20. Nosferatu (Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Production Design)

It took a second viewing of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu to view the film as more than a stunningly crafted homage to F.W. Murnau’s original silent classic (though it certainly is, at the very least, a stunningly crafted homage). Eggers’s newest is a look at the very origins of evil, and how it can so easily be tied to earthly desires. Lily-Rose Depp gives one of the standout performances of the year as a woman tortured by forces outside of her own control; her sheer physicality as she wrestles against Count Orlok is mesmerizing. Nosferatu may not be the definitive version of the Dracula story, nor will it likely be considers Eggers’ best film, but Eggers gives enough justification for its existence to be fun as hell.

19. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Best Visual Effects)

Where would Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes take the franchise after the conclusion of Matt Reeves’ trilogy? The answer may not have been the best of the Apes series, but still provided plenty of its core mission statement. That is, incredible motion-capture VFX, action set pieces, and world-building. Kingdom presents new opportunities for the franchise going forward, and sets itself apart from the groundbreaking trilogy that came before in new and exciting ways.

18. I’m Still Here (Best Picture, Best Lead Actress, Best International Feature)

I’m Still Here presents the other side of a political thriller; rather than focusing on those wronged by a tyrannical government, Walter Salles’s film follows those that are left behind. Fernanda Torres gives a quietly devastating performance as the wife of a radical who’s taken and disappears, and the film follows her eternal quest for justice. Though perhaps not as explosive or engaging as it could be across its 138-minute runtime, the film values emotional resonance above shallow thrills. There’s an abundance of lovely, quietly human moments throughout I’m Still Here, and it’s what carries the film through, along with Torres’s powerhouse performance.

17. A Different Man (Best Makeup and Hairstyling)

Whereas The Substance was a maximalist look at living in someone else’s skin, A Different Man takes a more different approach to its satire. When Sebastian Stan’s Edward, born with a facial disfiguration, undergoes a surgery to remove it, he thinks all his problems will be solved. But outer change requires inner change as well, and it provides A Different Man with a wealth of dry comedy. The film sometimes leans in too hard to its indie quirkiness, but with standout performances from Stan, Adam Pearson, and Renata Reinsve, it’s easy to forget, when you’re having so much fun.

16. Dune: Part Two (Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, Best Sound)

I find it hard to find much to dislike about Dune: Part Two, or any part of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptations, but for whatever reason, they never linger in my consciousness for as long as its biggest fans. The films are expertly crafted, with some of the best sound, visual effects, and cinematography you’ll ever see. Plus the conclusion of Frank Herbert’s seminal novel is fantastically rendered as the upending of the hero’s journey – all brutally performed by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. I may not get the strong urge to rewatch Dune: Part Two, but I’m glad it exists.

15. The Brutalist (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, )

Though I wasn’t as won over by The Brutalist as many others were, it’s undeniable how impressive it is that director Brady Corbet was able to put together such an ambitious film with only $10 million and barely a month to shoot. Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones are all fully deserving of their Oscar nominations, and Corbet directs the film with an impressive array of crafts. Though the later part of the second half still undercuts the subtlety that worked so well in the first, we don’t get films like The Brutalist often enough, and that’s something to celebrate.

14. Incident (Best Documentary Short Film)

Incident proves to be the most radical of the documentary short nominees, simply by presenting a chain of events in real time without any spin. In Chicago in 2018, tensions were already high from a recent police-involved shooting of an unarmed Black man. But director Bill Morrison focuses on a seemingly random event that quickly turned tragic, when Harith “Snoop” Augustus was stopped by police and gunned down after he’s suspected of having a gun without a permit. Through CCTV, surveillance, and body camera footage, we play witness to the shocking act of violence, and the Chicago police’s harried response to downplay what quickly spirals out of control into a riot. Incident gets its point across with an unforgettable style, and provides a much-needed look at how quickly and easily the truth can be manipulated.

13. A Complete Unknown (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Costume Design, Best Sound)

A Complete Unknown may not completely break the musician biopic mold – one of Hollywood’s most ironclad genres – but it upends the formula often in interesting ways. Even as someone who knows next to nothing about Bob Dylan or his music, the film subverts expectations by making a crowd-pleasing portrait of an artist who’s made a career of defying expectations. Timothée Chalamet, Melissa Barabaro, Edward Norton, and Elle Fanning lose themselves in their performances, feeling like real embodiments of their characters, rather than simple pantomimes. James Mangold may have created the blueprint for musician biopics with Walk the Line, but A Complete Unknown feels like a welcome shakeup to what’s become so stale in the intervening years.

12. Sing Sing (Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Original Score)

Colman Domingo continues to announce himself as one of the best actors working today in Sing Sing, and he’s surrounded by a cast of mostly non-professional actors who ably hold their own against him. Prison movies can often lean into similar beats, but here is a film bristling with emotional resonance, as a group of incarcerated men gather as part of a small theater troupe. Ostensibly forgotten by distributor A24 and given a bizarre release strategy, which likely held it back from a Best Picture nomination, Sing Sing nevertheless serves as a reminder that independent films can be just as powerful as big budget heavy-hitters.