1.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Director: Ben Zeitlin
Starring: Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry
Synopsis: "Faced with her father's fading health and environmental changes that release an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy leaves her Delta-community home in search of her mother."
It's the most acclaimed movie from Sundance Film Festival and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize and while I'm concious about how small this project is, this is by far the strongest Best Picture contender of the year (maybe because most of the Oscar-looking movies weren't released yet). Sometimes, the AMPAS goes for independent filmmaking (Precious or Winter's Bone, for example) and according to reviews, Beasts of the Southern Wild is award-worthy, moving, honest, ambitious and it talks about poverty and Katrina - and the Academy members tend to love a movie like this.
2.
The Master
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams
Synopsis: "A 1950s-set drama centered on the relationship between a charismatic intellectual known as "the Master" whose faith-based organization begins to catch on in America, and a young drifter who becomes his right-hand man."
Paul Thomas Anderson's movies are usually names in the awards races and The Master promises to be no exception. While There Will Be Blood is the only Best Picture nominated movie in the young director's body of work, but The Master is its follow-up and it sounds like a story for the AMPAS hears, with one of its favorite sons as the leading man (Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman) and the comeback of one of the Academy's most talented children (Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix). It may not be as epic as There Will Be Blood was, but The Master is about faith, an important topic for Academy members, which, under the capable hands of such a talent director can produce a Best Picture nominee easily, in my opinion.
3.
Les Misérables
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sasha Baron Cohen and Samantha Barks
Synopsis: "An adaptation of the successful stage musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel set in 19th-century France, in which a paroled prisoner named Jean Valjean seeks redemption."
It's been a long time since a movie musical was nominated in the Best Picture category (I think we can consider Ray the last Best Picture nominated musical) and the stage productions of Les Misérables are always something "monumental"! Critics and people in general love Les Miz, which make me believe that if it will be well-suceed, there will be prizes and raves all around and it will be in the running for Best Picture. The source material - an epic with epic musical pieces, drama and romance - the actors and actresses involved and the Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech), make this movie a perfect combination of factors that can make it one of the favorite motion pictures of the year for the AMPAS members.
4.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis
Synopsys: "Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, journeys to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by a group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the dragon Smaug."
I think everybody has great expectations for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, not only because it is in The Lord of the Rings mode, but also because it is directed by the great Peter Jackson. While I've my doubts about the chances of the AMPAS nominate a fantasy movie in the Best Picture category, I believe that, once they did it before, The Hobbit stills in serious contention. It is possible to not get a seat between the Best Picture biggest cinema prize nominees, but seeing the movie's name in Art Direction and in Visual Effects categories is almost a guarantee.
5.
Lawless
Director: John Hillcoat
Starring: Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska and Guy Pearce
Synopsys: "Set in the Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by authorities who want a cut of their profits."
The Academy loves a good western and Lawless is one of the most interesting and promising projects of the year mostly due to its source material (The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant), to its director (John Hillcoat, the director of The Proposition and The Road) and its ensemble composed by estabilished and rising movie stars: Hardy, Pearce, Chastain, Wasikowska, Pearce (and LaBeaouf) in the same movie?. It's going to be bananas! The story of three brothers who manage to disrespect the law and gain some money with it looks like a juicy and interesting plot that may easily win votes from Academy members. It's a tale of love and violence, which looks like a Coen brothers western, but with another director's style.
6.
Prometheus
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba and Patrick Wilson
Synopsys: "A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race."
An epic space odyssey. A possible Ridley Scott comeback. A stunning movie trailer. Prometheus has the potential to be one of the most acclaimed movies of the year and one of the most well-succeed at the box-office too. It can be a darker and more thrilling-looking version of Avatar, with no blue men and women and... well, the trailer just make it look Oscar-worthy! Everything looks big and everything seems to be thrilling: I smell solid Best Picture buzz for Prometheus!
7.
On the Road
Director: Walter Salles
Starring: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Sturridge, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams and Steve Buscemi
Synopsis: "After the death of his father, Sal Paradise, an aspiring New York writer, meets Dean Moriarty, a wild and infectiously charismatic ex-con. They hit it off immediately. Determined to avoid the pitfalls of a narrow, prescribed life, Sal hits the road, joining Dean on what evolves into a life-changing physical and emotional odyssey. Thirsting for freedom, they discover the world, the ecstasy of experience, the connectedness of humanity and ultimately themselves."
While On the Road can be compared with Into the Wild, since both are "on the road movies", I think that the Walter Salles directed movie has bigger Oscar chances than the underrated Sean Penn's 2007 directorial project. On the Road was on the works for a long time and people are curious to see it. Salles has Central Station and The Motorcycle Diaries in his body of work, which make us expecting On the Road to be something great and as emotionally satysfying as The Motorcycle Diaries was and a major contender in the awards season. Young adult audiences will feel a certain attraction for this movie and its shinning cast of rising stars and the Beat Generation people will want to watch this adaptation of the classic of the same name by Jack Kerouac - the AMPAS will be eyeing the adventures of Sal Paradise!
8.
The Dark Knight Rises
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Morgan Freeman
Synopsys: "Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, the terrorist leader Bane arrives in Gotham City, pushing it and its police force to their limits, forcing its former hero Batman to resurface after taking the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes."
Let's face it: it will be difficult to The Dark Knight Rises to get a Best Picture nomination, specially when the second installement of the franchise didn't get one and it was, by far, one of the most acclaimed movies of the year with a huge fanbase. But TDKR may benefit from Nolan's constant snubs in the directing field, which will creat a strong Best Picture buzz around this one, certainly. It needs a strong critical support and a really strong box-office performance, which won't be difficult, because Nolan is an expert in creating highly praised box-office sensations that generate strong fanbases (let's look at Inception or even The Prestige, for example)... let's see if the AMPAS members will be seduced by the nostalgia the last chapter of (one of) the best superheroe franchise ever.
9.
Django Unchained
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Samuel L. Jackson, Sasha Baron Cohen, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington and Jamie Foxx
Synopsys: "With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner."
After Pulp Fiction and Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino may have his third Best Picture nominated movie in his body of work - Django Unchained. It's a revenge tale about a slave, which make the plot look juicy and promising enough to build a great Tarantino movie around. While Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, both acclaimed post-Pulp Fiction revenge stories, didn't get any Oscar recognition, I believe Django will be a completely different case since it is a period piece, which gives the movie a much more sophisticated look, no matter how strong the language from Tarantino lines are. Plus, the all-star ensemble cast only contributes to the movie's pedigree. Django will shine bright or it will disappoint... I believe it will be great and a major player in the awards season!
10.
The Hunger Games
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Lenny Kravitz
Synopsis: "Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match."
The first box-office sensation of the year so far, The Hunger Games is more than people expected. Critics loved the movie and audiences are paying to see it and since it hasn't that "fantasy perfume" Harry Potter chapters had, I think it can be a contender in the Best Picture race. While it won't be a winner, almost for sure, I can see big things for this franchise, specially when the first chapter is as well-made and as emotionally satisfying like this one. I would say that a Best Picture nomination for The Hunger Games is a safe investment from the Academy, not only because it stars one of the most promising actress of the new generation (Jennifer Lawrence) as the leading actress, but also because everybody seems to love it, making it a populist choice that would please audiences and critics, for sure.
11. Lincoln
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, Jared Harris, John Hawkes, Sally Field, David Strathairn and Hal Holbrook
Synopsys: "The sixteenth President of the United States guides the North to victory during the Civil War."
12. Life of Pi
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan and Tobey Maguire
Synopsys: "The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean."
13. Gravity
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
Synopsys: "The lone survivor of a space mission to repair the Hubble telescope desperately tries to return to Earth and reunite with her daughter."
14. The Great Gatsby
Director: Baz Lhurman
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire
Synopsys: "Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy."
15. Brave
Directors: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson
Synopsis: "Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse."
15. Brave
Directors: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson
Synopsis: "Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse."
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