Who will (& should) win at the 2025 Oscars?

Plus, what movies you should still watch regardless of their awards.

Receiving this text is, to me, the highest compliment:

(For transparency, it’s from my mom.)

The fun part of the Oscars is casting a personal ballot and seeing how the Academy goes with or against your taste. Reading Michael Schulman’s Oscar Wars reminded me that the Academy is a political body. The winners are determined by voters, and voters are humans to influence. The Harvey Weinstein campaigning chapters show the cut-throat manipulation of a body of voters to push the result you want. If he was still in a position of power and had any hands on Conclave, you would ask questions about Pope Francis’s health, you know what I’m saying?

So, nominations are not a perfect system. Great movies are snubbed (I Saw The TV Glow, Dìdi). Bad movies prosper (Emilia Pérez).

As a wise friend told me, this is movies, not heart surgery. Art is important, and what we put on a global pedestal matters—but also, it can be fun, and that’s it! So, enjoy!

WHAT I’M WATCHING THIS WEEKEND:

• The Apprentice (ava…