WHERE TO WATCH THE 2021 OSCAR-NOMINATED FILMS by Susan Granger
Although some cineplexes have reopened and I’ve been vaccinated, I’m still worried about sitting in a confined space for two hours or more with others who may or may not also have had their COVID-19 inoculations. While hospitalizations and deaths have declined, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that there’s still a danger.
Let’s be honest: when you’re munching popcorn, you’re not wearing a mask, and who knows about the ventilation? And as President Biden said, “The only way to get our lives back, to get our economy back on track, is to beat the virus.”
Biden proposed July 4th – Independence Day – as when family and friends should feel free to celebrate, so I’ll probably wait until then to go out to the movies, even though it’s several months away.
In the meantime, the Academy Awards nominations have been announced and it’s much more fun to have seen the contenders before a winner is declared on Sunday, April 25.
Here’s how – for each of the eight Best Picture nominees, along with nominees in other categories.
“Mank,” a black-and-white period drama about “Citizen Kane” and Old Hollywood, received 10 Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Director (David Fincher), Actor (Gary Oldman), Supporting Actress (Amanda Seyfried) Cinematography (Erik Messerschmidt), Costume Design (Trish Summerville), Production Design (Donald Graham Burr, Jan Pascale), Best Score (Trent Raznor, Atticus Ross), Sound (Ren Klyve, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nanve, Drew Kunin), Makeup & Hairstyling (Gigi Williams, Kimberly Spiteri, Colleen LaBaff).
You can see “Mank” on Netflix, the streaming service that scored a record-breaking 35 nominations and is heavily campaigning for a Best Picture winner.
Also on Netflix, there’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” with six nominations: Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Sacha Baron Cohen), Original Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), Cinematography (Phedon Papamichal), Editing (Alan Baumgarten), and Best Song (“Hear My Voice”).
Plus, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” scoring five nominations: Best Actor (Chadwick Boseman), Actress (Viola Davis), Costumes (Ann Roth), Production Design (Mark Ricker, Karen O’Hara, Diana Stoughton), Makeup & Hairstyling (Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson).
And “Hillbilly Elegy” with two nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Glenn Close), Makeup & Hairstyling (Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle, Patricia Dehaney)…”Pieces of a Woman,” nominated for Best Actress (Vanessa Kirby)…Australia’s ”My Octopus Teacher,” nominated for Best Documentary…”Crip Camp,” nominated for Best Documentary…”The Midnight Sky,” nominated for Best Visual Effects (Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon, David Watkins).
” The Life Ahead,” nominated for Best Original Song (“Io Si”)…”Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga,” nominated for Best Song (“Husavik”)…”Over the Moon,” nominated for Best Animated Feature…”Da 5 Bloods,” nominated for Best Score (Terence Blanchard)…”The White Tiger,” nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (Ramin Bahrani)…”A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” nominated for Best Animated Feature.
Switch to Hulu to stream “Nomadland” that received six nominations: Best Picture, Director (Chloe Zhao), Actress (Frances McDormand), Adapted Screenplay (Zhao), Editing (Zhao) and Cinematography (Joshua James Richards).
Hulu is also streaming Thomas Vinterberg’s Danish tragicomedy “Another Round” – about a middle-aged an awakening from years spent on autopilot – with two nominations: Best International Film, Director…”The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” nominated for Best Actress (Andra Day)…and “The Mole Agent,” nominated for Best Documentary.
Amazon Prime Video features “Sound of Metal” with six nominations: Picture, Actor (Riz Ahmed), Supporting Actor (Paul Raci), Screenplay (Darius Marder, Abraham Marder, Derek Cianfrance), Editing (Mikkel E.G. Nielsen), Sound (Nicolas Becker, Jamie Baksht, Michael Couttolenc, Carlos Cortes, Phillip Bladh).
The mockumetary sequel “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” with two nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Maria Bakalova), Best Adapted Screenplay (Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern, Nina Pedrad).
And “Time” with one nomination: Best Documentary.
On Amazon Prime Video, you can rent “Minari” with six nominations: Best Picture, Director (Lee Isaac Chung), Actor (Steven Yeun), Supporting Actress (Yuh-Jung Youn), Screenplay (Chung) and Score (Emile Mosseri).
Plus there’s the candy-coated thriller “Promising Young Woman” with five nominations: Best Picture, Director (Emerald Fennell), Actress (Carey Mulligan), Screenplay (Emerald Fennel), Film Editing (Frederic Thoraval).
And “One Night in Miami” with three nominations: Supporting Actor (Leslie Odom Jr.), Adapted Screenplay (Kemp Powers) and Song (“Speak Now”).
Along with Hong Kong’s “Better Days,” nominated for Best International Feature.
Available for rent on Amazon, YouTube, Vudu and/or iTunes as of Friday, March 26, “The Father” received six nominations: Picture, Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Supporting Actress (Olivia Colman), Adapted Screenplay (Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton), Editing (Yorgos Lamprinos), Production Design (Peter Francis, Cathy Featherstone).
Plus “News of the World” with four nominations: Cinematography (Dariusz Wolski), Production Design (David Crank, Elizabeth Keenan), Score (James Newton Howard), and Sound (Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller, John Pritchett)… Romania’s ”Collective,” nominated for Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature… “Que Vadis, Aida?” nominated for Best International Feature.
“Pinocchio,” nominated for Best Costume Design (Massimo Cantini Parrii), Best Makeup & Hairstyling (Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli, Francesco Pigoretti)…”Tenet,” nominated for Best Production Desig (Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas), Best Visual Effects (Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley, Scott Fisher)… “Love and Monsters,” nominated for Best Visual Effects (Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt, Brian Cox).
As of now, “Judas and the Black Messiah” is unavailable to rent but it should be back on a streaming service – probably HBO Max – soon. Its six nominations include: Best Picture, Supporting Actors (Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield), Cinematography (Sean Bobbitt), Song (“Fight for You”), and Screenplay (Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny & Keith Lucas).
Also currently unavailable for streaming: Tunisia’s “The Man Who Sold His Skin,” nominated for Best International Feature.
On Disney+, there’s “Soul” with three nominations: Animated Feature, Score (Jon Baptiste, Trent Raznor, Atticus Ross) and Sound ((Rem Klyce, Coya Elliott David Parker).
And “Mulan” with two nominations: Best Costume Design (Bina Daigeler), Visual Effects (Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury, Steve Ingram), along with “The One and Only Ivan,” nominated for Best Visual Effects (Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones, Santiago Colomo Martinez)…and “Onward,” nominated as Best Animated Feature.
HBO Max is streaming “Emma” with two nominations: Best Costume Design (Alexandra Byrne), Best Makeup & Hairstyling (Marese Lanan, Laura Allen, Claudia Stolze).
Apple+ offers “Wolfwalkers” with one nomination: Best Animated Feature…and ”Greyhound” with one nomination: Best Sound (Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders, David Wyman).