I was able to squeeze in most of the major nominees – and will still try to fit in a few of the short films before the ceremony begins at 5:00 P.M. Pacific Time, but I know I’ll be playing catch up throughout most of the year. While it was lovely to finally see Marriage Story and The Irishman – both films absolute masterpieces that I am eager to revisit years from now – I was struck by the mediocrity of many nominees that I caught up with during this year’s Oscar run – from the current frontrunner 1917 (a technical exercise in search of a soul) to films like Ford v Ferrari, Bombshell, and Judy.

Perhaps the biggest surprise here is the sheer number of nominations that Joker received. The film received a decidedly negative reaction from critics and the film’s sophomoric nihilism seemed too dark to resonate much with Oscar voters. But never underestimate the need for white, entitled comic book fans to feel that the things they love are taken seriously. There was such an Oscar backlash when The Dark Knight failed to received a nomination for Best Picture that this feels like an overzealous course correction in favor of a film that pretends to have something meaningful to say.