Finally got around to watching the last Best Picture nominee at the Oscars this year for me: "Marty Supreme". Not really surprised that I liked it… but was it really that great?? If I had to rank it, it’d probably land around No. 5 or 6 on my list. The movie follows Marty Mauser (based on the real-life Marty Reisman), a pro ping pong player from New York, US who’s kind of a perfectionist with a ton of confidence, sometimes too much. He’s got that intense, go-getter American Dream energy, but his attitude can definitely rub people the wrong way. The film shows both the good and bad sides of chasing success on your own. Marty believes he has to do everything himself, no help needed. But as the story goes on, he realizes life doesn’t always go in a straight line, no matter how talented/gifted you are. There are detours, and sometimes you have to accept parts of yourself, you used to reject. It’s not just a 'rise to fame' sports movie. We see his highs and lows as a respected (and also controversial) ping pong player. His character actually evolves, which I appreciated. In the end, it’s not just about winning, it’s about becoming a better person. The real star here is Timothée Chalamet. He’s genuinely incredible. He plays Marty with supreme confidence and intensity. The emotional range he shows, from anger, fear, breakdowns, joy, satisfaction, it all feels real. And the fact that he had to learn ping pong for this? That’s not an easy sport to fake. It didn’t look like he relied much on stunt doubles either. I’m not even a huge Timothée fan, but yeah… he deserved Best Actor for this. Also, some of the casting choices felt random at first, but somehow they all worked. Timothée and Gwyneth Paltrow act together? Didn’t see that coming before lol. A lot of people are comparing this to "Uncut Gems" and "Anora" (same director as "Uncut Gems"), and I get why. But Uncut Gems has that nonstop anxiety from start to finish. This one took me a while to get into. The first half didn’t fully click, but once it hit the middle, I was locked in. The energy really ramps up. Also, the soundtrack goes kinda crazy, I don’t know why it fits ping pong so well, but it does. Overall, I liked it. It’s messy, chaotic, not exactly what I expected, but still really satisfying in its own way. Not a supreme masterpiece, but still a really solid watch.