Oscars predictions for Louisiana-shot Sinners and more picks | Entertainment/Life

When it comes to awards season in the film industry, all roads lead to the Oscars in Hollywood.

The 98th annual Academy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, and there is a particularly broad mix of genres for the 10 nominees for Best Picture. There are stories of a creature in “Frankenstein,” aliens in “Bugonia,” Formula One racers in “F1” and an angst-ridden portrayal of William Shakespeare and the impetus behind his masterpiece “Hamlet” in the film “Hamnet.” 

Additionally, there’s the portrait of a master ping-pong player (based on a true story) in “Marty Supreme,” the dizzying crime thriller that finds a former revolutionary in a constant state of paranoia in “One Battle After Another,” the family dynamics involved with a fading director and his rising actress daughter in “Sentimental Value,” the tense Brazilian historical thriller where assassins hunt down a professor on the run in “The Secret Agent” and the melancholic drama “Train Dreams” that explores feelings of isolation and the deep grief of a logger who loses his entire family.

Then, there’s the bluesy vampire flick “Sinners,” recipient of the Academy’s record 16 nominations. Shot entirely in Louisiana, it’s been hit-and-miss in previous awards ceremonies.

Recently, the Actor Awards (formerly the SAG Awards) crowned Michael B. Jordan with its Best Actor award, and the film won Outstanding Performance by a Cast. Those are awards that involve only actors and are voted on by actors, and Best Picture is essentially a producer’s award, not awarded at the Actor Awards.

The Golden Globe Awards, which separate comedies and dramas for Best Picture, gave the Drama Motion Picture to “Hamnet” and the Comedy Motion Picture to “One Battle After Another,” the Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle that had many questioning how this film fit into any comedy category, unless you consider campy to be comedic. Despite its genre, oddsmakers have “One Battle After Another” as the heavy favorite to walk away with the Oscar statuette.

The BAFTA Film Awards (Great Britain’s version of the Oscars) is often the biggest predictor of what’s to come at the Oscars, and its Best Film went to “One Battle After Another” along with its Best Director award to Paul Thomas Anderson.

No clear front-runners

Ordinarily, by this stage of the awards seasons, the same winners crop up again and again, but this season has turned into a real horse race, with three different actresses picking up Best Supporting Actress awards at three different awards ceremonies — Teyana Taylor, of “One Battle After Another,” took the Golden Globe; Wunmi Mosaku, of “Sinners,” picked up that award at the BAFTA’s; and Amy Madigan, of “Weapons,” walked away with the honors at the Actor Awards.

Ultimately, this uncertainty is good for ratings, as there are big questions and surprises surrounding the winners, unless you happen to be Jessie Buckley, of “Hamnet,” who has consistently been awarded Best Actress awards at the Actor Awards, BAFTA’s and Golden Globes this season.

However, if you’re one of the nominees for Best Actor at the Oscars, you will be on the edge of your seat, as not one actor has risen to the top of the awards pile. Wagner Moura, of “The Secret Agent,” won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a drama, while Timothée Chalamet won for Best Actor in a comedy. The BAFTA award for Leading Actor went to Robert Aramayo, of “I Swear” — a film totally off America’s radar at the Oscars. And, the Best Actor at the Actor Awards went to Jordan, of “Sinners.” Oddsmakers favor Chalamet to take home the Oscar.

As for Supporting Actor, Sean Penn, of “One Battle After Another,” has won both the BAFTA and the Actor Award most recently, but at the beginning of the awards season, the Golden Globe in that category went to Stellan Skarsgard, of “Sentimental Value,” so no shoo-in there, either.

Oscar-nominated documentaries

There’s ordinarily not a lot of media attention paid to the Feature Documentary category at the Oscars, as they’re not easily accessible and tend to take on very serious topics. However, with streaming now the overwhelming manner in which people watch films, all five of the nominated films are finally available on various platforms. Some may require a rental or buy-out fee for now, even with a subscription, but are definitely worth your time.

In alphabetical order, they are:

• “The Alabama Solution,” streaming on HBO, is an exposé into the corrupt prison system in Alabama, and  shows how cellphone footage from prisoners finally documented the brutal violence that prison officials had denied for years.
• “Come See Me In the Good Light,” streaming on Apple TV, chronicles the final year of poet Andrea Gibson’s life with fellow poet and partner Megan Falley. After a terminal diagnosis of ovarian cancer, Gibson chooses not to waste another moment, saying it’s easier to find happiness when you realize you don’t have forever to find it.
• “Cutting Through Rocks,” streaming on YouTube, follows the first Iranian woman elected as a council member in her rural village. Challenging the traditional patriarchy prominent in her country by fighting against child marriage and encouraging young girls to imagine different futures, she has become a symbol of meaningful change.
• “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” streaming on Apple TV, explores the indoctrination of schoolchildren by Vladimir Putin to justify his war in Ukraine. In a rural mining town hundreds of miles away from Moscow, a young school videographer Pasha begins to secretly document the militarization of children with pro-war propaganda. With Putin’s Treason Law, which could imprison anyone for 20 years for speaking out against the government, Pasha was forced to flee Russia, with his footage smuggled out separately. It’s a story of dissent, even when bravery can mean the end of your freedom.
• “The Perfect Neighbor,” streaming on Netflix, is an American tragedy. The documentary investigates the circumstances involving a Black mother of four shot by her White neighbor. Told almost entirely through police body-cam footage and footage taken in interrogation rooms and at trial, the film examines “stand your ground” laws in Florida and shows how seemingly insignificant disputes can escalate and result in murder.

Leslie’s Oscar picks

As someone who loves film and makes it a point to see all the nominated films before the awards — even if this was not my job — I realize picking my favorites is a totally subjective endeavor and may not align with oddsmakers who try to predict who will win in each particular category.

That said, what did I most enjoy amongst the films in the leading categories? Here’s my list.

BEST PICTURE: “Hamnet.” I tend to gravitate toward films that teach me something about history that I’m not already familiar with, while still being grossly entertaining. This film about Shakespeare’s relationship with his family and why he wrote “Hamlet” ultimately filled the bill, while taking the viewer through a whole range of emotions.

BEST ACTRESS: Jessie Buckley for “Hamnet.” This actress has overwhelmingly been the winner at multiple awards ceremonies, and for good reason. She inhabits her characters with emotional depth, and in her portrayal of Agnes Hathaway (known to most as Anne), the wife of William Shakespeare, she exudes vulnerability and tenderness, while never losing her grit.

BEST ACTOR: Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners.” While there were many excellent performances in this category, the difficulty in playing two different characters (in this case, brothers) can be extremely trying. Keeping track of the trajectory of emotions a character experiences throughout an entire story is difficult enough because movies shoot out of sequence. Trying to keep track of two characters can be mind-bending. And Jordan rises to the occasion.

BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY: “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.” Every one of these documentaries tackles a societal problem, but this one shined a light on a subject that most of us would never know about were it not for the undercover work of one videographer at a primary school in rural Russia. It’s enlightening to see the lengths to which Putin will go to change the hearts and minds of his nation by feeding the youngest among them repeated falsehoods designed to prop up his own imperialistic aims.

How to watch the Oscars

The Academy Awards will be hosted again by comedian Conan O’Brien from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition to the In Memoriam segment done every year to honor the members of the film industry who have passed, a special tribute will be given by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal (“When Harry Met Sally” co-stars) for their director and friend Rob Reiner in light of last year’s tragedy.

Tune in to see all of your favorite stars, along with the glitz and glamour, when the show is broadcast live on ABC/Hulu at 6 p.m. Sunday. 

Contact Leslie Cardé at [email protected].