The movies you need to see to talk about The Globes

You don't have to drive far through Los Angeles before the giant billboards featuring new movie and series releases catch your eye. Many titles I've never heard of and that I immediately add to my must-watch list. And what a treat that we receive American Netflix, allowing us to watch many titles from this brand new list already (while Europe still has to wait a bit). Now that ‘award season’ is just around the corner here in America, there's a lot of lobbying for nominations. In fact: the billboards feature texts like ‘For your consideration – best film/actress/director’ (we could learn a thing or two from that entire promotional machine). The season kicks off on January 6 with the Golden Globes, which we in the Netherlands get to see much less of than here. And since we're going to watch the ceremony with a group of ‘natives’ in LA, it's certainly important to be able to chat a bit about the major contenders. So if you also want to seem interesting and stay informed about what's happening: you have until January 6 to check out these titles.

• Bohemian Rhapsody: biographical film about the rock band Queen. Just a treat because of all the fantastic music and Rami Malek portraying the role of Freddie Mercury.
• A Star Is Born: you can't have missed this film. With this role, Lady Gaga firmly establishes herself as an actress. Bradley Cooper not only takes on the lead role but also directs.
• Mary Poppins Returns: the billboards are full of it. A delightful Disney film with lots of songs and magic.
• The Favourite: costume drama starring Emma Stone. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled by the trailer, but judging by the nominations, the film is definitely worth it, so it's still at the top of my list.
• Vice: based on the life and political career of former American Vice President Dick Cheney. Incredible transformation by Christian Bale.
• Roma: you also see this film hanging all over the city. A Mexican/American black-and-white film about a young housekeeper in Mexico City. This film is already being tipped as a major Oscar contender.