It's the countdown the the Oscars!  For the past few years, I've made a point to watch all of the nominated movies that look interesting before the awards, so I actually know what people are talking about.  This year, I watched 11 movies some of them really good...and others *cough* The Revenant *cough* not so much.

So if you want to watch some of the noms before the 28th--that's two weekends away--or you are just looking for something good to watch, here are my favorites.

Out of the eight movies nominated for Best Picture, I ended up watching six of them.  Personally, I'd only recommend three.

I saw The Martian when it came out in theatres, having no idea is would end up being nominated for the biggest award in the industry.  If you somehow missed hearing about it, the movie follows the story of a guy who gets left on Mars alone when the rest of his team is forced to leave the planet.  He then has to figure out how to survive on Mars with little food, supplies, and everyone on Earth thinking he is dead.  It isn't a story we've seen a million times before, though some of it was pretty predictable.  Plus, it had a lot of funny moments and great acting.

See this movie if you like: sci-fi, drama, and a little bit of comedy.

Brooklyn was one of the movies I heard NOTHING about before looking up the Oscar ballot.  I went into it, not knowing what to expect and was very happy I decided to watch.  Eilis, the main character, gets the opportunity to be sponsored to move from a small town in Ireland to Brooklyn.  In the 1950's.  At first she suffers a bit of culture shock, but then starts to feel at home after meeting a guy.  After being called back home to deal with a family tragedy, she has to decide where she belongs.  Sure the plot isn't totally original, sounds like the average story to a million rom-coms, but that isn't what this movie is at all.  You will get fully immersed in the world and the story because of how well it is written.

See this movie if you like: period dramas/romance and movies that focus more on plot and character than action

My favorite movie out of all the ones I saw was Room.  Based on a novel (and not a true story like I first thought), Room is about a woman who had been held hostage in a small room for 6 years after being kidnapped at 18.  In that time she had and raised a son, who she created a whole world for surrounding Room.  When she finally decides he is old enough to learn the truth and they manage to escape, Jack discovers the world for the first time.  The story is written and acted to perfection, making it all seem totally believable.   When it's over, you're left wishing there was more.  What happens next?!  There are some parts of the movie that go by too quickly, I think the movie easily been an hour longer.  I will definitely be reading the book when I get the chance.

See this movie if you like: dark character dramas

Trumbo is only nominated for one Oscar, Bryan Cranston Actor in a Leading Role, but it is definitely one of the better movies in the whole lot.  I went to school for screenwriting, so when I saw the movie was about that world, I knew I had to watch it. Trumbo is the true story of a man who was a famous movie writer after WWII, who just so happened to be a Communist.  Trumbo and a number of other screenwriters were blacklisted from the business because of their beliefs, but they didn't let that stop them from taking over Hollywood.  Again, it's another movie that relies heavily on the characters and the storyline, which is one of my favorite kinds of movies.

See this movie if you like: true stories and especially the history of the movie industry

Finally, there's Ex Machina.  I had been seeing gifs and pictures from this movie for months now, and never really knew what it was supposed to be about.  Honestly, I am surprised this didn't get a nomination for Best Picture, I liked it that much.  It was only nominated for Best Original Screenplay and Best Achievement in Visual Effects, both which it deserves to win.  This movie goes back to the classic Sci-fi books and movies about artificial intelligence.  A computer programmer is given the opportunity to spend the week with one of the biggest men in the field to help test a new experiment.  When he gets to the estate, separated from the rest of the world, he is expected to conduct the Turing Test to find out if the Artificial Intelligence the man created is smart enough to fool a human into thinking it is human itself.  With a bit of mystery and some great plot twists, this movie had me hooked.  I had no idea how it was going to end throughout the whole movie, and then when the time came, what happened was perfect.

See this movie if you like: classic Sci-fi and movies with a slow pace

Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments after you've seen these movies and let me know which of your favorite Oscar noms I left out.