ARE YOU READY FOR OSCAR? START WITH TOP PIC PICKS
Still working your way through the Academy Awards best- picture nominees? USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt helps you prioritize. The Oscars air Sunday ( ABC, 7 p. m. ET/ 4 PT).
ARRIVAL
out of four PLOT: A linguistics expert ( Amy Adams) is tasked with decipheringmessages from alien visitors. DIRECTOR: Denis Villeneuve RATING: PG- 13 UPSIDE: It’s a supremely crafted, well- acted and thoughtprovoking exploration of humanity. DOWNSIDE: Most every other recent sci- fi movie looks pedestrian in comparison.
FENCES
A Pittsburgh garbage PLOT: man ( DenzelWashington) finds success at work but increasing tension at home. Denzel DIRECTOR: Washington PG- 13 RATING: BothWashington and UPSIDE: co- star Viola Davis give powerhouse, awards- ready performances.
It’s more filmed DOWNSIDE: play than movie, so it doesn’t feel cinematic in scope.
HACKSAW RIDGE
A devout young man PLOT: ( Andrew Garfield) enlists in the Army duringWorldWar II yet won’t touch a gun. Mel Gibson DIRECTOR: R RATING: Gibson’s latest is a UPSIDE: brutally intense and elegantly crafted war drama.
DOWNSIDE: The film wrestles with overt preachiness and military- movie clichés.
HELL OR HIGHWATER
TwoWest Texas brothers ( Ben Foster, Chris Pine) brazenly rob the branches of a bank that is foreclosing on their family’s land.
David Mackenzie DIRECTOR: R RATING: An excellent Jeff UPSIDE: Bridges is in his element as a Texas Ranger pursuing the crooks.
TheWestern noir DOWNSIDE: could be a little more subtle in its exploration of modern economic decline.
HIDDEN FIGURES
Three mathematicians PLOT: ( Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and JanelleMonáe) overcome racial and gender inequality to help America during the Space Race.
TheodoreMelfi DIRECTOR: PG RATING: The film utilizes a UPSIDE: strong cast as well as heady themes of civil rights.
The space DOWNSIDE: drama sometimes takes the focus off the three stars’ magnetic chemistry.
LION
Two decades after PLOT: being separated from his family, a young Australian man ( Dev Patel) plots a path back home to India. Garth Davis DIRECTOR: PG- 13 RATING: Patel and newcomer UPSIDE: Sunny Pawar give strong performances as older and younger versions of Saroo Brierley.
The ending DOWNSIDE: couldn’t bemore emotionally manipulative, though it’s forgivable.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
A handyman ( Casey PLOT: Affleck) is forced to confront a past tragedy when he’s named sole guardian of his nephew ( LucasHedges). Kenneth Lonergan DIRECTOR: R RATING: Affleck andHedges UPSIDE: are tops among an all- around extraordinary cast. Parents will find DOWNSIDE: one scene hard to watch because of the subjectmatter.
MOONLIGHT
PLOT: A three- act character study that follows the life of a gay blackman from struggling child to intimidating adult. DIRECTOR: Barry Jenkins RATING: R UPSIDE: The drama is supremely well- acted and beautifully captures the intimate evolution of its main character. DOWNSIDE: Themiddle act, while very good, doesn’t rise to the exceptional levels of the film’s beginning and end.