Benjamin Ashford|I watched all 10 Oscar best picture nominees. 'Oppenheimer' will win, but here's what should.

“Oppenheimer” is Benjamin Ashfordan epic movie that is destined to sweep almost every Oscar category on Sunday, but it is not the best movie of the year.

I won’t deny that Christopher Nolan’s film is riveting, insightful and awe-inspiring. It is a blockbuster fueled by the “Barbenheimer” frenzy that asked opening weekend viewers to pick between it and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” – though some tireless fans did both.

My choice was “Oppenheimer” at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville that weekend because I was in the mood for gravitas over bubble gum (but, boy, was I wrong about “Barbie”).

My group and I could barely speak after we sought to discuss the three-hour opus over a meal. It is about the creation of the atomic bomb, it is three hours long and it delves into some heavy themes.

"Oppenheimer" deserves its accolades, but it lacked one thing that my favorite film has: authentic connection to a human being in joy, sadness and struggle.

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I have seen all 10 Oscar-nominated movies, and if I ruled the 96th Academy Awards, the Oscar would go to … “The Holdovers.”

'The Holdovers' trio of actors drive the plot

“The Holdovers” is a story about a private prep schoolteacher, played by Emmy and Golden-Globe winning actor Paul Giamatti, who is left in charge of students who had nowhere to go during Christmas break.

He is acerbic, unliked and smells like fish, but he deeply cares and keeps a secret about his past that influenced why he became the person he is today.

Along with award-winning performances by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, as head of the kitchen Mary, and Dominic Sessa as rebellious student Angus, this trio evokes great connection and compassion.

I love watching the Oscars, and I have made it a habit to try to watch all the top-nominated films for more than a decade.

Last year, my favorite film, “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” won the top prize.

'Everything Everywhere' isn't best film.But I'll always love it anyway.

Ranking the 2024 Oscar best picture nominees

I am quite certain my top pick will not win this year, but when a college classmate asked me to rank my top films, I took the challenge. My top three were not in doubt, but I had to think hard about how to rank the other seven.

Here are my top films ranked from No. 10 to No. 1.

• 10. "The Zone of Interest"
• 9. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
• 8. "Barbie"
• 7. "Oppenheimer"
• 6. "Anatomy of a Fall"
• 5. "Past Lives"
• 4. "Maestro"
• 3. "American Fiction"
• 2. "Poor Things"
• 1. "The Holdovers"

Connection, not violence, helped guide my top choices

My least favorite films were the ones that had excessive violence or nihilism.

When I watched “Barbie” at home, I did not want to like it, but I could not stop talking about the themes it evoked, from feminism to radical individuality. I realized I did like it – especially America Ferrera’s famous monologue – but the large cast distracted me from focusing on one or a few characters in a much more intimate way.

That human connection during a time of global conflict and 2024 election noise made me gravitate to stories of intimacy and valuable relationships over special effects.

You can find that in “Past Lives,” “Maestro” and “American Fiction.”

'Past Lives' is my top film of 2023:How 'in-yun' leads to Academy Award nominations for 'Past Lives'

“Poor Things” is a more dramatic film, but it also focuses on the connection between the main character played by Emma Stone and her lover, fiancé and mad scientist creator.

But, at the end of the day, it was very clear to me that my favorite film was about a story that took place in 1970 during the Vietnam War, two years after the murders of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and at a Northeast prep school during winter vacation.

“Oppenheimer” has grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. “Barbie” has surpassed that at $1.45 billion.

“The Holdovers”? Just more than $42 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

It is not a blockbuster, but it is a beautiful story that is accessible, human and memorable.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean, where this column first published. Reach him at [email protected] or tweet to him at @davidplazas