I watched ALL of the Oscar Movies so you don’t have to

Isabela Peixoto, Editor in Chief|February 24, 2019

The Wrap

Awards season has always been my favorite season. Staying up way too late (thank you time difference) to watch the show, loving (but mostly judging) the red carpet looks and eating pizza. In general, Oscar movies are ‘intellectual’, dramas or ‘thinking movies’ and for the most part you either like them or you don’t. Oscar movies are their own category of incredible storytelling, but for a younger generation, some of the movies seem boring or irrelevant due to their lack of comedy, horror, and the absence of Kevin Hart. This year, some notable exceptions to the usual characteristics of Oscar movies include Black Panther and A Star is Born. I really enjoyed both movies and have no qualms with Black Panther being nominated but A Star is born just should not be on the list. But that is beef for another day.

It’s hard to decide on what movie to watch just based off of what category it was nominated for or its genre. The following are the “honest” categories for the Oscar movies.

 

The “feel good” drama:

    1. The Green Book: The sweet Christmas scene at the end will leave you heart-warmed.
    2. Bohemian Rhapsody: Anyone who likes Queen will come out of this movie happy. It was a wonderful tribute to both the band and Mercury and Rami Malek is fantastic.

 

  • RBG: Everyone’s favorite supreme court justice, and you know from the start that it ends well.

 

 

The “I don’t really get it but maybe I do” movie:

  1. The Favourite: I watched this with two other people and we were the only ones in a packed theater laughing. Most people went in thinking it was a period piece when in fact it was a dark, witty comedy.

 

The “are you serious that THIS was nominated, I’m pretty sure its a romantic comedy” movie:

  1. A Star is Born: Laughed, shed some tears, Bradley Cooper is all southern charm. Just like any rom-com.

 

The “you can watch it with your grandparents because it plays it very safe”:

  1. The Wife: Glenn Close was phenomenal, but the movie itself kept the dialogue, and “iffy situations”(affairs/the stealing of the books) at bay.
  2. The Green Book: Very good movie, but everything that could have been controversial (see: racism and homophobia in the 60s) was portrayed in a very light manner.

 

The “this made millions in the box office so we had to nominate it” movie :

  1. Black Panther: Not your average superhero movie, but certainly not oscar movie we are used to seeing.
  2. A star is born: Again, it is sort of an upscale romantic comedy, but nothing really special beyond that.

 

The “Bro” Movie

  1. Vice: Money, Corruption, Murder: The bro movie trifecta. The style is reminiscent of Wolf of Wall Street, and it takes a seemingly unnecessary subject (Dick Cheney) and makes it a very cool movie.

 

The movie to watch it you want to sound cultured:

  1. Roma: Not the favorite to win, but certainly one of the most talked about. A black and white foreign film with by far the best cinematography. And its available on Netflix!

  2. Shoplifters: Palme d’Or winner and Foreign Language nominee, this movie tackles family and relationships in an incredibly real way.

 

The movie to watch if you only have time to watch one:

  1. BlacKkKlansman: Unapologetically political and did not shy away from controversial issues. Truly a masterpiece.

 

Hopefully, you’ve gotten through the list and found the category that it just right for you!

 

The Awards will be airing on February 24th at 10:00 pm on Globo and TNT. The red carpet (arguably the best part) will be shown on TNT at 8:30 pm.