We had three films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

The Matrix Resurrections

When the original Matrix debuted back in 1999, there had been nothing like it before. It revolutionized the combination of practical effects with CGI techniques to create a seamless environment in which the characters could exist. It was a box office smash and scored four Oscar nominations in editing, the two sound awards, and visual effects. In a rare feat for such a film, it took home all four.

Four years later, the second and third films release in succession, one in the summer and one in the fall. They were met with a collective shrug by audiences and critics alike, failing to earn the same level of acclaim or praise as the original. That would explain why the Wachowskis stopped producing sequels. Initially, it was though to be a self-contained trilogy and there would be no more, but as the original’s popularity soared and the sequels were more or less forgotten, Lana Wachowski returns to the world she helped create with sister Lilly Wachowski, going it alone for the first time as a director. Lilly’s participation is non-existent and it’s hard to say whether that’s good or bad news.

This film has a meager 65% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a surprisingly equivalent tally over at MetaCritic. The film doesn’t quite live up to its originator, but it is seemingly performing better with critics than either of the two intervening sequels. That might just be enough for it to make it into the race for Best Visual Effects and, to a lesser extent, Best Sound. However, in spite of the prior two films having similar and equivalent effects, those pictures weren’t nominated, so this one might struggle too, which means a solo nomination for Best Visual Effects is entirely possible, but getting nothing wouldn’t be shocking either.

Parallel Mothers

Pedro Almodovar is one of the most respected Spanish filmmakers, his filmography is something most directors could only wish for. While Almodovar himself has only pulled in two personal nominations to date (for directing and writing Talk to Her in 2002, his films have been in the competition for Oscar nominations numerous times since. Of his 23 directorial credits to date, only five of his films have scored Oscar nominations, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, and Pain and Glory each scored nominations for Best International Feature (formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film). Pain and Glory and Volver both scored acting nominations. And the aforementioned Talk to Her also had two.

Almodovar won the writing award for Talk to Her, Penelope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for Volver, and All About My Mother was his sole Best International Feature winner. Parallel Mothers is one of his best reviewed films in years and may well be part of a renaissance for the director. Cruz is once again along, a favorite muse of Almodovar’s. The film was not selected by Spain for submission to the Oscars, so it won’t be in the Best International Feature race, but Almodovar as writer and Cruz as lead actress are both distinct possibilities. The problem is both categories seem to be overflowing with potential nominees and while the critics so far this year have been very open to honoring non-English language features, Parallel Mothers isn’t the one they’ve been most frequently citing. I’d rate the film’s chances at decent, but underwhelming. I wouldn’t be astounded at a nomination or two, but I would be more expectant of the film being completely ignored.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

The last of this year’s major Oscar competitors, finally reached theaters…at least it should have, but there are no box office reports for the film, which may mean that Apple released it on its own service and said to hell with everyone else. That hasn’t worked out terribly well for Netflix, so who knows if this will help or hinder the film’s overall Oscar chances.

The Coen Brothers are one of the most celebrated, if often overpraised, directors working today. The Tragedy of Macbeth marks the first time Joel Coen has worked entirely without his brother Ethan on a project. The film is based on William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about a Scottish general foretold to become ruler of Scotland who becomes a tyrannical ruler all in service to his political ambitions. The film stars Denzel Washington and last year’s Best Actress Oscar winner Frances McDormand.

Shot in black-and-white, it’s been one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year and has already earned a small bit of attention from critics in their year-end awards. In spite of an extremely positive 89 score from MetaCritic, the film has been playing second fiddle to several other films so far and while it seems assured of several Oscar nominations, it doesn’t look to have the likelihood of being a huge success overall.