Tips for your last-minute viewing of the nominees

Sunday’s Academy Awards loom, especially for those procrastinators who haven’t gotten around to watching all of the nominated movies and performances. Don’t freak out. You can still fill out your Oscar pool at work if you cherry-pick your viewing options.

1 THE BEST OF PICTURES Nine movies are up for the top prize, but you can get by if you watch two of the favorites: the period drama 12 Years a Slave (on video-on-demand) and the sci-fi thriller Gravity (on VOD now, Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday).

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years makes the audience feel every bit of the abuse that slaves Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) endure. And in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, two astronauts (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) are put through outer-space hell.

2 PREMIER PERFORMANCES Want really top-notch acting? Your must-sees are Dallas Buyers Club (on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD) and American Hustle (you’ll have to go to the theater for that one, given its March 14 VOD and March 18 DVD release dates).

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto both have a great chance of sweeping awards season with their Buyers Club roles — McConaughey as real-life 1980s AIDS patient Ron Woodruff and Leto as his transgender, HIV-positive business partner. And Hustle, director David O. Russell’s gonzo take on cops, con men and the 1970s Abscam case, has four contenders in the acting races: Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper.

3 KNOCKOUT LOOKS Besides Dallas Buyers Club, there are just two other nominees for best makeup and hairstyling.

Chances are you didn’t see Johnny Depp with a Native American facial and crow-bedecked headwear — no one did, really — so there’s The Lone Ranger (out on Blu-ray and DVD) for that.

And supreme prankster Johnny Knoxville makes you laugh as he dons the look of a crotchety 86-year-old in Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (out on Blu-ray and DVD). 4 THE SOUND OF MUSIC If you don’t have Let It Go from Frozen (on VOD Tuesday) humming in your head, congratulations. Most everyone else, especially parents, has been ear-wormed by the tune from Disney’s box-office powerhouse. It’s worth a view, though: The movie is a favorite for animated feature and original song.

5 EFFECTUAL EXTRAVAGANZAS The geek contingent usually doesn’t get much love at the Oscars, except for the visual-effects honorees, but there’s a good bit of eye candy this year. Gravity already is on your list, so you’ll see that gorgeous above-orbit tracking shot that all the movie nerds loved. In addition, everything looks cool, from Klingons to Khan, in the final frontier of Star Trek Into Darkness (out on Bluray and DVD). And who doesn’t love an armored Robert Downey Jr. flying through the air in Iron Man 3 (out on Blu-ray and DVD)?

FRANCOIS DUHAMEL, COLUMBIA PICTURES Bradley Cooper, right, with Alessandro Nivola, is one of four Hustle stars nominated.

ANNE MARIE FOX, FOCUS FEATURES Jared Leto, left, and Matthew McConaughey are looking good for Academy Award honors for their roles in Dallas Buyers Club. The film has six nominations total, including best picture.

JAAP BUITENDIJK, FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES Chiwetel Ejiofor, right, who stars in 12 Years a Slave with Adepero Oduye, is also a nominee in the best-actor category.