There have been many award shows recently recognizing the best movies, directors and actors of 2016. They are all delectable appetizers to the highest accolade one can win in film, the Oscars. This year, the 89th Academy Awards will be presented on Feb. 26, at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
Jimmy Kimmel will be a first-time host, trying to achieve comic greatness while being somewhat politically correct like many before him. Following in the footsteps of Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Ellen DeGeneres will be no easy feat, as millions will be watching to see if he can deliver.
Along with the hits and misses of fashion, the reason we will all be tuning in is to see which nominated films get the gold. There are a lot to choose from this year and a lot of diversity between roles, gender and race. The films nominated for Best picture include Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Hell or High Water, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight. Binge-watch the nominated films before the show to see if you agree with the Academy’s picks.
Moonlight has already garnered a lot of attention, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture and the Critic’s Choice awards for Best Acting Ensemble and Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali. The movie is directed by Barry Jenkins (also nominated) and stars Ali (nominated for Best Supporting Actor) and Naomie Harris (nominated for Best Supporting Actress), as well as Shariff Earp, Trevante Rhodes, Andre Holland, Janelle Monáe and Ashton Sanders.
Based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the movie trails a young boy named Chiron as he struggles to grow up in Miami while being raised by an emotionally cold and abusive mom played by Harris. Bullied regularly, he is taken in by a crack dealer, Juan (Ali), and his girlfriend (Monáe) who comforts Chiron and allows him to open up. As he grows, we see more of his hatred toward his mother as well as the growing romantic attraction to his best friend, Kevin.
Manchester by the Sea has already won a few Golden Globes, including Casey Affleck for Best Actor for which he is nominated again, along with director Kenneth Lonergan for Best Director, Michelle Williams for Best Supporting Actress and Lucas Hedges for Best Supporting Actor. Affleck portrays Lee, an emotionally broken man, who, after leaving Manchester by the Sea, resides in Massachusetts working as a janitor. After receiving a call from a family friend, he rushes home to be with his brother, Joe, (Kyle Chandler) who fell off his boat after a heart attack. He arrives to be told that Joe has died and has named Lee guardian to Patrick, Joe’s 16-year-old son. Affleck gives a magnificent performance and appears to be the front-runner for his first Oscar.
Hell or High Water directed by David Mackenzie and starring Dale Dickey, Ben Foster, Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges (nominated for Best Supporting Actor) is a brilliant western crime drama following two brothers, Tanner and Toby, who resort to desperate measures to save their dead mother’s ranch and leave a legacy to Toby’s estranged sons and ex-wife. Knowing that oil is on the land, they race against time to secure the ranch, but during their escapades they face tragedy while playing cat and mouse with the bad tempered Texas Ranger hot on their trail played by the splendid Jeff Bridges.
Will La La Land clean up once again like it did at the Golden Globes? Will Natalie Portman get her second Oscar for her riveting portrayal in Jackie? Will Denzel Washington and Viola Davis have a repeat of their dual win years ago at the Tony Awards? Will extraterrestrial underdog Arrival swoop in and surprise us all? Get the popcorn popping and preview some of the greats before turning on the Oscars to find out who will win.
