The Academy Awards have just been given out and the big winners were The Grand Hotel Budapest and Birdman, but there were several other films as well which got one or more Oscars. Here you can read about some of the most rewarded films from the Academy Awards.
Birdman
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is an American black comedy drama movie which was released in 2014 co-written, co-produced and directed by Alejandro Gonzàlez Iñárritu. The film stars pretty popular and famous actors and actresses including Michael Keaton who is the main character in the movie, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough and Zach Galifianakis. The story of the movie shows the story of an extinct Hollywood actor, Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who got famous by his superhero role the Birdman and tries to break out of this superhero category to show he can do better that he is a good actor. So Riggan tries to reinvent his career by writing, directing and acting in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver’s story ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’. The movie shows the struggle Riggan Thomson goes through until the opening night, how he fights with his ego and how he tries pull his family, career and life together again.
Apart from a few shots in the beginning and the end of the movie Bridman seems to be filmed in only one shot which makes the movie smooth, interesting and entertaining to watch. The movie does not really have any background music except the drum solo that appears in the movie at times. Birdman is considered as one of the best movies of 2014 and it was nominated and won several awards including four Oscars, Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards.
– Birdman on Amazon.com
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Boyhood
Boyhood is an American drama film which was released in 2014 written and directed by Richard Linklater. The movie stars Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane who is the main character of the movie, Lorelei Linklater and Ethan Hawke. The movie Boyhood was shot intermittently and it follows the life of a young boy until he grows up, it is absolutely a groundbreaking story as the main character literally grows up front of our eyes and show growing up through the eyes of a kid. The filming of Boyhood took 12 years, it started in 2002 and they finished it in 2013. The story of the movie shows the adolescence of a young boy Mason Evans, Jr (Ellar Coltrane) from the age of 6 to 18 who grows up with his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawk). Mason Evans, Jr also has a sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). When they started filming the movie they did not have a fully written, a completed script and the movie was developed year by year. Linklater even let the main characters to put personal stories to their characters from their own life experiences to make the movie even more authentic. The story takes place in Texas and it shows a young six year old boy’s journey in life to adulthood.
Boyhood was nominated and won several awards including Golden Globe Awards, an Academy Award, a Silver Bear for Best Director at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and it was even nominated for Oscar.
Generally the movie got great feedback and positive reviews.
– Boyhood on Amazon.com
The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game is a historical thriller which was released in 2014 and it was directed by Morten Tyldum with the screenplay by Graham Moore. The movie is an adaption of the biography of Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges so the whole story is based on a true story. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch who plays Alan Turing, Keira Knightley who plays Joan Clarke, Matthew Goode as Hugh Alexander, Mark Strong who plays Maj. Gen. Stewart Menzies and Allen Leech as John Cairncross. The Imitation Game shows the story of Alan Turing the British crypt analysts who helps solving the Enigma code during the World War II in England. The story takes place in the United Kingdom during the World War II. Alan Turing joins to the cryptography team that is set up Bletchley Park in England where a bunch of crypt analysts trying to decode the hidden messages of the Germans. The movie shows the struggle of the group of analysts trying to break up the Enigma machine which the Nazis use to send coded messages to each other. The story also shows part of the life of Alan Turing while he is in school and how he gets bullied because of being different and how he starts building up feelings for his own mate who introduces him to cryptography and how he realizes he is attracted to men.
The Imitation Game was nominated to several awards including several Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards and it won an Academy Award for Best Adopted Screenplay. The movie generally got great reviews and good feedback.
– The Imitation Game on Amazon.com
Whiplash
Whiplash is an American drama which was released in 2014 and was written and directed by Damien Chazelle. The story is based on director’s own experiences in the Princeton High School Studio Band. The movie stars Miles Teller as Andrew Neiman who is the main character of the film, J. K. Simmons as Terence Fletcher who is the jazz instructor of Andrew and it also stars Paul Reiser as Jim Neiman, the father of Andrew and Melissa Benoist as Nicole who is the girlfriend of Andrew. The story of Whiplash shows the ambitious, talented and young student jazz drummer who desperately fights for the respect of his abusive teacher. Andrew Neiman wants to be the best drummer of all time and he is a first year jazz student at the Shaffer Conservatory in New York. Andrew joins to the studio band of Terence Fletcher which changes the life of Andrew forever. Fletcher is an abusive teacher who always bullies and insults his students and Fletcher also humiliates Andrew front of the whole group and from that point Andrew tries everything to amuse his teacher and he quickly becomes obsessed with this thought. He practices until his hands start bleeding and he even breaks up with Nicole, his girlfriend because he thinks she distracts him.
The movie Whiplash was nominated and won several awards including three Oscars, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Awards. The movie got in general good reviews and positive critics. The story of Whiplash is pretty intense and inspiring.
– Whiplash on Amazon.com
There are other films worth watching online as well, and they can be watched at Amazon.com. You can read more about other interesting films on Amazon Instant Video like for example The Grand Hotel Budapest at amazonprime.fromabroad.org. On that page you can also find out how to watch Amazon Instant Videos from Europe, Asia, Africa and all nations around the world outside the United States.
