Your guide to watching Oscar-nominated films
Replete with spellbinding multiverses, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” topped the 95th Academy Awards nominations with 11 nods. Elsewhere, stories of friendship and family permeated 2022 cinema and the nominations this year, as did big-budget blockbusters. Some of the nominated films are still in theaters, but many are also streaming. Here’s where you can find the nominated movies.
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ 11 nominations, digital rental, Paramount+ with Showtime add-on:
The A24-produced indie film has been a critical success and crowdpleaser. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu carry a mind-bending multiverse story about a Chinese American family’s disconnection and how they find each other again through the existence of other versions of themselves.
‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ nine nominations, HBO Max:
The film tells a tale of the ebbs and flows of the friendship between Colin Farrell’s Padraic and Brendan Gleeson’s Colm while highlighting haunting Irish landscapes.
‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ nine nominations, Netflix: This
film is an unflinching Germanlanguage adaptation of a classic antiwar novel about life and death in the World War I trenches.
‘Elvis,’ eight nominations, HBO Max:
Baz Luhrmann’s vision transforms Austin Butler into the King. The unconventional biopic tells the life of Elvis Presley from the perspective of his former manager, Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks.
‘The Fabelmans,’ eight nominations, digital rental:
Steven Spielberg’s most personal film yet documents the joys and ultimate perils that fragment the Fabelman family forever. Spielberg allows viewers to see behind his passion for film and his search for the meaning of family and life.
‘Tar,’ seven nominations, digital rental, Peacock:
Cate Blanchett plays a renowned conductor,
Lydia Tar. As the titular character, she is cunning, talented and on too high of a pedestal to fall — but she does. “Tar” deals with the dichotomy between power and art and takes on the culture wars dominating politics and popular discourse.
‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ six nominations. Paramount+:
Thirty-six years after the original “Top
Gun,” this sequel sees Tom Cruise reprise his role as “Maverick,” taking on a leadership and mentor role for supporting cast members Miles Teller and Glen Powell.
‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ four nominations, theaters:
The sequel delves into the journey of original “Avatar” main character Jake Sully’s family through adversity and loss. Director James Cameron builds a spiritual and visually compelling world.
‘Triangle of Sadness,’ four nominations, digital rental:
Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund has created a prickly social satire examining race, wealth, social class and inequality. It stars the late Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson as a model/influencer couple who end up on a yacht trip with other wealthy guests. Chaos ensues when the yacht gets stuck in a storm, and the guests end up on a deserted island.
‘The Whale,’ three nominations, theaters:
Brendan Fraser portrays Charlie, the 600-pound central character of “The Whale.” Charlie is a father, an English teacher and has terminal health issues that give him a life expectancy of a week. In that week, he attempts to bond with his estranged daughter. The film is based on and adapted from the play by Samuel D. Hunter.
‘Babylon,’ three nominations, theaters:
Director Damien Chazelle’s journey into 1920s Hollywood hedonism and drug-fueled fever dream of the bygone cinematic era stars Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Diego Calva.
‘Women Talking,’ two nominations, limited theaters:
Director Sarah Polley weaves the story of pervasive sexual assault plaguing the women in a Mennonite community. The film is an adaptation of a 2018 book by Miriam Toews.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ best supporting actress nominee, theaters, Disney+ on Feb. 1:
Angela Bassett is the first actor nominated for a Marvel role in this superhero movie made in the wake of the death of the original’s star Chadwick Boseman. Director Ryan Coogler’s sequel allows the audience to grieve the character T’challa and Boseman.
‘Causeway,’ best supporting actor nominee, Apple TV+:
The film homes in on the relationship between a military engineer (Jennifer Lawrence) recovering from the effects of a severe brain injury and an auto repair shop mechanic (nominee Brian Tyree Henry) living with the guilt and the physical aftereffects of a car accident.
‘Blonde,’ best actress nominee, Netflix: Nominee Ana de Armas portrays Marilyn Monroe in the adaption of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, “Blonde.” The film is a bruising narrative told from the perspective of director Andrew Dominik.
‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,’ best adapted screenplay nominee, Netflix:
The sequel features the return of Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc. The twisty whodunit does what the original did best: allow problematic and murderous rich people to measure their egos and decipher which one is a killer.
‘Aftersun,’ best actor nominee, digital rental:
Writer-director Charlotte Wells illustrates the bond between a father/daughter duo portrayed by nominee Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio. “Aftersun” touches on the pivotal moments in an adolescent life when the world feels so big but childlike wonder starts to fade when the reality of life peeks through the cracks.
‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,’ best animated film nominee, Netflix:
The child’s tale “Pinocchio” gets retold through the lens of Guillermo Del Toro’s dark mind. In his musical version, themes of fascism are explored.
‘EO,’ best international feature nominee, limited theaters:
“EO” is the story of a circus donkey who is taken from his owner and begins a long, spiritual journey through the Polish and Italian countrysides, encountering humans both kind and cruel.
‘Argentina, 1985,’ best international feature
nominee, Amazon Prime Video:
Director Santiago Mitre’s film establishes the 1985 Trial of the Juntas, a historic moment for Argentina that helped launch the country’s democratic future after seven years of military dictatorship.
‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,’ best documentary feature nominee, limited theaters:
Photographer Nan Goldin’s life’s work is told throughout the film. Directed by Laura Poitras, this documentary also dives into Goldin’s political activism and how the Sackler family’s philanthropic interests in the art world intersected with their pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma.
‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,’ best animated film nominee, digital rental:
This stop-motion animation film is based on the Youtube shorts made by Jenny Slate, who voices Marcel, and director Dean Fleischer Camp. The experience of being small, cute and unassuming is the heart of the film about a mollusk.
‘Turning Red,’ best animated film nominee, Disney+:
The film is a coming-of-age tale about a Chinese Canadian eighth grader who turns into a big, fluffy red panda — a walking metaphor for growing young womanhood.
‘RRR,’ best original song, Netflix:
S.S. Rajamouli’s action epic pairs N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan as revolutionaries fighting against the British colonialists in 1920.