90% Winner: Moonlight 111 min, R, [Drama] [Barry Jenkins] [18 Nov 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 74%, Rotten Tomatoes: 98%, Metacritic: 99%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 3 Oscars. Another 220 wins & 270 nominations.
Actors: Alex R. Hibbert, Duan Sanderson, Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Shariff Earp, Trevante Rhodes
Writer: Barry Jenkins (screenplay by), Tarell Alvin McCraney (story by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Three time periods - young adolescence, mid-teen and young adult - in the life of black-American Chiron is presented. When a child, Chiron lives with his single, crack addict mother Paula in a crime ridden neighborhood in Miami. Chiron is a shy, withdrawn child largely due to his small size and being neglected by his mother, who is more concerned about getting her fixes and satisfying her carnal needs than taking care of him. Because of these issues, Chiron is bullied, the slurs hurled at him which he doesn't understand beyond knowing that they are meant to be hurtful. Besides his same aged Cuban-American friend Kevin, Chiron is given what little guidance he has in life from a neighborhood drug dealer named Juan, who can see that he is neglected, and Juan's caring girlfriend Teresa, whose home acts as a sanctuary away from the bullies and away from Paula's abuse. With this childhood as a foundation, Chiron may have a predetermined path in life, one that will only be magnified in terms of its problems when he reaches his difficult teen years when peer pressure affects what he and many of his peers do, unless he follows Juan's advice of truly making his own decisions for himself.
Rotten Tomatoes: The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man's struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
84% Nominee: Arrival 116 min, PG-13, [Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller] [Denis Villeneuve] [11 Nov 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 79%, Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, Metacritic: 81%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. Another 64 wins & 251 nominations.
Actors: Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, Michael Stuhlbarg
Writer: Eric Heisserer (screenplay by), Ted Chiang (based on the story "Story of Your Life" written by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English, Russian, Mandarin Country: USA
Plot: Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touchdown in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.
Rotten Tomatoes: When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team--lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams)--are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers--and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.
81% Nominee: Fences 139 min, PG-13, [Drama] [Denzel Washington] [25 Dec 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 72%, Rotten Tomatoes: 92%, Metacritic: 79%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 1 Oscar. Another 52 wins & 106 nominations.
Actors: Denzel Washington, Jovan Adepo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Viola Davis
Writer: August Wilson (screenplay by), August Wilson (based upon his play "Fences")
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: USA, Canada
Plot: Troy Maxson makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son's chance to meet a college football recruiter.
Rotten Tomatoes: Denzel Washington directed and stars in this adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which centers on a black garbage collector named Troy Maxson in 1950s Pittsburgh. Bitter that baseball's color barrier was only broken after his own heyday in the Negro Leagues, Maxson is prone to taking out his frustrations on his loved ones. Both Washington and co-star Viola Davis won Tonys for their performances in the 2010 revival of the play. Stephen Henderson, Jovan Adepo, Russell Hornsby, and Mykelti Williamson round out the supporting cast.
79% Nominee: Hacksaw Ridge 139 min, R, [Biography, Drama, History, War] [Mel Gibson] [04 Nov 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 81%, Rotten Tomatoes: 86%, Metacritic: 71%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 2 Oscars. Another 46 wins & 111 nominations.
Actors: Andrew Garfield, Jacob Warner, Luke Bracey, Milo Gibson, Richard Pyros, Sam Worthington
Writer: Robert Schenkkan (screenplay by), Andrew Knight (screenplay by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English, Japanese Country: Australia, USA
Plot: The true story of Desmond T. Doss, the conscientious objector who, at the Battle of Okinawa, won the Medal of Honor for his incredible bravery and regard for his fellow soldiers. We see his upbringing and how this shaped his views, especially his religious view and anti-killing stance. We see Doss's trials and tribulations after enlisting in the US Army and trying to become a medic. Finally, we see the hell on Earth that was Hacksaw Ridge.
Rotten Tomatoes: HACKSAW RIDGE is the extraordinary true story of Desmond Doss [Andrew Garfield] who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of WWII, saved 75 men without firing or carrying a gun. He was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the front lines without a weapon, as he believed that while the war was justified, killing was nevertheless wrong. As an army medic, he single-handedly evacuated the wounded from behind enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. Doss was the first conscientious objector to ever earn the Congressional Medal of Honor.
87% Nominee: Hell or High Water 102 min, R, [Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western] [David Mackenzie] [26 Aug 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 76%, Rotten Tomatoes: 97%, Metacritic: 88%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 42 wins & 157 nominations.
Actors: Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Dale Dickey, Jeff Bridges, William Sterchi
Writer: Taylor Sheridan
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: USA
Plot: In Texas, after the death of his mother, the unemployed oil and gas worker Toby Howard is losing his ranch to the Texas Midlands Bank. Toby is divorced from his wife who lives with their two sons. When his brother Tanner Howard is released from the prison, they team up to rob agencies of the Texas Midlands Bank to raise money to pay the loan so that Toby may leave the real estate to his sons. Meanwhile the Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton who is near retirement and his Indian descendant partner Alberto Parker try to anticipate the next move of the thieves.
Rotten Tomatoes: Texas brothers--Toby (Chris Pine), and Tanner (Ben Foster), come together after years divided to rob branches of the bank threatening to foreclose on their family land. For them, the hold-ups are just part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that seemed to have been stolen from under them. Justice seems to be theirs, until they find themselves on the radar of Texas Ranger, Marcus (Jeff Bridges) looking for one last grand pursuit on the eve of his retirement, and his half-Comanche partner, Alberto (Gil Birmingham). As the brothers plot a final bank heist to complete their scheme, and with the Rangers on their heels, a showdown looms at the crossroads where the values of the Old and New West murderously collide.
81% Nominee: Hidden Figures 127 min, PG, [Biography, Drama, History] [Theodore Melfi] [06 Jan 2017]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 78%, Rotten Tomatoes: 93%, Metacritic: 74%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 37 wins & 85 nominations.
Actors: Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson
Writer: Allison Schroeder (screenplay by), Theodore Melfi (screenplay by), Margot Lee Shetterly (based on the book by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.
Rotten Tomatoes: HIDDEN FIGURES is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)-brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
88% Nominee: La La Land 128 min, PG-13, [Comedy, Drama, Music, Musical, Romance] [Damien Chazelle] [25 Dec 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 80%, Rotten Tomatoes: 91%, Metacritic: 93%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 6 Oscars. Another 215 wins & 254 nominations.
Actors: Amiée Conn, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ryan Gosling, Terry Walters
Writer: Damien Chazelle
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA, Hong Kong
Plot: Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
Rotten Tomatoes: Written and directed by Academy Award (R) nominee Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.
78% Nominee: Lion 118 min, PG-13, [Biography, Drama] [Garth Davis] [06 Jan 2017]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 80%, Rotten Tomatoes: 85%, Metacritic: 69%, External Reviews
Awards: Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 80 nominations.
Actors: Abhishek Bharate, Dev Patel, Khushi Solanki, Nicole Kidman, Priyanka Bose, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar
Writer: Saroo Brierley (adapted from the book "A Long Way Home" by), Luke Davies (screenplay by)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English, Hindi, Bengali Country: UK, Australia, USA
Plot: In 1986, Saroo was a five-year-old child in India of a poor but happy rural family. On a trip with his brother, Saroo soon finds himself alone and trapped in a moving decommissioned passenger train that takes him to Calcutta, 1500 miles away from home. Now totally lost in an alien urban environment and too young to identify either himself or his home to the authorities, Saroo struggles to survive as a street child until he is sent to an orphanage. Soon, Saroo is selected to be adopted by the Brierley family in Tasmania, where he grows up in a loving, prosperous home. However, for all his material good fortune, Saroo finds himself plagued by his memories of his lost family in his adulthood and tries to search for them even as his guilt drives him to hide this quest from his adoptive parents and his girlfriend. Only when he has an epiphany does he realize not only the answers he needs, but also the steadfast love that he has always had with all his loved ones in both worlds.
Rotten Tomatoes: Five-year-old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of Kilometers across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.
90% Nominee: Manchester by the Sea 137 min, R, [Drama] [Kenneth Lonergan] [16 Dec 2016]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 78%, Rotten Tomatoes: 96%, Metacritic: 96%, External Reviews
Awards: Won 2 Oscars. Another 117 wins & 243 nominations.
Actors: Ben O'Brien, Casey Affleck, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Williams, Richard Donelly
Writer: Kenneth Lonergan
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Website Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Lee Chandler is a brooding, irritable loner who works as a handyman for a Boston apartment block. One damp winter day he gets a call summoning him to his hometown, north of the city. His brother's heart has given out suddenly, and he's been named guardian to his 16-year-old nephew. As if losing his only sibling and doubts about raising a teenager weren't enough, his return to the past re-opens an unspeakable tragedy.
Rotten Tomatoes: After the death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler), Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is shocked to learn that Joe has made him sole guardian of his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Taking leave of his job, Lee reluctantly returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea to care for Patrick, a spirited 16-year-old, and is forced to deal with a past that separated him from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and the community where he was born and raised. Bonded by the man who held their family together, Lee and Patrick struggle to adjust to a world without him.