RELATED: 7 New Shows You Can Watch on Netflix This Weekend. Adam McKay’s satirical look at the end of the world is about more than just two scientists trying to save humanity. In depicting the way politicians, the media, and average people react to the news of a comet headed toward Earth, the film is really an allegory for climate change—and our ongoing response to the crisis. The Best Picture nominee is also nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. If you’re a fan of Westerns, the aesthetic of The Power of the Dog may look familiar to you, but there’s more to Jane Campion’s psychological drama than meets the eye. The film’s stunning performances earned it four acting nominations: Benedict Cumberbatch (Best Actor), Jesse Plemons (Best Supporting Actor), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Best Supporting Actor), and Kirsten Dunst (Best Supporting Actress). Campion also netted a nod for her directing, and The Power of the Dog is nominated for Best Picture. The movie’s cumulative 12 nominations are the most of any film this year. RELATED: 13 Great Oscar-Winning Performances That Still Hold Up. Based on the life of Rent composer Jonathan Larson, tick, tick… BOOM! was adapted by Lin-Manuel Miranda from Larson’s own musical. As Jonathan, Andrew Garfield showcases his impressive range—both in terms of acting and vocally—earning him his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. The movie is also nominated for Best Film Editing.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb While Disney and its subsidiary Pixar tend to dominate the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars, other studios’ films are being celebrated more and more often. Sony Pictures’ delightful The Mitchells vs. the Machines—which, if you can’t tell by the title, is about a family fighting against a robot uprising—earned its fair share of well-deserved praise when it hit Netflix last year. Now, it has an Oscar nomination. (It’s up against two Disney movies and one Pixar release, in case you were wondering.) RELATED: For more movie recs delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley play an older and younger version of college professor Leda in The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s adaptation of the Elena Ferrante novel. Both actors earned Oscar nods—for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively—thanks in large part to the way their performances obscure and reveal their character’s complex and volatile emotional interiority. Gyllenhaal’s exceptional screenplay was also nominated for an Oscar. Filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino is no stranger to the Academy Awards: His 2013 film The Great Beauty won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and now The Hand of God is nominated for the same award. This sumptuous coming-of-age story stars Filippo Scotti as Fabietto, who grows up quickly in 1980s Naples. RELATED: 11 Academy Award Best Picture Winners That Still Hold Up.
