http://oscar.go.com/nominees/best-picture
And for those of you that don’t like to click on links, they are:
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max
Room
Spotlight
The Big Short
The Martian
The Revenant
I’m disappointed Trumbo wasn’t nominated. Was the best movie I saw all year.
I’ve seen 5 of the 8 so far and Spotlight was my favorite.
I’ve only seen Spotlight and The Big Short, and I’d say I liked Spotlight the most. I’d like to see Bridge of Spies. Any more suggestions from this list?
I couldn’t even watch the previews for Revenant – too violent/gory for me. I am also trying my best to avoid movies that feature no women, or fail the Bechdel test.
Although I did break my own rules and saw The Big Short and liked it. Spotlight was awesome and gets my vote. Enjoyed Brooklyn, although not sure it’s best picture worthy.
Hmm. This makes it hard for me to decide whether to recommend “Mad Max” for you.
Oh, my - I saw 5 of the 8 (and I don’t even go to the movies that much!) Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, The Martian, The Big Short, and Mad Max.
Spotlight was my favorite too, although I did like The Big Short. And I obviously missed something about Mad Max - 15 minutes into it I was whispering to DH, “When will this be over? Can we leave yet?”
Would love to see Room - I thought the book was amazing.
I’ve seen 4 of the 8, one of which was “Mad Max,” which I really didn’t like. I don’t quite understand why it was nominated. I plan to see the others, except maybe “Room” which I’m not sure I can watch, even though I know it’s supposed to be good. Of the others we haven’t seen, DH most wants to see “The Revenant,” so that’s what we’ll probably see next. I thought both “Bridge of Spies” and “The Martian” were excellent and also enjoyed “Brooklyn,” although I agree it may not be worthy of best picture.
I got sucked into seeing Mad Max too. I think some of the images will haunt me forever, and not in an good way! It wasn’t only nominated, it was nominated in many, many categories. Quite a puzzle.
What’s so hard to understand? Mad Max: Fury Road was nominated because it was one of the best films of the year.
I thought Bridge of Spies was bland and unmemorable.
I thought Mad Max was pretty good (essentially a remake of The Road Warrior, which I still think is more exciting). My son, on the other hand, absolutely loved Mad Max and saw it several times. Maybe it speaks more to younger people–perhaps those who grew up playing video games.
@Hunt The feminist in me is interested in Mad Max. But my instinct is to avoid it like the plague. It might be one of those movies I watch at home with my eyes closed most of the time. Chances are that I’ll never see it. That’s OK – I’m really fussy about what movies I see, and I’m not driven by Oscar nominations.
I haven’t yet seen Room (heard great things from my friend) or Brooklyn (my daughter and a different friend enjoyed it but didn’t think it was the most amazing film). or The Revenant. My husband saw The Revenant and said extremely well filmed, well acted, gory but watchable. Of this group of films overall I would vote for Spotlight… beautifully acted by outstanding ensemble, beautifully filmed, outstanding score, well directed, perfectly done. Both Mark Ruffalo and Rachel MacAdams are worthy of nominations but I think the awards will go to the always outstanding Mark Rylance and this time to Rooney Mara.
D saw the Revenant and thought is was horrible. The excessive violence was very disturbing to her (and she has a higher tolerance than I do).
I would like to see Brooklyn, Carol and Big Short. Maybe this weekend.
I saw 5 out of the 8. Bridge of Spies, I found excellent and compelling. More likely, Tom Hanks would get a best actor nod. Martian, great. Though I liked The Big Short, not best picture material. Loved Mad Max, but too much of just an action flick to get an Oscar. The Revenant was hard to watch. Don’t think I’ll see that one again! Too over the top gross, but it sure made me appreciate my creature comforts.
Out of those 5… The Martian or Bridge of Spies.
“The feminist in me is interested in Mad Max. But my instinct is to avoid it like the plague. It might be one of those movies I watch at home with my eyes closed most of the time. Chances are that I’ll never see it. That’s OK – I’m really fussy about what movies I see, and I’m not driven by Oscar nominations.”
Why would you avoid this movie? What don’t you want to see? For today’s standards, it’s not very graphic. It’s a good action flick with an awesome female lead. Nothing overly scary or repellant about it. You shouldn’t have to close your eyes for a minute.
Why don’t I want to see Mad Max? Let me count the ways. I don’t like dystopian and post-apocalyptic stories. I actively avoid them. I don’t like action movies. The rating says it has “intense sequences of violence throughout, and … disturbing images.” I don’t go to the movies for that. I don’t like chase scenes and constant violence. The only reasons I’d see this movie is to support the decision to have a female as its lead and its message of female empowerment.
I saw The Hunger Games, the one released this fall, because it’s a movie franchise my daughter likes and we saw it with her. I had my eyes averted for about 50% of the movie. I know what I like and what I don’t like, and I would not like Mad Max.
I’m surprised Carol didn’t get a nod.
I saw Joy last night and while not worthy of Oscar I really liked it and thought Jennifer was terrific.
I think it is fun to try to see all the films that are up for Best Picture and all the ones with the acting nominations before the Oscars, but I won’t be doing that this year. I won’t see the Revenant – I can’t even sit through the preview. And I won’t see Mad Max.