The Power of the Dog is the favorite to take home the Best Picture award at the Oscars but the public loves CODA.

CODA has a lot of heart and is a warm, enjoyable movie with a lot of entertainment value. Power of the Dog is an art film disguised as a Western. It’s not surprising that average people prefer CODA. Put me in the camp with the average people. I’m not saying CODA is a better film, but given the choice of rewatching one or the other, I’m on team CODA. Power of the Dog may be a great film, but it is the least enjoyable to watch among the nominees I watched.

My friend and I try to watch all the nominees each year, and our reactions give you a look across the spectrum of viewers. I have an analytical approach, occasionally love an art film, but always prefer a movie that leads with its heart rather than its head. She is a mainstream viewer who wants to be moved and/or entertained. Mind you, these notes represent our visceral responses, not my opinion about the quality of the filmmaking.

The two we loved were CODA and Belfast. She loved CODA the most of all nominees by far, while I loved the two about equally.

I also loved Nightmare Alley – I even went back and watched the older version – but I didn’t even ask her to watch that one because she would find it dark and depraved. I’m OK with darkness and depravity, at least when they are at arm’s length. I was shocked, however, and kind of pleasantly surprised that this kind of genre pic made the list of nominees.

I really liked Licorice Pizza, which was just weird enough for me (Sean Penn’s greatest role since Spicoli), but she hated it, didn’t understand the humor or the references, and considered it a complete waste of her time.

We both liked King Richard and kinda liked Don’t Look Up, but didn’t really consider them Best Picture material. You can make a case for King Richard, but the nomination of Don’t Look Up shocked us both.

We were split on Power of the Dog. I admired it, but didn’t admire it enough to vote for it over Belfast or CODA if I had a ballot. She hated it almost as much as she hated Licorice Pizza.

She didn’t watch West Side Story with me. I was lukewarm about it in general, but just loved Rita Moreno and was shocked when she didn’t get a nomination.

Neither of us have watched Dune or Drive My Car yet.

I liked two films better than some of the nominees: Cyrano with Peter Dinklage and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. Those are both way better films than, for example, Don’t Look Up. OK, to be honest, I’d place the new Spiderman film and even Being the Ricardos ahead of Don’t Look Up. I think the Academy was sort of dazzled by the fact that the biggest stars in the world agreed to appear in that film.

I guess if I’m really honest, I might place some Pauly Shore movies ahead of Don’t Look Up.

Yeah, I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.

Welcome to the year 91.

Happy birthday to the greatest Canadian in history.

On this most sacred of holidays, let us recall the joy of celebrating past Shatmasses with our family and our loved ones. (May they never meet.)

Stay crappy, Bill. You have already lived long and prospered, so just keep up the … er … good work.