2023 Oscars: The Reel Critic’s Picks Vs. Who Took Home the Gold

^{Pictured above: Ke Huy Quan, from left, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis pose with their awards in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Brendan Fraser, third from left, won best performance by an actor in a leading role for “The Whale.” Ke Huy Quan, from left, Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis all won for their leading and supporting roles in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)}

This year marked the 95th anniversary of the Oscars! Reggie “The Reel Critic” Ponder shared his picks on March 3 — and this weekend, the winners were named at a characteristically extravagant ceremony…

The 95th annual Academy Awards were filled with emotional speeches and countless historic moments, big including wins from fan-favorite film Everything Everywhere All At Once (and a few percieved snubs). Back at the top of the month, Reggie “The Reel Critic” Ponder let listeners know his picks for who he believed would (and should) win. This weekend, we found out which winners coincided with his predictions, and which went …a different route.

RELATED: The Reel Critic Casts His Votes For The Academy Awards

The Reel Critic Casts His Votes For The Academy Awards

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Best Picture

2022 proved to be the year that blockbusters returned to Hollywood: including Top Gun: Maverick, Women Talking, The Banshees of Inisherin, Triangle of Sadness, The Fabelmans, All Quiet on the Western Front and Elvis. Also in this category was the greatly-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water, Cate Blanchett’s Tár and Everything Everywhere All At Once, which took home the Oscar and was Reggie’s pick to win. 

Winner: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Reggie’s Pick: Everything Everywhere All At Once

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Best Actor 

There were several possible outcomes for Best Actor; Austin Butler was nominated for his work in Elvis, Colin Farrell for The Banshees Of Inisherin, Bill Nighy for Living and Paul Mescal for Aftersun. Reggie’s pick was Brendan Fraser for his role in The Whale. He also spoke with the director of the film, Darren Aronofsky, back in October at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Winner: Brendan Fraser, The Whale

Reggie’s Pick: Brendan Fraser, The Whale

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Best Actress 

Presented by two previous recipients for this category, Halle Berry and Jessica Chastain, some of the nominees included Cate Blanchett for her role in Tár, Michelle Wiliams for The Fablemans, Ana de Armas in Blonde, which provides a look into the life of Marilyn Monroe. Once again, Reggie’s pick won: Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

Winner: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Reggie’s Pick: Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once

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Best Supporting Actor 

With such a wide variety of work, “Best Supporting Actor” could have gone to any one of the nominees with nominations for Judd Hirsch in The Fabelmans, Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin and Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway. Reggie was right on target with his pick, and the Oscar went to Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Winner: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Reggie’s Pick: Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

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Best Supporting Actress 

The category of the night was “Best Supporting Actress,” with a packed list of nominees including Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Hong Chau in The Whale, Kerry Condon in The Banshees of Inisherin. Reggie’s pick was Angela Bassett in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (which he reviewed here), but the winner ended up as Jamie Lee Curtis for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. 

Winner: Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Reggie’s Pick: Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

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Best Director 

Hollywood powerhouse Steven Spielberg was up against directors, like Todd Field, Martin McDonagh and directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinertl for the “Best Director” category. The Oscar for best director went to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinertl, or “The Daniels,” for their innovative work on Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Winner: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinertl (The Daniels), Everything Everywhere All At Once

Reggie’s Pick: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinertl (The Daniels), Everything Everywhere All At Once

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Find a full list of Oscar winners from our friends at the Sun-Times.

Written by Joshua X. Miller

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