The Academy Awards are only a couple of weeks away ‘-‘ Feb. 22 ‘- and this is the month to cram in last-minute screenings of all the films nominated. Bona fide Oscar enthusiasts may even have ballots going with friends to bet on which films, actors and directors will win. But there are still those categories one typically has to speculate over, since screenings are so rare, including Best Short Documentary, Best Animated Short and Best Live-Action Short. This year, the Coolidge Corner Theatre on Harvard Avenue in Brookline is taking out the guesswork by screening all the Oscar-nominated animated and live action films for $6.25. The five films range from about 10 to 30 minutes long, telling short yet complex stories in about a quarter of the time as a regular movie. Here’s a rundown of the live action category.

Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
(Germany/Switzerland)
This film tells the story of a security guard who is secretly in love with a bookstore clerk in the mall he patrols. His life changes when he witnesses who he thinks to be her boyfriend get beat up on the subway and neglects to help; a decision that brings pressing consequences. ‘On the Line,’ translated from the German title ‘Auf der Strecke,’ has been widely predicted to win the Oscar for live action short films this year, with outstanding performances turned in particularly by Roeland Wiesnekker; his facial expressions alone tell the complex story of his inner turmoil.

New Boy
(Ireland)
Clocking in at just 11 minutes ‘- the shortest of the nominated films ‘- ‘New Boy’ is about a young student from Africa who has a tumultuous first day as one of the few black students in his new school in Ireland. The film explores the boy’s schooling in Africa in contrast to Ireland. The best part of the movie, though, is a chubby, pigtailed girl who lightens up the whole film with her blunt and witty lines.

Grisen (The Pig)
(Denmark)
‘Grisen’ was the most light-hearted short film nominated this year, about’ an elderly man admitted to the hospital for a colonoscopy. Over time, he falls in love with a painting of a pig hanging up in his room. But when a Muslim man moves into the room with him, his family demands the pig be removed because they find it offensive. The elderly man refuses to give in to his roommate’s demands, and the film follows their argument over a seemingly trivial object.

Spielzeugland (Toyland)
(Germany)
In 1942 Germany, a mother tells her son that his Jewish best friend is going on a journey to ‘Toyland’ rather than to a concentration camp. Enthralled by the idea of Toyland, the son attempts to sneak out in the middle of the night and join his friend on the trainride there. Surely the darkest of the short films, ‘Toyland” tells a World War II story from a child’s perspective, unlike most others.

Manon sur le Bitume (Manon on the Asphalt)(France)
A French woman named Manon goes for a bike ride on a sunny day and is struck by a motorist. The film explores what flashes before her eyes as she lies dying in the street. As she gains a new perspective on life, the film is largely narrated by voiceovers from Manon, which makes for a lot of reading with English subtitles. Though the film is charming, it’s also a bit bland in comparison to the others.’