Oscars 2019: Our predictions for Best Picture

The story: A warrior prince from an ancient, noble nation faces a life-or-death challenge to his birthright.

In its favor: A rousing story led by a powerhouse cast, with dazzling visuals and cultural heft. And has there ever been a prince more regal than Chadwick Boseman?

Then again: Ryan Coogler may have re-imagined the superhero movie, but it's still a superhero movie. Is the academy ready?

Our review: ★★★

The story: A black police officer finagles his way into the Ku Klux Klan in 1970s Colorado.

In its favor: A stranger-than-fiction tale that's Spike Lee at his most entertaining and (literally) hair-raising. The daring undercover operation feels genuinely treacherous and subversive.

Then again: The modern-day Charlottesville coda is pure Lee — a sledgehammer that feels unnecessary.

The story: The story of Queen from its formation to its epochal 1985 Live Aid performance.

In its favor: The music! If you love this band, the songs — and the stories behind them — will send you out of the theater grinning. That Rami Malek guy makes a pretty good Freddie Mercury, too.

Then again: It's a standard rock bio­pic that fudges the timeline and lays on the big moments pretty thick.

Our review: ★★½

The story: Two headstrong courtiers vie for the favor — er, the favour — of Queen Anne.

Then again: A lot of style over substance. Our loyalties are tested until we don't really care anymore.

Our review: ★★★½

The story: A rough-edged casino worker and a high-minded musician break barriers on a road trip in a 1962 Cadillac.

In its favor: Precise period details and fine rapport between the actors, who wholly inhabit their roles. The plot offers a refreshing anti-"Driving Miss Daisy" twist.

Then again: It's a rather simplistic, retrograde movie about race relations that has drawn backlash from relatives of the real Don Shirley.

The story: Alfonso Cuarón's fictionalized paean to the woman who raised him in Mexico City.

In its favor: A stunning achievement, with a soulful story and luminous cinematography, told largely with amateur actors. Both intimate and epic, at times it echoes the best of Fellini and Bergman.

Then again: Black-and-white. Subtitles. It might have to settle for foreign film honors.

Our review: ★★★★

The story: The fourth go-round for the classic story of a woman on the rise and a man on the decline.

Then again: Given its dismal showing at the Globes, we wonder if voters are tired of this tale.

Our review: ★★★½

The story: How Dick Cheney rose to the rank of political mastermind.

In its favor: The actors are clearly having a hell of a good time. The scenery chewing can be overlooked when you've got Christian Bale as the conniving title character and a campy Sam Rockwell as Bush 43.

Then again: The cheeky, scattershot tone, which director Adam McKay employed to better effect in "The Big Short," feels all wrong.