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Everything you need to know about the Golden Globes Best Film nominees

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Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Arguably the two most coveted categories to win at the Golden Globe Awards are the Best Motion Picture, Drama and Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. 2016 has been a year of top films, but which ones made the cut? Here's everything you need to know about the Best Film nominees… 

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Hacksaw Ridge

Andrew Garfield stars and Mel Gibson directs in this biographical war film about Desmond Doss, a combat medic who refused to kill due to his pacifist beliefs, and so went through WWII without carrying or using any weapons. The film has been called a "gripping wartime tribute to faith, valor, and the courage of remaining true to one's convictions".

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Lion

Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman star in this real-life story about a little boy in India who accidentally ended up in Calcutta after falling asleep on a train while searching for his older brother. The touching memoir follows the child's difficult life on the streets until he is adopted by an Australian family, and how he attempts to track down the family he lost as an adult. Popular film critic site Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 87% based on critical reviews, with the general consensus reading: "Lion's undeniably uplifting story and talented cast make it a moving journey that transcends the typical cliches of its genre." 

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Moonlight

The film, based on a play titled In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, follows a boy called Chiron through his life as a young child, a teenager and an adult. The film has a brilliant 94% approval rating, and the Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads: "Moonlight uses one man's story to offer a remarkable and brilliantly crafted look at lives too rarely seen in cinema."  

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Hell or High Water

Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine star in this modern western which follows brothers Toby (Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster) who decide to rob banks to save their family's land, with Texas Ranger Marcus (Bridges) determined to take them down. The film has an incredible score of 97% critical approval on Rotten Tomotoes, and the critic consenus reads that the film is a "solidly crafted, well-acted Western heist thriller that eschews mindless gunplay in favour of confident pacing and full-bodied characters."

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Manchester by the Sea

The film follows Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) who is given custody of his brother's son Patrick after his brother's death. After moving back to Manchester-by-the-Sea to take care of the teenager, Lee is haunted by his past which destroyed his life. The film received an impressive 97% on Rotten Tomatoes

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY 

La La Land

Although this film has been adored by critics and audiences alike, it still hasn't been released in the UK! The musical follows Mia, an aspiring actress (Emma Stone) and jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) as they attempt to achieve their dreams while falling in love. Rotten Tomatoes had scored the film 93%, and writes that the film "breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, powerful performances, and an irresistible excess of heart". 

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY 

20th Century Women

This comedy drama follows a single mum who decides to parent her son with the help of her tenants, a photographer, a handyman and her son's best friend (played by Elle Fanning). The film is semi-biographical and based on the life of the director, Mike Mills. Speaking about the film, he said: "It felt like I was raised by my mum and sisters, so I was always appealing to women in the punk scene or women in my world. I always leaned to them to figure out my life as a straight white guy. So I wanted to make a movie about that." The film has an impressive Rotten Tomatoes scoring of 94%. 

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY 

Sing Street

A sweet coming-of-age story from the director of the Academy-award winning Begin Again and Once. Sing Street is set in Ireland in the 1980s, and follows a boy who forms a band to impress a girl, while dealing with divorcing parents, a disillusioned older brother and a tyrannical teacher. The film is bursting with Eighties-style tunes, as well as a single written and performed by Adam Levine. The film has a whopping rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it is described as: "A feel-good musical with huge heart and irresistible optimism, and its charmimg cast and hummable tunes help to elevate its familiar plotting." 

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY 

Deadpool

Ryan Reynolds stars as the foul-mouthed superhero who gains powers after being tortured and ultimately horribly disfigured. Determined to exact revenge, Deadpool tries to find his torturer while desperate to reconnect with the love of his life, Vanessa. The film is now the eighth highest-grossing film of all time, and has a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of 84%, with the critics consensus reading: "Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting Deadpool subverts superhero film formula with wildly entertaining - and decidedly non-family-friendly - results."

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BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY 

Florence Foster Jenkins

Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant star in this true story about a wealthy New York heiress who is determined to become an opera singer despite her bad singing voice. The critic consensus reads: "Florence Foster Jenkins makes poignant, crowd-pleasing dramedy out of its stranger-than-fiction tale -- and does its subject justice with a reliably terrific turn from star Meryl Streep." 

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