Happy Friday, Wildcats! Falvey Library is delivering you another semester of Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Annie, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

It’s award season again. Whether you’re vying for one-half of Barbenheimer to secure the win or upset that one of your favorites didn’t make the cut, award season is the time of the year where people make strong cases about why their favorite filmmakers or performers should be recognized for their talent.

In preparation for the awards to come, I think now is a great time to watch and reflect on some past award-winning performances (especially on a rainy weekend).

If you have 5 minutes…and want to learn about some historic “firsts” happening this award season, read this article. Notably, in the nearly 100 years of Academy Awards, Lily Gladstone is the first Native American to be nominated in any acting category.

Bonus: check out this New York Times article interviewing Lily Gladstone about the historic nomination for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Gladstone is certainly a major contender, having already won a Best Actress Golden Globe for the role.

Photo by Samuel Ramos on Unsplash

If you have 10 minutes…and were surprised by the Barbie Oscar nominations, read this article. Personally, I am so elated that America Ferrera was nominated, both as a fan and because her performance in Barbie deserved recognition. Still, I don’t think it’s a great look for the Academy to nominate Ryan Gosling without nominating Margot Robbie or Greta Gerwig, especially given the message of the film.

If you have 23 minutes and 30 seconds…and want a highlights reel of some of the best acting performances of the 21st century, watch this video.

If you have 1 hour and 52 minutes…and want to watch a historic Oscar win, watch Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. In 2001, Halle Berry became the first Black Woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her role Leticia in Monster’s Ball.

Bonus: if you want to watch an even more recent history maker, watch Everything Everywhere All at Once, available to stream online through Falvey. This film boasts so many amazing performances (that basically swept last year’s award season), but Michelle Yeoh made history by becoming the first Asian actress to win a Best Actress award at the Oscars.

If you have 2 hours…and love Jennifer Lawrence, watch Silver Linings Playbook, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection (and to stream on Netflix). This is undeniably one of Jennifer Lawrence’s best performances which, considering her impressive repertoire, is saying something. Plus, it’s set in Philly.

If you have 2 hours and 32 minutes…and are still riding the Oppenheimer train, watch The Dark Knight, available in Falvey’s DVD Collection. Everyone and their mother has already raved about Heath Ledger’s performance in this movie, but it is incredibly well-deserved. Ledger stole the show and delivered one of the most iconic performances of the 2000s.

If you have 6 hours and 17 minutes…and want a throwback, watch Marlon Brando in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, both available to stream online through Falvey. They may be stereotyped as “film bro” movies (which is fair enough), but they are classics for a reason.

Bonus: for even more of a throwback, watch Bonnie and Clyde, available to stream online through Falvey.

If you have 9 hours and 56 minutes…and haven’t already seen it, watch Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in The Bear, available to stream on Hulu. It’s one show recommendation that I’m glad I listened to because Jeremy and Ayo are outstanding.

Annie Stockmal is a second-year graduate student in the Communication Department and Graduate Assistant in Falvey Library.