The Hollywood awards season (really, though, doesn’t it feel as though there’s a show handing out trophies every month?) kicked into high gear last Thursday with the announcement of the nominees for the 88th annual Academy Awards (see the complete list here). And, just like last year…okay, just like pretty much every year, there were several noticeable omissions (Michael B. Jordan’s lead performance in Creed, Ridley Scott for directing The Martian, Carol for Best Picture) along with some long-overdue first-time honorees (Charlotte Rampling and Jennifer Jason Leigh for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively). And this year’s awards already promise to feature some off-the-stage controversy following yesterday’s call by filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith for a boycott of the ceremony over the lack of racial diversity among the 20 acting nominees.
Here at MFF, we’re gearing up for our annual Academy Spotlight feature, where we’ll look at the history of the little gold statuette, salute past winners and protest glaring snubs, and offer up our own fearless predictions before the big night on Sunday, February 28. In the meantime, for those of you who are a little behind in your viewing, we’d like to offer this handy guide to the 2016 Academy Award nominees that are currently out–or soon to be released–on DVD and/or Blu-ray. More films are expected to be announced soon (no, we have no word yet on Star Wars: The Force Awakens), so we will try over the next few weeks to update this list as best we can…
OUT NOW:
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (Best Makeup/Hairstyling)
Amy (Best Documentary Feature)
Cinderella (Best Costume Design)
Ex Machina (Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects)
Fifty Shades of Grey (Best Original Song)
Inside Out (Best Animated Feature, Best Original Screenplay)
The Look of Silence (Best Documentary Feature)
Mad Max: Fury Road (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup/Hairstyling, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing)
The Martian (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing)
Shaun the Sheep Movie (Best Animated Feature)
Sicario (Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing)
Straight Outta Compton (Best Original Screenplay)
COMING IN FEBRUARY:
Bridge of Spies (Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing)
Racing Extinction (Best Original Song)
Spectre (Best Original Song)
Spotlight (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing)
Steve Jobs (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress)
Trumbo (Best Actor)
Okay, now that we’ve gotten the obligatory sales pitches out of the way, what did you think of this year’s Academy Award nominations? Share your Oscar-related thoughts with us in the comments section below.