Apps To Help You Watch The Academy Awards

The Academy Awards are Sunday and I can just feel your excitement. Whether you are a tech geek who is praying for Avatar to be the best picture or a softie who wants to see Precious get some awards, you have to be excited about knowing what to put in your Netflix queue next, and everyone wants to see all the winning movies. To get us fully ready for the show, I've come up with a list of some apps that will really get you into the Oscar loving spirit.

1. The Oscars - Sure, it may seem like an obvious selection, but sometimes the obvious is necessary. The Oscars app has lists with small descriptions of all the nominations, as well as a way to lock in the movie or actor you think will win… just to show off to others. Once you've submitted your picks, you can go to a results page to see what the rest of America thinks will win. According to the app, 51% of people voted for Avatar to win best picuter. Interesting. Well regardless, The Oscars is an inviting, well made, free app. Get it and make some guesses, it'll be fun.

Alternative Option - Vanity Fair Hollywood - This app has the exact same voting feature that the official app has, but it also lets you see your picks against other friends using the app. It also has a leader board included, just in case you want your friends to know how much better your have in movies.

2. IMDb - Just like IMDb.com, the app tells you everything about any particular movie or actor out there. You can also look up box office results, top all time films, new releases on video, movie showtimes, and more. If you are watching the Academy Awards and realize that you've never heard of a movie, this is your chance for a quick education.

Alternative Option - Rotten Tomatoes - RT doesn't quite have the Wikipedia-like knowledge database that IMDb has, but it does compile a ton of reviewers around the country to come up with a super dependable aggregate score. It also gives you a link to every review, so you can really do some investigative reporting on those movies.

3. Six Degrees of Separation - "Oh, I know everything about every actor, I don't need IMDb." Everyone knows this guy. He's really annoying. With Six Degrees of Separation, you can challenge him to the ultimate actor knowledge game, connecting actors to other actors in six or less steps. For example, Elvis worked with Edward Asner in Change of Habit, and then Edward Asner worked with Kevin Bacon in JFK. This means that Elvis can be linked to Kevin Bacon in two steps. (I got that example off Wikipedia by the way… just look up Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon). The app will give you random people to link together, or if you really want to stump someone, you can pick your own people to link together. The app is quite fun, and will definitely give you some talking points during the Oscars.

4. E! Online - I don't find myself watching E! all that often, but missing out on Joan Rivers would just be a shame, mostly now that Paula Abdoul isn't on American Idol. We all just need a small dose of crazy on TV. In the "Live From The Oscars" section, you can check out old videos, and once the event starts, new videos. If the red carpet is your thing, or you just want want some help critiquing all the outfits, this is your app.

That's all folks! Enjoy the show!

By the way, the cool picture came from sputnikreviews wordpress.com.