Hell and Back Again's director Danfung Dennis and producer Mike Lerner discuss their Oscar-nominated documentary about Sergeant Nathan Harris at war in Afghanistan and his return home after being wounded.

It's Oscar weekend and we're letting you play judge. Register your votes for The Takeaway's Movie Date Oscar poll. We'll let you know how well you did Monday morning. And you can watch the Oscars and compare your answers with The Academy on Sunday at 8pm EST on ABC.

Fill in your choices below.

The Oscars are on Sunday and we take a closer look at what it's like to be nominated for an Academy Award. Luke Matheny is the director, writer and star of “God of Love,” a semi-tragic romantic comedy, which is nominated for best live action short. A first-time nominee, Matheny made his film as a school project. He explains what went into making his school film.

All this week on the Takeaway, we’re talking with people who are nominated for Oscars, and who’ve worked behind the scenes on Oscar-nominated films. Jed Rothstein is the director of “Killing in the Name,” which is nominated for best documentary short. “Killing in the Name” centers on Ashraf Al-Khaled, whose 2005 wedding was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing three out of four of his and his wife’s parents, and a total of 27 of their guests. 

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I can’t think of a better time to discuss what’s come to be known as the Best Actress Oscar Curse. No doubt, you’ve heard about it by now. If you haven’t, here’s a little crash course, starting with Sandra Bullock.

There was a time when just about every man, woman, and child in America could see all the best picture Oscar nominees before the big night; a time when the number of nominees was so manageable that you could see one movie a week between the nominations announcement and the awards show and still see them all. More innocent times, more innocent days, I remember them well. It’s hard not to. It was only two years ago. But then 2010 came along and changed everything. Or, more accurately, changed everything back.

Each week, Newsday film critic Rafer Guzman and Takeaway producer Kristen Meinzer get in a heated, but friendly debate about the movies. This week, they commemorate their third date with a talk about Sunday night's Oscar show.

A little over a week remains until Oscar night. With ten best picture nominees this year, not to mention a full roster of five animated features (on top of all the other categories), there's not a lot of time to see what's on the ballot. Newsday critic and Takeaway film contributor Rafer Guzman fills us in on which movies are must-sees and which are okay to avoid.

...then you probably shouldn't read this. With ten best picture nods this year, a full roster of five animated features, all the nominations in the other categories (and only a week left of movie-watching before Oscar night), it's nearly impossible for film contributor Rafer Guzman and I to pick just one Oscar-nominated movie for you to see. But we can each give you three (as well as three to skip).