by Julian Spivey It was a year or two ago that I saw a comment about how hard it was for movie viewers to find and watch some of the Academy Award Best Picture nominees and it struck me as odd – because arguably it’s never been easier to find and watch the majority, if not all of the Best Picture nominees, in today’s world of easy to stream films where so much is merely a few clicks away. If you have a plethora of streaming options or a few bucks to spend on a rental you could watch nine of this year’s 10 Best Picture nominees rather easily. There are just under two weeks remaining until the 95th annual Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, March 12 on ABC at 7 p.m. (CST) if you’re attempting to catch up on the nominees. Here are the Best Picture nominees and the ways you can watch them ahead of this year’s ceremony if you so choose to do so. All Quiet on the Western Front “All Quiet on the Western Front” could win Best Picture for the second time. The 1930 war drama directed by Lewis Milestone won the honor at the 3rd Annual Academy Awards in 1930 becoming the first “talkie” to win Best Picture. Today, director Edward Berger’s German-language version also based on Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel of the same name, is a Best Picture nominee. “All Quiet on the Western Front” tells the story of a young, idealistic German soldier named Paul Baumer through the realities and horrors of World War I. “All Quiet Along the Western Front” has been nominated for nine Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best International Picture, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design. “All Quiet on the Western Front” is streaming on Netflix. Avatar: The Way of Water “Avatar: The Way of Water,” director James Cameron’s sequel to his 2009 Best Picture-nominated “Avatar,” has been the most dominant film at the box office since its release in late 2022. The film has currently earned more than $650 million and is still in the top five at the box office 11 weeks after its release. “Avatar: The Way of Water” sees Jake Sully and Ney’tiri having formed a family but when an ancient threat resurfaces Jake must fight against the humans. “Avatar: The Way of Water” has been nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Production Design. “Avatar: The Way of Water” is still playing in theaters. The Banshees of Inisherin “The Banshees of Insiherin” is writer-director Martin McDonagh’s black tragicomedy about two life-long friends on a remote island off the coast of Ireland who have an abrupt falling out that greatly confuses one of them and leads to dire circumstances. The two friends are played brilliantly by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, both nominated for their performances. “The Banshees of Inisherin” has been nominated for nine Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Martin McDonagh), Best Actor (Colin Farrell), Best Supporting Actor (Brendan Gleeson), Best Supporting Actor (Barry Keoghan), Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Condon), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Film Editing. “The Banshees of Inisherin” is streaming on HBO Max or rented on Amazon Prime Video for $4. Elvis “Elvis,” the Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic of Elvis Presley from the beginning of his stardom through the end of his life, was a huge box office hit in the summer of 2022. The film is told through the eyes of Elvis’ controversial and complicated relationship with his manager Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. It’s a truly star-making performance for Austin Butler, who may or may not think he’s still Elvis in real life. “Elvis” has been nominated for eight Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Austin Butler), Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Production Design. “Elvis” is streaming on HBO Max and can be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $6. Everything Everywhere All at Once “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has seemingly turned into the front-runner to win Best Picture at the 95th annual Academy Awards. The film, directed by the duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, tells the Wang family story in a very strange and unique way that truly must be seen to believe. The performances by Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis are all brilliant and the film has been cleaning up at award shows leading up to the Oscars. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has been nominated for 11 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Stephanie Hsu), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is streaming on the Showtime App and can be purchased for $20 on Amazon Prime Video. The Fabelmans “The Fabelmans” is supposed to be the most semi-autobiographical film that legendary director Steven Spielberg has ever made, loosely based on his adolescence and his love for film and his early desire to become a filmmaker. “The Fabelmans” has been nominated for seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Actress (Michelle Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Judd Hirsch), Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay and Best Production Design. “The Fabelmans” can be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $6. Tar “Tar” is writer-director Todd Field’s psychological drama about (fictional) renowned symphony conductor Lydia Tar, played by Cate Blanchett. Blanchett is one of the two front-runners to win Best Actress, along with Michelle Yeoh for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Blanchett is the only nominated actor or actress at the 95th annual Academy Awards to ever win an Oscar previously. “Tar” has been nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Todd Field), Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. “Tar” is currently streaming on Peacock and can be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $6. Top Gun: Maverick “Top Gun: Maverick” did the unthinkable in the summer of 2022 – it brought back the in-theater moviegoing experience after multiple years of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many films to streaming services. The sequel to the beloved 1986 Tony Scott-directed “Top Gun,” sees Tom Cruise reprising his role as pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell training a group of Top Gun graduates, including Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of his old partner “Goose” from the first film, for a major mission. “Top Gun: Maverick,” directed by Joseph Kosinski, has been nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects and Best Adapted Screenplay. If you weren’t one of the gazillion people to see the film in theaters last year, “Top Gun: Maverick” is currently streaming on Paramount+. It can also be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $5. Triangle of Sadness “Triangle of Sadness” is one of two foreign-language (mostly) films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year, along with “All Quiet on the Western Front,” seemingly showing the Academy’s new interest in recognizing worldwide cinema. “Triangle of Sadness” is writer-director Ruben Ostlund’s Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winning satirical black comedy about decadence when a celebrity couple embarks on a luxury cruise. “Triangle of Sadness” has been nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Ruben Ostlund) and Best Original Screenplay. “Triangle of Sadness” can be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $4. Women Talking “Women Talking” is writer-director Sarah Polley’s adaptation of the 2018 Miriam Toews novel that tells the story of a group of Mennonite women and girls who discover the men in their colony have been drugging and raping them and the decisions they must make about it. “Women Talking” has been nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. “Women Talking” is, unfortunately, probably the hardest of the 10 Best Picture nominees to find right now. It is currently playing in some theaters but may be hard to find in one depending on where you live. It’s also available for purchase on Amazon Prime Video for $20.
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by Julian Spivey In December I saw something called the “12 Movies Challenge” on Facebook. The premise was that you would have 12 months to watch 12 movies recommended by 12 friends. I don’t often participate in such social media challenges but being a movie buff I felt this might be an interesting way to get out of my comfort zone a bit when it comes to watching movies. My Facebook buds gave me some films that I’ve been meaning to watch and I pretty much front-loaded those on the list – though not explicitly stated in the challenge rules I am opting to watch one film a month. A Best Picture winner like “Out of Africa” is an obvious choice for me to get to at some point – that point is now going to be March of this year. But there are certain movies I’m not really looking forward to all that much – I’m looking at you “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken,” my August selection. Then there’s the acclaimed stuff that isn’t really up my alley like the anime feature “Spirited Away,” which I’ve scheduled for November. That will truly be me getting out of my comfort zone. Here are the 12 movies recommended to me and the months I’ve assigned myself to watch them: January: “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983) February: “Till” (2022) March: “Out of Africa” (1985) April: “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006) May: “Legally Blonde” (2001) June: “The Birdcage” (1996) July: “Morning Glory” (2010) August: “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) September: “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) October: “Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975) November: “Spirited Away” (2001) December: “The Last Laugh” (1924) Second on my year of movie recommendations is “Till” (2022) - recommended by my friend Taylor.
I scheduled the film for February because I figured it would make a good Black History Month viewing and it certainly does - if you’re not too familiar with the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till - blame your poor local education - but please watch this. It can currently be rented on Amazon Prime Video for $5.99. There’s been controversy surrounding a couple of the Best Actress Oscar nominees for next month’s Academy Awards taking the place of a performance like Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till - and while I haven’t seen most of those other nominees to feel able to give an “it’s better than those” opinion I can say unequivocally that Deadwyler’s performance is Oscar-worthy. The entire film relies upon her performance. Early last year I watched the ABC miniseries “Women of the Movement” (which is a horrible title that I’m sure the network hoped would become a series about important women) and it told the story of Mamie Till in the time after her son’s lynching in Mississippi in 1955. Because of that series, I knew most of what was going to happen in “Till,” which after seeing the miniseries seems like a condensed version. Watching “Women of the Movement” probably hurt the overall film-watching experience of “Till.” That isn’t meant to take anything away from director Chinonye Chukwu’s film. It’s well made for sure with an amazing lead performance from Deadwyler. Please watch it and learn about how a mom’s bravery in the face of losing her son in such a horrific way helped some in this country see how brutal and disturbing racism and hatred can be. This is probably paraphrased but there’s a line from Mamie Till around the midway point of the film that says: “My son is dead and she is fine. Carolyn Bryant is going to be fine.” Carolyn Bryant is the woman who started the whole ordeal by lying to her husband about what Emmett said/did to her (which was frankly shown in more detail in the ABC miniseries). You think history is all old stuff? Carolyn Bryant is still alive today - more than 65 years after the murder of Emmett Till she effectively caused. She’s 89 and living a free life and she had the ability to marry and have a family. Just Friday (February 10) news came out about how a family member of Emmett Till just filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have an arrest warrant recently found for Carolyn Bryant that has gone unserved for decades served. As long as she is still alive (something she should’ve resolved on her own years ago) justice should still be served. She didn’t deserve a long life with a family that Emmett Till was stripped from having. |
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