This year’s nominees for Best Actor are all worthy of the honor. Here is my take on who deserves the award and who I think will win.

Javier Bardem for “Being the Ricardos”. Bardem played Desi Arnaz during the making of “I Love Lucy”. He was believable and made me forget that it was an actor playing a famous person. That in and of itself was impressive. While he was quite good, I do not think he will win the Oscar.

Benedict Cumberbatch for “The Power of the Dog”. Cumberbatch is usually good in whatever he is in. In this movie he plays a nasty, mean spirted jerk and he does it well. Plus he speaks with an American actor. He will probably win an Oscar or two some day, but I hope it is not for this film. He has done better work and I hated the film.

Andrew Garfield for “Tick, Tick Boom…”. Garfield plays Jonathan Larson who wrote “Rent”. The film covers the time when Larson was a literally a starving artist. Garfield has the energy, innocence, drive and talent to play the part. And who knew he could sing? A brilliant performance and if Will Smith weren’t in the running, I would vote for him.

Will Smith for “King Richard”. Smith plays the father of Serena and Venus Williams. The character was a force to be reckoned with and Smith does an amazing job. This is his best performance an he deserves to win. A great performance.

Denzel Washington for “The Tragedy of Macbeth”. Washington doesn’t give bad performances and this one is no exception. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies. Washington plays the character with authority and force. Good performance, but I do not think this is Denzel’s year.

I think that Will Smith will win the Oscar and he deserves it. Benedict Cumberbatch could upset Smith if “The Power of the Dog” becomes a big winner, but I hope not. I wouldn’t be upset if Andrew Garfield took home the prize, Smith deserves it this year.

I have now seen all of the films nominated in the major categories. Here are my thoughts, predictions and how I would vote.

First up is Best Picture. For the 2021 films there are ten nominations. They are:

“Belfast”- This is an autobiographical film from Kenneth Branagh set in 1969 told through the eyes of a ten year old boy. Beautifully done and well acted, this is the best film of Branagh’s career. He is nominated for Best Director. I loved it.

“CODA” – It is a film about a deaf mother, father, son and a hearing daughter who wants to be a singer. A warm story with wonderful characters. It was very different. I loved this one too.

“Don’t Look Up” is the story of scientists trying to convince political leaders that a deadly meteor is heading toward earth with the former arguing against the science of it. This film from Adam McKay is not as good as his previous films “Veep” and “The Big Short”. It’s a little long. I would call it good, not great.

“Drive My Car” is a Japanese film about an actor/director who is working on a stage version of “Uncle Vanya”. During rehearsals he becomes close to his female driver. This film has received international critical acclaim. It was very good, but long. Like “Licorice Pizza” the director, Ryusek Hamaguchi who is nominated for Best Director, should have hired an editor.

“Dune” is part one of a remake of the science fiction novel. Epic and well cast it is quite good if a bit sanctimonious. The ending leaves you hanging, setting up for part two.

“King Richard” is the story of Venus and Serena Williams’s father and how he was driven to make his daughters tennis champions. Will Smith gives the performance of his career and the supporting cast matches him. I was impressed that Richard Williams was shown as not perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

“Licorice Pizza” is the story of a teenager coming of age in the 1970’s. This is Paul Thomas Anderson’s most intimate film since “Boogie Nights” but once again it is over long. Like the director of “Drive My Car” he should have hired an editor. Too long, but I liked it. Anderson is nominated for Best Director. He is an auteur who doesn’t know when to stop.

“Nightmare Alley” is Guillermo Del Toro’s remake of a film noir. Beautifully filmed, this is a dark look at humanity, but it is beautiful to watch. The acting is quite good, though none of the actors are nominated.

“The Power of the Dog” is loved by the critics and has won a number of awards already. This film, directed by Jane Campion who is nominated, is a western about two brothers set in the 1920’s. It is dark and depressing. Is it getting all of the acclaim because a woman directed a dark western? I hated it.

“West Side Story” is Steven Spielberg’s (nominated for Best Director) reimagining of the 1957 Broadway play and 1961 film. Spielberg gives it his own touch, opening up the story so that the New York neighborhood is a part of the story. The dance scenes, which I thought could not be topped versus the 1961 film, are sensational and imaginative. This is my favorite film of the bunch.

So which film do I think will win? “The Power of the Dog” has won the most awards and will probably be named Best Picture. Unfortunately. While it is technically well done, it is slow and none of the characters are sympathetic.

Which film deserves to win? Either “Belfast” or “West Side Story” deserve the Oscar. If I were voting it would be for the latter.

If it’s February there must be a new Liam Neeson action film and this year it’s “Blacklight”. Neeson plays a “fixer” for the FBI. He’s also a grandfather who wants to hang up his guns, but the FBI director, played by an old looking Aiden Quinn, won’t let him. The problem is that there are a lot of bad actors in the bureau. The plot is different from the “Taken” movies, but Neeson’s character is not. Lots of action and the scenes with the granddaughter are nice. Not great, but not bad.

Kenneth Branagh’s latest Agatha Christie mystery remake is “Death on the Nile”. It has an all star cast and of course each character has a motive for murder. The film is slick, beautifully filmed and well acted, but a bit slow. It’s the type of movie you watch at home. An interesting prologue shows how Hercule Peroit became the person he is. For me, the stand out was Sophie Okonedo as a jazz singer. A bonus was the jazzy musical numbers. See if you can figure it out. Not great, but enjoyable.

Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg star in the movie version of the video game, “Uncharted”. It’s an action/adventure film with plenty of twists and action. Holland and Wahlberg make a good team and have plenty of chemistry. The plot involves trying to find gold hidden in the 1500’s by the Spanish. One of the things that set this movie apart was that two of the villains are women and they are great. They trick and double trick everybody. It’s a fun movie.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut is “The Lost Daughter” starring Olivia Colman. She plays a college professor on vacation in the Greek Isles who becomes obsessed with a mother and daughter. It reminds her of her relationship with her own daughter, told through flashback. The critics are raving about this film, but I found it boring. Colman, who is usually so good, is basically one note. I found most characters to be unrelateable. I will never get that 2 hours and 2 minutes back.

Paul Thomas Anderson is a director who writes his own scripts. The definition of an “auteur” he usually takes on weighty subjects with a great amount of zeal as in “Boogie Nights”, “Magnolia”, “The Master” and “Phantom Thread”. All of these films are interesting and well acted, but way too long. His latest, “Licorice Pizza”, is a lot lighter than his previous films, and is being touted for best picture. It’s the story of a fifteen year old entrepreneur/actor and a young woman who joins him in his adventures in the early 1970’s. Once again, Anderson could have made the film about a half an hour shorter, but it is obvious no one edits his scripts. Even with the length the film is enjoyable. The two young leads are exceptional. Cooper Hoffman in his debut, is the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, plays the fifteen year old and he is great. The female lead is Alana Haim and she is a real find. She has a presence on the screen. Her deadpan timing is wonderful and she carries the film. Haim is rightly being touted for a best actress nomination. This is the type of film that can be seen on the small screen. Enjoyable, but long.

Guillermo Del Toro’s latest movie, “Nightmare Alley” is a remake of the 1947 film starring Tyrone Power and it seems an odd choice for the director of “The Shape of Water” and “Pans Labryinth”. Bradley Cooper stars a carnival con artist who makes it big with a mind reading act, but becomes very full of himself. He teams up with a femme fatale psychiatrist played with smarmy charm by Cate Blanchett. The supporting cast is excellent including Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette and Rooney Mara. Its ending is very ironic. One of the best aspects of this film are the sets. The depression era carnival looks dirty and rundown while the later, city scenes are among the best Art Deco sets in recent memory. This is a dark film noir showing the nastier side of society. Not for everyone, but I liked it. Well made and acted but very dark.

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” is the third time that Tom Holland plays the title character. Unlike his predecessors he actually looks like a teenager. This episode features most of the villains from past Spider-Man movies including the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, the Sandman and Electro plus a few more surprises. The first half of the movie is pretty standard, picking up from the last one where Peter Parker’s alter ego is known and it makes his life miserable. Half the world hates him, half idolizes him and no one will leave him alone. He enlists the help of Dr. Strange and everything goes haywire. The second half brings him help from surprising sources. That’s when the movie becomes fun and exciting. Lots of action, a few jokes and an interesting story. I loved seeing the villains played by the original actors. This film is for fans of the series, even if you haven’t seen the last few movies. Enjoyable.

Aaron Sorkin, who made “The West Wing”, “The Social Network” and “The Trial of the Chicago Seven”, has a new film “Being the Ricardos” which covers a week during the making of “I Love Lucy”. In this particular week three major things happen to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. (Actually these things happened at different times, but they are condensed into one week.) Nicole Kidman plays Lucy and Javier Bardem is Desi. In this movie Lucy is not the sweet, funny Lucy Ricardo, but a driven, controlling, perfectionist who is somewhat grouchy. Through flashbacks we learn how they met and some of the troubles that they went through. The acting is flawless. Nicole Kidman not only looks like Ball, but she sounds like her and pulls off the scenes showing her playing Lucy on the T.V. show. Bardem makes Arnaz charming, smart and a brilliant businessman. This is a somewhat real slice of life, beautifully acted, that is a lense into the making of a classic sitcom. Unlike the show, this film is not light or comical. It is not only a look into the show, but into a troubled marriage, the Communist scare of the 1950’s and changes during the infancy of television. It is an interesting piece of history and will be on Netflix in the next few weeks.bI recommend seeing it.