Netflix
While movie releases have been thrown off thanks to COVID-19, awards shows must go on. With the 93rd Academy Awards wrapping up last weekend, now’s a good time to brush up on all of the films that shined this awards season.
Leading the pack of Academy Award nominees, “Mank” portrays an artist going mad for his work, like Orson Welles did with “Citizen Kane.” “The United States vs. Billie Holliday” shows another artist persecuted for her craft while Carey Mulligan relishes in hers with “Promising Young Woman.” "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman made SAG Awards history with his four posthumous nominations for “Da 5 Bloods” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” While Chadwick swept at the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards, Anthony Hopkins surprisingly snagged the Best Acting Oscar for his portrayal of an elderly man battling dementia in “The Father.” At least Hopkins didn’t have an old friend for dinner like he did in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Fred Hampton’s tale was told twice on screen this year through both the intense courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and the heart-pounding “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which earned Daniel Kaluuya an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. “Minari,” “News of the World” and “Nomadland” prove that movies set on the frontier aren’t outdated, with the latter even winning Best Picture and Director. “Sound of Metal” and “Soul” demonstrate that life goes on even if you lose a piece of yourself. And if Glenn Close’s spontaneous dance moves show us anything, it’s that you can still have fun on Oscar night even if you go home empty-handed.