This article is part one of two in a series by guest reporter Talon Cruz.

As this is being written, the Oscars have not yet been released, but as the Oscar season approaches (for me), it is important for the public to ask themselves, Which of these movies are good, which are great, and which are complete and utter @#$%.

Here are five movies that are either the best of the best, or the worst of the worst.

#1. Black Panther- Best of the best

With the current flood of superhero movies of all qualities, it’s difficult not to tire of them, but Black Panther stands out above the rest. This movie has been shattering expectations since it’s release. The Marvel universe has finally produced a villain more nuanced than what a twelve year old fanfiction writer could make, it made all sorts of cash in the box office, it’s the first superhero movie to even be nominated for an Oscar, and the cinematography is brilliant and nuanced in every frame. This movie single handedly upped the standards of what a superhero movie could and should be, and left audiences everywhere saying Wakanda forever.

9/10

#2: The Favourite- Worst of the worst

This is the first stinker on the chopping block, and for good reason. This movie had a very interesting basis, and normally I’m all for queer movies, but this was just an objectively bad movie. Like, real bad. The kind of bad that makes you question how it got past the first script. Plot points were introduced and forgotten within a few scenes, several unnecessary scenes were long and drawn out, and everything, EVERYTHING, lead to an anticlimax. Not to mention the awful pacing. It couldn’t decide whether to be a drama or a comedy, and failed on both fronts, as instead of being a proper dramedy, half the scenes were from a drama, and half from a comedy, with little to nothing connecting the two. The characters underwent zero growth, and I honestly wish I could those couple of hours of my life back.

2/10

#3: Bohemian Rhapsody Best of the best

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? A tribute to one of the greatest musicians ever that doesn’t brush over his race or sexuality. I didn’t think hollywood had it in them. Though it doesn’t completely match reality, it still gave wonderful insight into Freddie Mercury, and Rami Malek performed beautifully as the musical legend. Despite the bad reviews, both me and audiences everywhere loved it. If nothing else, what person can’t rock out to Queen?

7/10

#4: Ralph breaks the internet- Worst of the worst

Moving from the best picture category to best animated feature, this film doesn’t deserve to be part of that list. After the touching story and creative design choices of Wreck-it Ralph, this was just hard to watch. Unlikeable characters. Idiotic plot points. Uninspired designs. I just wish I could give it negative points. Wait, I’m making this up as I go. I can give it negative points.

-5/10

#5: Spider-man: Into the spider-verse- Top Pick!

I know it may seem weird to include two superhero movies, but this one was just so good. The animation was beautiful and innovative, especially compared to everything else released this year, and we can only hope this will be a game-changer moving forwards. It finally, finally brough Miles Morales onto the big screen, it introduced many of the lesser known spider-people and gave possibly my new favorite Peter Parker (move over Tom Holland). I saw this move 3 times and I still can’t get enough. From the opening moments to the obligatory post-credits scene, I loved everything about this movie. I could probably right an essay several pages long over my love for this movie, but I could never do it justice. Just see the !@#$ movie already.

11/100

See my post Oscars reaction piece here: https://uhshawkeye.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=5175&action=edit