The 94and Oscar night will be held on March 27. What are the movies to see before this big night? Here are some suggestions.
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
The Power of the Dog
Having not shot anything for the cinema since BrightStarJane Campion, director of The Piano who devoted several years to the series Top of the Lake, is at the top of his game by bringing to the screen a story in which male characters are the protagonists, for the first time in his cinema. At the Oscars, the film is cited 12 times, including best picture, best director, best actor and best supporting actor. Watch on Netflix.
Marc-Andre Lussier
Don’t Look Up
After The Big Short and Vice, Adam McKay offers a satire filled with effective gags, which nevertheless leaves a bitter taste so much it is based on a background of truth. If the whole could have been tighter, we salute the guts of Adam McKay for having held his idea to the end, without compromising on the outcome. Don’t Look Up competes in four categories. Watch on Netflix.
Marc-Andre Lussier
West Side Story
Why propose 60 years later a new film adaptation of what some consider a masterpiece? The answer to this question is simple: why not? Yes A Star Is Born has already had four versions on the big screen, West Side Story can most certainly support a second one. Especially when a master like Steven Spielberg directs it. The film is a finalist in seven categories, including Best Picture. See it on Disney+.
Marc-Andre Lussier
Licorice Pizza
Funny and endearing, Licorice Pizza is friendly and charming, a perfect antidote to the rigors of winter. It is not, however, PT Anderson’s greatest film. But it must be said that in his case, the bar is particularly high. The film is in the running in three categories: best film, best director and best original screenplay. Available for rental on the Club Illico, YouTube and iTunes platforms.
Marc Cassivi
Dunes
Dunes is a blockbuster copyright in the best sense of the word. A large-scale, epic, ambitious film that bears the aesthetic signature of Denis Villeneuve. The curves of spaceships recalling Arrivalthe aerial shots of helicopters (in the shape of dragonflies) evoking Sicariothe arid scenery inevitably making one think of blade runner 2049even to Fires. We find in the 10and feature film by Villeneuve, in a condensed version and in all its splendor, the know-how and mastery of the Quebec filmmaker. Dunes is cited in 10 categories, including Best Picture. On Crave March 18.
Marc Cassivi
CODA
CODA is the American remake of The Aries familyhuge success of French cinema in 2015. This new version, directed by Siân Heder (Talulah), swept almost everything at Sundance this year in the dramatic feature section: best picture, best director and audience award, more than any other production in the history of the festival. CODA could win three Oscars, including Best Picture. Available on Apple TV+.
Marc-Andre Lussier
King Richard
Will Smith offers a remarkable performance in the role of a man driven by his certainties, even if it means upsetting the established order in passing, even if it means being put in his place by those who love him when the approach borders on unreason. Any tennis lover will enjoy the period re-enactment. The tennis matches are also well recreated. The assembly would no doubt have benefited from being tightened up a little, but King Richard It’s a well-made, well-told film. The film is cited in five categories. Available for rent on Prime Video, Illico, iTunes and YouTube, King Richard will air on Super Ecran 1 on March 26.
Marc-Andre Lussier
Drive My Car
Winner of the best screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year (several festival-goers were expecting it higher up the list), Drive My Car is a film from which a gentle melancholy emanates, combined with a sensitive and mature reflection on the depth of a feeling of love. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful cinematographic works that we have seen in 2021. Drive My Car featured in four categories at the Oscars. Available for rental on iTunes.
Marc-Andre Lussier
Nightmare Alley
Nightmare Alley is divided into two distinct parts. One, the first, without Cate Blanchett; the other, with Cate Blanchett. Guess which one is the most interesting? This new opus by Guillermo del Toro really comes to life when the actress, who can also be seen currently in Don’t Look Up, by Adam McKay, makes history. The film gets four Oscar nominations. Available on Disney+.
Belfast
Winner of the coveted Audience Award at the Toronto festival, Belfast is now one of the favorites for the next awards season and could do well at the Oscars, where he is a finalist in six categories. Available for rental on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, YouTube and Illico.
Marc-Andre Lussier
Being the Ricardos
Both in the running for an Oscar, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem offer superb compositions each on their side, but have more difficulty in conveying the passionate bond which united the two protagonists, the one which, according to a screenwriter, ensured that they could “rip their heads off, but also their laundry”. The main attraction of Being the Ricardos is to take us behind the scenes of a cult show, made in a time now completely bygone. On Amazon Prime Video.
Marc-Andre Lussier
The Lost Daughter
For a first feature film as screenwriter and director, Maggie Gyllenhaal hit the nail on the head. His adaptation of the novel Stolen doll by Elena Ferrante is all in finesse, in subtleties, interspersed with dialogues as well as percussive silences. This also earned him the prize for best screenplay at the Venice Film Festival where the film had its world premiere. The film, offered on Netflix, won three Oscar selections.
Encanto
With every animated film, Disney raises the bar and creates high expectations. With Encanto, the team of creators responds with its lively songs that go to the rhythm of Colombian music, with a good dose of humor, as much in the visual details as in the dialogues, and with the extreme beauty of its images. Not to mention its endearing characters rooted in their culture, its friendly animals straight out of the Amazon and, of course, its touch of magic. The film competes in three categories: best animated film, best original song and best soundtrack.. On Disney+.
Danielle Bonneau
The Mitchells vs The Machines
The Mitchells vs The Machines is not devoid of lengths, but the sustained rhythm prevents you from getting bored. What seduced us above all remains its delirious and burst humor which clashes compared to Hollywood productions, generally so smooth and politically correct that they look more like merchandise designed by the marketing department than a creative work! An imperfect film, but in the image of all of us… The film has earned a place in the category of best animated film. Watch on Netflix.
Eric Moreault, The Sun
tick, tick… BOOM!
Lin-Manuel Miranda signs a realization from which emanates his wild love for Broadway, but also, especially, for the creators. The success of this feature film also owes a lot to Andrew Garfield, in the running for the best actor category. Practically from all scenes, the actor gives a dazzling performance, all the more impressive because initially the young man had no musical training at all. For any musical theater lover, tick, tick…BOOM! is a must-see movie. Available on Netflix.
Marc-Andre Lussier
spencer
spencer couldn’t be more different from the series The Crown. The more fragmented form favored by Pablo Larraín, supported by the – excellent – musical score by Jonny Greenwood, will on the other hand seduce those who agree to enter into a work that echoes the inner world of a woman stuck in one of the most difficult periods. most dramatic of his life. Kristen Stewart manages to perfectly translate the inner distress of a woman trying to find her identity. The actress gets the film’s only nomination for the Oscars. Available for rent on Prime Video, iTunes, Illico, Apple TV, Microsoft and Cinéma Moderne.
Marc-Andre Lussier
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Joel Coen offers a very successful adaptation, close to the masterpiece, which moves away from realism to plunge us into a waking nightmare. The film, entirely in black and white, is carried by superb images (director of photography Bruno Delbonnel was inspired by the expressionist films of Fritz Lang) and a magnificent dreamlike, claustrophobic setting, by Stefan Dechant. The Tragedy of Macbeth competes in three categories at the Oscars. Watch on Apple TV+.
Luc Boulanger