20 Best & Worst Movies From 2019 Oscar Nominees

13. Mahershala Ali

Best: Moonlight (2016)

Some of the best Oscar nominated performances aren't even on screen for that long. Anne Hathaway was basically in Les Miserables for a small fraction of its run-time and this year Sam Elliott's role in A Star Is Born was considerably less than a main player.

The same goes for Mahershala Ali's great turn in Moonlight. Though he's not involved that much, his soft-hearted, wise drug dealing father figure is a colossus of a character. Avoiding cliche, his Juan is infectiously loving and his interactions with his son - particularly about his sexuality - are the crowning glory of the performance.

He's also really great in Luke Cage, but they killed him off too quickly.

Worst: Free State of Jones (2016)

Ali hasn't actually been in much that wasn't at the very least good, with the majority of his work ranking as great. Even the divisive Alita: Battle Angel has its moments, even if it's definitely down there with his worst films.

But the "winner" here is his role in Free State Of Jones, which is a notable step down in quality from what he's done in his other films.