Ready the couch, grab a bucket of popcorn, and channel your inner film critic with these acclaimed films available for streaming.
Excitement for the 96th Academy Awards is now in high gear. Scheduled less than a month from now on March 11, 7 to 10 am (PST), Hollywood’s brightest night sees many of the biggest names in the film industry come together under one roof.
The nominations were announced on Jan. 23 and members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have until Feb. 27 to make their final voting decisions. Oppenheimer leads the way with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon with 11 and 10, respectively.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host the Oscars for the second consecutive year and fourth time overall.
If you want to join in on the Oscar fever, we’ve rounded up 10 films, which have at least one nomination each, that you can watch on streaming providers available in the Philippines.
1. Barbie, HBO Go
One of 2023’s most talked about films earned eight Oscar nominations, but not without some controversy, after the Academy snubbed Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie for the five-nominee cut for Best Director and Best Actress, respectively.
The film follows Barbie (Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) who lead seemingly perfect lives in Barbie Land. When they find themselves in the real world, however, they soon discover the beauty and madness of living among humans.
Barbie’s nominations include Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Supporting Actress (America Ferrara), Costume Design, two Original Song noms for “I’m Just Ken” and Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s What Was I Made For?, Production Design, and Adapted Screenplay.
2. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Netflix
This is the marquee title of the four shorts adapted from Roald Dahl’s stories by filmmaker Wes Anderson. All four are available on Netflix.
The 40-minute-film follows the titular character (two-time Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch), a gambler who acquires the ability to see through playing cards and predict the future. He soon loses the sense of fun that comes with gambling and decides to do something more altruistic with his money.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is nominated for Best Live Action Short Film and is Anderson’s seventh Oscar nomination.
3. Society of the Snow, Netflix
Titled La sociedad de la nieve in Spanish, this 2023 thriller directed by J.A. Bayona revolves around the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 disaster. Adapted from Pablo Vierci’s book of the same name, it chronicles the accounts of all 16 survivors of the crash, many of whom Vierci knew from childhood, and who found themselves stranded and starving for 72 days.
It is nominated for Best International Feature Film, representing Spain, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
4. Maestro, Netflix
This American biographical film features the complicated lifelong relationship between legendary American composer Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). Maestro is directed by Cooper, from a screenplay he wrote with Josh Singer. It’s produced by Cooper, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Fred Berner, and Amy Durning.
The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Actor (Cooper), Actress (Mulligan), Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Sound.
5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Disney+
This 2023 American action adventure film directed by James Mangold is the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series and the sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). It stars Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, and Karen Allen reprising their roles as Indiana “Indy” Jones, Sallah, and Marion Ravenwood, respectively.
The film follows Indy and his estranged goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who are trying to locate an artifact before Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a former Nazi scientist, uses it to change the course of history.
The movie is nominated for Best Original Score for John Williams.
6. Nimona, Netflix
Based on the 2015 graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson, the 2023 animated adaptation is directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane from a screenplay by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor. Set in a science fantasy world inspired by the Middle Ages, the film features the voice of Chloë Grace Moretz as the eponymous shapeshifting teen who can help prove the innocence of a wrongfully accused knight.
The film is among the nominees for Best Animated Feature alongside frontrunner The Boy and the Heron.
7. The After, Netflix
The short film follows Dayo (David Oyelowo), a grieving ride-sharing driver, who picks up a passenger that helps him confront the ghosts—quite literally—of his past. He lost family members to a violent crime and has withdrawn from the world since.
As Dayo steps out of the car to carry his passengers’ baggage, one of them unexpectedly hugs him causing him to break down.
The After is contending against The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for Best Live Action Short Film.
8. Elemental, Disney+
Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, this 2023 animated film is set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature. It follows fire element Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), who form a bond while trying to save a convenience store owned by Ember’s father, Bernie (Ronnie Del Carmen).
The film is one of the five contenders for Best Animated Feature.
9. Rustin, Netflix
Domingo scored a nomination for Best Actor.
This 2023 American biographical drama stars Colman Domingo in the title role, a civil rights activist who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and others organize the 1963 March on Washington. The film is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, and is directed by George C. Wolfe, from a screenplay by Julian Breece and Dustin Lance Black.
10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Disney+
This 2023 American superhero film is the sequel to the blockbuster hits Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). Written and directed by James Gunn, it features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper, who are all reprising their roles.
In the film, the Guardians must save Rocket (Cooper) from the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). It also gives a peek into the feisty raccoon’s sad backstory.
The 32nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie is nominated for Best Visual Effects.
