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      How to Stream This Year’s Oscar Hopefuls

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Awards SeasonNetflix’s First Winner?Our Best Movie PicksNew Diversity RulesOscar-Winning DocumentariesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyHow to Stream This Year’s Oscar HopefulsCredit…Searchlight PicturesFeb. 20, 2021In a typical Academy Awards season, many top contenders are playing only in a few theaters when the nominations are announced. But like much of our lives these today, the way we watch movies has been upended. This year, most of the Oscar hopefuls are available for anyone to watch right now, across the country — not just in theaters, but on subscription streaming services and on video on demand.Here are eight of those films, each of which is either streaming or will be by the end of the month, and each of which is likely to be named in one or more categories when the nominations are announced on March 15. There’s still plenty of time to catch up — and view the Oscars like an insider.‘Nomadland’A front-runner for both best picture and best actress, “Nomadland” stars Frances McDormand as a widow adjusting to a new economic reality after losing her job. She travels around the West, living in her van and seeking seasonal employment while camping alongside other quasi-homeless people. Based on Jessica Bruder’s book — and adapted to the screen by Chloé Zhao — this moving and visually striking slice-of-life drama is a non-sensationalistic look at the hardships of living paycheck to paycheck, mitigated only slightly by a sense of community and the freedom to roam. Stream it on Hulu.[Read The New York Times review.]Credit…David Bornfriend/A24, via Associated Press‘Minari’The writer-director Lee Isaac Chung tells a version of his own story in the disarmingly heartfelt “Minari,” a low-key drama about a Korean immigrant (Steven Yeun) and his wife (Yeri Han), who move to rural Arkansas and get jobs at a local chicken plant while trying to establish their own produce farm. Yeun and Han, who play parents trying to preserve their cultural traditions while pursuing the American dream, are strong candidates in the acting categories. Chung surrounds his leads with vivid detail, sharing the humor, the anxiety and the hope of this family. Available Feb. 26 to rent or buy on VOD.[Read The New York Times review.]‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’Aaron Sorkin (who has an Oscar for his “The Social Network” screenplay) is likely to hear his name called again this year, for writing and directing the punchy and relevant political drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” Based on the contentious legal aftermath of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the film has an awards-worthy cast (led by Sacha Baron Cohen, playing the counterculture provocateur Abbie Hoffman) facing off as the antiwar activists and the conservative reactionaries who squabbled over the difference between “the right to protest” and “inciting a riot.” Stream it on Netflix.[Read The New York Times review.]Credit…David Lee/Netflix‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’Based on August Wilson’s Tony-nominated 1982 play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” covers one lively 1927 day in a Chicago recording studio, where a blues singer (Viola Davis) argues with her white business partners while her band swaps stories and practices her song. The movie features the final screen performance of Chadwick Boseman, who’ll almost certainly get a posthumous nomination for his take on the ambitious, cocky trumpeter Levee Green. This is a riveting and revelatory film all around, skillfully directed by the Broadway veteran George C. Wolfe. Stream it on Netflix.[Read The New York Times review.]‘Sound of Metal’Riz Ahmed gives one of 2020’s best performances in “Sound of Metal,” a quietly expressionistic drama directed by Darius Marder (who also co-wrote the film with his brother Abraham and Derek Cianfrance). Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer and a recovering addict whose livelihood and sobriety are threatened when he starts losing his hearing. Ahmed and Marder take the viewer inside Ruben’s experience, using sonic effects and subtle gestures to convey the mounting panic of someone who fears that everything he values is slipping away. Stream it on Amazon Prime.[Read The New York Times review.]Credit…HBO‘Welcome to Chechnya’“Welcome to Chechnya,” an enlightening documentary on the treatment of L.G.B.T.Q. citizens in Russia’s Chechnya could be nominated in both the documentary and visual effects categories. To try to safely capture the struggles of activists, the journalist and filmmaker David France keeps their identities anonymous, using cutting-edge digital technology to replace their faces. This identity-masking technique reinforces the film’s themes, which examine the lengths some people are forced to go to hide who they are. Stream it on HBO Max.[Read The New York Times review.]‘Another Round’The fine Danish director Thomas Vinterberg has made one of the best films of his career with “Another Round,” which he co-wrote with his frequent collaborator Tobias Lindholm. Mads Mikkelsen plays a depressed teacher who joins his fellow middle-aged drinking buddies in an experiment, to see if they’ll be happier, more honest and more creative if they drink alcohol steadily throughout the daylight hours, every day. This may sound like the premise for either a raunchy comedy or a bleak drama, but Vinterberg, Lindholm and Mikkelsen approach the idea with a free-flowing mix of seriousness and whimsy, frankly exploring life’s pains and pleasures. Rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.[Read The New York Times review.]Credit…Disney+‘Soul’The best Pixar Animation Studios picture since “Coco” is a similarly playful fantasy, about an affable fellow who crosses over into the spirit world. Jamie Foxx is the voice of Joe, a music teacher who longs to be a performing pianist in a jazz combo, but who suffers a near-fatal accident. Tina Fey is a shapeless unborn being who becomes Joe’s guide to the netherworld between life and death, just as he becomes her mentor in the art of being human. With its beautiful music, its optimistic tone and its imaginative imagery, “Soul” isn’t just a clever cartoon, it’s a little jolt of joy. Stream it on Disney+.[Read The New York Times review.]AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ and ‘Borat’ Advance to the Oscar Shortlist

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Awards SeasonNetflix’s First Winner?Our Best Movie PicksNew Diversity RulesOscar-Winning DocumentariesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘Eurovision Song Contest’ and ‘Borat’ Advance to the Oscar ShortlistThe films’ tunes made the cut for original song. Shortlists for documentary, international feature and six other categories were also released.The original song category includes “Husavik,” from the Rachel McAdams-Will Ferrell comedy,  “Eurovision Song Contest.”Credit…John Wilson/NetflixFeb. 9, 2021, 6:00 p.m. ET“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” inched one step closer to being Oscar nominees on Tuesday when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its shortlists for nine categories.“Wuhan Flu,” from the “Borat” sequel, and “Husavik,” from the Will Ferrell comedy about the European contest, advanced in the original song category along with 13 other tunes. Some 92 songs, including “Just Sing” from “Trolls World Tour,” didn’t make the cut.Members of the various branches will vote March 5-9 to determine the final five nominees. Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15.In the documentary feature category, 238 films in contention were whittled down to 15. Favorites still in the mix include Netflix’s “Dick Johnson Is Dead” “Crip Camp” and “My Octopus Teacher.” Also, in contention are Amazon’s “All In: The Fight for Democracy” and “MLK/FBI.” Neither Netflix’s popular “The Social Dilemma” nor Bryan Fogel’s “The Dissident,” about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, made the list.In the international feature category, 93 countries submitted films, the most ever, but only 15 now remain. “Another Round,” from Denmark, has been an early favorite and made narrowed list. The film, from director Thomas Vinterberg, stars Mads Mikkelsen as a high school teacher in the midst of a midlife crisis. Also popular is the Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s “Charlatan,” which was submitted by the Czech Republic.Voters from all branches of the academy are eligible to vote on the international feature category but are required to meet a minimum viewing requirement to do so. The group chose films from around the world, including the Ivory Coast (“Night of the Kings”), Guatemala (“La Llorona”) and Tunisia (“The Man Who Sold His Skin”).The academy also released shortlists for the short film categories, hair and makeup, visual effects and original score. For those contenders, go to oscars.org. Here are the shortlists for original song, documentary feature and international feature.Original Song“Turntables” (from “All In: The Fight for Democracy”)“See What You’ve Done” (“Belly of the Beast”)“Wuhan Flu” (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”)“Husavik” (“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”)“Never Break” (“Giving Voice”)“Make It Work” (“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”)“Fight For You” (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)“Lo Sì (Seen)” (“The Life Ahead”)“Rain Song” (“Minari”)“Show Me Your Soul” (“Mr. Soul!”)“Loyal Brave True” (“Mulan”)“Free” (“The One and Only Ivan”)“Speak Now” (“One Night in Miami”)“Green” (“Sound of Metal”)“Hear My Voice” (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”)Documentary Feature“All In: The Fight for Democracy”“Boys State”“Collective”“Crip Camp”“Dick Johnson Is Dead”“Gunda”“MLK/FBI”“The Mole Agent”“My Octopus Teacher”“Notturno”“The Painter and the Thief”“76 Days”“Time”“The Truffle Hunters”“Welcome to Chechnya”International FeatureBosnia and Herzegovina, “Quo Vadis, Aida?”Chile, “The Mole Agent”Czech Republic, “Charlatan”Denmark, “Another Round”France, “Two of Us”Guatemala, “La Llorona”Hong Kong, “Better Days”Iran, “Sun Children”Ivory Coast, “Night of the Kings”Mexico, “I’m No Longer Here”Norway, “Hope”Romania, “Collective”Russia, “Dear Comrades!”Taiwan, “A Sun”Tunisia, “The Man Who Sold His Skin”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      How to Improve the Oscars? We Asked Five Culture Journalists

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Awards SeasonNetflix’s First Winner?Our Best Movie PicksNew Diversity RulesOscar-Winning DocumentariesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyTimes InsiderHow to Improve the Oscars? We Asked Five Culture JournalistsYes, even in a year when the show will be held during a pandemic, the question is predictable. But these answers aren’t.The Academy Awards, which will be held on April 25, could do more to be fan-friendly.Credit…Matt Petit/Getty ImagesJan. 31, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETTimes Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.The New York Times’s Culture desk recently looked at how the 93rd Academy Awards, scheduled for April 25, will take shape during the pandemic. One article features five Hollywood insiders talking about ways the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences could make the Oscars more entertaining. Below, five of the journalists on the desk offer their thoughts on the same topic — well, four of them do.Live from … New Orleans?I’m in the camp that believes the Oscars would benefit from brevity, or at least finishing on time. (We on the East Coast have tight deadlines and work in the morning!) But aside from that, my dream is for the academy to host the ceremony in a different location each year, like the Super Bowl. The film industry has expanded in Atlanta, New Orleans and Austin, Texas — it could be another economic boon for those cities. Hollywood is often criticized for being out of touch with regular people. What better way to combat that notion? And fans would get a kick out of it. — Maira Garcia, digital news editorTime to retuneRethink the musical numbers. Songs in movies are written to help tell stories, not to be bellowed, devoid of context, by off-key pop stars backed by phalanxes of chorines. The orchestral arrangements and attempts at dance are too often informed by a generic idea of Hollywood spectacle — or, on the other hand, of pop spirituality. Get more specific! And since the Oscars take place in a theater, get a theater choreographer to stage them. — Jesse Green, chief theater critic‘I’d like to start my puzzling tangent immediately’After nominations have been announced, all finalists would have to submit to the academy the names of agents, managers, publicists, assistants and any other professional colleagues that they would have otherwise thanked in their acceptance speeches; these names would then be posted on the academy’s website or displayed alongside the eventual winner during the Oscars broadcast. Winners would thus have to focus their acceptance speeches on inspirational lessons gleaned from the making of their movie; ribald needling of rival nominees in their category; endorsement of fringe political beliefs that they are trying to articulate for the first time; and heartfelt expressions of gratitude to parents, mentors and school-age children watching at home. (Any violations of these rules would be enforced by catapult.) — Dave Itzkoff, culture reporterBest (loved) pictureAt a time when Hollywood has lamented the loss of moviegoing (I sorely miss it, too), wouldn’t it be nice if the Academy Awards celebrated moviegoers? One way to do that would be to let audiences nationwide vote on their favorite film and award a new Oscar to the winner. This wouldn’t be the same as the academy’s proposed prize for “achievement in popular film.” That short-lived, much maligned idea would have left the decision up to the organization’s members. This would give fans a voice. And who knows? Their favorite could match up with best picture. A win all around. — Stephanie Goodman, film editorLet Oscar be OscarI’m not sure the Oscars need to be, or can be, “improved,” at least as a TV show. (Whether they really measure the best work in movies is another question.) They will always be a mixed bag on average. They inevitably have to serve a casual audience along with a smaller audience of movie buffs. You can hire good producers and cast good talent and make room for spontaneous moments, but beyond that, it’s a matter of chance and whether lightning strikes. It’s easier to make an awards show bad — with ill-conceived stunts, e.g. — than to make one good. But I also don’t think there was any golden age when awards shows were better than they are now. This may be a terrible thing for a TV critic to say. But, just watch them or don’t! If you’re dissatisfied with the Oscars, you may just not be a person who likes awards shows very much, and that’s fine. — James Poniewozik, chief television criticAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Indie Spirits Nominate a Diverse Group of Filmmakers

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe ProjectionistIndie Spirits Nominate a Diverse Group of FilmmakersMovies by women and people of color make up all of the contenders for best feature and best director.“Minari,” starring, from left, Alan S. Kim, Steve Yeun, Noel Cho and Yeri Han, is among the nominees for the top Indie Spirit.Credit…David Bornfriend/A24, via Associated PressJan. 26, 2021, 12:29 p.m. ETThe Oscars will be adopting new diversity guidelines soon, but the Independent Spirit Awards are already walking that talk.None of the nominees announced Tuesday for the best feature award at the Indie Spirits — “First Cow,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Minari,” “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” and “Nomadland” — were directed by white men, whose efforts are usually far overrepresented during awards season.All five nominees for best director are women and people of color, too. And of the directorial debuts nominated in the best first-film category (including “I Carry You With Me” by Heidi Ewing, “The Forty-Year-Old Version” by Radha Blank, “Miss Juneteenth” by Channing Godfrey Peoples and “Nine Days” by Edson Oda), only one was directed by a white man — Darius Marder’s “Sound of Metal.”For too many years, the Indie Spirits, handed out by the nonprofit Film Independent, could feel like they were following the Academy Awards’ lead, handing their trophies to whoever was deemed the Oscar front-runner. They were even accused of bending their own rules to let in bigger, starrier productions — in one memorable example, Harvey Weinstein successfully lobbied the organization to lift its $20 million budget threshold so that “Silver Linings Playbook” could be considered. It won four awards at the 2013 ceremony, including best feature.But the Indie Spirits work best as a corrective of the bigger, more prestigious ceremony. The last two winners of the best-feature Indie Spirit — “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “The Farewell” — weren’t even nominated for best picture at the Oscars and absolutely should have been. And though the Indie Spirits did nominate the film that some consider this year’s Oscar front-runner, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland,” the race is still fluid.Chloé Zhao at work on “Nomadland” with Frances McDormand in the background.Credit…Searchlight Pictures, via Associated Press(The best feature nominees echoed other recent awards announcements. On Sunday, at the New York Film Critics Circle ceremony, “First Cow” won best film. And on Monday, the American Film Institute included several lower-budget films among its Movies of the Year: “Da 5 Bloods,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “One Night in Miami,” “Soul,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”)At the Indie Spirits, nominees for best male lead are Steven Yeun (“Minari”), Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Adarsh Gourav (“The White Tiger”) and Rob Morgan (“Bull”). For best female lead, the contenders are Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”), Nicole Beharie (“Miss Juneteenth”), Julia Garner (“The Assistant”) and Sidney Flanigan (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”).Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” earned the group’s Robert Altman Award, which is given to a single film’s director, casting director and ensemble of performers.The ceremony will be broadcast live on the IFC channel on April 22. See the full list of nominations here.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More