Oscar Sunday is long gone (if measured by homework completed), but many of the movies that won the most prestigious awards are still playing in Baltimore. Although some of these movies have already come out on DVD and live streaming, there’s nothing like seeing them in theaters.
So this weekend, during one of your many quick, two-hour breaks, head to the movie theater instead of binge-watching a show or moaning about how you should really be writing that paper. At least you can argue you did something productive.
The Charles Theatre is currently playing Birdman, which won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. If you’re a fan of excellent acting, directing and editing, this is the movie for you. The film stars Michael Keaton as an actor trying to be recognized as not just the superhero he played when he was younger. Although I don’t believe Birdman should have won Best Original Screenplay or Best Picture due to its lack of plot and competition with Boyhood, respectively, it’s still a remarkable film and has some of the best directing I’ve seen in a long time.
The Charles Theatre is also currently playing all of the Oscar-nominated Live-Action Shorts and Animated Shorts. The Phone Call, starring Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent, won for best Live-Action, and Feast, which premiered before Big Hero 6, won for Animated Short. Although I haven’t seen any of the shorts, I always want to, because I’m impressed by the creators’ abilities to compress all the ups and downs of a movie into such a short period of time.
The Senator Theatre is playing American Sniper, Selma, Still Alice and Whiplash. Of these four movies, only Still Alice wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. My favorite movie of the year was Whiplash, which was nominated for five Academy Awards and won three, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons. Whiplash blew my mind. I went to see it expecting it to be good, but it is amazing. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, drop everything, and go see it right now. The acting is superb, the editing and directing are unique, the music is great and the script is fantastic
Still Alice is also supposed to be quite good and an interesting look at early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Although I have yet to see it, it’s on my list of movies to see since Julianne Moore won Best Actress. Perhaps I’ll head over to the Senator this weekend and check it out.
American Sniper and Whiplash are also playing at the Landmark Harbor East. However, unlike the Senator, Harbor East is playing The Theory of Everything about the romance between Stephen and Jane Hawking. Eddie Redmayne, who plays Hawking, won Best Actor, and the movie is worth seeing for his performance alone. If you’re in the mood for love rather than just science, you should definitely see this movie.
Whether you are looking for a critically acclaimed film that’s been winning awards left and right or you just want to spend a gloomy Saturday watching a fluffy chick-flick, Baltimore’s local theaters will not disappoint.
