In the lead-up to the 2026 Academy Awards, many people try to watch all 10 Best Picture nominees to see which movies should be considered the best of the year. However, with how long it takes to find and watch all of the films, it can be easy to miss one and then have no idea why it was nominated for Best Picture. But now, you do not have to worry about missing a nominee: the Road to the Oscars series has arrived! Over the past several weeks, I have been watching and writing reviews for all 10 Best Picture nominees so that you, faithful Justice readers, can hear my opinions about the films and gain some insight into why each movie was nominated.

Spoilers ahead for “Frankenstein” and “Hamnet.”

“Frankenstein” — Dir. Guillermo del Toro

There is absolutely no denying that Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is a visual masterpiece. Every frame feels like del Toro reminding the audience why filmmaking is an art form. As with his previous films, there is a beautiful integration of both practical and digital effects that brings the universe to life — pun intended. For example, during the scene where Dr. Victor Frankenstein, portrayed by Oscar Isaac, is lecturing about his findings, the half-body he displays is both a puppet and an animatronic, with digital effects used to remove the puppeteers. What remains is a startlingly realistic re-animated torso and head that interacts with the real world. 

The sets and costumes are also absolutely marvelous. Del Toro does a fantastic job throughout the film of making the primary subject of a scene distinct by giving their costumes unique colors or features compared to the other actors on screen. Sometimes he achieves this contrast through props, such as a red umbrella that Mia Goth’s Elizabeth carries down a street through a sea of black umbrellas, or by giving Victor a lighter-colored vest than the other characters in a scene. The sets are filled with energy and character. The tower where Frankenstein brings his monster, played by Jacob Elordi, to life comes to mind as a particularly impressive set, with giant versions of the striking batteries shown throughout the film, red and green lights indicating when they are powered on and off. These small details illustrate the time and thought that went into designing each frame of the film, creating awe-inspiring imagery.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the script.

The decision to add an element of time pressure to Victor’s narration is entirely absurd. Although the film stays faithful to Mary Shelley’s original novel by having a nearly dead Victor brought aboard a ship stuck in the ice in the beginning, del Toro’s “Frankenstein” also has the monster begin by killing several of the ship’s men before the rest of the crew breaks the ice, temporarily sending him into the depths. This sequence is not bad on its own; what ruins it, and in turn deteriorates the structure of the film, is Victor confessing that the monster will definitely come back for him, so if the crew simply hands Victor over, they will be safe. Then, almost immediately after, he tells his life story from the beginning. Gone is the fear of the approaching beast, gone is the worry that crew members could get killed and gone is any effort by the crew to continue moving the ship through the ice to the North Pole, just because they picked up a frozen person that the captain is talking to. It is not the use of narration that bothers me, even if, in some cases, scenes relating to Victor’s childhood needed more space to breathe without Isaac telling the audience what was happening. That narration occurred while both the narrator and the listener knew there was time pressure, and the narrator had no interest in speeding up. The moment when the monster entered the ship’s cabin after brutally murdering multiple crew members, to then calmly say he was going to tell his side of the story for the next hour, almost made me laugh, which was certainly not the desired effect. As valuable as I think the monster’s side of the story was, the transition felt as stitched together as the monster himself is. I wish that more thought had been put into how the monster’s perspective was translated to the captain, because it is entirely unbelievable that the entire crew of the ship would sit idly as the monster they just saw murder their crewmates told its life story.

The acting in “Frankenstein” was strong. Isaac did an excellent job of acting with his eyes in many scenes, translating the doctor’s descent into madness, followed by his obsession and disappointment with the creature he created. Elordi’s portrayal of the monster was layered and captivating during every scene he was in. Even with their more limited screen time, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz and Felix Krammerer gave strong performances that contrasted well with Isaac’s character in their shared moments. I just wish that they had the script to match.

Rating: 5/10 — While there are many beautiful scenes and messages in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” even talented acting and incredible set pieces cannot save a film built on an unconvincing story structure that is riddled with unnecessary exposition and time pressure that ends up serving no purpose.

“Hamnet” — Dir. Chloé Zhao

Almost no movie has left me as distraught as Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet.” The movie is a beautiful story of love, fear of the unknown, death and grief. The acting is outstanding, the dialogue is rich and the cinematography and lighting are exquisite. “Hamnet” follows the life of William Shakespeare’s family before he became well known; in fact, Shakespeare’s name is only mentioned once, in a throwaway line in the last 30 minutes of the film. The story centers on his wife, Agnes, who is played outstandingly by Jessie Buckley, and their kids, Hamnet, Judith and Susanna, who are played by Jacobi Jupe, Olivia Lynes and Bodhi Rae Breathnach, respectively. The film delves into the strained dynamic that develops between Shakespeare and his family as his work in London consumes him and how grief can completely alter people’s relationships with each other. It is one of the most beautifully crushing films I have seen, although for some people the content may be overly distressing.

The story starts warm and hopeful, with many similarities to classic love stories such as “The Princess Bride,” the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice and, of course, Shakespeare’s own “Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare — played by Paul Mescal — is a tutor for an upper-class family in England. Agnes works for the family, and Shakespeare — who, at this point in the story, is only called “the tutor” or “the scholar” — instantly falls in love. Even once he hears stories about Agnes being the daughter of a witch, his awkward nature and her peculiarity pull together like magnets. As the film progresses, however, the warmth and brightness of the opening fade considerably until tragedy strikes, leaving the rest of the film literally darker and muted. The lighting in “Hamnet” is gorgeous, with the majority of scenes using as much natural light as possible. Although the natural lighting did make some nighttime shots much harder to see, most of the time it elevated the film. Candlelight is used at various points in the movie, and the narrow, flickering light grounds the film in the Elizabethan era. 

“Hamnet” would not have as much of an emotional impact without the incredible actors who bring the story to life. Jessie Buckley’s performance is breathtaking and her portrayal of Agnes left a lasting impression on the audience. Buckley’s full range was on display. She was lighthearted and joyful when meeting Shakespeare, mysterious and quiet while foraging in the woods and soul-crushingly desperate during the birth scene and when the plague hit her family. Every second Buckley is on screen is filled with fantastic emotion, capturing the audience’s attention completely. The child actors were amazing as well, delivering performances that, had they been older, could have certainly been considered for best supporting nominations. The twins have a playful and natural dynamic that was a joy to watch on screen, and their more dramatic scenes are just as strong as the adults they share the screen with. There are several scenes where the audience is shown the direction and creation process of “Hamlet,” and Paul Mescal and the actors in Shakespeare’s troupe do an impressive job at making “Hamlet” sound and feel just as comprehensible as modern plays. Mescal’s quiet portrayal of Shakespeare contrasts well with Buckley’s more headstrong Agnes, displaying a different yet equally captivating form of emotional distress. Mescal’s nighttime “to be or not to be” monologue is gorgeous, as it really feels like he is coming up with the words on the spot, fueled by the pain of losing his son. 

The film’s ending was incredibly striking. While I found the beginning to be somewhat directionless, the ending is one of the best parts of the film. The final 30 minutes of the film is a production of “Hamlet” in the Globe Theater. It is a beautiful sequence in which the audience sees one of the most famous plays ever written with an audience that is seeing a play by the recently famous William Shakespeare. Agnes, who has never seen one of her husband’s shows, is determined to leave when she sees the connection to Hamnet’s death until she realizes that writing this play was Shakespeare’s way of grieving. At the climax of the play, when Hamlet is dying, she reaches out to hold the actor’s hand, as though she is reaching to comfort her real dying son. Then the entire audience reaches out. The best part of this sequence is that the final piece of dialogue in the entire film is the Hamlet actor saying, “and the rest is silence.” After that line, “Hamnet” does a silent montage of scenes. The ending is not unnaturally happy; it's bittersweet, which is all that can be asked after the beautifully tragic story that it told.

Rating: 9.5/10 — “Hamnet” is a fantastic package, with incredible acting, beautiful visuals and a deeply layered story. Although the beginning of the film feels somewhat stilted and there are some scenes where the lighting is too dark to make out what is happening on screen, the emotional story and performances by every actor more than make up for it. This is a must-watch for anyone who knows anything about Shakespeare. Just make sure to bring a box of tissues.

If this is the first Justice review of the Oscar nominees you have seen, consider looking at my other reviews as well before the big event!