The Prestige TV Podcast - An Oscar Nominee Streaming Guide

Episode Date: April 12, 2021

Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins walk you through all of the noteworthy films for this year's Academy Awards and where to stream them. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello everyone. Make yourself to home, Mr. Mankowitz, or shall I call you Herman? Please, call me Mank. Mank. Mank. Mank. This is Herman Mankowicz, but where to call him Mank. This episode is brought to you by Sweet Green. The day doesn't ask for permission. Lunch window? Gone before you saw it coming.

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My name is Amanda Dobbins. I'm a co-host of The Big Picture, and I am joined today by Sean Fennacy, my co-host, and we are going to talk about the Oscars, a ceremony that is happening this month that, Sean and I care very much about and that very few other people seem to be paying attention to, but we're going to fix it today, Sean. Yes, we are. There's a reason for that, and that's that many people, the world over, can watch the movies that are nominated for Academy Awards. More than ever before, are these films available to be seen ahead of the ceremony? So we thought we would provide a little guide here, maybe some modest recommendations from our point of view, and, you know,

underline all the work happening on the streaming services across these United States. It's really easy to see these movies. It's extremely exciting, actually. It's the best part of the Oscars is they're widely available. Even though the narrative maybe doesn't quite match that, I saw my in-laws this weekend, Sean, and they just spent a long time telling me how hard it was to get Hulu in order to be able to watch No Badland.

But guess what, guys, it's not hard to get Hulu. You don't have to drive to a mall. You don't have to, you know, spend $45 on popcorn, though I do miss that. You can just do it all in your home. So we are going to break down. We're not going to go through every movie. in every nominee because there are a lot of them. And we're going to try to, you know, provide some curation for you.

But I do think it's worth breaking down the best picture nominees first because almost all of them are available for you to watch in your home. So I mentioned Nomadland. Should we start with Nomadland? Of course. Nomadland. It is the frontrunner at this year's Academy Awards. And as you said, it's available to watch on Hulu.

And in fact, it premiered on Hulu, which is just extraordinary. Never has this happened before where a film of this. magnitude and this much conversation premiered on that specific platform. Of course, we've seen Best Picture Frontrunners premiere on Netflix in the past and sometimes on Amazon, but Hulu God in the game because of Hulu is

owned by Disney, as is Searchlight, the studio that produced this movie, Chloe Jow's film. It's a beautiful movie. We've talked about it quite a bit on the big picture, Amanda. Yes, I recommend it if you haven't seen it. It is based on a nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder, which you do not have to read before watching it, though you can, if

you want to. It's not one of those where there's homework. And it's, I hope more people will see it just so we can actually talk about what's in the movie at some point, maybe when it inevitably wins Best Picture. But it's a beautiful performance by Francis McDormon. And yeah, good movie. Emotional movie. Yes, brace yourself. If you're going to fire up Hulu, you know, maybe don't start with three episodes of Love Island and then jump to Nomad Land. I would say carve out some time for a nomad land experience. What's next on the list of Best Picture nominees. It's a little film called Mank.

Mank! Love to hear it. It's available on Netflix. You and I loved Mank. You, I, and David Fentcher are possibly the only three people, and Ben Affleck, four people who loved Mank, which was directed by David Fenture, directed from a screenplay written by his father, Jack Fincher. And it is about the making of Citizen Kane from the perspective of the screenwriter, Herman Mankowitz.

but it's also really engaging. I feel like that's another one where you probably should watch Citizen Kane, but also it's not homework to watch Citizen Kane. It's one of the greatest movies ever made. And this is a podcast about things that you can stream in your home and things to watch. So there you go, two right there, Citizen Kane and then Mank. Well done. Mank, of course, is available on Netflix.

It has the most nominations of any movie at the Oscars this year. That's 10, though there is some speculation that it will not win any awards. Meg has been a fascinating entrant into the awards conversation over the last 18 months, though it has not necessarily always lived up to its initial billing. Amanda and I hardly recommend this movie. Speaking of Netflix, what's the next movie on this list? Trial in Chicago 7. Hmm.

Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, who we are big fans of. We did a whole podcast about Aaron Sorkin and his contributions to cinema and television. Love all of those contributions. wouldn't say trial of Chicago 7 is my favorite among those contributions, but it is nominated for Best Picture, and as you said, it's available to stream on Netflix. So if you haven't seen it, if you've got a parent who you need to watch something with, seems like a great parent film. This is a film about the 1968 trial of the seven men who were accused of inciting a riot

at the Democratic National Convention and outside during the protests that were happening around that time. It's got a star-studded cast, Sasha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul Mateen, Frank Langella. And it's an entertaining film. I would say it is not my

favorite Aaron Sorkin film either, but it is probably the most widely seen movie among the Best Picture nominees. It is, as we say, sort of, it was a noisy release in the fall and is a film that clearly

has made some impact on the academy. If there is a movie that is threatening to upset Nomad Land as a frontrunner, it's probably trial. So that's trial of Chicago. What's next? Next up is a film that you liked very much, I believe, available on Amazon Prime, Sound of Metal.

Yes, Sound of Metal, written and directed by Darius Martyr, starring Riz Ahmed. Beautiful story about a heavy metal drummer who is losing his hearing and what it means to be an artist who is losing the ability to necessarily gauge their ability to make their art in a meaningful way when they've had a physical ailment come to come their direction. And it's a very sensitive, quiet, beautiful, thoughtful film about someone struggling and features a dynamite performance from Riz who, you know, fans of films like that or shows like The Night of will recognize him. And he's also nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars. And this film's available on Amazon Prime. So you can check it out right now. And I would recommend you do so. It's sort of the not quite dark horse because by the time it was nominated, it was expected.

But this has been a crowd or internet favorite, I would say. Yes, a slow build, a lot. A lot of admirers, a lot of admirers in the acting branches for Riz's work and for Paul Rossi's work as a man who sort of welcomes him into a community of deaf folks who are learning to cope with being deaf. Interesting film. I think the next film is probably the film we agree on the most that we probably have the most passion for. Would you agree with that? Yes, it is Minari, which is written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. and this is available on PVOD.

So you're going to have to pay for it. But please pay for it. It is worth it. It is a beautiful film about a family who immigrates from South Korea to, I believe, Arkansas. And I think loosely based on Li Ezek Chung's experience, but it is a story of immigrants and really a story of a family. Features one of the just absolutely, like, not quite heartbreaking, but just took my heart by its hand performances by a child in a movie in some time.

Thank you, Alan, Kim. And it is just, it's lovely. It's another one where don't do three Love Islands and then jump to Minare. Start, honor it, give it that time. But just a beautiful moving film that you and I both saw at Sundance, I believe in 2020, which feels like a long time ago. But it's finally available to everybody. Terrific movie.

Two actors in that film were also recognized by the Academy, Stephen Young, who is the star as the patriarch of that Arkansas family. and Yajang Yun, who is now seemingly the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress. So if you have not seen Minari, that gets our highest possible recommendation. The next film

is a little bit more complicated. A film that does have some things to recommend it, this is Promising Young Woman, which is a movie that we also dedicated in an episode of The Big Picture to, if you're looking to get into the nuances of this film, which is sort of a revenge story, starring Carrie Mulligan and written and directed by Emerald Fennell.

It is available now on PVOD for 599, It is a beautifully composed and sharp-tonged and smart movie in some respects does have some perhaps architectural flaws, which we talked about in greater detail. So I would encourage people to check that out if they also felt like maybe there's some curiosities with the film. Anything you want to add about promising young woman? It's interesting and it's worth seeing to know what everyone is talking about. I think that your experience will be better if you know that certain viewers have some questions, that it's, being recommended as sort of like a film that sparks ideas and sparks conversation rather than like a full-out masterpiece. But that also has its value as well. And we love Carrie Mulligan

here at the big picture and TV concierge at The Ringer and in life. Really, all of the ways that I can endorse Carrie Mulligan, I'm going to do that. So yes, check it out. And then you can listen to our episode on The Big Picture. The next film is a film I really like. I saw it late in the game because it's been harder to see. It's also on PVOD now and it's called The Father. And it is directed by Florian Zeller and stars Anthony Hopkins as a man suffering from dementia. And that's kind of all I want to say about the Father because what's so interesting about it is its architecture and how it conveys that experience.

And Anthony Hopkins, of course, gives just like an absolutely wonderful performance. I also just recommend him on Instagram. if you're looking for a different type of streaming. Olivia Coleman plays his daughter, and it's always nice to see Olivia Coleman. So that's the father on PBOD. And then there's one more film nominated for Best Picture that I just think that we should mention,

even though it is not available on streaming, which is the entire purpose of this podcast. That movie is Judas and the Black Messiah, which I think, along with Minari, is the movie that Amanda and I have most passionately discussed and basically ridden for in a big way. Judas and the Black Messiah was available once upon a time on streaming on HBO Max.

This is a movie co-written and directed by Shaka King. It's really about the betrayal of Fred Hampton, who is played by Daniel Kaluya in this film by a man named William O'Neill, who's played by Lakeith Stanfield. I imagine this movie is coming back to streaming services at some point when it has completed its run back in theaters and will return to HBO Max, presumably.

Until then, if you are vaccinated or you feel safe entering a movie theater. I would recommend you check it out in a theater. I would love to see this movie in a theater, candidly, because it is an exciting fusion of biopic and genre crime movie that I think really tapped into the fascinating elements of two young men and the diverging ways in which they live their lives and frankly the ways that they crossed over.

So that's Judas and the Black Messiah. I would expect a win for Daniel Kaluja and the best supporting actor race there on Oscar night, as well as some recognition for Lakeith who was nominated in the exact same category. So fascinating stuff. So that's the sum total eight movies of Best Picture. What other movies would you recommend that are streaming out there for the other categories? We have an incredibly long list here.

So we're going to spotlight a bunch of them. And at the end, we're going to give you some like a really consolidated, like if you only have time for three. But let's start with another round, which is a Danish film directed by Thomas Ventureberg, who is nominated and best director. He was sort of the surprise. is in that category. And it is also nominated for Best International Feature. And it stars Mads Mickelson as a guy who, along with some of his friends, decides to just get drunk all the time

as part of a science and social experiment. And they try to manage the drunkenness. And it goes from there. Don't want to spoil anything else. But it is a really joyful at times and difficult at times. lovely film about friends and also the joys of alcohol, I guess, and also the other side of alcohol. And it's available on Hulu. Yes. As a man approaching my 40s, who likes to drink from time to time, I would say that this movie had a both emotional

and sometimes shattering effect on me. I would highly recommend another round. Another movie that was not recognized for Best Picture, but is available to be streamed on Netflix and will certainly be recognized at the Academy Awards is Maureen's Black Bottom. This is George C. Wolf's. adaptation of August

Wilson's stage play and features a bevy of incredible performances, foremost among them, Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis, both of whom are recognized by the Academy for their work. And this is a vibrant, intoxicating adaptation of stage play

that is largely built on the strength of those great performances we're talking about. Also featured in the cast, Coleman Domingo, Glenn Terman, number of other great actors. This is a very good movie. This is a movie that I was a little bit surprised was overlooked at the Oscars, but that I would highly recommend people check out. It's also been recognizing production design, costume design, hair and makeup.

This is a film that features craft at an extraordinarily high level. I'm going to do two films that are currently streaming on Amazon Prime. So we'll group them together, even though they are quite different. The first is One Night in Miami, which has been in the awards conversation, though it was not nominated for Best Picture. It is directed by Regina King and was adapted by Kemp, powers from his own stage play. And it is about a, it's a fictionalized version of a real evening that happened in my, in February, 1964 in Miami, when Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cook get together. And Leslie Odom Jr. is nominated in Best Supporting

Actor for playing Sam Cook. He is also nominated in Best Original Song, which is probably maybe where he'll win. Perhaps. Yeah, but a deserving film and available for you on Amazon Prime, also on Amazon Prime, Borat's subsequent movie film, which is nominated in Adapted Screenplay, and Maria Bacalova is nominated for supporting actress. And that is just amazing that Borat's subsequent movie film is nominated for multiple Oscars, and you can watch it on Amazon Prime. Let's shout out a couple of more nominees here.

the best documentary category is always a fascinating one at the Oscars. I believe every single film that is nominated in this category is currently available to be streamed. One, the Romanian documentary Collective, which is also nominated for Best Foreign Language Feature,

is available on Hulu right now, directed by Alexander Naino, and frankly a very upsetting story about a crisis, a scandal of sincere medical proportion in Romania. Time. Garrett Bradley's terrific documentary about incarceration

and the perils of incarceration in this country is available on Amazon Prime. I spoke to Garrett on the Big Picture last year. I hope you'll seek out that conversation. Crip Camp, another Sundance film that we saw that is now available on Netflix, that is about a disability camp that is a terrific movie directed by James LaBrect

and Nicole Noonham. My Octopus Teacher, a film that I don't know if Amanda has seen. Did you try my octopus teacher? No, I haven't seen it yet. It's about an octopus. teacher. It's available on Netflix directed by Pippa Erlich and James Reed. It's about an octopus who is a teacher, right? And not

a teacher of octopuses. Well, you know, these are the mysteries of life. I mean, I've read a lot of summaries. This is sort of the meme documentary nominee, but that's cool. You've read a lot of summaries? Yeah. Interesting. Okay. And the final film nominated for Best Documentary is

the Mole Agent, which is a very sweet and interesting. A softer touch film than some of the others on this list that you can now watch on Hulu. So there's a whole bunch of other movies that are streaming right now. A bunch of the animated features Onward, Soul, of course,

on Disney Plus. Wolf Walkers is available on Apple TV Plus. Tenet, which was not really made available to Academy voters, but still managed to pull in a couple of maybe one nomination,

a production design nomination. That movie will be available to stream on HBO Max on May 1st. Tune into the big picture we may be covering it a little bit more deeply once more. Okay. It's a terrible idea,

but we're going to do it. We're going to do it. If you have time to watch three movies before the Oscars, which ones do you think you should watch, Amanda? Nomadland to start, because it is all but a lot for Best Picture, and it's available easily for you to watch. So if you want to be a part of the conversation, or honestly, you just want to watch a good film.

Nomadland. The narrative has become that the Oscars are kind of boring because we know who's going to win, but also a good movie is going to win. So that's nice for everybody. I'm going to pick one, and then I'll let you pick, and we'll go in snake fashion as we do on our movie draft.

If I had to select another film that I recommend people watch, I'm going to go Mank. I've been riding for Mank. I've been emotionally turning myself over to Mank for what feels like two years here. Will people just watch Mank? Could you just watch Meg for me? If you're listening to this,

you're at minute 18 of this podcast, you're thinking, gosh, I'd love to listen to Sean and Amanda talk. If you feel that way, watch Mank. That's all I have to say. Okay. I also really enjoyed Mank. And in terms of, you know, service journalism for the listeners who have made it this part, who just want to know which movies they need to watch in order to follow the Oscars,

it's a terrible pick. You love to make. It's not going to win anything. But, like, okay. So I guess I'll do one, you know, inform yourself about the Oscars pick and then one, like, Amanda pick. So I'll go with Maureenie's Black Bottom because Chadwick Boseman is also almost certainly going to win. Not almost.

He's certainly going to win. And Violet Davis is looking like the favorite. So to have seen both the best actor and best actress performances, if you want to know what's going on, I think that's worthwhile. I also really enjoyed that film. I thought it was a very clever and dynamic adaptation of a play, which is not always the case. Plus, you do want to see that Chadwick-Close and performance if you haven't.

Okay, one more recommendation for me. Gosh, where do I go here? What should folks watch? I mean, this is easy. I've been also advocating for Soul, which will almost certainly win the best animated feature film. And frankly, because of its release, I think, is now somewhat underrated. It is a film that went directly to Disney Plus during a pandemic.

But I would put up there with among the 10 best Pixar films, a beautiful evocative portrait of curiosity about the nature of existence, a genuinely weird movie to make for children. And I mean that in a good way. it comes from Pete Doctor and Kemp Powers to very gifted writers and filmmakers in their own right Kemp Powers also the writer of One Night in Miami one of the other movies we discussed here

so that's our recommendations this is this is I get one more didn't you just give two No Badland was shared Oh okay alright yeah I'm just gonna throw another round in there If you haven't seen it one of the best movie endings of the year There we go and then that's likely to win best international feature So that makes sense that that that's

Makes all the sense in the world. You did a great job. Don't Google the ending before you watch it. No, certainly not. Although it may have been memed at you. That's unfortunate. Yeah, that's true. Okay, ignore the memes.

That's it. For Sean Fentasy and myself, this has been TV Concierge. If you would like to hear more about the Oscars, please listen to us on the big picture. We really need some friends on this one. And TV concierge will be back later this week.