The Oscars are scarcely two weeks away and it's the time of the year for many viewers and film distributors to catch up on all the award-winning and nominated films of last year. How many of our Fridae Movie Club readers are planning an Oscar marathon? Tell us what you're planning to watch and what you're planning to miss out!

Our pick for this week is Albert Nobbs, a film about a biological woman who has led the life of a man for over 30 years and now seeks happiness in a form of self-employment, a flat of one's own, and a wife to marry. Adapted from a novella by George Moore, a contemporary and childhood friend of Oscar Wilde, the film stars Glenn Close, nominated for Best Actress, and Janet McTeer, nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The Iron Lady stars Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in three periods of her life — the rising politician, the imperious prime minister, and the octogenarian on the verge of senile dementia. More of a celebration of her achievements than a celebration of her politics and ideas, the film takes us through the 'best of' moments of Lady Thatcher's political career. For her accurate mimicry of Thatcher, Streep has been nominated for Best Actress.

The sports film Moneyball comes with a twist — it's a Freakanomics style story focusing on the economics of team management and player hiring and an inspiring tale of an underdog team rising to the top. Moneyball is one of the major films at this year's Oscars, including nominations for Best Picture and Brad Pitt for Best Actor.

If you're the romantic sort who believes Valentine's Day should stretch into the weekend, you could watch Taiwanese romance anthology Love, which reunites the director and cast from last year's hit Monga, and tells of the tangled web of passion and relations of four couples in Taipei and Beijing.

Till next week,

Vernon Chan