Hollywood’s never-ending awards season can make it easy to get a little lost in the run-of-the-mill “best” categories. Actor. Actress. Director. Picture. A great movie can be reduced to a single performance; those that are left out seem to simply vanish for a while.
But more often than not, it’s the little things that make us love the movies we love — the lines we quote, the props we delight in, the character quirks we remember, the songs we actually add to our playlists.
In that spirit, ahead of Sunday’s Oscars, AP Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr make selections for their own awards — some more offbeat than others.
Most trusty steed: Aaron Pierre’s bike, “Rebel Ridge”
Aaron Pierre and bike in “Rebel Ridge” (Allyson Riggs/Netflix via AP) Aaron Pierre and bike in “Rebel Ridge” (Allyson Riggs/Netflix via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Jeremy Saulnier’s lean thriller is like an Western fable: An innocent guy who doesn’t want any trouble rides into town and becomes ensnared by corrupt lawmen. Protagonists before him might have come on a horse, but Terry Richmond (Pierre) gets around by bike. Pierre oozes movie-star cool, even while pedaling furiously. (A second award to “Rebel Ridge,” too, for best scene involving Wikipedia.) — J.C.
Best stuffy: Chris Hemsworth’s teddy bear, “Furiosa”
Chris Hemsworth (and teddy) in “Furiosa” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) Chris Hemsworth (and teddy) in “Furiosa” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Hemsworth may play a maniac warlord named Dementus who rides a Roman chariot across the wasteland of George Miller’s “Furiosa,” but he’s also a big softy who carries his childhood stuffy. Strapped to Dementus is a teddy bear, an artifact of a childhood that, like Furiosa’s, is marked by grief. — J.C.
Best tearjerker: “My Old Ass”
Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza in “My Old Ass” (Amazon via AP) Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza in “My Old Ass” (Amazon via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Megan Park’s “My Old Ass” sneaks up on you. Oh, you think, it’s just some funny high-concept movie about a teenage girl who starts talking to her almost 40-year-old self after a mushroom trip. Sure, it is that, but it’s also a profound meditation on time, family and the impossibility of really, truly appreciating things in the moment. It’s done with such a light, entertaining touch that by the time the waterworks really start, you almost don’t know what hit you. — L.B.
Best action hero: June Squibb, “Thelma”
Richard Roundtree and June Squibb in “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures via AP) Richard Roundtree and June Squibb in “Thelma” (Magnolia Pictures via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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All I need to say is: Mobility scooter chase scene. Plus, the now-95-year-old did her own stunts. — J.C.
Best part of a so-so movie: Kumail Nanjiani, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire”
Dan Aykroyd and Kumail Nanjiani in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP) Dan Aykroyd and Kumail Nanjiani in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (Jaap Buitendijk/Columbia Pictures/Sony via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Awards to go to movies that people think are, you know, really good. But great performances can happen in not-so-good movies. “Frozen Empire” is a lightly enjoyable, slightly kid-oriented extension of “Ghostbusters,” but every time Nanjiani is on screen, as the reluctant heir to the role of “Firemaster,” the movie is hysterical. — J.C.
Best song: “Brighter Days” and “Harper and Will Go West” (tie)
Will Ferrell hopes “Will & Harper,” with Harper Steele, will become a guidebook for viewers on how to talk about transgender issues.
The original song category at the Oscars is deeply broken. Or maybe I’m just wildly out of sync with that branch, but there were two great, memorable songs from wonderful films and neither was even shortlisted. One, Kristen Wiig’s charming “Harper and Will Go West” was technically in the end credits of “Will & Harper,” but the wait for said song was a key thread throughout. The other, Nicholas Britell’s “Brighter Days” provided a profound moment of mourning and catharsis in “Blitz.” They’re both songs that I’ve added to playlists — unlike any of the nominated ones. — L.B.
Best use of Taylor Swift: “The Fall Guy”
Ryan Gosling in “The Fall Guy” (Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures via AP) Ryan Gosling in “The Fall Guy” (Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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I’ve probably already seen David Leitch’s stuntman extravaganza half a dozen times, partially because my kids like it, too, and partially because Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are absurdly winning in it. There’s just not much better than Gosling cry-singing to “All Too Well.” — J.C.
Best scene-stealer: Adam Pearson, “A Different Man”
Adam Pearson in “A Different Man” (Matt Infante/A24 via AP) Adam Pearson in “A Different Man” (Matt Infante/A24 via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Sebastian Stan has gotten most of the awards love for Aaron Schimberg’s twisty dark comedy, but it’s Pearson who lifts “A Different Man” to another level. In a movie full of artifice and identity shifts, he’s the real deal. — J.C.
Best prop: The glass of milk, “Babygirl”
Nicole Kidman in “Babygirl” (A24 via AP) Nicole Kidman in “Babygirl” (A24 via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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I don’t make the rules, Harris Dickinson’s Samuel does. — L.B.
Most beavers: “Hundreds of Beavers”
“Hundreds of Beavers” (SRH via AP) “Hundreds of Beavers” (SRH via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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It would be hard to find a movie more predicated on mascot costumes and hats. Director Mike Cheslik didn’t have much more than a handful of beaver costumes when he went into rural wintry Wisconsin to make this slapstick, microbudget, almost-instant cult classic. But cheap visual effects can do wonders, even when it comes to multiplying semiaquatic rodents (or guys in beaver mascot costumes). — J.C.
Most understood assignment: Aubrey Plaza, “Megalopolis”
Aubrey Plaza in “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate via AP) Aubrey Plaza in “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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There’s a lot going on in Francis Ford Coppola’s long-awaited epic, and, understandably, I’m not sure everyone knew what they were in for. Some characters talk in verse. A Russian satellite is said to be falling to Earth. Adam Driver can stop time. Any actor could be forgiven for losing their bearings. But Plaza, playing a character named, um, Wow Platinum, is supremely spot on no matter how scattershot everything around her is. — J.C.
Best mullet: Kristen Stewart, “Love Lies Bleeding”
Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding” (Anna Kooris/A24 via AP) Kristen Stewart in “Love Lies Bleeding” (Anna Kooris/A24 via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding,” that sweaty, pulpy, violent, romantic ride, is a cult classic in the making thanks in no small part to Stewart’s fearless performance as Lou, a gym manager in rural New Mexico in 1989 who falls for a drifter bodybuilder. And at least 35% of that great performance is in Lou’s greasy mullet. — L.B.
Best ensemble: “His Three Daughters”
Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon in “His Three Daughters” (Netflix via AP) Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon in “His Three Daughters” (Netflix via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen make up a very dysfunctional family but one stirring ensemble in Azazel Jacobs’ tender family drama. They are a perfect trio, with the added charm of Jay O. Sanders as their ailing Jets-fan father. And us Jets fans take any win we can. — J.C.
Most memorable moviegoing experience: “Sing Sing” at Sing Sing
David “Dap” Giraudy, Sean San José and Colman Domingo in “Sing Sing” (A24 via AP) David “Dap” Giraudy, Sean San José and Colman Domingo in “Sing Sing” (A24 via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied
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Easily the most unforgettable and moving time at the movies for me in 2024 was seeing “Sing Sing” at its namesake New York correctional facility, in a crowd half-filled with incarcerated men and with much of the movie’s cast returning to where they began acting. It was a reminder that, through acting and art, you can win a lot more than an Oscar. — J.C.
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For more coverage of the Oscars, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards.