This is an update since I just saw West Side Story. That just leaves Drive My Car, so the rankings will change.

But among the 8 nominees I have seen here is how I rank them. There is a big dropoff from the first three and final five.

1. Belfast. Great family story of a challenging time in Belfast.
2. CODA. Loved it. Warm, funny and totally engaging.
3. Dune. Created a new world with a new story that worked all the way through.
4. Licorice Pizza. An interesting look at a time gone by with good acting and story scenes.
5. King Richard. Quirky, real insights into the family. I didn’t find King Richard all that sympathetic a character, which I guess is to the movies credit. He sure was right a lot, almost too much.
6. Power of the Dog. No arguing with the acting and scene setting but what a downer for me to watch. Have friends who feel otherwise, but it was not enjoyable for me to watch.
7. Nightmare Alley. Great ending, good characters, way too much about the psychic con made it drag on far too long.
8. West Side Story. Some great scenes, lead characters are great, Rita Moreno is fabulous and it was good to hear that music again. But the movie is dated, flat, negative sour to the point of sadness. No wonder in bombed. Young people find it dated and weird and fans of West Side Story will find it depressingly downbeat.
9. Don’t Look Up. A mess of a movie, doesn’t belong on this list. Biting scenes that do work don’t make up for the choppy stuff that doesn’t.