After re-watching the absolute masterpiece Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Spielberg, 1977), I was in awe. This got me thinking a lot about aliens, and it seems to me that that is an area where movies and TV shows have been lacking in recent years.

When I say "aliens", I mean something truly alien, foreign, mind-bending, even terrifying (although I'm not very fond of horror) -- so not the tame, often humanoid extraterrestrials that we fully understand, like you usually see in Star Trek and Trek-like shows. But rather stories of contact that make us rethink the boundaries of existence.

A recent movie that touches on that was 2016's Arrival, which has more than one similarity with Close Encounters.... Another is Contact (Robert Zemeckis, 1997).

Drama:

1. The Fabelmans
2. Empire of Light
3. Avatar: The Way of Water
4. The Whale
5. Women Talking

Musical/Comedy:

1. Babylon
2. Bardo
3. Everything Everywhere All At Once
4. Elvis
5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Director:

1. Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans
2. Damien Chazelle - Babylon
3. Sam Mendes - Empire of Light
4. James Cameron - Avatar: The Way of Water
5. Baz Luhrmann - Elvis

Actor - Drama:

1. Brendan Fraser - The Whale
2. Hugh Jackman - The Son
3. Adam Driver - White Noise
4. Bill Nighy - Living
5. Tom Cruise - Top Gun: Maverick

Actress - Drama:

1. Naomie Ackie - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
2. Olivia Colman - Empire of Light
3. Cate Blanchett - TAR
4. Frances McDormand - Women Talking
5. Danielle Deadwyle - Till

Actor - Musical/Comedy:

1. Austin Butler - Elvis
2. Daniel Cacho - Bardo
3. Christian Bale - Amsterdam
4. Daniel Craig - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
5. Billy Eichner - Bros

Actress - Musical/Comedy:

1. Margot Robbie - Babylon
2. Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All At Once
3. Margot Robbie - Amsterdam
4. Janelle Monae - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
5. Sandra Bullock - The Lost City

Supporting Actor:

1. Paul Dano - The Fabelmans
2. Ke Huy Quan - Everything Everywhere All At Once
3. Tom Hanks - Elvis
4. Colin Firth - Empire of Light
5. Brad Pitt - Babylon

Supporting Actress:

1. Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans
2. Jessie Buckley - Women Talking
3. Sadie Sink - The Whale
4. Greta Gerwig - White Noise
5. Laura Dern - The Son

Screenplay:

1. Babylon
2. The Fabelmans
3. Bardo
4. Everything Everywhere All At Once
5. Women Talking

Original Score:

1. The Fabelmans
2. Empire of Light
3. Babylon
4. Women Talking
5. Avatar: The Way of Water

I wouldn’t be doing an update this early on but there were recent news of many movies being delayed to 2023 including Killers of the Flower Moon and Rustin.

Here’s the last one: https://tildes.net/~movies/11ix/early_predictions_for_the_2023_oscars

Picture:

1. The Fabelmans
2. Empire of Light
3. Bardo
4. Avatar: The Way of Water
5. Babylon
6. The Whale
7. Women Talking
8. Elvis
9. Everything Everywhere All At Once
10. White Noise

Director:

1. Steven Spielberg - The Fabelmans
2. Sam Mendes - Empire of Light
3. James Cameron - Avatar: The Way of Water
4. Damien Chazelle - Babylon
5. Alejandro G Innaritu - Bardo

Original Screenplay:

1. The Fabelmans
2. Babylon
3. Empire of Light
4. Bardo
5. Everything Everywhere All At Once

Adapted Screenplay

1. White Noise
2. Women Talking
3. The Whale
4. The Son
5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Lead Actor:

1. Austin Butler - Elvis
2. Adam Driver - White Noise
3. Daniel Cacho - Bardo
4. Brendan Fraser - The Whale
5. Hugh Jackman - The Son

Lead Actress:

1. Margot Robbie - Babylon
2. Cate Blanchett - TAR
3. Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All At Once
4. Olivia Colman - Empire of Light
5. Naomie Ackie - I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Supporting Actor:

1. Paul Dano - The Fabelmans
2. Seth Rogen - The Fabelmans
3. Ben Wishaw - Women Talking
4. Colin Firth - Empire of Light
5. Brad Pitt - Babylon

Supporting Actress:

1. Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans
2. Jessie Buckley - Women Talking
3. Sadie Sink - The Whale
4. Laura Dern - The Son
5. Greta Gerwig - White Noise

Animated Feature:

1. Strange World
2. My Father's Dragon
3. Turning Red
4. Pinnochio
5. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Best Original Score:

1. The Fabelmans
2. Avatar: The Way of Water
3. Women Talking
4. Babylon
5. Empire of Light

Best Sound:

1. Avatar: The Way of Water
2. Top Gun: Maverick
3. Elvis
4. Babylon
5. Bardo

Best Production Design:

1. Babylon
2. Amsterdam
3. Avatar: The Way of Water
4. Empire of Light
5. Elvis

Best Cinematography:

1. Avatar: The Way of Water
2. Bardo
3. Babylon
4. Empire of Light
5. The Fabelmans

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

1. Elvis
2. The Whale
3. White Noise
4. Babylon
5. The Batman

Best Costume Design:

1. Elvis
2. Amsterdam
3. Babylon
4. Empire of Light
5. The Fabelmans

Best Film Editing:

1. Avatar: The Way of Water
2. Babylon
3. The Fabelmans
4. Everything Everywhere All At Once
5. Elvis

Best Visual Effects:

1. Avatar: The Way of Water
2. Top Gun: Maverick
3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
4. The Batman
5. Everything Everywhere All At Once