- BEST PICTURE
1. Fruitvale Station
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray and Ariana Neal
Release date: July 26, 2013 (USA limited)
Synopsis: "FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year's Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn't been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. Crossing paths with friends, family, and strangers, Oscar starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easily. His resolve takes a tragic turn, however, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year's Day. Oscar's life and tragic death would shake the Bay Area - and the entire nation - to its very core."COMMENT: The big winner of this year's edition of Sundance Film Festival (winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award), Fruitvale Station is the biggest Best Picture contender we have seen during this cinematic year so far. The death of Oscar Grant was a subject that shocked America and, according to reviews, the movies approaches the life of the man, his hopes, the people who loved him and the condemnation of death of a young man, reminding the audience about the human life's fragility. Such a passionate piece of cinema will certainly rock during the indie and critics groups awards season, but the buzz will have to keep this strong in order to see Fruitvale Station competing for some major glory and getting a Best Picture nomination. I believe that, like Beasts of the Southern Wild, the movie will loose some of its Oscar heat thanks to some October-December releases, but with all the pre-award season buzz, the rave reviews and its success during film festivals, I think Fruitvale Station will get some major awards and end up as a Best Picture nominee.
2. Gravity
Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
Release date: October 4, 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney). But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth...and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space."
COMMENT: Alfonso Cuarón's long awaited Gravity promises nothing less than cinematic greatness technically speaking, being seen as one of the most promising Oscar contenders to be seen. Having Sandra Bullock lost in the darkness of the universe didn't sound like a big deal to me (I don't like Bullock in the dramatic mode that much), but the trailer impressed me a lot and Gravity seems to have all the potential to be 2013's Avatar: the visual-effects driven box-office sensation of the year. Seen as a contender in most technical and artistic categories, Cuarón's upcoming film has a huge shot at the Best Picture race. Sci-fi doesn't always seduce the AMPAS, but when sci-fi is fruit of a HUGE production, solid critical response and a lot of tickets sold, then Oscar voters tend to recognize it.
3. August: Osage County
Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Julianne Nicholson, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Shepard, Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale and Abigail Breslin
Release date: November 8, 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them."COMMENT: Sometimes, there's nothing better than a good family dramedy and let me say August: Osage County (the play) has everything in order to give the audience the laughs, the chills and the tears. A movie about women, with an impressive cast leaded by Meryl Streep and Julie Roberts always looks promising, but we can't deny the quality of the source material and John Wells, a promising director who showed some potential with his directorial debut The Company Men. So, is it a solid Oscar contender? Well, I don't see August becoming a box-office sensation, but I didn't predicted the box-office success of The Help also, but it will need a huge critical support, because the cast will work as a big attentions magnet for sure when it comes to awards season (AMPAS loves ensemble acting dramas). And there's The Weinstein Company that will certainly campaign the movie in the Best Picture race (and we all learned we can't deny the Weinstein power during Oscar campaigns).
4. 12 Years a Slave
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Lupita Nyong'o and Brad Pitt
Synopsis: "A man living in New York during the mid-1800s is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the deep south."
COMMENT: McQueen became one of the most interesting directors working today after proving his talent with Hunger and Shame and while 12 Years a Slave promises to be more "epic" than McQueen's previous directing works, I truly believe this movie will have a heart and a voice and it will touch the Academy. "Slavery" was already a subject in recent Best Picture Oscar nominees like last year's Django Unchained and Lincoln, but 12 movie trailer makes me believe the same subject will have a much more raw and cruel approach with Ejiofor and Fassbender promising to deliver some thrilling scenes. While I have my concerns about the Oscar love around this movie, I do believe 12 Years a Slave is totally different from McQueen's previous movies, with a more appealing subject and visual. Plus, it is based on a shocking true story and only God knows how Oscar voters love to see reality portrayed on movie.
5. The Monuments Men
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin and Hugh Bonneville
Release date: December 18, 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "Writer/director George Clooney adapts author Robert M. Edsel's book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History" to tell the incredible true story of the seven art historians and museum curators who went behind enemy lines during World War II on a mission to recover some of the world's greatest works of art. As the Third Reich begins to topple, the German army receives explicit orders to destroy every work of art in their possession. Determined to prevent 1000 years of culture from going up in flames, American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt assembles an unlikely task force comprised entirely of art experts to enter Germany, recover the works of art, and ensure they are returned to their rightful owners. With little knowledge of modern weapons or warfare tactics, the ragtag squadron successfully makes their way into enemy territory before realizing they've got their work cut out for them."COMMENT: While the movie promises to the son of Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and the Ocean's movies, I do trust George Clooney when he's both behind and in front of the camera and judging by the trailer there's a certain heroic ideal in this story that the AMPAS may actually like a lot: save the Art, save the History! It's kinda of funny thinking about The Monuments Men as Ocean's "Seven" set in WWII, but feedback about the source material says the plot is solid and since Clooney have already proved everything he touches turns into gold (even The Ides of March got a surprising Best Adapted Screenplay nom when almost everyone had almost zero hopes for the movie in the Oscar race), I do see Oscar voters going crazy for this movie. It benefits from the starpower of Clooney and Damon, the always charismatic presence of Blanchett and the comedic (???) chops of Bill Murray, John Goodman and Oscar-winning Jean Dujardin.
6. American Hustle
Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence
Release date: December 25, 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "The 1970s-set true story of a con artist and his partner in crime, who were forced to work with a federal agent to turn the tables on other cons, mobsters, and politicians - namely, the volatile mayor of impoverished Camden, New Jersey."
COMMENT: Now that the Academy started loving David O. Russell, American Hustle emmerges as a movie everybody MUST have in consideration for the Oscar race. After two consecutive Best Picture nominated movies, Russell tries having a third one in his body of work with a tale of crime and corruption set in the United States during the 70's. While it may sound really different from the Best Picture nominated The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, excellent casting choices, great lines and a sensitive cinematic style are constant in Russell's movies, so American Hustle has little chances to disappoint. The movie trailer gave me some fresh air and promised me some hilarious scenes... It would be "really funny" having this one as a Best Picture nominee: a movie that will certainly prove to have "bigger balls" than most others.
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Spike Jonze and Jean Dujardin
Release date: November 15, 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government."COMMENT: It looks like the Scorsese's equivalent to Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can and guess what? Leonardo DiCaprio is also in this one! Now more seriously, when I first heard about The Wolf of Wall Street my first toughts went for something in the same vein of Goodfellas, but the movie trailer showed something unexpected: a crime comedy/drama. Movies around the importance of money and the world of corruption are always welcome, specially the good ones, but I guess this one has a certain energy, making me believe our Scorsese was caught in a fresh wave of cinematic wave of electricity. But will the Academy buy what seems to be a fresh approach from the director of classics like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas or The Departed? Oscar voters tend to fall completely in love for Martin or to ignore him completely and since The Wolf of Wall Street promises to do not let anyone indifferent, I bet it will end the awards season as a Best Picture nominee.
8. Her
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara with Scarlett Johnasson (voice)
Release date: November 20, 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly-purchased operating system that's designed to meet his every need."
COMMENT: Bittersweet love stories are always lovely, but when it comes from Spike Jonze (director or Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are, there must be something special about it, for sure. I didn't know what to think about this project, but after watching the movie trailer I felt a "Lost In Translation-like" vibe (and I think it wasn't because of Scarlett Johansson's amazing voice) and a certain touch of melancholy and sweetness that made me fell in love for the movie already. With a sympathetic leading man, what seems to be solid screenplay and a talented man behind the camera, I truly believe Her has everything to be one of the best movies of the year, but sometimes the best cinematic pieces of the years don't become Best Picture nominees. No matter what I believe in Her's Oscar chances and I remember Oscar voters recognized Spike Jonze's first two movies in the acting and screenplay (and in Malkovich's case, in the directing) categories, now, with ten possible seats in the Best Picture shortlist, maybe Jonze's fourth feature film will get a place between the nominees of the top category.
9. Blue Jasmine
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay and Alden Ehrenreich
Release date: July 26, 2013 (New York City and Los Angeles)
Synopsis: "A life crisis causes a socialite to head to San Francisco, where she reconnects with her sister."
COMMENT: Considered one of Woody Allen's finest dramas in years (personally, it seems difficult to top Match Point, but still), it is also Allen's best-ever opening per-screen average. According to critics, Blue Jasmine beautifully works thanks to Cate Blanchett's performance and to a refined screenplay, but Jasmine's silent box-office success may be a strong factor when it comes to awards season and Oscar voting. There's a strong precursor love around Allen's latest and the last time it happened, Midnight In Paris took one of the leading seats in its year's Best Picture race and I feel something similar will happen with Blue Jasmine. The AMPAS loves Woody since the beginning of his career and after a period of flops, Woody made his comeback to Oscar recognition after Match Point and since then, every proof of cinematic genius he shows the world gets some major recognition, but we can't forget the strange case of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which is one of the best and most profitable Woody Allen comedies ever and it only got nominated (and won) Best Supporting Actress.
10. Foxcatcher
Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Michael Hall, Sienna Miller and Vanessa Redgrave
Release date: 2013 (USA)
Synopsis: "Steve Carell steps into dramatic territory with this docudrama about John du Pont, the schizophrenic millionaire who infamously shot and killed his friend and Olympic Gold Medal wrestler Dave Schultz before locking himself in his mansion as police officers negotiated his surrender for two days."
COMMENT: Bennett Miller brought the world two feature films and both them got a place between the Best Picture nominees (Capote and Moneyball). So, the question is: will Foxcatcher be the lucky number 3? A movie about the murder of an athlete by a schizophrenic millionaire sounds quite intriguing to say the least, but sometimes this kind of subject lacks a sensitive approach and becomes a huge mess. But there's a good director behind the project, good writers (including Dan Futterman who got an Oscar nod for Capote) and an all-star cast, so, at least, on paper, Foxcatcher looks like a Best Picture contender. Sometimes the AMPAS doesn't go for dark movies and the subject here is not "shinny" at all and little is known about this movie or it is getting released this year, once there's no official release date announced yet.
11. Inside Llewyn Davis
Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund
Release date: December 6, 2013 (limited USA release)
COMMENT: The AMPAS loves the Coen brothers' movies and Inside Llewyn Davis is said to have a lot of soul, a lot of heart and a lot of jokes, a traditional good Coen bros movie, but will it get enough precursor love and enough precursor award recognition? A Best Original Screenplay and an acting nod seem likely to happen, does this mean Best Picture nom? At least they have John Goodman cast, an actor who had a supporting part in both the two previous Best Picture winning movies (Argo and The Artist), will he be this movie's "fairy godmother"?
12. The Fifth Estate
Director: Bill Condon
Director: Bill Condon
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brühl, Carice van Houten, Dan Stevens, Laura Linney and Alicia Vikander
Release date: October 18, 2013 (USA)
COMMENT: A risky project about a controversial subject. Bill Condon hasn't a good reputation right now thanks to the Twiligh Saga movies, in spite of high-quality previous movies (Gods and Monsters, Kinsey and Dreamgirls). The Fifth Estate has everything to be great and a major Oscar contender, mostly thanks to a juicy source material and an impressive cast... It's a major question point, but its potential as a future Best Picture contender is undeniable.
13. The Counselor
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt
Release date: October 25, 2013 (USA)
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt
Release date: October 25, 2013 (USA)
COMMENT: Will it be good enough for Oscar race? We have Scott (who achieve cinematic greatness sometimes), an A-list acting pentagon leaded by the great Fassbender and a story of crime. Will the Academy bite? The trailer promises an intense thriller with great performances from the cast, but Oscar voters only "buy" a thriller after rave reviews and a decent box-office performance, so we'll have to wait until the release date.
14. Before Midnight
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Release date: May 24, 2013 (USA limited)
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke
Release date: May 24, 2013 (USA limited)
COMMENT: By far the most raved movie of Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, this one seems a lock in Best Adapted Screenplay field, but will it go beyond that? There's no other category where Before Midnight may be able to cause an impact (maybe Best Actress nod for Delpy from an optimistic point of view?), so, in spite of being one of the best movies of the year so far, it may not be "rich enough" for a Best Picture nod.
15. Frances Ha
Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Greta Gerwig and others
Release date: May 17, 2013 (USA limited)
Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Greta Gerwig and others
Release date: May 17, 2013 (USA limited)
COMMENT: While you can say "there's no movie, there's Greta Gerwig!", the fact is that Frances Ha is more than an acting showcase for Miss Gerwig, it is one of the best indie movies of the last years in my humble opinion. Visually different thanks to the black&white factor and surely not a "common" movie, Frances Ha is "so indie" it may be not Oscary enough for the AMPAS. Will it be able to go beyond the Best Film indie awards' recognition? Not sure, but it may happen if Oscar voters go for independent art at the purest state.
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