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I love the Oscars. Sue me. I know they’re objectively pretty silly, that the Academy makes mistakes in choosing its winners nearly every single year in at least one major category, and that the entire enterprise was created to basically keep actors compliant, as opposed to celebrating film<\/a>. (If you really want to get into the weeds on this, I highly recommend “Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears” by Michael Schulman.) Still, every year, they’re not only a welcome and brief distraction from the horrors of the world (of which there are many), but they’re also a welcome opportunity to celebrate the best movies and performances of a particular year.<\/p>\n I try to accomplish this every year but have too often come up short \u2014 so, I’m pretty happy to tell you that I have officially watched every single Oscar nominee for Best Picture<\/a> in the 2026 race. To recap, in alphabetical order, those films are: “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners, and “Train Dreams.” So, what deserves to win?<\/p>\n It’s “Sinners.” Ryan Coogler’s first-ever<\/em> completely original film, “Sinners” is satisfying, funny, sexy, gut-wrenching, and genuinely spectacular. Led by Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twins Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” Moore, “Sinners” tells the story of the Moore twins trying to open a juke joint in the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s, only to be faced with dueling horrors: vampires and<\/em> the lurking threat of white supremacy. The film is an absolute triumph filled with incredible music, nearly impeccable lore, and great performances across the board \u2014 including from Jordan’s fellow nominees Wumni Mosaku and Delroy Lindo, who portray Smoke’s wife Annie and musician Delta Slim. It should win \u2014 but what might beat it?<\/p>\n