The Seventh Annual No Films Left Behind (NFLB) Awards (March 2026)
- Derek Hui
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
This year's Oscars is much later than the usual. I know most people in the cinema community online are experiencing the "fatigue" of the extended awards season window, but I think it's great to have more time to reflect on my cinema journey in the past year, considering what happened in the world of cinema outside of the movies!
While the changes of Oscars voting process (voters have to watch the films in their coting categories now before they can vote) can be a welcoming addition, and Sinner just broke the records with 16(!) Oscars nominations (that's all eligible categories excluding Best Actress in the Leading Role) there are SO MUCH going on around us that can be concerning, including the ignorance of cinema ettiquette (Chicken Jockies from A Minecraft Movie just became the theater workers' worst nightmare, huge thanks to the cleaning staff!), the evolution of AI and how that could potentially be used in the industry, and potential sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix before finding a new home in Paramount. But at the end of the day, no matter what movies you enjoy, where you are watching it from, or how you experience it, I hope that everyone can find a part they can relate to in these innovative, inspirational, daring, and sometimes forced narratives, becuase that is how filmmakers and industries around the world can keep going and moving foward every single day!
As always, a review of the rules I follow when handing out the awards:
- Every movie that I have seen will be received either a "Best" or "Most" category exactly ONCE, it is getting increasingly difficult every year but I managed somehow. There are certainly several overlaps but I have tried my best to give them the awards that they deserve!
- Everyone's opinion of movies, like all other art forms, is really subjective. These are my PERSONAL opinions so of course there will be some agreements and disagreements. Constructive and destructive criticism is always welcome as long as you have a valid point!
- I'm ALWAYS looking for suggestions! Unlike most people, I'm kind of behind on all the streaming services, and not be able to watch some movies in theatres clearly destructs my urge to watch them right away. This also applies to the films that are only given a limited release that I didn't get a chance to catch when they were in (selected) theatres. So even though there are some movies, such as War of the Worlds (probably dodged a bullet there!) or The Left-Handed Girl, that I might check out eventually, those are just not on my list of priorities right now. But if you have any more suggestions, feel free to let me know, and I will "give out" appropriate awards for them once I have watched them!
The "Best" List:
Best Drama – Sinners
Best Comedy – One Battle After Another (I consider this more of a drama than comedy, but that’s how it was nominated and won The Golden Globes this year, so be it.)
Best Action – Ballerina
Best Romance – Eternity
Best Musical – Wicked: For Good (Won by default as I didn’t really see many musicals this year, but the movie itself was much weaker than the first one)
Best Horror – Final Destination Bloodlines
Best Science Fiction – Mickey 17 (Would have been much, MUCH better without Robert Pattingson’s constant narrations)
Best Animation – Zootopia 2
Best International Feature – No Other Choice (Take that, Oscars! )
Best Novel Adaptation – The Housemaid
Best Comic Book/Manga Adaptation – The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Best Sequel – Ne Zha 2
Best Remake/Reboot – The Roses
Best Box Office Achievement – F1
Best Safe Card – Karate Kid: Legends
Best Copycat – How to Train Your Dragon
Best Tribute – Jurassic World Rebirth
Best Family Fun – The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
Best Reunion – Now You See Me: Now You Don’t
Best Visual Effects – Avatar: Fire and Ash
Best Cinematography – Frankenstein
Best Screenplay – Marty Supreme
Best Costume Design – Kokuho
Best Stunts – Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Best Rising Director – Fleur Fortuné (The Assessment)
Best Returning Director – Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
Best Redemption Director – Bradley Cooper (Is This Thing On?)
Best Rising Star – Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet)
Best Returning Star – Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You)
Best Redemption Star – Seth Rogen (Good Fortune)
Best Voice Star – Reina Ueda (Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc)
Best Onscreen Duo – George Clooney & Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly)
Best Portrayal of a Historical Figure –
Best Cameo – Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez (Anaconda)
Best Villain – Amy Madigan as Gladys (Weapons)
Best Opening – Tron: Ares
Best Ending – 28 Years Later
Best Sound Design – Sirat
Best Song – “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)
Best Line – “Chicken Jockey” (A Minecraft Movie)
Best Scene in an Otherwise Average Movie – Captain America: Brave New World
Best Incorporation of Modern Technology – Companion
Best Commentary of Modern Consumerism – Heart Eyes
Best Depiction the Twitter/X Community – Superman (Snyderbots, this one’s for you!)
Best Cultural Representation – Lilo & Stitch
Best Utilization of Senses Other Than Sights and Sound – Novocaine
Best Hinderance of the Element of Surprise – Drop
Best Fake-Out Moment – Paddington in Peru
The "Most" List (The "Participation Trophies" award the movies that excel in a nontraditional category):
Most Agitating – Dead to Rights
Most Confusing – Black Bag
Most Impactful – After the Hunt
Most Energetic – Caught Stealing
Most Nostalgic – Back to the Past
Most Inspirational – The Unbreakable Boy
Most Personal – The Amateur
Most Heartwarming – Rental Family
Most Emotional – Regretting You
Most Political – The Secret Agent
Most Thought Provoking – A House of Dynamite
Most Innovative Narrative – Resurrection
Most Screwed Up – Him
Most Empty – The Mastermind
Most Mediocre – The Accountant 2
Most Disappointing – Honey Don’t! & Flight Risk
Most Forgettable – Until Dawn
Most Tranquilizing – Blue Moon & The Black Phone 2
Most Surprising – Hell of a Summer
Most Grotesque – The Monkey
Most Horrifying – Warfare
Most Surprising Box Office Hit – Materialists (First independent film of 2025 to cross $100 million in global Box Office!)
Most Promising Sequel – The Bad Guys 2
Most Consistent Sequel – Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force
Most Disappointing Sequel – I Know What You Did Last Summer
Most Likely to Have a Satisfying Sequel – The Strangers: Chapter 2 (The final movie of the trilogy came out last month, and spoiler alert, it didn’t! :’()
Most Interesting Interpretation of Source Material – Scarlet
Most Useless Remake – Wolf Man
Most Desperate for Critical Acclaim – Train Dreams
Most Overexpected (expectation higher than reality) – Dog Man
Most Overlooked (and definitely worth a second look in the future) – Arco
Most Divided (I find it quite decent, but almost everyone else hates it) – Freakier Friday
Most Controversial (does not deserve all the hate it gets) – Snow White
Most Drastic Shift in Tone from its Predecessor (sort of) – M3gan 2.0 (From horror to action movie)
Most Likely to Appreciate It More If I Know the Background Context – It Was Just an Accident
Most Visually Distinctive – The Legend of Hei 2
Most Effective Aesthetic Choice – Father Mother Sister Brother
Most Stereotypical Portrayal of a Family Relationship (but works in every way) –
Most Accurate Portrayal of a Famous Figure with OCD – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Most Promising Talent – Dawyne “The Rock” Johnson (The Smashing Machine)
Most Wasted Talent – Liam Neeson (The Naked Gun)
Most Charismatic Action Star – Jason Statham (A Working Man)
Most Attractive Star – Glen Powell (The Running Man)
Most Generic Casting – Love Hurts
Most Consistent Director – Wes Anderson (The Phoenician Scheme)
Most Relatable Character – Bob (Thunderbolts*)
Most Sympathetic Character – No Name (The Smurfs)
Most Adoring Character – Glordon (Elio)
Most Adoring Relationship – Bowen Yang as Chris & Han Gi-chan as Min (The Wedding Banquet)
Most Bland Relationship – Colin Farrell as David & Margot Robbie as Sarah (A Big Bold Beautiful Journey)
Most Abusive Relationship – Billy Baratt as Andy & Sally Hawkins as Laura (foster mother) (Bring Her Back)
Most Disappointing Third Act – Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Most Predictable Plot – COLORFUL STAGE! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing
Most Outrageous Action Movie – Sisu: Road to Revenge
Most Tragic Death – Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle
Most Satisfying Kills – Death of a Unicorn (Human characters only! RIP to the Unicorns)
Most Satisfying Action Sequence – Nobody 2
Most Hilarious Sequence – Friendship
Most Surprising Twist – The truth of Michelle’s identity (Bugonia) (To be fair, I didn’t know much about Save the Green Planet, the original Korean movie that this movie is based on, so the twist really caught me off guard!)
Most Intriguing Set-Up (for a potential sequel) – Predator: Badlands
Most Intelligent Takedown – The Alto Knights
Most Likely to be Enjoyed More as a Standalone – The Conjuring: Last Rites
Most Likely to be Appreciated by More People in the Years to Come – Eddington
Most Likely to Set Off a Cinematic Trend – Nouvelle Vague (For more movies about makings of the classics)
Most Confusing Use of Modern Technology – Together (AI used to make “Mainland China Cut” of the movie)
Most Damaging Marketing Strategy – The Testament of Ann Lee (For releasing without advertisements, releasing in very limited number of theaters, and foregoing physical media release)
Most Hilarious Marketing Strategy – The Long Walk
Comments