1.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller
Synopsys: "Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break."
Release date: 15th May, 2011 (Cannes Film Festival); 9th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 23rd November, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: The Artist is the proof that studio should pick risky projects - who would say that a France-made silent movie, black&white style, starring excelent actors with no star-power and being directed for a less-known director would be one of the most acclaimed, loved and Oscar-buzzy films of the year? This movie is fresh in a era where franchises, reboots, remakes and predictable romantic comedies are the box-office successes and it is one of the best movies that was seen in years. The plot ressembles A Star Is Born a little, but it is the biggest tribute to the silent era and to the Golden Era of Hollywood and I bet the AMPAS has it in consideration. The Artist has been collecting raves and awards all around and I love to say that it will be nominated to the Academy Award of Best Picture (it's almost certain). Who knows if this rare cinematic gem won't take the biggest prize home?
2.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Moretz, Sasha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law and Emily Mortimer
Synopsys: "Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton."
Release date: 10th October, 2011 (New York Film Festival); 31st October, 2011 (Rome Film Festival); 23rd November, 2011 (USA);
Oscar chances comment: Since the beginning, seeing Martin Scorsese making an adaptation of a children's book seemed lovely and really interesting, but most Oscar folks didn't think it would have a little masterpiece as a result and the movie lost some of its Oscar buzz in the middle of the year until it opened with raves all around and won the National Board of Review of Best Film. Right now, Hugo is the top contender for a Best Picture nomination alongside The Artist and being nominated is an extremely likely thing to happen. The movie is a love letter to childhood and to cinema and the Academy tenders to give just love to this kind of movies and since Scorsese, one of the living cinema masters, is directing it, Hugo is a lock in the Best Picture nominees shortlist and there are people talking about a possible win, but let's just take it easy... We all want to predict the winner before nominations coming out, but there are always a lot of unexpected and shocking surprises in the Oscar nominations announcements.
3.
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges and Judy Greer
Synopsys: "A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident."
Release date: 3rd September, 2011 (Telluride Film Festival); 10th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 18th November, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: The "pretty boy" of Toronto International Film Festival and of indie fans, The Descendants is pure Alexander Payne quality and the best acting showcase for George Clooney. In fact, the movie is really honest, a tale about grief, starting a new life and trying to be a better person - an intimate journey - and the AMPAS loves movies like this one and the AMPAS loves George Clooney. Payne's previous movie, Sideways was nomianted for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and once The Descendants is well-directed, beautifully acted, honestly written (being one of the most acclaimed movies of the year) and it is having such a great awards season, it will be a Best Picture nominee, certainly!
4.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Watson, David Kross, Niels Arestrup and Celine Buckens
Synopsys: "Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend."
Release date: 28th December, 2011
Oscar chances comment: The Academy just love war movies and War Horse is set in World War I, it is based on a Broadway hit and it is directed by Steven Spielberg, who seems to be back to Oscar race after being away some years! The movie isn't getting THAT universal critical acclaim, but reviews have been very positive and it is getting a big couple of nominations at the major awards: Critics' Choice Award of Best Film or a Golden Globe of Best Motion Picture - Drama nominations. Spielberg already directed cinematic masterpieces, so it isn't easy not to compare War Horse with his previous works, which may be the movie's biggest threat, but both audiences and AMPAS members love Spielberg and his heartfelt movies like this one. So, I can see a big couple Oscar voters choosing the story of the bound between a boy and his horse during World War I as their favorite of the year, giving War Horse a spot between the Best Picture nominees, with no doubts.
5.
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni, Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill and Léa Seydoux
Synopsys: "A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better."
Release date: 11th May, 2011 (Cannes Film Festival); 20th May, 2011 (USA - limited); 10th June, 2011 (USA);
Oscar chances comment: It's all about Woody Allen comeback to form: Midnight In Paris is everything a Woody Allen classic is and the Academy loves a Woody Allen classic. Charming, feel-good, funny and, sometimes, sexy, the directing leggend's latest enchanted critics and audiences and became the most bankable Woody Allen movie ever! The most surprising thing about the movie is how its Oscar buzz keeps strong since the beginning of the Summer! Awards started recognizing Midnight In Paris and it can be seen as The Artist's major threat for the Golden Globe of Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical win, which is no minor compliment! The AMPAS loves to nominate the biggest filmmaking masters and since Midnight In Paris is so good and since it is directed by Woody Allen, a Best Picture nomination seems a guarantee to me, right now.
6.
Director: Tate Taylor
Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney and Sissy Spacek
Synopsys: "An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960's decides to write a book detailing the African American Maid's point of view on the White families they work for, and they hardships they go through on a day to day basis."
Release date: 10th August, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: Racial discrimination themed movies got a lot of the Academy's attentions in the last years (look at the Best Picture winning Crash, for example), so I can see The Help being no exception. More than having a good critical reception (not THAT GOOD, but a good critical reception), the movie was a commercial success, an unexpected box-office winner and one of the most loved movies by the audiences. In fact, the movie is the kind of movie people like, with victims, good guys (girls) and bad guys (girls) and an inspiring plot about a real-life subject. The ensemble cast elevates the movie and keep it in the audiences minds, making it the favorite 2011 movie of a big couple of people, including a big couple of Oscar voters, so a Best Picture nomination seems almost easy for The Help.
7.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman and Christina Hendricks
Synopsys: "A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong."
Release date: 20th May, 2011 (Cannes Film Festival); 17th June, 2011 (Los Angeles Film Festival); 10th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 16th September, 2011 (USA);
Oscar chances comment: I think I can call Drive my favorite movie of the year, so far, and I simply went crazy when I saw it was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award of Best Film, for the Independent Spirit Award of Best Feature or that it figured the TOP 10 Best Films of National Board of Review. The movie is a very stylish action movie, it is raw, shocking, thrilling and bloody as it should be and it keeps the audience guessing what's next in the amazing tension moments the movie has, which makes Drive the perfect Best Picture Oscar nominee for AMPAS voters who are action/thriller/suspense lovers. The movie has been getting a low-key Oscar traction and I think (and I would love) it has good chances in getting the Best Picture nomination it deserves to get.
8.
Director: Terrence Malick
Starring: Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain
Synopsys: "The story centers around a family with three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence."
Release date: 16th May, 2011 (Cannes Film Festival); 27th May, 2011 (USA - limited)
Oscar chances comment: One of the best films of 2011, by far, The Tree of Life is too abstract and phylosophical for mostly of the audiences, which include mostly of the AMPAS voters, but Terrence Malick fans will be celebrating his comeback to work, so this movie has really nice chances. It is getting some awards recognition (Palme D'Or of Best Film of Cannes Film Festival win; Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Film; Top 10 Films of National Board of Review; Gotham Award Best Film win), but it isn't an obvious Oscar nominee in the way that The Tree of Life may be Oscary enough for arthouse lovers. A Best Picture nomination may become a reality for The Tree of Life if AMPAS voters want to have something really original and different in the Best Picture shortlist!
9.
Director: David Yates
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Tom Felton, Maggie Smith, Gary Oldman and Emma Thompson
Synopsys: "Harry, Ron and Hermione search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Lord Voldemort."
Release date: 15th July, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: In my opinion, Harry Potter movies are great and they deserve to get a major AMPAS recognition, so I would like to see the final chapter of the saga getting a Best Picture nomination, but I'm just a fan expressing his opinion. Between all the HP films, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is by far the most emotionally satisfying, the most visually dazzling and the most epic one, so I wouldn't be surprised if the voters decide to pick this one as their favorite movie of the year, not thinking only about this specific chapter, but thinking about all the franchise. Audiences loved it, it broke box-office records, the critics raved it, Oscar buzz was generated and it is getting some serious awards attention, so I can see a Best Picture nomination for DH: Part 2 much more likely to happen than most of predictions experts expect.
10.
Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright
Synopsys: "The story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players."
Release date: 9th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 23rd September, 2011 (USA);
Oscar chances comment: For some reason, I don't believe too much in Moneyball's Best Picture Oscar chances and I don't know why... I mean, it seems hard to me to keep this movie as my favorite one until the Oscar voting season, specially with such other great feel-good and extremely emotionally satisfying movies that look much more Oscary than this one. Brad Pitt is a strong factor for the movie's success, for sure, and so happens with Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian's great writing, but I don't see anything THAT special in Moneyball (it's good, not great, in my opinion). I think it is a good movie, a very okay movie, and I can really see some people picking this one as their favorite at the end of the year, but I have a feeling that voters may choose something more arthouse or epic instead of this one (I'm talking about The Tree of Life, Drive or Harry Potter 7: Part 2). Maybe it is a mistake predicting that Moneyball may not be nominated, but I just don't believe in this movie...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11.
Director: Stephen Daldry
Starring: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Viola Davis, James Gandolfini and Jeffrey Wright
Synopsys: "A nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player and pacifist, searches New York for the lock that matches a mysterious key left by his father when he was killed in the September 11 attacks."
Release date: 25th December, 2011 (limited - USA)
Oscar chances comment: Stephen Daldry is an Academy darling in the true meaning of "darling" - Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader all got Oscar noms in the major categories, with the late two being Best Picture nominees - and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close early reviews are divisive suggesting something very heartfelt with high-quality and a movie that is extremely manipulative! The impressive ensemble cast increased the movie's Oscar traction, but its source material and the "September 11 Attacks" factor make this one a film AMPAS members will want to see! The first awards of the season haven't been very generous for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but if we have in consideration that the movie wasn't released yet and if we exclude the Golden Globes snub (but True Grit wasn't nominated for any Golden Globe last year and it was a hell of a serious Oscar contender!), maybe nothing is lost for Daldry's latest!
12.
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård and Robin Wright
Synopsys: "Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a young computer hacker."
Release date: 21st December, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: While it seems to be loosing some Oscar buzz, mostly due to its missing between the Critics' Choice Awards' and Golden Globes' Best Film lists, I believe that the commercial success that TGWTT promises to be and the critical acclaim it is getting will impress some Oscar members and be the favorite movie of the year for those who like "feel-bad" movies. Like Fincher himself said the movie has "too much anal rape for Oscar", but who knows if being so raw and brutal won't seduce some Academy members? Rooney Mara is the magnet of the movie and Fincher has a word to say about his Oscar loss last year, so I believe the AMPAS will have The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in consideration when it comes the time to vote.
13.
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat and Sarina Farhadi
Synopsys: "A married couple are faced with a difficult decision, to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimers."
Release date: 15th February, 2011 (Berlin International Film Festival); 23rd March, 2011 (Hong Kong International Film Festiva); 6th April, 2011 (Buenos Aires Film Festival); 4th September, 2011 (Telluride Film Festival); 10th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 1st October, 2011 (New York Film Festival); 30th December, 2011 (USA - limited)
Oscar chances comment: Since the number of Best Picture nominees expanded, I think that A Separation is the strongest Foreign Language film that may figure between the nominees. The movie was raved worldwide and it is getting almost all the Best Foreign Picture prizes of the awards season and since each AMPAS voter choose his/her favorite movie, I can see A Separation being the excuse to honour foreign cinema.
14.
Director: Mike Mills
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Mélanie Laurent and Christopher Plummer
Synopsys: "A young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover."
Release date: 11th September, 2010 (Toronto International Film Festival); 21st April, 2011 (San Francisco International Film Festival); 22nd May, 2011 (Seattle International Film Festival); 3rd June, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: It's the movie about love which's leading the indie awards circuit. In fact, it's its subject that makes Beginners so special: being about love, being acted with love and being lovely written and directed. It's one of the most beautiful movies of the year and it will be the favorite one of a big couple of AMPAS voters and being part of the 10 Best Independent Films List of the National Board of Review, the winner of the Gotham Award of Best Film and being a Independent Spirit Award of Best Feature nominee surely helps, so... But, do all the attencions around Christopher Plummer's performance hurt Beginner's Best Picture chances? I think it benefits the movie!
15.
Director: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston
Synopsys: "Inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease."
Release date: 12th September, 2011 (Toronto International Film Festival); 30th September, 2011 (USA)
Oscar chances comment: The movie is getting a surprinsingly great recognition from the awards, mostly in the Best Original Screenplay category, but it is also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award of Best Feature or the Golden Globe of Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical and it was part of the 10 Best Independent Film of the National Board of Review. What promised to be just one more critically acclaimed indie comedy (starred by the always great Joseph Gordon-Levitt) snubed by the awards is becoming a serious contender for a "surprise Best Picture nominee" possible spot.
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