Ok, Halifax it’s time to get serious: We’ve got 41 days until the 95th Academy Awards ceremony—which is going to be coming at you live on March 12, via whichever of your friends still has cable. Movie buffs already know what that means but for the rest of us, here it is: If you act quick, you can catch a good chunk of this year’s buzziest contenders as they make brief re-appearances at big screens ‘round the city. Below are the deets on where to get a fix of Oscar bait in the coming days:
Women Talking
CanCon directing legend Sarah Polley’s take on Miriam Toews’s bestselling novel is a heavy hitter on all fronts—not least because it stars Rooney Mara and Frances McDormand. Major trigger warning for this Best Picture nominee that recaps how women living in a religious colony cope with an onslaught of sexual assault from the men in their community. See it at Cineplex Park Lane at 7pm and 9:30pm until Feb 2.
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Everything Everywhere All At Once
A true word-of-mouth hit in the online age, Everything Everywhere saw Michelle Yeoh net a nom for Best Actress *and* is in the running for Best Picture. If you somehow have yet to experience its multiverse madness and potent pathos (it has already been brought to Halifax big screens twice), get to the Scotiabank Theatre Cineplex on Tue, Jan 31 for a one-off showing at 9:35pm.
- The Fablemans
Steven Spielberg has woven shimmering fiction in his own coming-of-age movie memoir that tells the story of a young boy’s beginnings in film and how his supportive mother helped him chase his dream. The movie is up for seven Oscars, including Best Picture. See it at Scotiabank Theatre at 11:50am and 6:35pm or at Dartmouth Crossing at 3pm, 6:15pm and 9:15pm until Feb 2.
- The Whale
Best Actor in a Leading Role contender Brendan Fraser’s big performance—an A24 flick of an unhealthy man’s last shot at redemption—is screening at 7:30pm at Park Lane; 3:15pm and 9:45pm at Cineplex Dartmouth Crossing and 6:50pm and 9:40pm in Lower Sackville until Feb 2.
- Tár
See what could be Cate Blanchett’s career-best performance (and what is a2023 Best Picture and Best Actress nominee) as it returns to the big screen at Scotiabank Theatre in Bayer’s Lake 3:10pm and 9:50pm Jan 31; 3:30pm Feb 1 and 3:10pm Feb 2.
- The Banshees of Inisherin
What felt like an out-of-nowhere contender that swept up nine Oscar nominations, Banshees returns to Halifax screens this week at Scotiabank Theatre in Bayer’s Lake and Cineplex’s Lower Sackville location. See it in Bayer’s Lake on: Jan 31 or Feb 2 at 1pm, 3:35pm, 6:50pm and 9:35pm or Feb 1 at 3:35pm and 6:50pm. See it in Lower Sackville on Jan 31 at 7pm and 9:30pm or Feb 1 and 2 at 7pm.
