Yes, it’s Oscar week, the awards are on Sunday, March 3.So, if you want to get ready, here are some movies. Oh, and most of the nominees for this years Academy Awards are not yet available for low cost streaming, so I am not going to mention the obvious, that they are available for a fee at youtube, or apple, or amazon.com.
Lady bird
If you loved Lady Bird, directed by Greta Gerwig, and love the indie movie genre, you should give Frances Ha a try. True, it’s not a coming of age movie, but it was written by Gerwig and her first big movie role. And if that isn’t enough Greta Gerwig for you, 20th Century Women is on Amazon Prime, with Annette Benning and Elle Fanning, as is Weiner Dog, with with Keaton Nigel-Cooke and Julie Delpy.
The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water is not yet available for streaming, except for a high price, but if you want something magical produced by Guillermo del Toro, I would suggest Pan’s Labrynth, but it is not available without a fee, and we’re sticking to free or low-cost items here, so no on that. But The Strain is offered on Hulu, though it does have Vampires and is a bit more scary than magical.
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
If you are rooting for Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, maybe you would enjoy another great movie, with another wonderful Frances McDormand portrayal. How about Burn After Reading? It’s a Coen brothers movie and won a Golden Globe for best movie in 2008. And though it is a smaller role, Moonrise Kingdom is also a lovely choice.
Darkest Hour
If you enjoyed Darkest Hour, perhaps more Churchill would please you. If so, Amazon has The Gathering Storm, with Albert Finney as Churchill in the years prior to World War II. Amazon even has more Churchill in Into the Storm,the sequel to The Gathering Storm, though it doesn’t get such high marks as it’s predecessor. It stars Brandon Gleeson as Churchill. And if you need more Gary Oldman, there is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy on Netflix.
Get Out
If you’d like more horror like in Get Out, there is Night of the Living Dead on Amazon Prime. It doesn’t have the same ironic commentary as Get Out, but it will scare you. And if you want more of Daniel Kaluuya, he starred in the 2nd episode of Season I Black Mirror. If you want more of Jordan Peele, this was his first stint directing, but you can catch Key & Peele, his classic series on Hulu.
The Post
If you revel in the newspaper story and want another hit of politically inclined journalistic movies, All the Presidents Men is available, for free streaming, on Free Films.org. It covers the Watergate conspiracy and Nixon and stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. And if you want another Academy Award nominated movie about journalism, Spotlight is available on Netflix, with Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo. And Spotlight actually won for Best Picture in 2015. If you long for more Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins is available on Amazon Prime.
Dunkirk
Dunkirk is only available on HBO, too expensive for me, but more Christopher Nolan directed movies are available, including The Prestige, from 2006, starring Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson and Christian Bale. It received two Academy award nominations.If you want more World War II drama, The Tuskegee Airmen is available on Amazon Prime.
Call Me By Your Name
If you love Call Me By Your Name, starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, then you might enjoy Carol(2016) with Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, or Blue is the Warmest Color, both previously mentioned in this blog. And if you want more movies by Luca Guadagnino, Amazon will let you sample I Am Love(2009) with their Sundance Now free preview. It stars Tilda Swinton and Flavio Parenti.
Phantom Thread
Yes, Phantom Thread isn’t yet available, but there are more fashion oriented movies online, including Iris, on Netflix, a 2015 documentary by Albert Maysles about Iris Apfel. It too, was nominated for an Academy Award. Also on Netflix is Dior and I, a 2014 documentary about Christian Dior directed by Frédéric Tcheng. And if you desire more Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln is , of course, available for streaming on Netflix, as I mentioned in last week’s column. Also available on Netflix is Gangs Of New York, for which Daniel Day-Lewis won multiple awards.
Grownups Guide to Streaming 