BEST PICTURE
Black Panther
Available on: Netflix, iTunes
Ryan Cooglar’s Marvel superhero movie scored big nominations and that’s being whined about, but the gripes say more about those complaining than the quality of the movie. A must-watch.
BlacKkKlansman
Available on: Cineplex, iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft, YouTube
Spike Lee landed his first director nomination for this film based on a book by Ron Stallworth, a Black cop that infiltrated the KKK in 1970s Colorado. It’s also up for best supporting actor (Adam Driver), as well as adapted screenplay, editing and score.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Available on: Cineplex, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube
The not-so-historically correct biographical about rock group Queen stars Rami Malek as late singer Freddie Mercury. Malek portrays Mercury perfectly, but NOW’s Norm Wilner calls it “a movie with no depth or resonance.”
The Favourite
Available on: iTunes (March 5), Google Play
Director Yorgos Lanthimos puts a manic comic spin on the story Queen Anne’s court in 18th century England. It’s up for 10 Oscars, including best director, best actress (Olivia Coleman), best supporting actress (Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz) and best original screenplay.
Green Book
Available on: iTunes (pre-order)
Critically polarizing, Peter Farrelly’s film won the audience award at TIFF last year. It’s nominated for five Oscars, including best supporting actor (Mahershala Ali) and best actor (Viggo Mortensen).
Roma
Available on: Netflix
Based in Mexico City in the early 70s and inspired by Alfonso Cuarón’s childhood, Roma is about a young woman working as a maid for an affluent family. The movie scored 10 nominations, including best director, best foreign language film and best actoress (Yalitza Aparicio).
A Star Is Born
Available on: iTunes, Google Play (purchase only)
Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut is the fourth and best remake of the 1937 film A Star Is Born. Cooper, Lady Gaga and Sam Elliott are all up for acting awards as well.
Vice
Available on: iTunes (March 12)
Our favourite American Psycho Christian Bale transformed himself yet again, this time into former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. Reviews were divided but it’s worth watching simply for Bale’s latex face. It’s up for eight awards, including best actor (Bale) and best director (Adam McKay).
ANIMATED FEATURE
Incredibles 2
Available on: Netflix, Google Play
Brad Bird’s Incredibles 2 was an obvious contender for best animated feature. The anticipated sequel picks up right where the original left off in 2004 – literally, the characters haven’t aged. Now its Elastagirl’s turn for her own adventure.
Isle Of Dogs
Available on: iTunes, Crave+
Wes Anderson is undeniably the king of stop-motion animation. His charm shines through in this film about a Japanese boy’s search for his dog after the species was banished due to canine flu.
Mirai
Available on: n/a
Director Mamoru Hosoda‘s time-travelling adventure has yet to hit streaming platforms in Canada.
Ralph Breaks The Internet
Available on: Google Play, YouTube
The sequel to Wreck-It Ralph was unnecessary, but it manages to be a charming film about video game bad guy Ralph and his best friend Vanellope von Schweetz navigating the internet.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Available on: iTunes (February 25)
Things are a little bit different in this version of the Spider-Man. We’re introduced to Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a kid in the Spider-verse who meets all sorts of Spider-folk, including Nicolas Cage who plays Spider-Noir and John Mulaney who plays Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Available on: iTunes (pre-order)
Nadine Labaki’s film tells the story of Zain, an undocumented Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the crime of giving him life despite horrible living conditions.
Cold War (Poland)
Available on: iTunes (pre-order)
Director Pawel Pawlikowski’s historical drama follows the romance of star-crossed lovers Zula and Wiktor during post-war Poland. It won the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Never Look Away (Germany)
Available on: iTunes (pre-order)
Set in Nazi Germany, this film explores a love story between a painter based on Gerhard Richter and the daughter of an ex-Nazi murderer. It’s also nominated for Best Cinematography.
Shoplifters (Japan)
Available on: Hoopla
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film is about a family of petty scammers that rely on shoplifting to survive. Almost unwillingly, they take in Yuri, a four-year-old girl, and teach her how to steal.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Free Solo
Available on: iTunes
This film follows mountain climber Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first free soloist to climb El Capitan rock face in Yosemite National Park.
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Available on: Kanopy
Following the lives of Black people in Hale Country, Alabama, this experimental doc from first-time feature director RaMell Ross offers an intimate look into the lives of a group of friends over five years.
Minding The Gap
Available on: n/a
Director Bing Liu‘s excellent debut about skateboarders in the U.S. midwest is not yet on streaming or rental platforms in Canada.
Of Fathers And Sons
Director Talal Derki posed as a war photographer sympathetic to the jihadist movement in order to profile Abu Osama, a founder of the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda. The resulting doc explores the man’s relationship with two of his young sons who are training to become militants.
RBG
This documentary is about the second woman ever appointed to the United States Supreme Court: octogenarian Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It’s a timely look at the court’s importance in the era of President Donald Trump.
ANIMATED SHORT
Animal Behaviour
Available on: snowdenfine.com
Produced in Vancouver and Montreal, this animated short focuses on the lives of five animals who regularly meet for a therapy session.
Bao
Available on: iTunes, Google Play, YouTube
Toronto-raised Domee Shi tells a Chinese version of The Gingerbread Man as a metaphor for her upbringing as an only child.
Late Afternoon
Available on: n/a
Louise Bagnall of Cartoon Saloon’s digitally hand-drawn short is about an elderly woman living with dementia who relives memories of her past to understand her future.
One Small Step
Available on: n/a
Created by TAIKO Studios, One Small Step is about a Chinese-American girl with the dream of becoming an astronaut.
Weekends
Available on: Kanopy
Trevor Jimenez’s 2D-animated Weekends is about a boy navigating his parents’ divorce. The boy must cope with splitting time between mom and dad, and learn how to see them as happy without each other.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Black Sheep
Available on: YouTube, shortoftheweek.com
Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn’s doc tells the story of a young Black boy from London who befriends a group of racists.
End Game
Available on: Netflix
Academy Award-winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s film follows the lives of families dealing with palliative care.
Lifeboat
Available on: n/a
Director Skye Fitzgerald gives viewers a close-up look at the work of a group of volunteers with the German non-profit Sea-Watch, which patrols waters off the coast of Libya looking for boats transporting migrants.
A Night At The Garden
Available on: anightatthegarden.com
Marshall Curry’s short is comprised entirely of archival footage of a 1939 rally in which 20,000 Americans gathered in support of Nazism.
Period. End Of Sentence.
Available on: Netflix
The arrival of a menstrual pad machine in a rural town outside of Delhi, India, sparks a discussion about the taboo topic of periods. This film explores the empowerment these women feel after the machine is installed.
Other nominated features:
A Quiet Place
Nominated for: Best sound editing
Available on: Netflix
At Eternity’s Gate
Nominated for: Best actor (Willem Dafoe)
Available on: Google Play iTunes
Avengers: Infinity War
Nominated for: Best visual effects
Available on: Netflix
Border
Nominated for: Best makeup & hairstyling
Available on: n/a
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Nominated for: Best actress (Melissa McCarthy), best supporting actor (Richard E. Grant), best adapted screenplay
Available on: iTunes
Christopher Robin
Nominated for: Best visual effects
Available on: iTunes, Google Play, Cineplex, YouTube
First Man
Nominated for: Best sound editing, best production design
Available on: iTunes, Google Play, Cineplex, YouTube
First Reformed
Nominated for: Best original screenplay
Available on: Crave+, iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft
If Beale Street Could Talk
Nominated for: Best supporting actress (Regina King), best adapted screenplay, best original score
Available on: n/a
Nominated for: Best costume design, best original song, best original score, best production design
Available on: n/a
Mary Queen Of Scots
Nominated for: Best makeup & hairstyling, best costume design
Available on: hoopla
Mother!
Nominated for: Best live action short (this is the only live-action short nominated this year that is currently available to stream in Canada)
Available on: Netflix
Ready Player One
Nominated for: Best visual effects
Available on: Crave+, Cineplex,
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Nominated for: Best visual effects
Available on: Netflix, Microsoft, Google Play
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
Nominated for: Best adapted screenplay, best costume design, best original song
Available on: Netflix
The Wife
Nominated for: Best actress (Glenn Close)
Available on: Cineplex, Google Play, YouTube, iTunes
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