One Oscar After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the great filmmakers of our time, got his long overdue Oscar yesterday (three in fact), for directing, writing and Best Picture for his film, One Battle After Another. Is this his best film? No, not even close. He should have won for There Will Be Blood, or The Master, or Phantom Thread. I would even argue his latest film doesn’t crack his top five (a ranking might be due soon). But regardless, it was a very good film in a year of pretty bad films. And more importantly, he finally got recognized by the Academy for his work.
Other small observations from the Oscars last night:
Conan O’Brien was a great host again and would love to see him return for a future show.
I really enjoyed the music number for Sinners. These music breaks are so hit-and-miss for me, but I quite enjoyed the performance this year.
I can’t say Sean Penn didn’t deserve the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. His performance was fantastic. Having said that, I was a little sad Delroy Lindo or Stellan Skarsgård didn’t pick it up considering they’ve never won and are both phenomenal actors. Benicio Del Toro was my favorite character in One Battle After Another so I would’ve been glad if he had won as well—but Sean Penn’s performance in the same film was the stronger one at the end of the day.
Loved the In Memoriam this year. No famous singer coming on stage, no wide shot of the orchestra with the deceased in the background. Just music and photos/clips of the people we lost in 2025. They should always be the focus of this segment. I really enjoyed the tributes to Rob Reiner, Diane Keaton and Robert Redford as well. Crazy how many legends left us this past year.
I really thought Timothée was going to pick up the Best Actor Oscar. Michael B. Jordan was a pleasant surprise and I was glad to see him take it. Timothée will get the Oscar at some point and maybe in some ways it was a good thing he didn’t get it. In the words of Han Solo: “Don’t get cocky, kid.”
Overall, it was a good ceremony and I just hope 2026 has some stronger films for the next awards season.