5 movies to see before Golden Globes & Oscars

Want to know who you should be rooting for this awards season? Check out our list of movies to see beforehand!

Moneyball

The general manager (Brad Pitt) of the Oakland A’s goes against the grain to assemble a (hopefully) pennant-winning team by figuring out a way to draft players more cheaply and effectively.

Why It’s Worth Seeing: What sounds like a yawn-inducing behind-the-scenes sports film is, as scripted by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and Steven Zaillian (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), quite energetic and riveting. The movie knocks it out of the park, with both Jonah Hill — yes, that Jonah Hill — and Pitt, both of whom got Golden Globe nominations, turning in career-best performances.

Bridesmaids

A single maid of honor (Kristen Wiig) begins a steady descent into lunacy when she meets her engaged friend’s (Maya Rudoph) new, perfect BFF (Rose Byrne).

Why It’s Worth Seeing: Funny movies are tough sells for Academy audiences. But this industry-rattling hit — yes, women can be funny and make money! — is an across-the-board critical success and crowd-pleaser. To wit: It received a Golden Globe nomination for best comedy and a best comedic actress nod for Kristen Wiig. And although Melissa McCarthy wasn’t nominated for a supporting actress Golden Globe (ahem, snub!), the actress was a physical-comedy revelation in the role and shouldn’t be counted out come Oscar time.

The Artist

Though mostly silent, this French black-and-white film — which recounts the film industry’s shell-shocked transition from quiet pictures to talkies — speaks volumes with its glamorous sets and energetic, lighthearted performances.

Why It’s Worth Seeing: This is nostalgia at its most stylish; the movie won a 10-minute standing ovation after it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, The Artist has landed on countless critics’ year-end lists (see Time, Rolling Stone, Chicago Sun-Times), and is currently considered a surprising Oscar frontrunner, thanks to an enviable best-picture award from the New York Film Critics Circle and six Golden Globe nods (including kudos for leading man Jean Dujardin, supporting actress Berenice Bejo and director Michel Hazanavicius).

The Help

This summer’s runaway hit — about an aspiring writer (Emma Stone) who blows the lid off the plight of black domestic help in ’60s Mississippi — tugged at all the right heartstrings with its mix of serious topics and sassy subplots.

Why It’s Worth Seeing: The film won a rare A+ grade from CinemaScore — which measures audience reactions to a film — then went on to reap more than $200 million worldwide. Viola Davis’ best actress wins from the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association prove The Help was as much a critical darling as a fan favorite. Three Golden Globe nods (for Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Octavia Spencer) make it a hotly tipped best actress and supporting-actress favorite for the Academy, which historically loves civil-rights stories and period films.

Hugo

In this fanciful adventure, a lonely Parisian orphan (Asa Butterfield) who lives in a train station during the 1930s makes friend with a precocious young girl (Chloe Moretz). Together, they uncover a life-changing secret about her godfather, a once-famous film director.

Why It’s Worth Seeing: The Artist’s main competition in the film-nostalgia department is this critical home run, the first family film ever from director Martin Scorsese. This love letter to silent cinema is gorgeously photographed (in 3-D, no less!) and deftly navigates a fine line between whimsical and haunting. Not surprisingly, it took home the National Board of Review’s best-picture endorsement, in addition to Golden Globe nods for best picture and best director.

Click here to see 23 must-see films from iVillage.ca

Brought to you by:

Follow us @ivillagecanada and join the conversation iVillageCanada.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today