ARTICLE
Watch the Oscar ‘Best Picture’ nominees during the CNY holidays
By Flora / 22 Jan 2020 (Wednesday)
Escape the blasting of the dong dong qiang music on the streets, or avoid ‘so how’s your life’ updates from relatives by heading to your nearest cinema for some me-time. If you are into the awards season, this is pretty much the best time to catch up on the Oscar-nominated films before the awards show on 10 February.
Parasite
The Korean movie has been making historic wins around the world such as at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild awards, Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, etc, putting Asian cinema on the world map.
Synopsis:
Ki-taek's family of four is close, but fully unemployed, with a bleak future ahead of them. The son Ki-woo is recommended by his friend, a student at a prestigious university, for a well-paid tutoring job, spawning hopes of a regular income. Carrying the expectations of all his family, Ki-woo heads to the Park family home for an interview. Arriving at the house of Mr. Park, the owner of a global IT firm, Ki-woo meets Yeon-kyo, the beautiful young lady of the house. But following this first meeting between the two families, an unstoppable string of mishaps lies in wait.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Director - Bong Joon Ho
- Best Foreign Language Film
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Production Design
- Best Film Editing
Parasite is showing at selected Golden Village cinemas and The Projector
1917
Sam Mendes’s (Skyfall, Spectre) Wold War I film 1917 is a technically marvellous movie. The film plays out entirely in one shot as the audience follow a pair of soldiers in real-time. Of course, it wasn’t shot all in just one-take, which makes this movie a technical masterpiece.
Synopsis:
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (Captain Fantastic’s George MacKay) and Blake (Game of Thrones’ Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers—Blake’s own brother among them.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Original Music Score
- Best Director - Sam Mendes
- Best Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound Mixing
- Best Visual Effects
- Best Production Design
- Best Sound Editing
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Jojo Rabbit
Not everyone can tackle a subject like Hitler quite like Taika Waititi, the director of comedy-drama Jojo Rabbit. It’s spoof-like feature isn’t one that is off-putting like the Scary Movie series, but told through the eyes and experience of a ten-year-old boy who often talks with his imaginary friend, a supportive but childish version of Adolf Hitler.
Synopsis:
Lonely German boy Jojo "Rabbit" Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) has his world view turned upside down when he discovers that his single mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Supporting Actress - Scarlett Johansson
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Costume Design
- Best Production Design
- Best Film Editing
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
Directed and written by Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is a modern fairy tale tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age. Set in 1969 Los Angeles, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
Synopsis:
A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
- Best Supporting Actor - Brad Pitt
- Best Director - Quentin Tarantino
- Best Original Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound Mixing
- Best Costume Design
- Best Production Design
- Best Sound Editing
Little Women
Directed by Greta Gerwig, Little Women is the seventh film adaption of the 1868 novel about the March sisters. The film has been praised for its reimagining of the family story that had people sobbing in the cinema. The film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep.
Synopsis:
Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig’s take, the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on her own terms -- is both timeless and timely. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothee Chalamet as their neighbour Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Actress - Saoirse Ronan
- Best Supporting Actress - Florence Pugh
- Best Original Music Score
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Costume Design
Little Women is showing exclusively at GV cinemas
Joker
Todd Phillips’ Joker is one of the most discussed films of 2019, which stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. Many praised for his psychotic take of the DC Comics villain, and the backstory of his life in Gotham City.
Synopsis:
Forever alone in a crowd, Arthur Fleck seeks connection. Yet, as he trods the sooted Gotham City streets and rides the graffitied mass transit rails of a hostile town teeming with division and dissatisfaction, Arthur wears two masks. One, he paints on for his day job as a clown. The other he can never remove; it’s the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel he’s a part of the world around him, and not the misunderstood man whom life is repeatedly beating down. Fatherless, Arthur has a fragile mother, arguably his best friend, who nicknamed him Happy, a moniker that’s fostered in Arthur a smile that hides the heartache beneath. But, when bullied by teens on the streets, taunted by suits on the subway, or simply teased by his fellow clowns at work, this social outlier only becomes even more out of sync with everyone around him.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Actor - Joaquin Phoenix
- Best Original Music Score
- Best Director - Todd Phillips
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound Mixing
- Best Costume Design
- Best Sound Editing
- Best Film Editing
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Or you can lock yourself in your room and stream these films on Netflix...
The Irishman
The Irishman marks one of the most expensive and longest films of film auteur Martin Scorsese’s career, with $159 million and a runtime of 209 minutes. Yes, that’s more than 3 hours long for the crime film, based on the 2004 nonfiction book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. It stars Robert De Niro (who is shockingly left out for in the Best Actor award category), Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Supporting Actor - Al Pacino
- Best Supporting Actor - Joe Pesci
- Best Director - Martin Scorsese
- Best Adapted Screenplay
- Best Cinematography
- Best Visual Effects
- Best Costume Design
- Best Production Design
- Best Film Editing
The Irishman is streaming on Netflix
Marriage Story
Many have tackled a drama on love and divorce, but Noah Baumbach’s intimate take on the topic is a raw and touching look at the relationship dissolving. The director collaborated with the actors, law attorneys and dug deep into his past relationship(s) to create an authentic and heartbreaking film like Marriage Story.
Nominated for:
- Best Picture
- Best Actor - Adam Driver
- Best Actress - Scarlett Johansson
- Best Supporting Actress - Laura Dern
- Best Original Music Score
- Best Original Screenplay
Marriage Story is streaming on Netflix.