The 88th annual Academy Awards are in a few short weeks. Nominations for Best Picture 2016 were announced last week and there has been incredible controversy surrounding the choices. Each of the eight movies vying for the title deserve this prestigious award.

The best movie nominated is The Martian featuring Matt Damon. It is a must-see action thriller. During a mission to Mars, Astronaut Watney (Damon) is presumed dead after a massive storm separates his team. The picture follows his survival and his attempts to use the meager supplies he has left to signal Earth that he is alive. 

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in The Revanant. This picture is based in the 1820’s, and DiCaprio is on a fur trading expedition. He is forced to fight for survival after being mauled by a bear and being left for dead by his own men. This man deserves an Oscar already! He was forced to sleep in a bear carcass – how much farther is he going to be forced to go? 

No movie is more star-studded than the third movie on the list, The Big Short. Steve Carell joins the likes of Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt to make this drama a front runner for the Academy Awards. Four men in the world of high finance predicted the credit housing bubbles collapse during the mid-2000’s, and this is their story. Not only did they manage to change the world of finance by their prediction, they also decided to tackle the greed-ridden big banks of the era. 

The last movie review goes to Bridge of Spies. Tom Hanks portrays an American lawyer circa World War I. He is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, while also helping the CIA facilitate a trade- off for a Soviet captured American spy. Hanks can portray any character wonderfully, but he really outdoes himself in this role.

Join Chris Rock on Feb. 28 to see which movie triumphs. Each motion pictured has a well-deserved nomination. Right now, it is anyone’s game.