I've always wanted to ask you this question.

Do film critics like yourself actually get excited about the Oscars?

I have a love-hate relationship with the Oscars.

I mean, I've watched, I think, probably almost every single Oscar since I was a child.

I often spend the entire time cursing at the screen and speed-dialing friends and then

cheering wildly when one of my favorite movies wins something, you know.

So the Oscars are terrible unless they're right, which means unless they pick my movies,

you know.

From the New York Times, I'm Michael Bobarrow.

This is the Daily on Sunday.

The 98th annual Academy Awards are one week from today.

Of the untold hundreds of films that were released in the United States last year,

some 50 or so are nominated for Oscars.

And according to critics and industry insiders,

those movies are uncommonly good.

Despite all the forces arrayed against Hollywood,

it was kind of a magical year.

Great movies were made, and audiences found them. Mostly.

So, with one week to go before the Oscars, we asked Manola Dargis, the Times chief movie critic,

to come in and talk about 2025's unmissable performances and unskippable movies.

So take notes, even if they're just mental notes,

and plan you're watching very wisely for the next seven days.

...