Anora has won over plenty of fans since triumphing in the Palme d’Or at Cannes last May, and Sean Baker’s intimate tale about a stripper who marries the son of a Russian oligarch could yet have a fairytale ending of its own with victory at the Academy Awards.

Here’s The Independent’s review:

It’s rare for a sequel to win Best Picture, although The Godfather: Part II and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King did both manage it. Could Dune: Part Two repeat the trick?

The epic certainly has its fans, including The Independent critic Clarisse Loughrey who wrote that the film contains moments “that feel so audacious, they play out as if they were already etched onto the cinematic canon.”

Timothée Chalamet has been widely tipped to pick up an Oscar nomination for his performance as Bob Dylan in biopic A Complete Unknown, but The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey felt the film itself played it too safe.

Here’s her full review:

Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is a defiant, distinctive masterpiece at loggerheads with conventional film industry wisdom. It’s also considered a favorite to take home Best Picture, along with a few other awards.

Here, Xan Books explains why the film is a nod to a far more interesting kind of American filmmaking:

This year’s Oscars nominations will be announced by rising stars Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang.

The pair are both actors, writers and comedians and will be hopeful that the early-morning hosting gig from Los Angeles isn’t their last association with the Academy Awards.

Here’s all you need to know about the pair: