MPR Cube Critic Stephanie Curtis joins Jade and Sean McPherson to talk about the 2016 Oscar nominations.

Films nominated for Best Picture include "The Big Short", "Bridge of Spies", "Brooklyn", "Mad Max: Fury Road", "The Martian", "The Revenant", "Room" and "Spotlight".

Stephanie says she is pleased overall with the Best Picture nominations. "Mad Max nominated for best picture – that's incredible!" Stephanie says.

A general response to the Oscar nominations, which Stephanie agrees with, is the lack of diversity within the pool of films and actors. "The most important thing is not the Oscar nominations, but are they actually employing and showing us films with people from diverse roles," Stephanie says. "I have some faith, but we have to keep talking about it."

Stephanie says Hollywood was run by white folks in the early days, and "once you're a member of the Academy, you're a member of the Academy for life." She says it's important for the Academy to start replacing members with more diverse people in the industry, but that it's going to take a while.

Stephanie wishes "The Big Short" would win Best Picture, but also loves "Brooklyn". "I'd like (the Best Picture) to be about something that resonates nationally," Stephanie says. "'The Big Short' was such an amazing look at something I didn't think we needed to look at again – the 2008 mortgage crisis."

Stephanie says she thinks Leonardo Dicaprio is going to win Best Actor and she's "fine with that". "He's a big old fashioned movie star, but ('The Revanant') really was fantastic."

For Best Actress, Stephanie says Brie Larson will probably win. "I've loved her since 'Short Term 12'", Stephanie says.

You can watch Stephanie live Tweeting The Oscars at @stephcurtis and see the rest of the nominees on The Academy's site.

MPR's Cube Critics, Stephanie Curtis and Euan Kerr, join The Current's Morning Show to talk about films every Friday at 8:30 a.m.