Now that your hectic midterms week is over with and you’re back at home with some time to kill, why not spend your break watching ALL the movies nominated for the upcoming Oscars? I for one look forward to a movie marathon once my tush finds the couch of my living room. Don’t know what movies are nominated for Oscars? Well me either. As college students we don’t really feel the need to wander off campus to see the latest feature film for a crazy Saturday night. So for those of you who haven’t seen a movie since your family went to the movies on Christmas day, here’s the scoop on the ones you should watch before February 26th.
The following movies are nominated for Best Picture:
1. The Help
Based on the book by Kathryn Stockett, a young white southerner woman in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60s convinces a group of African-American maids to relate their experiences working in white households. The stories they share reflect the devastating social inequality governing every aspect of life in Jackson, and place the women at risk of reprisals from their employers. (It’s a sad movie but there’s some funny comic relief)
2. Hugo
Hugo Cabret is a young Parisian orphan who lives hidden away in the vast Gare Montparnasse train station. When he is not eluding the station’s watchful inspector, secretly keeping its many clocks running, or tinkering with a mechanical figure that belonged to his father, Hugo observes the lives of the people who work in the station…including an irascible toy shop owner named Georges Méliès.
3. Midnight in Paris
In this Woody Allen movie, a screenwriter, Owen Wilson, goes on a trip to Paris with his fiancée, Rachel McAdams, and is filled with nostalgia for the Paris of the 1920s, when artists and writers flocked to the City of Light in a celebrated period of creativity. For Gil, the romance of that bygone era exerts a pull that places him increasingly at odds with his impatient, unimaginative future wife.
4. The Artist
As the era of silent films draws to a close, two actors find their careers and their relationship influenced by the coming of talking pictures. While popular screen star George Valentin resists the transition to sound, young Peppy Miller embodies a modern age that is leaving Valentin behind. (Most people are betting on this to win best picture).
5. Moneyball
Following a devastating loss to the New York Yankees in the 2001 playoffs, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and his assistant, Peter Brand, devise a statistics-based formula for choosing potential players. Uncertain of his chances of success and following a plan that flouts conventional baseball wisdom, Beane sets out to rebuild his team. (Brad Pitt stars=reason to stare at him for 2 hours).
6. The Descendants
The complexities of life, death and family relations challenge a man faced with losing his wife. When Elizabeth King is left comatose following an accident, her husband Matt finds himself thrust into the unfamiliar role of caregiver to their two daughters, while at the same time facing a difficult financial decision that may put him at odds with other family members. (Very sad but really good movie, and thumbs up to Shailene Woodley who we now know is awesome and can do more than be a pregnant teenager on ABC Family).
7. The Tree of Life
A middle-aged man’s contemplation of the pattern and meaning of his life is interwoven with moments from his childhood in a small Texas town. As Jack O’Brien and his two younger brothers grow up, they are shaped by both the nurturing love of their mother and their demanding father’s strict discipline and unyielding expectations.
8. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
A young boy who may have Asperger’s syndrome must deal with the loss of his father on September 11.When eleven-year-old Oskar discovers a key among his father’s possessions, he becomes convinced that finding the lock it opens will help him understand the tragedy of his father’s death.
9. War Horse
The horrors of war are seen through the eyes of a valiant horse whose young owner must relinquish him to the army at the start of World War I. Separated from the farmer’s son who has raised and trained him, Joey enters the war as a cavalry horse and is soon plunged into the nightmarish heart of the conflict. (Just note this movie feels very long, and is, but there’s some great scenery).
So make sure to check these movies out before the Oscars view on Sunday, February 26 because there’s more to an award’s show than the red carpet and dresses!
P.S. If you have an inner child like I do, you should also add these movies nominated for best animated film to your list: Puss in Boots, Rango, A Cat in Paris, Chico and Rita, and Kung Fu Panda 2!!