(OSV News) -- This year's Academy Award nominations were announced on Jan. 23. Following, in alphabetical order, are capsule reviews of the 10 films contending for Best Picture. The Oscars ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 10.

"American Fiction" (Amazon MGM)

Wry social satire is blended with the tale of an emotionally isolated novelist (Jeffrey Wright) and his troubled family life in writer-director Cord Jefferson's impressive feature debut, adapted from the 2001 novel "Erasure" by Percival Everett. As the scribe seeks to improve relations with his two siblings (Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown) and find a nursing home for his Alzheimer's patient mom (Leslie Uggams), he's depressed by the low sales of the weighty novels he pens and disgusted by the sensationalist portrayals of Black life that do well in the market (Issa Rae plays the author of one such bestseller). As a practical joke, he produces an outrageous parody of the genre, only to have it snapped up by publishers and sought after by Hollywood, much to the delight of his agent (John Ortiz). Though the resulting windfall helps him to pay for his mother's care, the escalating charade threatens to derail his newfound romance with a neighbor (Erika Alexander) he met by chance. Uproariously funny moments alternate with realistic and sometimes insightful ones in Jefferson's deft dramedy, though a passing affirmation of legal abortion and a subplot about the gay lifestyle of Brown's character combine with often salty dialogue to taint an otherwise tasty treat. Fleeting gory violence, mature themes, including homosexuality, drug use, implied premarital sexual activity, a couple of same-sex kisses, brief sexual humor, several instances each of profanity and milder swearing, pervasive rough language, frequent crude and crass expressions. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Anatomy of a Fall" ("Anatomie d'une chute") (Neon)

This predominantly French-language legal drama hinges on the ambiguity surrounding the death of a frustrated writer (Samuel Theis). As his wife (Sandra Huller), a much more successful author, stands trial for his murder, the tensions between the spouses are exposed. But her lawyer (Swann Arlaud) suggests the deceased's fatal fall was a suicide. Caught in the middle, and beset by his own doubts, is the couple's visually impaired preteen son (Milo Machado Graner). Director and co-writer Justine Triet skillfully explores the complexities of a semi-open marriage marked by jealousy and guilt and highlights the difficulty of interpreting past events. Mature themes, including adultery and bisexuality, brief gory images, partial and rear male nudity in a nonsexual context, narcotics references, considerable rough and crude language. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Barbie" (Warner Bros.)

Tedious ideology-driven comedy in which the Mattel doll of the title (Margot Robbie) and her male sidekick (Ryan Gosling) leave the feminist paradise they've always inhabited and journey to the real world where she discovers the tribulations, and he the joys, of patriarchy. With male dominance threatening to ruin Barbie Land, the heroine will need the cooperation of all her many eponymous alter egos as well as the help of a mother-and-daughter duo (America Ferrera and Ariana Greenblatt) from the realm of human beings to avert cultural and political disaster. As scripted by director Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the film bemoans the plight of women while blithely stereotyping men as selfish, childish and aggressive. Additionally, although objectionable elements are relatively few, this is distinctly not a movie for the age group to which the famous figurine is primarily marketed. Stylized physical violence, a few instances each of mild swearing and crass talk, mature wordplay, brief sexual and anatomical humor. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

"The Holdovers" (Focus)

Moving comedy-tinged drama set at a New England boarding school during the Christmas vacation of 1970-71. Director Alexander Payne's emotionally pitch-perfect film focuses on the interaction of three individuals stranded on campus over the holidays: a mean-spirited and universally disliked history teacher (Paul Giamatti), a promising but troubled and mildly rebellious student (Dominic Sessa) and the academy's bereaved head cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) whose son was recently killed in the Vietnam War. Warm in tone and rich in insight, screenwriter David Hemingson's script delves into the personal complexities lying below the surface and charts the formation of an unlikely but firm friendship among the central trio. Striking performances from the principals, especially Giamatti, also help to make this intimate production a memorable experience for viewers. Glimpses of pornography, drug use, more than a dozen profanities, a few milder oaths, frequent rough and crude talk, an obscene gesture. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" (Paramount/Apple TV+)

Epic yet intimate dramatization of real-life events in 1920s Oklahoma as the discovery of oil on their land brings prosperity to the indigenous Osage Nation but excites violent greed among the area's whites. Director and co-writer Martin Scorsese's masterful adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 bestseller recounts the effects of a string of initially uninvestigated deaths on the lives of a returning World War I veteran (Leonardo DiCaprio), the Native American woman (Lily Gladstone) he romances and eventually marries and his cattle rancher uncle (Robert De Niro), a local bigwig. By the time a Federal agent (Jesse Plemons) arrives to delve into the mystery, Scorsese has presented viewers with a panorama of the time and place that serves as the backdrop to an intense tale of love, corruption, racism and emotional ambiguity. Too gritty for kids, but deeply rewarding for grown-ups and possibly acceptable for older teens. Brief but graphic episodes of gory violence, gruesome sights, a scene of marital sensuality, several uses of profanity, a few milder oaths, occasional rough and crude language. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Maestro" (Netflix)

The high-energy yet brittle personality of its subject sets the tone for this fact-based look back at the tangled personal life of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper, who also co-wrote and directed). Early on in his storied career, Bernstein meets and falls for actress Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Although she is fully aware of his many dalliances with men, and resolves to tolerate them, these liaisons eventually strain their marriage. Cooper's script, penned with Josh Singer, seems to suggest that, as long as Bernstein's extramarital activities remained casual, his spouse was able to ignore or overlook them but that once he formed a more emotional bond, she felt threatened. While the film is sober in its approach to these matters, it takes no decided moral stance, making it inappropriate for youthful viewers. Mature themes, including bisexuality and adultery, premarital and same-sex bedroom scenes, drug use, brief scatological humor, a couple of profanities, a few milder oaths, several rough terms, occasional crude and crass talk. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Oppenheimer" (Universal)

Impressive but uneven portrait of the famed theoretical physicist of the title (Cillian Murphy in a complex portrayal) who died in 1967, aged 62. Writer-director Christopher Nolan compellingly depicts both the scientist's collaboration with a hard-driving Army general (Matt Damon) in the race to develop the atomic bomb during World War II and his far more complicated relationship with a former patron-turned-critic (Robert Downey Jr.) whose eventual opposition contributed to the travails the left-leaning theorist faced once anti-Communist sentiment became prevalent during the early stages of the Cold War. Chapters of the three hour-long film devoted to his early career and murky personal life (Emily Blunt plays his feisty biologist wife, Florence Pugh his troubled psychiatrist girlfriend) are less intriguing. Offsetting its potential educational value as an absorbing retrospective, and the subtlety of its approach to the morality of war, is the inclusion of needlessly frank scenes of the protagonist's womanizing that even mature viewers may wish to avoid. Strong sexual content, including graphic activity and recurring upper female nudity, an adultery theme, brief gruesome sights, about a half-dozen profanities, a couple of milder oaths, several rough terms, occasional crude and crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"Past Lives" (A24)

In her feature debut, writer-director Celine Song weaves the delicate tale of two childhood sweethearts (Seung Ah Moon and Seung Min Yim) separated at age 12 when her family emigrates to Canada while his remains behind in Seoul, South Korea. They reunite long-distance as adults (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) but complications arise, including her eventual attachment to a fellow writer (John Magaro) she meets at an artists' colony. Poignant and visually entrancing, this sensitive study of romantic possibilities, missed opportunities and the immigrant experience of dual cultural identities incorporates a concept about fate and reincarnation derived from Buddhism. Yet its use is more literary and philosophical than religious. Possibly acceptable for older teens. A marital bedroom scene, references to cohabitation, a few instances each of rough and crude language, a handful of crass terms. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

"Poor Things" (Searchlight)

Degrading fantasy, set primarily in an alternate version of Victorian London, in which an eccentric doctor (Willem Dafoe) reanimates a suicide (Emma Stone in a remarkable performance) by replacing her brain with that of her unborn child. Whether her subsequent life journey, which includes cohabitation with a philandering lawyer (Mark Ruffalo) and a stint in a Paris brothel (run by Kathryn Hunter) is meant to be an allegory of Adam and Eve (she calls Dafoe's physician "God"), an exercise in feminist empowerment or merely a start-from-scratch character study, director Yorgos Lanthimos' screen version of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, scripted by Tony McNamara, is wildly imaginative in a thoroughly unpleasant way. Skewed values, medical and other gore, excessive sexual content, including aberrant behavior, graphic nonmarital encounters and full nudity, a couple of profanities, a few milder oaths, pervasive rough language, fleeting crude talk. The OSV News classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

"The Zone of Interest" (A24)

The details of ordinary domestic life take on a surreal quality when the head of the household is Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel). In a comfortable home just outside the walls of the notorious concentration camp, he and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller) have achieved their version of success and contentment. But a bureaucratic shakeup in the SS threatens to spoil it for them. Writer-director Jonathan Glazer's loose adaptation of Martin Amis' 2014 novel is a painfully ironic study in mental compartmentalization as the couple raise their children and enjoy their thriving garden, ignoring the occasional anguished screams and gunshots in the distance. It's a strong brew, with neither the slow pace of the film's surface tranquility nor the horrors unfolding outside the frame qualifying as the ingredients of ordinary entertainment. Possibly acceptable for older teens based on its potential educational value. Offscreen adulterous activity that may constitute rape. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - - - John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on Twitter @JohnMulderig1.