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 articles have 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 “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another.”

“Sinners” — Dir. Ryan Coogler

Ever since I first saw “Sinners” in theaters last spring, I hoped it would land on the 2026 Oscars ballot. The film is a celebration of blues music, filled with commentary on racism and the Jim Crow era, while also drawing inspiration from vampire legends and stories. It is a wonderful combination of action, entertainment and deep messaging that pushes the limits of visual effects in subtle ways.

“Sinners” is not a classic horror movie, in the best way possible. The story focuses on its characters and community, and although the vampires are the film’s antagonists, there are almost no jumpscares or classic “let’s split up!” moments that many other horror films include. “Sinners” relies on suspense to keep viewers on edge, and Coogler uses lighting, sound and the rules of vampires very effectively to generate suspense. 

The vampires in “Sinners” are uniquely implemented. There are no dark cloaks, no Eastern European men with greased back hair emerging from coffins and no bat transformations. The first vampire the audience sees is an Irish banjo player named Remmick, who hides in the house of two KKK members while being chased by Choctaw vampire hunters. After turning the two Klan members into vampires, Remmick and his new converts are drawn to the music and energy of Club Juke, where the protagonists are singing. The vampires are hindered because the protagonists have to invite them into the juke joint, and begin trying to draw people. As characters fall for their tricks, it is revealed that the vampires are also part of a hive mind, and they start singing and dancing to draw more people into their group. The slower and somewhat less violent vampires are entrancing, and I loved seeing Coogler’s interpretation of vampire lore.

But there is so much more to “Sinners” than just vampires.

Michael B. Jordan plays both of the Moore twins, nicknamed Smoke and Stack, who are returning to Mississippi after several years working with the Chicago mob. The twins have incredible confidence and charisma, jovially inviting everyone they can to the juke joint they are opening in an old barn in the woods. Although Jordan plays both characters, they have distinct personalities and Jordan’s ability to bounce jokes off himself is very impressive. The seamlessness with which the twins are integrated feels impossible, considering how often they are on camera or passing items to each other in real time. I was never confused about which twin I was looking at, which is a testament to the subtle choices Jordan made to distinguish the two brothers.

The music score and performances in “Sinners” are absolutely stunning as well. Miles Caton, who plays Sammie, the cousin of Smoke and Stack, has a beautiful voice and his songs in the film are wonderful to listen to. Sammie’s love of blues music is the core of “Sinners,” as Sammie’s pastor tells him to stop playing blues because the genre could wake the spirits; whereas, it’sSammie’s beautiful performance of “I Lied to You” that ultimately draws the vampires to the juke joint. Along with “I Lied to You,” there are many other performed songs in the juke joint that have unique styles and energies; the time before the vampires arrive feels like time spent with a newly flourishing community that the audience gets the chance to look in on.

Another feature where “Sinners” excels is the production design. The lighting, costumes and sets of “Sinners” are eye-catching —  much of the movie is lit with a spooky orange glow, emphasizing the old lightbulbs and lantern light that fill the juke joint; the dramatic shadows and flickering lights add to the story’s suspense. The lighting responds to the energy of the juke joint’s attendees, brightening when Sammie sings his blues music and the patrons go wild. Small details like the lighting are what make an already entertaining film like “Sinners” into a memorable and captivating movie experience.

There is one scene in “Sinners” that sticks out to me as less-than-perfect, which is when Grace, who is played by Li Jun Li, lets all of the vampires into the juke joint. Generally speaking, I understand that when she was faced with the potential death of her daughter, she panicked and just wanted to fight the vampires, but it felt almost as though the movie wanted a big action scene and did not know how to start the sequence. I wish there had been more of an effort from other characters to stop her. Even so, there are ways to justify what Grace does, and the following fight scene is spectacular, so I’m not too disappointed by her actions.

Rating: 9.5/10 — When I went to see “Sinners,” I had no idea what a great movie I was in for. Between the incredible acting, use of technology, and production design, this movie is outstanding. Although there are a couple of scenes that have odd justifications or do not fit the flow of the film, “Sinners” absolutely deserves its 16 Oscar nominations.

“One Battle After Another” — Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

“One Battle After Another” is proudly a Hollywood blockbuster. But, hidden between the action and explosions is a rich story, amazing performances and jaw-dropping cinematography. 

The script for “One Battle After Another” is overall great. The film has very natural dialogue between characters, which, when combined with the acting of its star-studded cast, was immediately noticeable. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this dark comedy as an ex-revolutionary who is now a deadbeat dad. “One Battle After Another” is one of DiCaprio’s best performances since 2015’s “The Revenant,” and reminds viewers how much of a chameleon DiCaprio can be. In “One Battle,” DiCaprio is not wearing a nice suit, his hair is not gelled and his face is not shaved. Instead, “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun, DiCaprio’s character in “One Battle,” looks homeless and a little deranged. His memory is weak and his reflexes are not as fast as when he was a much younger revolutionary — and DiCaprio looks as though that is how he has always lived. His interactions with Benicio Del Toro are hysterical, particularly when Del Toro shoves DiCaprio through the open window of his moving car. 

The other actors in “One Battle” are superb as well. Chase Infiniti, who plays Calhoun’s daughter Willa, made her film debut and gave a great performance in her scenes with Sean Penn’s Colonel Steven Lockjaw, an almost cartoonishly evil, racist military man. Penn’s character is vile to the core, and he is chasing after Willa because he wants to make sure there is no chance she is his daughter. Her mother, played by Teyana Taylor, was a radical revolutionary named Perfidia Beverly Hills, a black woman who was with Calhoun. Lockjaw needs to remove any evidence of his sleeping with Perfidia because, if it gets out that he slept with a black woman, he would not be allowed to join what can only be described as a disgusting group of old white supremacists: the Christmas Adventurers Club. For a movie with layered characters, Lockjaw feels the most like a trope, but Penn plays the role so well that it is almost possible to ignore the one-dimensionality of Colonel Lockjaw.

Unfortunately, the pacing of “One Battle” could use a little work. The movie opens when DiCaprio and Taylor are younger revolutionaries in the French 75, their revolutionary group, 16 years before the rest of the film. Although this flashback is important for the context about who Perfidia is, why Calhoun is an important person and how Lockjaw fits into the story, the first 30 minutes of the 2-hour and 45-minute film are spent in this sequence, and it is not the most engaging storytelling ever put to screen. When I left the theater, I commented that the movie was really great — once the first 20-30 minute chunk was finished. But after that beginning sequence, the time zipped by, and “One Battle” showed how funny and engaging it could truly be. 

A moment that had my jaw on the floor was during the car chase near the end of the film. Paul Thomas Anderson and the cinematographer, Michael Bauman, shot a sequence unlike anything I have ever seen before. For 4 minutes, there is no dialogue, just the rumbling of the car engines and the light percussion of Johnny Greenwood’s music score. As Willa is pursued by Tony Goldwyn’s Virgil Throckmorton, a henchman of Lockjaw, and Calhoun pursues both of them, the cameras cut between three different angles: one is an incredibly zoomed-out view where all three cars are shown, one is from the outside of the cars and one is inside the cars. As the cars go up and down the hills of the road, instead of focusing on keeping the cars in frame, the cameras just focus on what can and can not be seen by the cars. As one car goes over a hill, the one behind it disappears. We see as Willa uses her rearview mirror to keep an eye on Virgil, how Virgil is only focused on keeping up and how Calhoun is desperately trying to catch up to both of them. Everything comes together in one perfect moment when Willa stops her car just over the crest of a hill and Virgil crashes directly into it, a suppressed “Fu–” being the first word said in the entire chase. I hope more films take inspiration from “One Battle’s” chase sequence, because it was incredibly entertaining.

Rating: 9.5/10 “One Battle After Another” is a perfect mashup of Hollywood blockbuster and emotional family story, with great stunts, hilarious dialogue and great acting. Even with its slow start, “One Battle” more than makes up for it with its innovative cinematography and an engaging plot.

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!