These Are the Oscar-Nominated Movies You Need To Watch Before the Awards

The Oscars are quickly approaching, with this year’s show taking place on March 12. For some, that means you only have so much time to catch up on all the movies that are nominated at this year’s ceremony. And there are … a lot! From short films and animated movies you may have missed, all the way up to the Best Picture nominees, there are so many movies to see, and there’s undoubtedly stuff you just didn’t have time to catch yet.

Now that the Academy Awards are almost here, let’s talk about which movies you should prioritize—because, well, you don’t have that much time to catch up, seeing as the ceremony is only a few days away.

There are also some movies you should watch that did not get the Best Picture nod—like RRR and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery—but we’re going to focus on five of the Best Picture nominees that you should watch in the next few days if you haven’t yet!

Everything Everywhere All at Once

If you haven’t watched Everything Everywhere All at Once over the last year, what are you doing? Truly the movie I want to take home the big award at the end of the night, Everything Everywhere All at Once just feels like a perfect movie, and it has ushered in a new love for stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. On top of that, it’s just really good.

Evelyn Wang (Yeoh) is going through her life, paying her taxes, and struggling to keep her laundromat afloat. But when the universe depends on her to mend her relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu), we’re thrust into all the different lives that Evelyn could have lived, and we get to see how her husband Waymond (Quan) helps Evelyn on her universal journey. It’s brilliant, fun, and a movie that just feels unique and exciting in a way that many “complain” movies don’t anymore.

So in your line-up of movies to catch before the Academy Awards, this should be at the top of your list.

Where to watch: Everything Everywhere All at Once is streaming on Showtime, and is available to buy or rent.

The Banshees of Inisherin

A Martin McDonagh film about lost friendship set in Ireland? It already sounds like a perfect movie to watch, but then you add in Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reuniting and we’re all sold. The Banshees of Inisherin is one of those movies that hurts to watch because so many of us have felt that pain of losing a friend over nothing other than growing apart.

It’s an emotional journey, but it is a great film overall. I think if The Banshees of Inisherin wasn’t up against something like Everything Everywhere All at Once, it might end up winning but I just don’t think that it is going to take home the Best Picture win. Still, it is a great movie and worth the watch.

Where to watch: The Banshees of Inisherin is streaming on HBO and HBO Max, and is available to buy or rent.

The Fabelmans

Whether you grew up loving Steven Spielberg movies or you just love movies about finding your passion and following it, The Fabelmans is worth the watch. Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) wants to make movies. From the first time he goes to the cinema to filming his family camping trip, he loves getting to tell stories for his mother (Michelle Williams). The movie is a semi-autobiographical look into Spielberg’s own upbringing and his love for making movies, which gave us one of the best directors out there.

Movies like The Fabelmans are emotional for fans of cinema, but it’s even more special given our love for Spielberg and his work as a whole. Seeing how much he loved this growing up and how it inspired him while knowing that Spielberg’s own movies inspired countless filmmakers made this one of the more special watches this year.

Where to watch: The Fabelmans is available to rent or buy.

Women Talking

The Sarah Polley film Women Talking has been the butt of a great many joke this award season, mainly because of the title of the film. But the movie is about women talking, specifically about leaving their oppressive religious community after suffering a series of sexual assaults. Inspired by a true story, Women Talking is a little hard to watch because you’re aware that these women had to go through so much sexual assault and pain before deciding to take care of themselves and their daughters.

The film is a conversation, for the most part, in which the women are trying to decide what their best course of action is: Stay and fight, stay and do nothing, or leave the colony behind. Women Talking is a brilliant film from Polley (who should have been nominated for Best Director) and features myriad incredible performances from some of our favorite actresses.

Tár

Lydia Tár may be canceled but that doesn’t mean we don’t love her movie. Tár, starring Cate Blanchett as the titular conductor, brings us into the world of a woman who is far from perfect. Not exactly your ally if you want to join the industry, Lydia uses her power to her advantage. It’s a fascinating look at a complicated artist and how their power can completely destroy them.

If you watch this for anything, do it for Lydia. The internet is obsessed with her for good reason, and Blanchett is great in the rolem so it’s well worth it!

Where to watch: Tár is streaming on Peacock, and is available to rent or buy.

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Which movies are you excited to watch before the Oscars?

(featured image: Rodin Eckenroth, FilmMagic)