Are You Ready for the Oscars?

The 88th Academy Awards are only a few days away - are you caught up on 2015's hottest movies?

Five of this year's eight Best Picture nominees are based on books:

The Big Short: This nonfiction title follows several figures closely involved with the housing and credit bubble of the 2000s up to the financial crisis of 2008. The film stars 

Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, and Steve Carell. 

Brooklyn: This popular novel from Colm Tóibín follows an Irish immigrant in 1950s New York. The film stars Saorise Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson.










The Martian: After his crewmates presume him dead, astronaut Mark Watney must find a way to survive alone on Mars. The film, starring Matt Damon, is available now for video rental!

The Revenant: Loosely based on Michael Punke's novel of the same name, which in turn is loosely based on the life of Hugh Glass, The Revenant stars Leonardo DiCaprio in a desperate fight for survival and revenge in the American wilderness of the early 19th century.

 Room: This novel is told from the perspective of a five-year-old-boy, who is captive inside a small room along with his mother.










Of the remaining three, two are based on true stories:

Bridge of Spies: Based on the U-2 spyplane incident of 1960, Bridge of Spies stars Tom Hanks and is the most recent film from Steven Spielberg.

Spotlight: Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams, Spotlight is the true story of the Boston Globe's "Spotlight" investigatory journalist team developing the series of stories that earned The Boston Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. 

While the final film is the fourth entry in a series that began in 1979:

Mad Max: Fury Road: The first film of the franchise to be recognized for an Academy Award, the fourth installment of the Mad Max series (and the first in 30 years) stars Tom Hardy taking over for Mel Gibson in the title role. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and has been applauded for its vision and intense action sequences.It has the second most nominations this year - ten total. 

What are your predictions? What are you hoping will win? 

The Oscars air on Sunday, February 28th.