Best Picture Binge - Warner Bros.' Sinners

Dance with the devil.

Sinners is a 2025 period supernatural horror film directed by Ryan Coogler, written by Ryan Coogler, produced by Proximity Media, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film stars Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton. It was nominated for a record-breaking sixteen Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Jordan), Best Actress (Mosaku), Best Supporting Actor (Lindo), Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Original Song (I Lied to You), Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.

"I've been all over this world. I've seen men die in ways I ain't even know was possible." - Elijah "Smoke" Moore

Plot

After seven years away from their home in Mississippi, twin gangsters Smoke and Stack Moore return and look to start a juke joint with the help of their cousin, Sammie. As rumors of the twins' joint start to swirl their small community, a sinister evil lurks in the shadows.

The Sweet

We're back, baby.

In 2023, I attempted the monumental task of watching every Best Picture nominee after they were announced. It was a really difficult process (especially since 2023 did not have a ton of strong films), but it was one of the most fun things I've ever done on the blog. I couldn't do it last year because I could not access all of the films at the time, but, when this year's nominees were announced, I had already seen four of them. So, naturally, I had to do another Best Picture Binge.

And we're starting off with the best one.

At the time I'm writing this review, I have now seen six Best Picture nominees. So there are four left. And I can tell you right now that none of them are going to best Sinners as my favorite Best Picture nominee this year. I haven't seen One Battle After Another yet. And I am still highly confident it's not going to beat out Sinners on my personal ranking.

That is because this is, simply put, one of the best movies I have ever seen. I thought it was amazing when I first saw it (you can check out my original thoughts here). I ended up seeing it two more times in the theater and then re-watched it just last week. So I have seen this movie four times, and it has just gotten better every single time.

I think what makes Sinners so special is just how beautifully it blends together so many genres. This movie could be classified as a period horror action drama musical...and all of those genres fit the bill. It knocks it out of the park on every single level. It's a great period piece, immersing you in this 1930s Mississippi with fantastic production design, costuming, and a Jim Crow-era story that casts segregation and racism as a shadow over the whole story. It's got some fantastic horror sequence and delivers a really cool vampire antagonist. The action is electrifying and thrilling. The characters are rich with personality and charisma, and their interplay and relationships fuel the drama of the story beautifully. And, finally, the music in this movie is just phenomenal. It blends blues gorgeously with a modern hip hop edge that just makes for some incredibly unique and potent sounds.

You know, when a movie gets nominated for sixteen Oscars, it's really hard to pick out what the best things about it are. But, for me, the performances here are all just fantastic. Let's start with the two best performances of the movie: Michael B. Jordan. The star of all of Ryan Coogler's films gives his best performance of all time in this movie as the Smokestack twins. What's so impressive about this performance (and why I'd consider giving the Oscar to him instead of Chalamet) is how distinct he makes both Smoke and Stack. A dual role is a really difficult performance to pull off, because you have to make sure that your characters feel like different characters. And Jordan really executes both the similiarities and differences with Smoke and Stack to the point where you see them as different personalities that also feel like loving twin brothers. He can bring emotion and heaviness to the role(s) while also being, like, the coolest person on the planet. Watching Smoke mow down a bunch of KKK jerks is going to be satisfying no matter what, but Jordan brings an aura to the character that just elevates sequences like that a tiny bit more.

The ensemble cast is also just perfect. Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku were obviously both nominated as well, and they are fantastic. Lindo feels like this man with a history of blues and pain, and he brings all of that heaviness into a performance that is mostly comedic, but really effective when he needs to be dramatic. I actually don't like Mosaku in Loki, but she brings a raw power and screen presence to Sinners that showed her versatility and true acting talent. Of the performances not nominated, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, and Jack O'Connell fill out the supporting cast graciously. It is still baffling to me that this is Caton's first ever acting role. That dude is going places. And Hailee really brings a seductive charm that has made her one of the world's most magnetic movie stars in the past year. And O'Connell takes what could be a generically evil vampire and makes him sympathetic and terrifying at the same time. You believe every word he says, and that power only comes from performance.

I can't believe we've gotten this far into the review without discussing Ryan Coogler. The man who brought us Creed and Black Panther has now given us an entirely new film, not based on anything prior, and he just unleashes all of his storytelling ability to absolutely astonishing effect. Simple things like shooting Sinners on film just goes to show how much control and intention Coogler has behind his every move. The I Lied to You sequence is one of the most mind-blowing scenes I have seen in a film in recent memory. The reason this movie is so great is because of Ryan Coogler. There's plenty of other reasons, but he is the first and most important.

One thing I've noticed upon rewatches is how powerful the themes of this film are. Sinners is a rip-roaring look at a group of black people in the south during the Jim Crow era simply trying to be free for a night, be free from racism and oppression as well as free from their moral codes. The title itself, Sinners, is a hint at what this film's themes are. It examines freedom and the true morals and sins of these characters. There's so much to unpack and think about in the way the characters and story are presented to the audience. Honestly, I've thought about this movie for almost a year now, and I don't think I've even begun to scratch the surface of all the meanings and themes buried deep within this film's soul.

I could go on about every great thing about Sinners, but then this post would be ridiculously long and take me days to write. This is, in my opinion, the best film of the 2020s. And I really hope it does win Best Picture.

The Sour

Honestly? I have nothing. No negatives. I'm not going to sit here and act like this is a perfect movie, because it's not, but it's pretty darn close. There's occasional lines that don't land as well as they should. There's a few small story choices that don't make a ton of sense. But those are the most nit-picky of nitpicks that I could make. And I just don't want to.

Does This Movie Deserve It's Best Picture Nomination?

Do I even have to answer this question?

Final Thoughts and Score

After multiple rewatches and nearly a year to sit on it, I still firmly believe that Sinners is the best movie of the 2020s. And I hope it is able to come away with the Best Picture win next month.

I am going Sweet here. Age range is 15+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)

"Sinners"

Fun Factor: 10/10

Acting: 9.5/10

Story: 9.5/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Quality: 10/10

Directed by Ryan Coogler

Rated R for strong bloody violence, frightening themes and images, suggestive material, language, thematic elements

Released on April 18, 2025

2 hours and 18 minutes

Michael B. Jordan as Elijah "Smoke" Moore and Elias "Stack" Moore

Miles Caton as Sammie "Preacherboy" Moore

Hailee Steinfeld as Mary

Jack O'Connell as Remmick

Wunmi Mosaku as Annie

Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim

Jayme Lawson as Pearline

Omar Benson Miller as Cornbread

Li Jun Li as Grace Chow

Yao as Bo Chow

Peter Dreimanis as Bert

Lola Kirke as Joan

Saul Williams as Jedidiah Moore

David Maldonado as Hogwood