USA TODAY’s Movie Meter lets our readers – that’s you! – pick their favorites among the best picture nominees at the upcoming March 2 Academy Awards. Don’t know which one to choose? Well, yours truly has some thoughts there.

Folks, as USA TODAY’s film critic, I see a lot of movies in a given year. Some of them are great, others not so much, but the Oscars have thankfully rounded up a good list of 10 contenders this year. (Other years haven’t been as impressive top to bottom, and I will forever shake my head at that “Bohemian Rhapsody” best picture nomination. Yikes.)

So what’s the best of the best among this year’s crop? Here are my top five:

1. ‘The Brutalist’

It was the best movie of 2024, so yeah, it tops my preferential Oscar ballot here. Everything rules in director Brady Corbet’s rich historical epic: The music score is fabulous, the production design is crazy good and then there’s the story, which takes an honest look at the immigrant experience and what happens when the “American dream” turns toxic. After surviving the Holocaust, a Hungarian Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) comes to the USA to build a life for his family while weathering his own considerable ego and vices.

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2. ‘Conclave’

A bunch of catty Catholic cardinals willing to betray their own to be the next pope? That’s better than an episode of “Love Is Blind.” Director Edward Berger effortlessly weaves together a locked-room mystery, courtroom drama, detective tale and political thriller into a supremely satisfying papal potboiler. After the holy father dies suddenly (and a little mysteriously), a stressed-out but good-hearted cardinal (Ralph Fiennes) leads the meeting to determine the next pontiff, navigating power-hungry candidates as well as his own crisis of faith.

3. ‘A Complete Unknown’

I have been privy to so many underwhelming music biopics that it’s amazing when one actually works. And, man, this one’s electric. Even if you’re not a fan of Hollywood up-and-comer Timothée Chalamet or folk icon Bob Dylan, you’ll have a bunch more respect for both after watching this film chronicling the enigmatic singer’s early years in the 1960s. Chalamet grabs a guitar and harmonica and sings the hits as his young Dylan rises quickly in the New York music scene and finds chemistry on and off stage with Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro). He also starts a not-so-civil war with the folk establishment as society and culture changes around him in revolutionary ways.

4. ‘Dune: Part Two’

Director Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 “Dune” was, as the kids say, mid. In fact, the 1980s one by David Lynch (RIP!) was more enjoyable. But you won me back, Denis! “Part Two” is a sprawling sci-fi triumph with a deep exploration of power, colonialism and religion – and all the ginormous sandworms you’d ever want. Chalamet finally finds his way as the messianic Paul Atreides, plus digs into the thorny issues that come with being a savior figure, in a gripping sequel that’ll make you want to read those huge Frank Herbert “Dune” books.

5. ‘The Substance’

The audacious and crazypants body-horror flick likely takes the Oscar for best makeup and Demi Moore better win best actress or we riot. Yet my inner chaos gremlin is totally rooting for Coralie Fargeat’s bloody bonkers spectacle to win it all. The movie is a jaw-dropping hoot, with Moore as an aging celebrity who takes a drug treatment that unlocks her younger self (Margaret Qualley). Neither of them follow the rules, and it results in a thoughtful film about beauty and self-worth that’s messy, monstrous, metaphorical and, more than anything, memorable.