42 Must-See Movies Eligible for the 2021 Oscar Nominations

“Nomadland”

After dominating the unconventional 2020 fall festival season (where it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival), Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” opened in theaters and started streaming on Hulu last month. Fresh off two big wins at the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director (Zhao became just the second woman in the Globes’ 78-year history to win the category), “Nomadland” now heads straight into the Oscar nominations as a frontrunner contender for Best Picture. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn named “Nomadland” one of the best films of 2020, lauding the project as “a powerful character study about one woman’s desire to resist settling down” in his A- review.

“Minari”

“Minari” opened in theaters and on PVOD platforms last month, well over a year after it world premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Audience Award. Previous double Sundance winners such as “Whiplash” and “Precious” went on to earn a handful of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Will “Minari” have similar luck? Here’s hoping. Lee Isaac Chung’s moving immigrant drama won the Best Foreign Language Film prize at the Golden Globes and is up for three Screen Actor Guild Awards: Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture, Best Actor for Steven Yeun, and Best Supporting Actress for Youn Yuh-jung. The film has industry support heading into the Oscar nominations, and it only helps that “Minari” is one of the best films of 2020. Read David Ehrlich’s A review here.

“Judas and the Black Messiah”

With a Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination in the same category, Daniel Kaluuya has emerged as a favorite to land an Oscar nomination for his performance as Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah.” IndieWire’s Kate Erbland raved about Kaluuya’s performance in her A- review of the film out of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, writing, “As Chairman Fred, Kaluuya is at his most bombastic early on, with the film introducing him through his speeches and public appearances. We meet the public Fred, the confrontational Fred, the confident Fred, the seemingly unafraid Fred, before spending more time with the more emotional (and even shy) Fred as the film goes on. It’s a nuanced, careful part, embodied by an actor who can more than ably capture every inch of a man, far beyond decades-old public perceptions.”

“A Sun”

“A Sun” landed on the Oscar shortlist for Best International Feature as the official selection for Taiwan, and as IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote last year, “The film demands serious Oscar consideration.” Directed by Chung Mong-hong, “A Sun” is a family drama about four relatives come undone by unexpected tragedy. Ehrlich wrote the film is “a stylish but unexpectedly sober tale of crime and punishment that finds its 55-year-old director pivoting away from the more heightened tone of his three previous features for a riveting moral odyssey that mixes elements of broad comedy, ultra-violence, melodrama, and even a splash of animation into the slow-boiling stew of everyday human existence.”

“The World to Come”

Vanessa Kirby is a major contender for Best Actress thanks to “Pieces of a Woman,” but she also stars in another should-be Oscar player: Mona Fastvold’s “The World to Come.” The film pairs Kirby and Katherine Waterston as pioneer women who forge a romantic bond, and it’s not getting nearly enough awards buzz for these two central performances and Andre Chemetoff’s cinematography. IndieWire named “The World to Come” a Critic’s Pick out of the 2020 Venice Film Festival, writing, “’The World to Come’ takes that pioneer spirit and runs with it deep into the woods, even if its characters spend most of their lives standing in place, even if the movie around them — which entwines the furtive eroticism of ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ with the kerosene ache of ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ — owes as much to the latter as it does any of its more obvious influences.

“La Llorona”

Designated as an Indiewire Critic’s Pick out of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona” is Guatemala’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature. The film made one of the 15 slots on the Oscar shortlist. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote in his review, “’La Llorona’ is a quiet movie that shudders with spiritual trauma…it’s a wickedly entombed domestic chiller that flattens out the usual jolts until myth and memory bleed together and the past takes its revenge on the present.”

“Sound of Metal”

“As Ruben, the heavy-metal drummer going deaf at the center of the mesmerizing debut from writer-director Darius Marder, Riz Ahmed conveys the complex frustrations of losing touch with the world around him no matter how much he fights to hold onto it,” IndieWire’s Eric Kohn writes in his entry naming the film one of the best movies of 2020. “This devastating conundrum relies on the best use of sound design in recent memory, as Marder immerses viewers within the confines of Ruben’s deteriorating relationship to the world around him, and he sorts through the wreckage to construct a new one. Ahmed’s brilliant performance turns on a complex soundscape that resonates even in total silence.”

Stream on Amazon Prime.

“The Forty-Year-Old Version”

Radha Blank’s “The Forty-Year-Old Version” started 2020 with a bank as the winner of the Best Director prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and now in 2021 it’s the Gotham Award winner for Best Screenplay. The film, written and directed and starring Blank, is a relatively laid-back and winsome comedy that’s buoyed by its creator’s lead performance. She offers up an adorable, honest, and vulnerable portrayal of an aging artist (a Black woman, which is rare) having to decide between selling out or being true to herself. It’s impossible not to cheer for her success. The Academy rarely goes for comedy films, but “The Forty-Year-Old Version” is so smart and infectious that it deserves Best Original Screenplay consideration at the very least.

“Another Round”

Denmark’s official selection for the Best International Feature race is Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” which is so good that it deserves breakout category contention for Mads Mikkelsen in the Best Actor race. IndieWire named Mikkelsen one of the best performers of 2020 thanks to his work as a high school teacher confronting a midlife crisis by turning to booze, writing, “The film emerges as one of the actor’s warmest films, and a reminder that beneath all his broodiness, Mikkelsen is actually one of our most joyous living actors.”

Buy on Amazon Prime.

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”

It seems inevitable at this point in Oscar season that Chadwick Boseman will land a posthumous nomination for Best Actor, and perhaps a win, for his performance as the fiery trombonist Levee Green in George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” In a world consumed by celebrity culture and stardom, Boseman was a selective and consummate method actor. He was a performer obsessively dedicated to the details of his craft, and it shows in what ended up being his final film role. Boseman delivers one provocative, aggrieved monologue for the ages in the film, declaring that “God can kiss my ass!” and leaving his Levee’s bandmates stunned. Viewers may be as well. With that kind of intensity, he may have realized that it was his last

“Borat Subsequent Movie Film”

The surprise “Borat” sequel is a “brilliant, vulgar plea for a better world,” Eric Kohn wrote in his A- review. The film has emerged as a leading contender in the Best Supporting Actress race thanks to the breakout performance of Maria Bakalova, who has already won honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. As Kohn writes, “Hidden cameras work wonders, but they’re nothing without the talent in front of them. Baron Cohen’s ability to expose the lunacy of modern times has only grown more purposeful with time, even when it’s silly as all hell. These crazy times demand no less.”

Stream on Amazon Prime.

“Soul”

Naming Pete Docter’s “Soul” the 14th best movie of 2020, IndieWire’s Eric Kohn writes, “Sure, the imagery includes a dizzying blend of psychedelic afterlife visions and crisp New York scenery, it has some of the best animated musical performances ever, and the climactic chase unfolds under such innovative circumstances that they defy any one-line summation. But the essence of ‘Soul’ rests with the profound nature of its character’s journey, a universal quest toward self-discovery that turns on the prospects of second chances. It’s a tearjerker with cosmic purpose.”

Stream on Disney+.

“Mank”

David Fincher’s long-awaited return to the movies doesn’t disappoint, as “Mank” is possibly the greatest reenactment of Hollywood’s Golden Age ever. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn called “Mank” Fincher’s best movie since “The Social Network” and named it the 15th best movie of 2020. Kohn writes: “’Mank’ uses its meticulous black-and-white scenery and complex soundscape to resurrect its era while commenting on how it reverberates to this day. Countless movies about Hollywood go behind the scenes; ‘Mank’ is one of the few tells us what they really mean.”

“Promising Young Woman”

Emerald Fennell’s acclaimed “Promising Young Woman” roared out of the gate in January 2020 with a glorious premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (where IndieWire’s Kate Erbland awarded the dark comedy a rave review), and now it’s building buzz for Oscar season after opening in select theaters Christmas day and launching on PVOD January 15. Whether or not Fennell’s razor sharp script or direction can break her into the Oscars remains to be seen, but leading lady Carey Mulligan seems poised to land a Best Actress nomination. Mulligan won Best Actress honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

“Collective”

Alexander Nanau’s bracing, relentless documentary “Collective” is about the fallout of a 2015 nightclub fire and plays like one of the most gripping thrillers you’ve ever seen. The film is a contender in two categories: Best Documentary and Best International Feature, where it is the official selection of Romania. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn named “Collection” one of the greatest movies ever made about journalism in his A review. Kohn adds, “From its opening moments to the devastating finale, ‘Collective’ plays like a gripping real-time thriller, merging the reportorial intensity of ‘Spotlight’ with the paranoid uncertainty of ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ as it explores the national fallout of a tragedy that won’t let up.”

Rent on Amazon Prime.

“One Night in Miami”

IndieWire’s Kate Erbland awarded Regina King’s feature directorial debut “One Night in Miami” an A- review after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, writing, “Armed with a fresh script from playwright Kemp Powers and a revelatory series of star turns from her cast, King’s first feature is a powerful look at Black excellence.” King would become the first Black woman nominated for Best Director (and only the sixth Black director) should she land a nomination, while Powers will certainly be a strong contender in the Best Adapted Screenplay race. As for King’s ensemble cast, “One Night in Miami” is an actor’s showcase that should make it a no-brainer for at least the top Screen Actors Guild prize.

Stream on Amazon Prime.

“Wolfwalkers”

IndieWire’s senior film critic David Ehlrich named Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers” his favorite animated movie of 2020, writing, “With ‘Wolfwalkers,’ Cartoon Saloon has realized its true potential at last. Far and away the best animated film of the year so far (one worthy of such hosannas no matter how limited the competition has been), this heartfelt tale of love and loss is the most visually enchanting feature its studio has made thus far, as well as the most poignant.” Expect the movie to battle Pixar’s “Soul” in the Oscar race for Best Animated Feature. “Wolfwalkers” has already picked up Best Animated Feature honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

“76 Days”

One of the first documentaries about the pandemic, “76 Days” is a harrowing fly-on-the-wall portrait of China’s medical workers during the Wuhan lockdown in 2020. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich writes in his review, “The remarkable documentary ’76 Days’ offers a bracingly immediate view from the frontlines of history — at the trauma and disequilibrium of being ambushed by a crisis dire enough to define its century. Discretely shot across four Wuhan hospitals without government approval, this look inside the outbreak is scattered and structureless in a way that makes it seem as if it’s simply taking notes for the history books of the future. But if Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, and their anonymous co-director’s film is more valuable as a time capsule than it is as a piece of cinéma vérité, it still puts a human face on an epochal horror that some people have refused to acknowledge even as it rages around them.”

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things”

Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” might be challenging for Academy voters, but it’s nonetheless one of the strongest reviewed films of 2020. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich gave the Netflix release a perfect “A” grade, praising it as “a brilliant existential drama that defies every convention.”

Jessie Buckley stars as a nameless young woman who travels to meet her boyfriend’s parents, only for reality to upend itself. Kaufman’s ensemble also includes Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis. Kaufman has earned three Oscar nominations for his screenplays (“Being John Malkovich,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” and “Adaptation”), winning for “Eternal Sunshine.” While “Ending Things” and Jessie Buckley’s performance deserve buzz, Kaufman’s script could be the film’s best bet if it doesn’t prove too polarizing.

“If ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ feels like both an act of self-parody for its director and also a radical departure from his previous work, that’s because it takes Kaufman’s usual fixations and turns them inside out,” Ehrlich writes on his review. “While this leaky snow globe of a breakup movie is yet another bizarre and ruefully hilarious trip into the rift between people, it’s not — for the first time — about someone who’s trying to cross it. On the contrary, Kaufman is now telling a story about the rift itself.”

“The Trial of the Chicago 7”

Netflix’s Oscar slate got off to a roaring start with Aaron Sorkin’s protest drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” featuring a star-studded cast that includes recent Emmy winners Jeremy Strong and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II opposite Sacha Baron Cohen, Frank Langella, Michael Keaton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, and more. The film follows the peaceful protests outside the 1968 Democratic Convention as they unravel into a fatal clash with police officers and the trial that ensues.

“Sorkin delivers a powerful Oscar contender as a great cast runs with his brilliant dialogue that serves witty real-life characters and high-pitched drama,” IndieWire’s Oscar pundit Anne Thompson wrote after the film’s premiere. “While Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay nods are in the bag, Netflix hasn’t yet decided how to play out the Oscar categories for this wide-ranging cast.”

“Dick Johnson Is Dead”

Kirsten Johnson’s adored “Cameraperson” missed out on an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary, but the equally-acclaimed “Dick Johnson Is Dead” (now streaming on Netflix) could do the trick next year and land Johnson her first Oscar bid. One of the best reviewed films to emerge out of the Sundance Film Festival, “Dick Johnson Is Dead” finds Johnson crafting an elegy for her father suffering from dementia. IndieWire’s Oscar pundit Anne Thompson lists the movie as a current frontrunner to land a nomination for Best Documentary.

“Johnson’s poignant and personal documentary is a touching and funny meditation on embracing life and fearing death at the same time,” IndieWire chief critic Eric Kohn writes in his A- review. “Oscillating from intimate father-daughter exchanges to surreal meta-fictional tangents, the movie lives within its riveting paradox, reflecting the queasy uncertainty surrounding its subject’s fate.”

“Time”

Garrett Bradley’s “Time” is a frontrunner to land an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary after earning universal acclaim since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the love story of a young couple, Fox Rich and Rob, and how the Louisiana corrections system and a 60-year prison sentence threatens to destroy them. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called “Time” a “poignant and monumental portrait of mass incarceration in America” in his A- review.

Stream on Amazon Prime.

“On the Rocks”

Sofia Coppola’s latest is one of the major titles on Apple’s first Oscar slate, and “On the Rocks” is notable for reuniting the writer-director with her “Lost In Translation” Oscar nominee Bill Murray. Coppola won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with “Lost in Translation,” but Oscar voters have often overlooked her in the years since. The Academy hasn’t nominated a Coppola effort since “Marie Antoinette” won Best Costume Design. Bill Murray’s well-reviewed “On the Rocks” performance might appeal more to the Golden Globes than the Oscars, but expect Apple to push the actor and Coppola’s original script for contention. Read IndieWire’s B+ review here.

“Crip Camp”

Netflix had planned for an awards-qualifying theatrical release for “Crip Camp” to coincide with the movie’s March 25 streaming launch. The acclaimed documentary from Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht world premiered at Sundance in January, where it won an Audience Award prize and became an instant contender in the 2021 Oscar race for Best Documentary. Similar to last year’s Oscar-winning documentary “American Factory,” “Crip Camp” has the backing of both Netflix and the Obamas through their Higher Ground Productions company. The doc is set in the 1970s at Camp Jened, a New York summer camp for teens with disabilities, and tracks several campers who became pioneering figures in the disability rights movement. Read IndieWire’s review here.

“Swallow”

IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called Haley Bennett “extraordinary” and “arresting” as the lead in “Swallow,” writer-director Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ psychological thriller about a disengaged housewife who finds purpose after becoming obsessed with consuming inedible objects. IFC Films released “Swallow” in select theaters March 6, where Bennett’s performance became one of the year’s best reviewed. IndieWire has also cited Nathan Halpern’s retro thriller score as being a highlight of the film.

Stream on Showtime; buy on Amazon Prime.

“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”

Eliza Hittman’s remarkable abortion drama “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” won prizes at the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival before Focus Features opened the drama in theaters March 13. The movie only played three days in theaters before it was pulled and added to premium VOD on April 3. “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” boasts some of the strongest reviews of 2020 and Hittman’s sensitive direction and Sidney Flanagan’s breakout leading role should both find themselves with awards buzz at the end of the year. The film’s potential to break out of the Indie Spirits race and into the Oscar race could depend on the number of contenders, although the critical support could make the latter a no-brainer. Read IndieWire’s review here.

Stream on HBO Max; buy on Amazon Prime.

“The Assistant”

Regardless of how many contenders emerge by the end of 2020, “Ozark” Emmy winner Julia Garner certainly deserves to have Best Actress buzz for her revelatory performance in Kitty Green’s “The Assistant.” Garner plays the assistant of a powerful and abusive film industry mogul, partly inspired by Harvey Weinstein. Green’s suspense-driven script spends one day with Garner’s assistant as she’s forced to reckon with her employer’s behavior. IndieWire’s chief critic Eric Kohn wrote of the film, “As Jane, Garner delivers a masterclass of small, uncertain gestures.” Read IndieWire’s review here.

Stream on Hulu; rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“The Invisible Man”

Leigh Whannell’s “The Invisible Man” earned over $100 million worldwide for Universal Pictures when it opened in late February, making it one of the year’s highest-grossing movies. The psychological thriller earned rave reviews for Elisabeth Moss’ lead performance, but Whannell’s assured filmmaking also deserves buzz. The director makes his “Invisible Man” an unbearably tense ride through his blocking choices, which often use negative spaces to induce fear in the viewer. Whether it gets Oscar buzz or not, “The Invisible Man” is bound to go down as one of the strongest reviewed studio films of 2020.

Stream on HBO Max; buy on Amazon Prime.

“Emma”

IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called “Emma” the most stylish Jane Austen adaptation ever put on screen, meaning Oscar buzz for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design should be in reach for Autumn de Wilde’s hit directorial debut. Focus Features released “Emma” in theaters February 21 followed by a premium VOD launch on March 20. The movie was well on its way to becoming a hit at the North American box office, with a $10 million gross, before theaters closed. Anya Taylor-Joy’s commanding lead performance, Christopher Blauvelt’s pastel cinematography, and supporting turns from Johnny Flynn and Miranda Hart all earned their share of acclaim.

Stream on HBO Max; buy on Amazon Prime.

“First Cow”

“First Cow” finds auteur Kelly Reichardt once again proving she’s the cinematic master of wrestling with what it means to be American. A24 opened “First Cow” in theaters March 6 and it played for a couple weeks before being pulled and set for a second theatrical release sometime this fall. IndieWire has already named the movie one of the year’s best films, writing: “In a meticulous fashion typical of her spellbinding approach, ‘First Cow’ consolidates the potent themes of everything leading up to it: It returns her to the nascent America of the 19th Century frontier at the center of ‘Meek’s Cutoff,” touches on the environmental frustrations of ‘Night Moves,’ revels in the glorious isolation of the countryside in ‘Certain Women’ and the somber travails of vagrancy at the center of ‘Wendy and Lucy.'”

Stream on Showtime; rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“Saint Frances”

Writer and actress Kelly O’Sullivan takes a familiar-sounding quarter-life crisis plotline and crafts it into something winning and warm in “Saint Frances,” which won the Audience Award at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival and opened in theaters February 28 from Oscilloscope Laboratories. “Saint Frances” debuted on VOD platforms May 5. O’Sullivan stars as a woman forced to juggle an unwanted pregnancy and a new job nannying for a six-year-old girl. “Saint Frances” was named an IndieWire Critics’ Pick earlier this year.

Stream on Amazon via Starz; rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“Bacurau”

Kino Lorber was able to open Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ beloved Cannes thriller “Bacurau” in New York City theaters earlier this year before its planned theatrical expansion had to be canceled. The distributor pivoted to an online release and has continued to screen the film through virtual cinemas through May 2020. While the movie debuted on the 2019 festival circuit and was overlooked as Brazil’s Oscar selection this year, Kino Lorber confirms its 2020 theatrical release still makes it eligble for other categories at the 2021 Oscars. IndieWire named “Bacurau” a critics’ pick and praised its “wonderful and demented” spirit. The film is included on IndieWire’s list of the best releases of 2020.

Rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“Circus Of Books”

Rachel Mason’s loving documentary “Circus of Books” was a highlight of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and made its long overdue Netflix debut on April 22. A source close to the streaming giant confirmed to IndieWire the company was also planning a limited theatrical release for the documentary that was canceled due to the crisis. IndieWire’s Jude Dry gave “Circus Of Books” an A grade review, calling it “a perfect documentary form start to finish.”

“Da 5 Bloods”

Spike Lee won his long overdue first competitive Oscar in 2019 with “BlacKkKlansman” (he won Best Adapted Screenplay, and other noms included Best Picture and Lee’s first Best Director bid), and he’s set to be an even bigger contender with his Netflix-backed “Da 5 Bloods.” The streaming giant had been planning a theatrical run for Lee’s Vietnam War epic before it got scrapped in favor of an exclusive streaming launch June 12. Lee has earned great acclaim for “Da 5 Bloods,” which follows four friends as they reunite in modern day Vietnam to track down the remains of their late squad leader and the gold they buried during the war. Delroy Lindo is widely considered the Best Actor Oscar frontrunner at this point in the race, while the film is all but certain to contend in several major categories and craft races. Click here to read more about the movie’s Oscar chances.

“Shirley”

Add “Shirley” to the list of great Elisabeth Moss performances in 2020 that deserve awards consideration (see “The Invisible Man” above). The Josephine Decker-directed drama stars the Emmy winner in a feverish and hallucinatory performance as horror author Shirley Jackson. “Shirley” debuted to raves at the Sundance Film Festival, where IndieWire named it one of the highlights of the event. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich called the drama “thrillingly delirious” in his B+ review. The film sold to Neon out of Park City, but the distributor’s theatrical plan was scrapped in favor of a VOD launch and Hulu streaming debut on June 5.

Stream on Hulu; rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“The Vast of Night”

“Andrew Patterson’s first feature blends elements of ‘The X-Files,’ ’50s B-movies, classic radio dramas, and much more into a genuinely spooky charmer,” IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio wrote in his B+ review of the Amazon-backed drama. The film was also named an IndieWire critic’s pick. “The Vast of Night” marks the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson and centers around two teenage friends in 1950s New Mexico who work as switchboard operators at the local radio station and discover an otherworldly sound being broadcast. The film opened in select drive-in theaters on May 29, the same day it went wide on Amazon Prime. “The Vast of Night” won the Best Narrative Feature Audience Award at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival.

Stream on Amazon Prime.

“Babyteeth”

Shannon Murphy’s primal and surefooted debut “Babyteeth” debuted to rave reviews at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and is hitting digital and select theaters June 19 courtesy of IFC Films. “Sharp Objects” breakout Eliza Scanlen made an impressive screen debut as Beth in Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” and now she gives a commanding lead performance opposite Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis that brings heartbreaking truth and realness to a film with shades of Jane Campion. IndieWire’s B+ review reads:  “Rooted to the bloody tissue of real life, ‘Babyteeth’ is the kind of soft-hearted tearjerker that does everything in its power to rescue beauty from pain; the kind that feels like it would lose its balance and tip right off the screen if it stopped being able to walk the line between the two.”

Stream on Hulu; rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“She Dies Tomorrow”

Amy Seimetz’s second feature “She Dies Tomorrow” was supposed to have its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, where it would have been one of the best films at the event. Indie favorite Kate Lyn Sheil stars as a woman who gets infected by an illness that convinces her she will die the following morning. Each person she tells gets infected with the same paranoia. 

IndieWire praised “She Dies Tomorrow” as a “gripping thriller that combines classic David Cronenberg body horror and with the scathing surrealism of Luis Buñuel.” In his A- review, critic Eric Kohn wrote, “Seimetz has conjured a beguiling narrative so tapped into the current worldwide panic that it might have been made in its aftermath. The movie concludes on a bleak note — that even a brand new day doesn’t expunge the terrors of the night before — as ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ settles on an existential crisis readymade for this present moment, but just as applicable in any other.”

Stream on Hulu; rent or buy on Amazon Prime.

“Athlete A”

Netflix has two Oscars for Best Documentary Feature under its belt thanks to this year’s winner “American Factory” and “Icarus” in 2018. The streaming giant is back in the race for 2021 with major contender “Athlete A,” Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s powerful look at sexual abuse inside the USA Gymnastics program and the case against Larry Nassar. IndieWire named “Athlete A” a Critic’s Pick in June when the film debuted on Netflix. Critic Kate Erbland wrote the film “works as both a meticulous unpacking of the case against Nassar, as kicked off by the reporting of the IndyStar journalists who investigated it, and an emotional unburdening for his many victims. By its end, its revelations demand nothing short of the full-scale dismantling of every facet of USA Gymnastics.” “Athlete A” is currently listed as a frontrunner on Anne Thompson’s 2021 Oscar predictions for the Best Documentary category.

“Relic”

It’s tough for horror films to register with the Academy (recent horror favorites like “Hereditary” were shut out of the race), but if one horror offering deserves the Oscar buzz this year its Natalie Erika James’ chilling feature debut “Relic.” IFC Films opened the movie to great success in drive-in theaters and on VOD platforms in July. IndieWire named “Relic” a Critic’s Pick, calling it a “relentlessly creepy slice of mother-daughter body horror” that justifies its comparisons to the great David Cronenberg. As critic Ryan Lattanzio wrote, “‘Relic’ belongs on the shelf next to ‘The Babadook’ and ‘Hereditary’ as highbrow, female-led horror movies that dwell in the slow burn. The movie concludes with easily one of the most disturbing, enigmatic, and strangely touching final scenes you’re likely to experience all year.”

Buy on Amazon Prime.

“Palm Springs”

“Palm Springs” had a massive streaming debut on Hulu in July, where it became the streamer’s biggest opening ever for an original title. This record came after “Palm Springs” exploded with buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, where it sold to Hulu and Neon for $17.69 million to become the most expensive acquisition in the event’s history. Fortunately, “Palm Springs” lives up to the hype of these record-breaking stats. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti star as wedding guests who are forced into an unusual relationship after they’re sucked into a time loop and forced to relive the same day over again.

IndieWire senior film critic David Ehrlich called “Palm Springs” a “brilliant reinvention” of the “Groundhog’s Day” formula in his review out of Sundance. “The movie is so touching and sharp about the ideas it chooses to spotlight,” Ehrlich writes, “Despite ‘Groundhog Day’ becoming a genre unto itself, Max Barbakow’s witty and wise movie is the first film that doesn’t just apply that old formula to a new problem, but also fundamentally alters the basics of the equation.”

Stream on Hulu.

“Welcome to Chechnya”

David France earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature with  “How to Survive a Plague,” and now he’s back in the race this year with his acclaimed “Welcome to Chechnya.” In this powerful investigation of the state-sanctioned torture of LGBTQ people in the Russian Republic of Chechnya, France crafts his bravest and most bracing documentary yet. IndieWire’s Jude Dry gave “Welcome to Cechnya” a B+ review earlier this year out of the Sundance Film Festival, calling the film “a vital and urgent portrait of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and the world needs to hear about it.” “Welcome to Chechya” is listed as a current frontrunner on Anne Thompson’s 2021 Oscar predictions for the Best Documentary category.

Stream on HBO Max.