It's Oscar time again! This year has a lot of great films up for Best Picture honours [1], but the lack of diversity is kind of a bummer. If you plan on tuning in — and you should, just to watch Chris Rock call-out the whitewashing of the industry — we saved you some time in viewing all the films.
Here are the contenders, their stars, and their one-sentence plot synopses.
Don't miss YMC Oscar Night Twitter Fun! We'll be live-tweeting the red carpet and ceremony over at @YMCBuzz [2] and @YummyMummyClub [3]. Glam up (wear pajamas) and tweet along with us using #YMCOscars [4] starting Sunday February 28 at 7pm EST. See you there!
The Martian
Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, and Sean Bean.
Summary: Left behind on a Mars mission after a sudden storm knocks him out, a man must perform self-surgery, after which he is forced to survive on nothing more than disco music and shit potatoes.
The Big Short
Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt.
Summary: Four handsome men highlight and forewarn of the illegal activity leading to the 2008 housing bubble and subsequent stock market crash, after which they remain appallingly good-looking and go on to raise families because whatcha gonna do?
Bridge of Spies
Starring Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch, and Alan Alda.
Summary: An All-American lawyer* with apple-pie ideology defends a Russian Soviet spy during the height of the Cold War, then lies to his wife about a fishing trip.
*Fun fact: This is Tom Hanks' 3455 time portraying a lawyer.
Brooklyn
Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, and Julie Walters.
Summary: New to America, a young Irish woman eats an amazing spaghetti dinner with a boisterous and slighty-racist Italian family and lives happily ever after.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Starring Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy.
Summary: Imperator Furiosa — Supreme Leader of New World Feminist Causes — says hellllllllll no to a tyrannical post-apocalyptic ruler in a violent, explosive, and completely warranted fit of fury.
The Revenant
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter.
Summary: An egotistical man in a fur coat gets half-eaten by a bear and declares revenge on those he percieves as traitors.
*Sorry; this movie is not about Kanye West.
Spotlight
Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci.
Summary: Based on a true story, four investigative journalists at The Boston Globe discover details of a story the likes of which may lead to your fantasizing about burning down the garages and/or inflicting serious injury on several child molesting Catholic priests and the complicit Boston Archdiocese who helped bury the details.
Room
Starring William H. Macy, Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, and Sean Bridgers.
Jeni Marinucci is YMC's Creative Director. She has a guilty conscience, a love for humour, and a questionable home-haircut. After her children were old enough to make their own sandwiches, she returned to University to complete her B.A. in English Literature—a designation which has provided her with an extensive library and crushing student loans. When no teaching college wanted her, she had to choose between taking orders through a drive-thru window or from an editor. She chose the latter.