2024 Part 2 - Epic Battles and Emotional Gut-Punches: Who Really Deserved Best Picture?

In this follow-up episode, Rob, Dylan, and Glenys continue their spirited discussion of the 2025 Academy Awards Best Picture race, turning their attention to the remaining 2024 contenders.

Dune: Part Two continued Denis Villeneuve's sweeping sci-fi saga — but does a sequel deserve to win when its first part didn't? Emilia Pérez blurred genre lines with its musical crime drama twist, earning critical acclaim and plenty of Oscar attention. Nickel Boys adapted Colson Whitehead’s powerful novel, portraying the horrors of a corrupt reform school using a novel cinematic technique – but did it obscure the emotion of the story? A Complete Unknown offered a magnetic Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, but what did we actually learn about the man himself? I'm Still Here, Brazil’s stirring real-life family drama, delivered emotional resonance against political upheaval. And finally, Anora, the modern Cinderella story that ultimately claimed Best Picture — but was it truly the best of the bunch?

Join us as we dissect these films, their performances, and their cultural relevance — and ask the big question: did the Academy get it right, or was another nominee more deserving of the top prize?

Best Picture Nominees

Anora - winner
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked