And the Oscar goes to…

Killers of The Flower Moon should sweep the Academy Awards

About two months ago, there were four films seen as the best of the year: “Spider-Man Across the Spider Verse,” “Barbie,” “Air” and “Oppenheimer.” Then, on Oct. 20, “Killers of the Flower Moon” stepped into the picture.

The film is about the Osage Native American nation in 1920s Oklahoma, where the Osage people found oil on their land. 

World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. He returns home to live with his uncle, Robert De Niro’s William Hale, and seeks to marry an Osage woman named Mollie and played by Lily Gladstone. Following his arrival, many Osage members are murdered by white people for their money, land and oil.

I have no doubt in my mind that Martin Scorsese’s 26th directed film will win him his first ever Best Picture award at the Oscars, his second Best Director award and win the cast some awards as well. 

While 2023 was a great year for movies, there are a lot of reasons the former selections won’t win these awards.

First off, the academy has never loved superhero films, with only one having been nominated, 2019’s “Black Panther.” While “Spider-Man” is a great film and will most likely win Best Animated feature and Best Original sound, it unfortunately just doesn’t have the respect of the academy.

“Barbie” was never made to be a Best Picture film. Director Greta Gerwig made the film to discuss the topics of feminism, patriarchy and matriarchy. And while the film made lots of money and received positive reviews, it also received lots of backlash as many see it as pitting men and women against one another. Films with split views like that won’t win Best Picture.

“Air” surprised a lot of people, including myself. It was a movie that actually told an unknown story and didn’t rely on the biggest name in sports, Michael Jordan, to be great. It had big names such as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis and Jason Bateman. Despite those big names, it didn’t do great with critics, and critics are the people who pick the winner.

“Oppenheimer” in my opinion was the Best Picture winner prior to “Killers of the Flower Moon.“ It accurately depicted Oppenheimer’s life and emotions. The issue with it is that the first half sucked and dragged-out pointless court scenes that, at the time, made no sense. It was a three-hour long movie that felt like five hours, which is the opposite of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Unlike the directors on the other films, Scorsese is seen as one of the greatest director to ever live, which already gives him a boost in awards. “Killers of the Flower Moon” was a historically important film that showed the horrors of American greed and hate towards the Native American people. It was a three-hour film, but it felt like two, at most. Every scene felt important and held great performances.

Leonardo DiCaprio gave his best performance of his career, which is saying a lot, because he’s arguably the greatest actor of this generation. Robert De Niro had us all fooled and also gave a great performance. Unlike the other two, actress Lily Gladstone was widely  unheard of prior to the film and yet her performance should be and will be talked about as one of the greatest female roles of all time.

The Oscars for this year of movies will take place March 2024. My expectation is that Scorsese’s film receives Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Lead Actress. Killers of the Flower Moon will be known as one of the best films of the 21st century and I believe it should run away with multiple awards at the Oscars.

About two months ago, there were four films seen as the best of the year: “Spider-Man Across the Spider Verse,” “Barbie,” “Air” and “Oppenheimer.” Then, on Oct. 20, “Killers of the Flower Moon” stepped into the picture.

The film is about the Osage Native American nation in 1920s Oklahoma, where the Osage people found oil on their land. 

World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. He returns home to live with his uncle, Robert De Niro’s William Hale, and seeks to marry an Osage woman named Mollie and played by Lily Gladstone. Following his arrival, many Osage members are murdered by white people for their money, land and oil.

I have no doubt in my mind that Martin Scorsese’s 26th directed film will win him his first ever Best Picture award at the Oscars, his second Best Director award and win the cast some awards as well. 

While 2023 was a great year for movies, there are a lot of reasons the former selections won’t win these awards.

First off, the academy has never loved superhero films, with only one having been nominated, 2019’s “Black Panther.” While “Spider-Man” is a great film and will most likely win Best Animated feature and Best Original sound, it unfortunately just doesn’t have the respect of the academy.

“Barbie” was never made to be a Best Picture film. Director Greta Gerwig made the film to discuss the topics of feminism, patriarchy and matriarchy. And while the film made lots of money and received positive reviews, it also received lots of backlash as many see it as pitting men and women against one another. Films with split views like that won’t win Best Picture.

“Air” surprised a lot of people, including myself. It was a movie that actually told an unknown story and didn’t rely on the biggest name in sports, Michael Jordan, to be great. It had big names such as Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis and Jason Bateman. Despite those big names, it didn’t do great with critics, and critics are the people who pick the winner.

“Oppenheimer” in my opinion was the Best Picture winner prior to “Killers of the Flower Moon.“ It accurately depicted Oppenheimer’s life and emotions. The issue with it is that the first half sucked and dragged-out pointless court scenes that, at the time, made no sense. It was a three-hour long movie that felt like five hours, which is the opposite of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Unlike the directors on the other films, Scorsese is seen as one of the greatest director to ever live, which already gives him a boost in awards. “Killers of the Flower Moon” was a historically important film that showed the horrors of American greed and hate towards the Native American people. It was a three-hour film, but it felt like two, at most. Every scene felt important and held great performances.

Leonardo DiCaprio gave his best performance of his career, which is saying a lot, because he’s arguably the greatest actor of this generation. Robert De Niro had us all fooled and also gave a great performance. Unlike the other two, actress Lily Gladstone was widely  unheard of prior to the film and yet her performance should be and will be talked about as one of the greatest female roles of all time.

The Oscars for this year of movies will take place March 2024. My expectation is that Scorsese’s film receives Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Lead Actress. Killers of the Flower Moon will be known as one of the best films of the 21st century and I believe it should run away with multiple awards at the Oscars.