EARLY BEST PICTURE PREDICTIONS 2014 PART 1!

Meryl Streep in Into the Woods
Once again it's another round of ridiculously early predictions, this time for the year 2014! Last year I only got two right, The Wolf of Wall Street and Captain Phillips, both ending up on my top favorite movies of the year in 2013! I hope the same will be said about these next ten predictions, which have been getting early buzz. I almost included Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, which has gotten probably the best reviews of any release this year, non-animated. And, since it's way too far a shot to include The Lego Movie as an Up-like Oscar story surprise, here are the films I think that might snag a nod for this year's Oscars! (Take into account I did choose both The Counselor and The Monuments Men last year, both were critically reviled!)
  • Interstellar (even though The Dark Knight Rises was shut out completely, Nolan's work is regularly recognized by the Academy, and with Matthew McConaughey in the starring role, this is going to be hard to ignore, despite being a sci-fi film) 
  • Exodus
  • Gone Girl (Batfleck and David Fincher are sure to be a dynamic duo)
  • Into the Woods (the last big musical got a nod, so...)
  • Get on Up (can James Brown imitate Ray Charles' success at the Oscars? I think so)
  • Unbroken 
  • Boyhood (this has the coolest gimmick to any film I see this year, real-life time progression to show )
  • A Most Violent Year (All is Lost director J.C. Chandor with awards-favorites Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain sounds like a left-field winner!)
  • Foxcatcher (I had this on my list last year, but it got pushed to late 2014)
  • Trash (director Stephen Daldry has a very good Oscar track record)
I'll see you all for another selection on September 1!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: THE HEAT

Image
I have to confess the only thing I'd ever seen Melissa McCarthy up to this point was her hilarious guest appearances on "SNL," the peak performances trumping with her physical slapstick. I've always wanted to see "Bridesmaids" to see that Oscar-nominated performance of hers, but in all honesty, "Identity Thief" and "Mike & Molly" looked silly to me, and I never watched "Samantha Who" or "Gilmore Girls." All I had to judge on was reviews claiming she carried "The Heat" on her shoulders, and those choice over-the-top delicious roles on "SNL." The verdict: she's hysterical. Indeed McCarthy does something fascinating: everything coming out of her mouth is nearly always funny (to the degree of  funny is debatable), profane and rapidly paced. She is the sole reason the movie works, well, to give her co-star credit, the chemistry between her and Sandra Bullock is pretty darn good too. In a bett...
Read more

REVIEW: THE BOURNE LEGACY

Image
Suffice it to say Mr. Jeremy Renner is having a moment.  After 2 Oscar nominations for work in action films, Hollywood clearly knew where to put him.  In a matter of recent months Renner has established himself as Hawkeye, the successor to Tom Cruise if he ever leaves the "Mission: Impossible" series (which he probably won't, now that he's got some free time on him) and now the successor to Matt Damon in the Bourne movies I've been watching in this last month to prepare myself for "The Bourne Legacy." These spy-action movies are one of the best franchises put to film, and the hard work shows if you ever look at a Bourne behind-the-scenes extra, they actually go to these places Bourne goes: Paris, Tangier, Madrid.  It's hard work, especially for Damon, who was probably tired of playing his never-smiling (seriously, look it up, he doesn't smile at all for the last two movies) rogue agent who just wants to find out who he is.  America obviously wi...
Read more

REVIEW: OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Image
It's been a while since we've seen old James Franco in something big.  I tried to think back....and flashbacks of the Oscars, ones that I've tried to suppress for going on three years now.  After a bit of crying and some warm milk I felt better and thought of what movies he'd been in; "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."  He and the girl from "Slumdog Millionaire" were perfectly fine in that...but they were both completely upstaged by the main ape that ignited the revolution: Andy Serkis as Caesar.  I'm sad to report, ladies and gentleman, that James Franco has once again been upstaged by a motion-capture monkey, this time voiced by Zach Braff. Franco better realize this trend before he signs up to do a "King Kong" remake, and perhaps take some lessons on how to be less of a stiff when the cameras roll.  We all can recall the charismatic showman who appeared behind the curtain at the end of the 1939's "The Wizard of Oz."  H...
Read more