I haven’t done one of these in a while, at least in blog form, so I thought I’d start again. This is half your average awards where I discuss my favorite movie, actor, actress, etc but then also the odd thing that stuck out to be like “most realistic fight scene” or “Movie that should have been a limited series” and things like that. So in true awards show fashion lets start with the smaller and goofier ones and end on my favorite performances and favorite movie. Be sure to let me know what film or actor/actress you would have given any of these awards to.
Best Realistic Fight Scene: Splitsville
I don’t consider this a spoiler because we see parts of the fight in the trailer. In this film Carey (Kyle Marvin) and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) get into a fight when Paul finds out Carey slept with his wife Julie (Dakota Johnson) and even though they’re in an open relationship, he gets mad and attacks his friend. The fight scene was epic in the sense that it was so realistic that I could actually see two people fighting like this. The punches looked like they hurt even though they weren’t doing crazy martial arts moves or anything like that.
Movie That Should Have Been A Limited Series: In The Lost Lands.
This was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson who did movies like Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat(1995), and Event Horizon. So I had some hope for this film. But it was so sloppy and rushed that I didn’t have time to care about anyone. But there was so much promise here. There was a very Mad Max-esque setting and would be a great world to build upon. There were two very interesting lead characters with two villains who needed far more depth and all of that could have been fixed by having this be a longer overall story. Give us more time to root for Gray Alys (Milla Jovovich) and Boyce (Dave Bautista). Those two leading a post-apocalyptic fantasy series? It couldn’t miss.
The Electric State was a close 2nd for this award but my dislike of Chris Pratt and my love of the fantasy genre helped In The Lost Lands win out.
Movie That Needs A Limited Series Sequel: Rental Family
This was a beautiful film that was just short of being five stars. By the time the ending rolled around I realized I wanted to see more of these people. What other kind of people could they help? How will they apply the lessons learned in this movie? And what will become of Phillip (Brendan Fraser) and Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman).
I don’t want a sequel. Like the category says, give me a limited series instead.
Best Movie That’s A Car Commercial for a Car That Doesn’t Exist: Locked
There are so many different car companies out there that I’m not privy to that I didn’t even stop to think that a Dolus might not be a real car. If it was, this movie would make me want one. Except for the electified seats of course. I ended up looking up the car brand to see how much one would cost just for shiggles and lo and behold, made up entirely for the movie. Maybe a Rivian would be the closest thing.
Worst Flashback That Caused The Main Character to Question Everything: Guns & Moses
“But He Ate Brownie!” Yeah, but he’s also a neo-nazi. Hitler could eat a slice of cake and it wouldn’t change the fact that he was a monster. This movie had something going for it and I like the idea of showing grace to those who hate you or want to hurt you but thinking that this kid couldn’t have committed a hate crime because he ate a brownie you offered him? Get real.
Biggest Belly Laugh: Jonathan Schmock in D(e)ad
I loved D(e)ad. It was my 5th favorite movie of the year. It’s a great tale about grief and troubled relationships with selfish parents. But there’s one scene in this movie that made me laugh so much my sides hurt. It’s when Carl (Schmock) first see’s the dead dad played by Craig Bierko and the timing of his reaction and the blocking for the scene were so perfect that I smile just thinking about it.
Okay, lets get to the real awards. The usual ones you see on other awards shows.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Aidan Delbis as Don in Bugonia
I liked this film but I didn’t love it. It’s ranked 39th out of 135 out of all the movies I saw in 2025 but Aidan Delbis stood out. This is why representation is so important. Don is an autistic character and Aidan has autism so we have an own voices performance in this film. But his skill and my love of his performance has nothing to do with his autism and instead the range of emotion he was able to show was stunning. Then his monologue in his final scene in the movie left me stunned. There was so much nuance in his performance and he needs more roles moving forward.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Vic Michaelis as Violet in D(e)ad
Vic Michaelis identifies as non-binary. But the problem is there’s no real gender neutral award so I decided on actress because Violet identifies as female.
I’ve been familiar with Vic for a while now. They’re a regular in all sorts of shows on the Dropout network and even has their own show called Very Important People. In this role Vic shows that they have amazing comedic timing and, more than that, their emotional scenes were a gut punch. I cried more than once watching this film and Vic was a big part of that.
In picture: Vic Michaelis (on right) Writer and Costar Isabella Roland (left)
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack in Sinners
This category was hard. I really wanted to give the award to Dylan O’Brien, who also played twins last year, because he absolutely killed it. However I just kept coming back to Sinners and how great Michael B. Jordan was. This movie was amazing from start to finish and Michael B. Jordan helped bring it from great to phenomenal. It’s a true crime that Jordan hasn’t won an Oscar yet but hopefully this year’s academy awards will change that, but I won’t hold my breath for The Academy to make a good decision.
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Sonequa Martin-Green as Merit in My Dead Friend Zoe
Just like with the best actor category, I kept jumping back and forth between Martin-Green and Renate Reinsve from Sentimental Value. But in the end Sonequa Martin-Green’s portrayal of an Army veteran suffering from PTSD and grieving from losing her best friend is what won out. Merit is a very complex character. Raised to be a solder from a military family and taught to hide her grief she has to come to terms with so much. This is a great film and Martin-Green coupled with Natalie Morales (as Zoe) carried the film.
Best Director: Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
Everything about this movie was great and Ryan Coogler is to thank for a lot of it. I hesitated because I wanted to give this to James Gunn for Superman because Gunn truly understood the character, but Sinners is just a better movie overall. Sinners was an experience and it was engrossing from beginning to end and Coolger’s vision was clear and I can’t think of any way the movie could be improved. The fact that he hasn’t won an Academy Award yet is more of a crime than Michael B. Jordan not having one. And he didn’t even get nominated for Fruitvale Station!
Best Picture: Sinners
I mean, come on, what else was it going to be? This was by far my favorite movie of the year and it wasn’t even a hard choice for me to make. I loved so many movies in 2025 but I knew from my first viewing that this was going to be my number one film. This movie oozes style and it’s a period piece that doesn’t feel old and dusty. It has a modern heart while staying true to the time period. This will be a yearly rewatch for me.
