7 movies to watch before the big night
You’ve read the nominations, and now there’s just one week left until the 84^th annual Academy Awards ceremony. Have you caught up on your Oscar film-viewing? If not, you’ve come to the right place: we’ve got a must-see nominated film for each day left until the big night! Ready, set… start watching!
 

Hugo
Nominations: 11
Based on the children’s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, there is nothing childish about this Martin Scorsese-directed masterpiece. The top nominee at this year’s Academy Awards, this is a magical tale about a young orphaned boy named Hugo, who has a love of movies and a talent for fixing clocks. Hugo is certainly an ode to the movies themselves and, we don’t say this much for Oscar-calibre films, it is definitely worth viewing in 3D. Scorsese already won the Best Director honour at the Golden Globes; will the Academy take notice, as well?

The Artist
Nominations: 10
Another love letter to cinema of yore, this black-and-white movie pays homage to the silent film era. Little dialogue, this exquisite film makes use of modern actors’ lesser-used talents, such as their facial and physical expressions. It can certainly bring on both the laughter and the tears, thanks in large part to the movie’s star, Jean Dujardin, who is tapped to take home the Best Actor statuette. (Sadly, no nominations for Uggie the dog…)

The Descendants
Nominations: 5
The above-mentioned Jean Dujardin’s main competition in the Best Actor category? George Clooney. He stars in this Alexander Payne-directed film about a man who finds out his wife—who is in a coma—has been cheating on him. With Hawaii as the film’s backdrop, it is an oft-funny and warm movie about the importance of love and family.



The Help
Nominations: 4
The hit movie based on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett boasts a riveting story, about black maids in 1960s Mississippi who (anonymously) share stories about their white employers in a published book. Not only that, but three of the film’s actresses were honoured with nominations: Viola Davis in the Best Actress category, as well as Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer for their supporting roles. Spencer is likely to beat out her co-star Chastain: she already took home the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.

My Week with Marilyn
Nominations: 2
She may only be 31, but Michelle Williams’ turn in My Week with Marilyn—where she plays the iconic Marilyn Monroe—garnered the actress her third Academy Award nomination. Williams gets lost in the role of the Some Like It Hot actress and, throughout the movie, it is very easy to forget that you’re not, in fact, watching the divine Ms. Monroe on screen.




The Iron Lady
Nominations: 2
While The Iron Lady has gotten mixed reviews, and only garnered two nominations, there is one main reason to watch: Meryl Streep. The actress is superbly transformed into former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She’s already won the Golden Globe this year, and is one of the frontrunners in the Best Actress category at the Oscars. (Her main competition: Viola Davis and Michelle Williams.) A third statuette may be in the cards for Streep!

Beginners
Nominations: 1
While the movie itself wasn’t on many people’s radar—it likely came and went in theatres without you even noticing—critics definitely took notice. Especially when it came to Christopher Plummer’s performance as an elderly man who not only announces he has terminal cancer, but that he is gay, as well. It is a powerhouse performance by Plummer, making him a shoo-in for the Best Supporting Actor award.