The 83rd annual Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday February 27. That means you have eleven days to see as many of the nominees as possible. Here’s your guide to seeing the best picture nominees in New York City — but hurry, there are ten films on this list and you only have a little time until Oscar night.
+ Black Swan: Natalie Portman stars as a stressed out ballerina who must balance two very different swan personas in order to dance the role of a lifetime. Fun fact: the star met her boyfriend (and baby daddy) on the set — he was her choreographer.
Black Swan is playing at amost every AMC and Regal theater throughout the city. Click here for showtimes.
+ The Fighter: Mark Wahlberg is billed as the star of this Boston-based boxing movie, but it’s really the amazing ensemble cast that makes this one hell of a film. Fun fact: Conan O’Brien’s sister Kate has a role in this film. She’s easy to spot — just look for the female Conan.
The Fighter is playing at AMC Kips Bay, Regal E-Walk in Times Square, Clearview’s Chelsea, and many other theaters. Click here for showtimes.
+ Inception: Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this mind screw of a movie that asks the question “are my dreams safe?”. Fun fact: Inception is directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed “Memento” — makes sense that this one is also confusing as hell.
Inception is not in theaters, but can be found on DVD. Check it out on Netflix.
+ The Kids Are All Right: Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star as a lesbian couple who encounter their children’s sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) later in their lives. Sounds like a crazy plot, but the movie is pretty heartwarming. Fun fact: Neither Julianne Moore or Annette Bening are lesbians in real life.
The Kids Are All Right is not in theaters, but can be found on DVD. Check it out on Netflix.
+ The King’s Speech: Colin Firth stars as King George VI, a man with a debilitating stutter who never thought he would be king. Geoffrey Rush steals our hearts as the speech therapist, and Helena Bonham Carter sparkles as his supportive wife. Fun fact: The author, David Seidler, suffered from a stammer as a child.
The King’s Speech is playing at AMC Empire in Times Square, Regal Union Square, Clearview’s Ziegfeld, and many more. Click here for showtimes.
+ 127 Hours: Renaissance man James Franco stars in this film, based on the true story of Aron Ralston. It deals with the horrific ordeal Ralston went through after getting his arm trapped under a boulder while hiking. Fun fact: test audiences reported fainting and vomiting during a particularly shocking scene.
127 Hours is playing at Landmark Sunshine, AMC Kips Bay, AMC Empire in Times Square, and AMC Loews 84th Street. Click here for showtimes.
+ The Social Network: Indie darling Jesse Eisenberg stars as Facebook mogul Mark Zuckerberg in this imaginitive re-telling of Facebook’s beginnings. Justin Timberlake moonlights as that Napster dude who fell into obscurity in the early 2000s. Fun fact: Mark Zuckerberg took the Facebook staff to see the movie on opening day.
The Social Network is playing at AMC Empire in Times Square, and Quad Cinema on West 13th. Click here for showtimes.
+ Toy Story 3: Pixar hits it out of the park again with the third installation of the big money making franchise. This time the owner goes off to college and his toy collection ends up at a daycare center. Fun fact: This is only the third animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Up (2009) are the other two.
Toy Story 3 is not in theaters, but can be found on DVD. Check it out on Netflix.
+ True Grit: The infamous Coen Brothers directed this re-imagining of the original novel, not the John Wayne flick. Jeff Bridges stars as Rooster Cogburn, a marshall hired to hunt down a murderer. A shining star in the movie is 14 year old Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Maddie Ross, a girl dead set on finding her father’s killer. Fun fact: This is the first Coen Brothers film to gross over $100 million in the United States.
True Grit is playing at AMC Kips Bay, Regal Union Square, Clearview’s Chelsea, and a few others. Click here for showtimes.
+ Winter’s Bone: Jennifer Lawrence stars as a girl from the Ozark Mountains who has to find her drug-dealing father in order to save their family. This indie film was barely a blip on the general public’s radar when it first came out, but has garnered huge praise and is now playing to a wider audience. Fun fact: For her role in the film, Jennifer Lawrence had to learn how to skin squirrels, chop wood, and fight.
Winter’s Bone is not in theaters, but can be found on DVD. Check it out on Netflix.
What was your favorite movie of the year? Leave your comments below!
