection on aging, and the valuing of women’s bodies, it just stayed with me all year and even though most people would say the four films I listed above are better films, I just couldn’t get past the impact of this one. It looks beautiful and the performances across the board are great, but that said this film belongs to Pamela Anderson. It isn’t just that as a woman who was treated as men in the 90s as an idealised sexualised version of womanhood she is perfect casting as Shelly, it is more than that. The performance is fragile, it is tender, and shows the world that it has for decades undervalued Anderson’s skill as an actor- it is in short a revelation. I think I felt every emotion as I watched this and it just a deeply understatedly beautiful film.

Where to watch it- Stan

There you have it my top five for 2025. The number 1 will be controversial take in some people’s opinions  but I stand by it.

Honourable mentions- Conclave, Mickey 17, The Mastermind, The Life of Chuck,  It was just an accident, Superman, Fantastic Four: First Steps, If I had Legs I’d Kick You, and Bugonia 

Best “fun” films- the two superhero films mentioned in my honourable mentions- I watched both of them twice this year (also watch Sinners and Conclave twice- though the latter mainly as the Pope died). Also because I love all films in this series, Wake Up Dead Man.

Best Australian film- I only watched a small number (three I think) and most of them were horror, I will say Together

Best individual scene in a film- the final chase scene in Weapons- never heard an audience laugh so hard. Honourable mention to the dance scene in Life of Chuck

Best documentary- Dahomey with an honourable mention to Mistress Dispeller

Best new to me but not new film- Perfect Blue (only film I gave five stars on Letterboxd this year). Honourable mentions of Pearl and Diabolique

A shoutout for the best performances of the year:

- Ralph Fiennes in Conclave

- Sophie Thatcher in Companion 

- Monica Barbaro in A Complete Unknown

- Fernanda Torres in I’m Still Here

- Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl

- Micheal B Jordan, Miles Caton, and Delroy Lindo in Sinners

- Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon

- Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later (outstanding child actor work)

- David Corenswet in Superman

- Jacob Elordi in  Frankenstein

- Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value

- Adam Sandler in Jay Kelly

- Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams

- Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons in Bugonia

- Eva Victor in Sorry, Baby

- Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You (I know Jessie Buckley is meant to be amazing in Hamnet but honestly it will be bonkers if Byrne doesn’t get HEAPS of awards for this performance) 

That said actor having the best year for the second year in a row, Josh O’Connor with The Mastermind, Wake Up Dead Man and The History of Sound. The run this actor is having is next level and it just keeps going. I didn’t love The History of Sound as a whole but his performance was great (if it had stayed with two closeted men collecting folk music in the mid 20th century, I think others would have had bigger pacing issues than they did but I would have been super happy as it is the bit that worked best for me), and then him The Mastermind and Wake Up Dead Man just excellence.

And time for the worst film of the year which was actually quite a difficult decision this year. I had to weigh up which was worse a film that was on the merits of film deeply bad or a film that made me immensely angry despite having some artistic merit. Lucky for The Minecraft Movie (gosh that sucked), I couldn’t get past my anger and that meant the worst of the film was in my opinion, After the Hunt. Now this film had so much talent involved and Julia Roberts’s performance was solid, but it is so irresponsible to be borderline dangerous in my opinion and in the current climate just left me nauseated with rage. Interesting to see a through line between my second best film and my worst as both are about sexual assault on a University campus. This film borderline says that privilege justifies being assaulted (that the character who may have been assaulted was somewhat “asking for it” due to her privilege), that DEI practices are ruining academia (yes the victim is a black queer woman), that victim blaming is fine, and that people can justify statutory rape. Having worked for two decades in tertiary education, I could not be angrier. Academia is still run by white straight men and there are cases at every university of academics abusing their power over students especially young women, and anything that suggests otherwise is abhorrent to me. I know filmmakers and actors feel the need to make something that doesn’t anger the current US administration from time to time, but it is dangerous to put these ideas out there and I hope the people involved in this film (who as I say I normally like the work of) don’t repeat this. Also the script was supposedly on the Black List (the list of most liked but yet to be produce screenplays in Hollywood) and I have to say how as the above not withstanding, it isn’t a good script.

Now as an added thing, at speed my TV shows of 2025:

- Best new show- The Pitt with honourable mentions to Pluribus, It: Welcome to Derry, and Celebrity Traitors: UK (not sure that counts as new as it is a new version of an existing show)

- Best continuing show- Andor (DAMN season 2 was great) with honourable mentions to Severance and Gen V

- Things leaving our screens too soon- Mythic Quest (I didn’t love the cliffhanger that they then had to edit out but still I loved the show) and JLP as host of Australian Survivor

And that is it for Clare’s bests of 2025….