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The 2021 Academy Awards are fast approaching, but there is still plenty of time to get caught up on the 2021 Academy Award nominees. The Oscars this year are unique for several reasons. One of those reasons being how our current health crisis has made streaming services even more popular. This has resulted in the film industry making many of the nominated Oscar films available online. The majority of the nominated movies streaming are well worth the small fee you pay to see them. Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, and Nomadland are just a few of the many nominated movies streaming or available to rent,.
With so many nominated movies streaming, now is the perfect time to watch the Oscar 2021 nominees before the broadcast. You can even regain some sense of normalcy by enjoying a few with friends through various watch party apps. Let this list make it easy for you to find the Oscar nominated movies streaming and available to rent.
Promising Young Woman
Promising Young Woman stars Carey Mulligan. She plays Cassie, a woman trying to cope with the death of her best friend. Al Monroe (Chris Lowell) sexually assaulted Cassie’s friend Nina while they were in college and Nina’s life continued to spiral because of it. Now, Cassie spends her nights pretending to be drunk to confront so-called “nice guys” who try to take her home and take advantage of her. The cast includes an array of actors like Adam Brody, Bo Burnham, and Max Greenfield. The cast also includes Laverne Cox and Alison Brie. Emerald Fennell directed Promising Young Woman.
Promising Young Woman is up for the Best Picture Academy Award, along with Best Actress for Carey Mulligan, and Best Film Editing, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Unfortunately, no major streaming service has grabbed up Promising Young Woman yet, so Promising Young Woman streaming is only an option as a rental or purchase. However, all of your favorite Video-On-Demand (VOD) services have it available.
Rent Promising Young Woman on Amazon
Judas And The Black Messiah
Judas and the Black Messiah is based on the events leading to Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton’s death. Daniel Kaluuya plays Fred Hampton. It focuses on how William O’Neal (played by Lakeith Stanfield) betrayed him and aids the FBI in targeting and killing Hampton. Judas and the Black Messiah’s cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, and Lil Rel Howery. Shaka King directed Judas and the Black Messiah.
Judas and the Black Messiah’s Oscar nominations include Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield both earned Best Supporting Actor nominations. Judas and the Black Messiah is no longer available to stream on HBO Max, but it is available to rent on demand.
Rent Judas and the Black Messiah on Amazon
The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin directed The Trial of the Chicago 7, and the film is based on the events of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the trials that followed it. Seven men who were protesting the Vietnam War are arrested and tried for crossing state lines with the intent to incite a riot. The Trial of the Chicago 7 depicts the courtroom drama that unfolded at that time, and it looks deeper at the characters at the forefront of these events. The Trial of the Chicago 7 cast includes Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Strong, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The Trial of the Chicago 7’s Academy Award nominations are Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Picture, and Best Original Screenplay. Sacha Baron Cohen earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The Trial of the Chicago 7 is available to stream on Netflix.
Stream The Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix
Sound Of Metal
Darius Marder directed Sound of Metal, a film about Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), a drummer who starts to lose his hearing. It’s also about his relationship with his girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) and how their romance falls apart. Ruben finds some peace when he’s embraced by a deaf community of recovering addicts. Sound of Metal’s cast also includes Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, and Mathieu Amalric.
Sound of Metal received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Screenplay. Paul Raci received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor and Riz Ahmed received a nomination for Best Actor. Sound of Metal is available to stream through Amazon Prime.
Stream Sound of Metal on Amazon
Minari
Minari follows Korean immigrants, the Yi family, as they adjust to life in Arkansas. The patriarch Jacob (Steven Yeun) dreams of owning his own farm, but it proves more difficult than he expected due to the general difficulty of farming and familial conflicts. Lee Isaac Chung directed Minari, and the cast includes Alan S. Kim, Youn Yuh-jung, Han Ye-ri, and Noel Cho.
Minari received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-jung both received acting nominations. He was nominated for Best Actor, and she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The only way to watch Minari streaming is through a VOD service because it isn’t currently available on any major streaming service.
Mank
Mank is a black and white tribute to the films and stars of the 1930s. David Fincher directed this film based on his late father’s original screenplay. It follows screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (played by Gary Oldman) as he works on the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Mank’s cast includes Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, and Tom Pelphrey.
Mank received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Supporting Actress for Amanda Seyfried, and Best Actor for Gary Oldman. Mank is available to stream on Netflix.
The Father
Florian Zeller directed The Father, which is based on his play Le Père. Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss, and Imogen Poots are all in the film. The Father follows Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) and his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman) as dementia starts to take over Anthony’s mind and life. It’s a tragic portrait of how one's mind can betray them.
The Father is nominated for six Academy Awards. Hopkins and Colman both earned acting nominations for leading and supporting roles. It was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The Father is currently not available on a streaming service, but it is available on Video-On-Demand platforms.
Nomadland
Chloé Zhao directed Nomadland. The film stars Frances McDormand and is based on Jessica Bruder’s nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. The movie follows Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who begins a journey across the United States after her life falls apart in Nevada. Nomadland features David Strathairn in a supporting role, and the rest of the cast consists mainly of real-life nomads playing fictionalized versions of themselves.
The Academy nominated Nomadland for six Oscars, including a Best Actress nomination for Frances McDormand. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Hulu is your source to watch Nomadland streaming.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is based on August Wilson’s play of the same name. George C. Wolfe adapted this version, which stars Viola Davis, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and the late Chadwick Boseman. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom depicts the fictionalized events of a 1920 Chicago recording studio session with Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her band. Tensions escalate into a shocking and tragic ending.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Viola Davis and Best Actor for Chadwick Boseman. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Stream Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is the 2020 sequel to Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Sacha Baron Cohen returns as the title character. To help the mockumentary and prank movie work, Borat has a daughter Tutar (Maria Bakalova) who joins him in the United States. Borat and Tutar travel across the U.S. so that he can offer her as a bride to former Vice-President Mike Pence. Jason Woliner directed Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm received two Oscar nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Maria Bakalova and Best Adapted Screenplay. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Stream Borat Subsequent Moviefilm on Amazon.
Soul
Soul is a Disney and Pixar film about Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx), a music teacher who dreams of playing jazz music professionally. Joe gets his big break and then has an accident that separates his soul from his body. Joe will do anything to return to Earth, but with 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who wants nothing to do with Earth, as his mentee, she won’t make the trip back to Earth easy. Soul’s voice cast includes Richard Ayoade, Alice Braga, Rachel House, Daveed Diggs, Angela Bassett, and Phylicia Rashad.
The Academy nominated Soul for three Oscars, including Best Animated Feature. Soul is exclusively available to stream on Disney+.
Another Round
Thomas Vinterberg directed Another Round. The movie follows four friends and teachers who set off to become highly functioning drunks by keeping alcohol in their system at all times. They believe it will improve their daily lives. Of course, things start off great but then they become not-so-great. Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe star in Another Round.
Another Round was nominated for two Oscars: International Feature Film and Best Director. Another Round is streaming on Hulu.
WolfWalkers
Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart directed Wolfwalkers, an animated film about a young hunter apprentice, Robyn (Honor Kneafsey), who journeys with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. She ends up befriending Mebh (Eva Whittaker) and finds herself becoming increasingly drawn to the wolfwalkers world. Wolfwalkers’ voice cast includes Sean Bean, Tommy Tiernan, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and Simon McBurney.
Wolfwalkers is nominated for Best Animated Feature. The film is available to stream on AppleTV.
Stream WolfWalkers on AppleTV+
Tune into the Oscars on Sunday, April 25, on ABC, to see which nominated movies streaming take home the golden statue.
