It’s an Honor Not To Be Nominated

Photo: Getty

Right now, somewhere in L.A., Jimmy Kimmel's writers are preparing a joke aimed at each of the Best Picture nominees, clip packages are being produced, Oscar statues (big and small) are on trucks destined for Hollywood Boulevard, and a couple hundred feet of probably not even red, red carpet is getting installed.

All thanks to the mother of all awards shows, The Academy Awards, taking place this Sunday! In her honor, I've devised a list of five movies I loved from 2023 that received ZERO nominations at this year's ceremony. They're all winners to me.

Beau is Afraid

Photo: A24

Has everyone forgotten about this movie? Has anyone seen this movie?

Seriously, if you told me in April of 2023 that Ari Aster’s third major film would fall into oblivion after about a week or so of discourse, I don’t think I would’ve believed it. After all, his feature film debut, Hereditary, was a surprising success! The film garnered $13M at the box office in its opening weekend - the largest opening for an A24 movie at the time. While his second film, Midsommar, debuted to a slightly worse $10.9M, it ultimately found a streaming audience and, due to its memeification, helped catapult Florence Pugh to A-list fame.

So, why was Beau is Afraid left out in the wilderness to stumble into a minuscule audience made up of only weirdos like me? You may have heard of its runtime - the first of several movies within a 12-month span that would either eclipse or come just shy of three hours. Or perhaps you’ve heard about how the entire film, which centers on a paranoid man going on an epic quest to return home, is essentially one long anxiety-ridden nightmare. Well, I’m here to tell you why you should overlook these minor, minor hangups.

For one, the performances. I don’t know what Joaquin Phoenix did to his agent to deserve this treatment, but I’d like to thank them personally for seemingly only sending him scripts about pathetic losers with mommy issues. From Joker to Napoleon to Beau is Afraid, he’s demonstrated a real gift for the material. Aside from Phoenix, the film also has knockout showings from legends Nathan Lane, Parker Posey, and Patti LuPone, who is chewing, nay devouring, the scenery as Beau’s horrible mother.

I’d also recommend this film for the sheer scale of it. It’s no Dune, but it’s Aster's most sprawling work to date, with a TON of captivating visuals, callbacks, and salutes to classic movies that will have you doing the Leo pointing meme. It’s fun to see Aster test out all his tricks in this one, but even more fun is seeing what Aster does best: create a film that audiences either leave disgusted with or in awe of.

The Taste of Things

Photo: IFC Films

The Taste of Things won’t just make you hungry, it’ll make you horny.

In Dodin’s kitchen, and the world of French fine dining depicted in this film from Trần Anh Hùng, sparks are flying, steam is billowing and swirling, and at any moment anything feels likely to boil over with a fiery intensity - pots, pans, the chefs exchanging amorous glances!

The film, which follows the life of Dodin Bouffant as a chef living with his personal cook and lover, is no doubt the most romantic of 2023. At its center, it features two sublime performances in Juliette Binoche as Eugénie and Benoît Magimel as Dodin, but it’s Binoche who steals the show. She injects each scene with such warmth that you feel like she’s just cooked you the hot meal.

Then, there’s the cuisine. Haven't seen food look this good since Remy's ratatouille! I could’ve watched the first 30 minutes of this film 1,000 more times. I was enraptured by Binoche and Magimel, with assistance from their young co-stars Galatea Bellugi and Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire, weaving in and out of ovens and vegetable patches to assemble their spread. Every shot is gorgeous and mouth-watering. Not to mention the camera’s beautiful choreography.

If people were really bothered by “Oscars snubs and surprises,” they’d care that Juliette Binoche and this entire production went completely unrecognized by the Academy.

Talk to Me

Photo: A24

We had a good crop of horror films in 2023. Evil Dead Rise, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and When Evil Lurks in particular were a few that really stood out to me. It’s Talk to Me that I enjoyed most though.

The story of a group of friends who come across an embalmed hand with the power to conjure spirits, Talk to Me is fresh, has a truly great premise, and is genuinely frightening. The young cast, with Sophie Wilde as Mia at its helm, is tremendous. A24 will likely make 10 more of these and I’ll probably watch all of them.

We have a new horror franchise on our hands.

Bottoms

Photo: United Artists

Of the female-led raunchy sex comedies of 2023, notably Joy Ride and No Hard Feelings (both of which are great by the way), this was my favorite.

In Bottoms, The Bear’s own Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott, who is resplendent in 2020’s Shiva Baby, star as a pair of unpopular queer high-school students who start a fight club to have sex before graduation.

Now, I don’t think I need to outline to you how comedically brilliant Edebiri and Sennott are if you’ve seen their work, but I’ll just go on the record here anyway. They’re brilliant! Bolstering this duo is an incredibly charming and highly amusing screenplay from Sennott and Emma Seligman, who previously worked together on the aforementioned Shiva Baby. Can you tell I also want you to watch Shiva Baby?

Other standouts from the cast include Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, and Kaia Gerber. Oh, and Marshawn Lynch. Yes, Marshawn Lynch is in this and he’s delivering some of the film’s funniest lines with ease. It’s awesome.

The Iron Claw

Photo: A24

It’s just crazy how Disney Channel girlies continue to win. We’ve known all along that Zac Efron had it in him. We could tell the first time we saw him in that Wildcats uniform. Now, after spouting the truth of his talents for nearly 20 YEARS, we can finally enjoy the fruits of our labor in the critically acclaimed family drama, The Iron Claw.

Chronicling the Von Erich wrestling family, through their struggle for success and the numerous tragedies that befell them, The Iron Claw shines because it both honors the sport and welcomes newcomers into the ring. It does this by being, in its soul, a tragic but relatable story about family, and more specifically, about being a sibling.

Alongside his soulful portrayal of Kevin Von Erich, which could come as a shock if all you know of Efron is Neighbors and Dirty Grandpa, is an impressive physical performance. It’s one thing to prepare for an MCU movie, it’s another thing entirely to transform into the uh…shape…that Efron takes in this. His body is as much a character in this movie as anything else. In another timeline where this movie was released earlier in the year, he may have competed for an Oscar.

Honorable mentions for Harris Dickinson and Maura Tierney who do a tremendous amount with what little screen time they were given.

All of Us Strangers

Photo: Searchlight Pictures

Directed by Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers focuses on Adam (Andrew Scott) who is drawn back to his childhood home and parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) while simultaneously navigating a new relationship with his neighbor (Paul Mescal).

While the ending of this sort of sci-fi drama doesn’t entirely work for me, it was one of my favorite films of 2023 because I have a beating heart. A stunning and well-acted (Andrew Scott, you hot priest you) examination of reconciliation and grief, and how they affect our ability to form meaningful bonds with others.