Six Buzzworthy Films to See Before the Oscars

With the 88th Academy Awards airing Feb. 28, we couldn’t resist the temptation to throw our Oscar predictions into the ring.

By Emily Gibson

Web Exclusive

More than 600 films are released in America each year. Of those, roughly 10 are nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award at the Oscars. It’s a drastic cut, one only the cream of the movie crop can make. Before host Chris Rock takes the stage Feb. 28 to announce this year’s winners, here are six films likely to take home an award that you should see before the show.

1. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

A decade after the last installment—Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith—the newest addition to one of the most beloved fantasy series of all time hit theaters in December. There isn’t much precedent for franchise movies winning big awards such as Best Actor or Best Picture, but Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens received five Oscar nominations, including Film Editing, Original Score and Visual Effects. Regardless of whether it takes home any awards, the wildly popular franchise will likely be the subject of jokes and allusions throughout the show. The film continues the battle between the light and dark sides of the Force. This time, the title character is a girl named Rey, who is helping locate legendary Jedi Luke Skywalker.

2. The Revenant

Every Oscar season, it’s a recurring joke that Leonardo DiCaprio hasn’t won the Best Actor award yet. Even after nominations for The Wolf of Wall Street, Blood Diamond and others, the actor still hasn’t taken home the trophy. This year, critics are predicting he has finally starred in the film that will win him that distinction. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant is a survival/revenge film that has received generally optimistic reviews from critics and acquired 12 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for DiCaprio. The biographical film follows legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass as he attempts to get revenge on the man who killed his son and left him to die in the wilderness.

On a side note, Iñárritu won the Best Picture and Best Director awards at last year’s Academy Awards for Birdman, which has led critics to prospect about whether he will achieve a highly unusual two wins in a row.

3. The Martian

Getting stranded on the planet Mars seems like either a nightmare or an episode of The Twilight Zone, but it was a fictional reality for Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, in the October film The Martian. Upon initial release, the film received praise from critics, and currently holds a 93 percent recommendation rating on the film website Rotten Tomatoes. The film garnered rave reviews for its subtle stabs at humor and strong performances by the star actors, making it a strong contender at the Oscars. The film follows astronaut Watney as he endures a months-long survival mission after being stranded on Mars while awaiting his colleagues’ attempt to bring him home.

4. Straight Outta Compton

When the biographical drama about California rap group N.W.A was released in August, it became an online sensation, thanks to an interactive advertising campaign that allowed consumers to create their own version of the film’s logo. The film itself received heralded reviews from critics, becoming an early contender for an Oscar nomination. Although it wasn’t nominated for Best Picture, Straight Outta Compton received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The film follows the rise and fall of rap group N.W.A in 1980s Compton, Calif., meanwhile exploring race relations and police brutality.

5. Joy

After winning the 2013 Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Tiffany in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence teamed up with Russell again for Joy. Though the film received mixed reviews, Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of a hard-working single mother trying to secure a better life for herself and her family. Joy tells the semi-autobiographical story of Joy Mangano, who built her own business empire after creating the Miracle Mop in the early 1990s.

6. Spotlight

When a team of eight journalists from The Boston Globe named the Spotlight Team published a series of stories about the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal and cover-up in the early 2000s, it sparked a national controversy. In 2015, a dramatized cinematic version of their work on the stories was released, starring Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton. The film was nominated for a number of Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role for Ruffalo and McAdams, respectively.

Honorable mentions: Brooklyn, Beasts of No Nation, Steve Jobs

Joy photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox. Spotlight photo by Kerry Hayes of Open Road Films. Other photos courtesy of IMDB.com.