Have you heard the one about Pope Francis, Megyn Kelly and Adolf Hitler all walking into a bar?

Welcome to this year’s Oscar race, a contest that is crowded with eccentric characters and no shortage of hot-button issues. Movies vying for a spot on the best-picture list include male-dominated dramas like Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” as well as female-led ensembles like “Bombshell,” starring Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman as Fox News anchors, and “Little Women,” reuniting the writer-director Greta Gerwig with her “Lady Bird” star Saoirse Ronan.

Gerwig may find herself in friendly competition with her boyfriend, the director Noah Baumbach, whose acclaimed dramedy “Marriage Story” will benefit from a major push by Netflix. The streaming service is fielding a strong slate this season that includes Scorsese’s drama as well as “The Two Popes,” a crowd-pleaser that gives you exactly what the title implies. And then there’s the blockbuster “Joker,” with Joaquin Phoenix, as well as smaller sensations “Parasite,” “Jojo Rabbit” and “The Farewell.”

Could one of these movies take Oscar’s top trophy, or will they all fall to year-end entries that have yet to screen, like the war drama “1917,” Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell,” or the truly wild-looking musical “Cats,” which is still a real movie the last time I checked? Below, your Carpetbagger makes the case for the buzziest contenders that have been shown so far.