Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Quite The Cinematic Season


I love autumn.  Not just because the leaves will be turning and I get to break out my cute sweaters, but also because it is the official kickoff of the film industry's awards season.  There have already been a few film festivals that present awards, including the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.  You probably don't know that Milwaukee has a festival as well, which mostly features documentaries and short films from filmmakers around the world.  It runs September 27 until October 11.


Back to this year's Hollywood awards race.  So far this year, in my opinion, there haven't been too many films that have screamed "Oscar".  The ones with the best odds seem to be "The Dark Knight Rises" and "Moonrise Kingdom".  But, that's all about to change in the coming weeks. 

Normally, I don't write about movies, since it's hard to use your own photography when doing do.  But since this is also being used as my "Q" post for Alphabe-Thursday, I thought this would be a great way to talk about the movies I'm excited to see and what is on the critics' radars as potential Oscar nominees and winners.  I've been scanning websites such as The Gold Derby to see what the critics have been saying about the upcoming fall/winter films, and I have compiled a Top 10 list, chronologically, of what has the best odds come awards season.  You can click on the titles to see all of the information IMDb.com has on the films.

1) The Master (starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Joaquin Phoenix; Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) - September 14 (limited release).  A film about a troubled WWII veteran (Phoenix) taken in by a "cult leader" (Hoffman) could net Phoenix his first Academy Award as Best Actor, having been nominated in 2006 for "Walk The Line".

2) Argo (starring Alan Arkin & John Goodman; Co-Starring & Directed by Ben Affleck) - October 12.  A CIA infiltrate tries to rescue Americans during the Iranian revolution by sending in a fake movie-making crew.  This film, so far, has the best odds at a Best Picture win having been hailed by critics at the Teluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

3) Lincoln (starring Daniel Day-Lewis; Directed by Steven Spielberg) - November 16.  Day-Lewis could nab his 3rd Academy Award as Best Actor for his portrayal of the doomed President and his fight to abolish slavery at the end of the Civil War.


 
 
4) Cloud Atlas (starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry & Hugh Grant; Directed by the Wachovski Brothers) - October 26.  The team behind "The Matrix" and "Run, Lola, Run" bring you a time-bending drama where the actors play multiple parts, often unrecognizable.
 
5) Anna Karenina (starring Kiera Knightly & Jude Law; Directed by Joe Wright) - November 16.  "Antonement" director Wright brings the Tolstoy novel around for another big-screen adaptation, this time by playwright Tom Stoppard.
 
6) Silver Linings Playbook (starring Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence; Directed by David O. Russell) - November 21.  Mental institution patients Cooper & Lawrence form an instant bond in this comedy-drama that critics have already praised for their multi-layered performances.
 
7) Life of Pi (directed by Ang Lee) - November 21.  Lee, who won the Best Director Oscar for both "Brokeback Mountain" returns with this ambitious cinematic adaptation of Yann Martel's novel about an Indian boy's travels with a hyena, zebra, orangutan and bengel tiger.
 
8) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (starring Martin Freeman & Ian McKellan; Directed by Peter Jackson) - December 14.  Jackson has another go-around with the work of Tolkien for his adaptation of the prequel to "Lord of the Rings".
 
9) Les Miserables (starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe & Anne Hathaway; Directed by Tom Hooper) - December 14.  Expect many nominations for this adaptation of the famous Victor Hugo novel and Tony Award-Winning musical, including Best Costume Design, Production Design and Cinematography.
 
10) Django Unchained (starring Jamie Foxx & Leonardo DiCaprio; Directed by Quentin Tarentino) - December 25.  A former slave (Foxx) seeks vengance against his former owner (DiCaprio) and tries to rescue his wife, from the writer/director of "Pulp Fiction" and "Inglorious Bastards."
 
Give me your feedback!  What I would like to know is, what films are you most excited to see this fall and winter, and what films do you think will get nominations during the upcoming awards season.  Please feel free to place your comments below. 
 
 
 
 


17 comments:

  1. i saw a trailer for silver linings playbook. it looked really interesting - and funny!

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    1. This was one of those films where I like the premise, I think Jennifer Lawrence is great, but was wary of Bradley Cooper's performance. Now that I've read some reviews, I'm looking forward to it.

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    1. See, I wasn't too into the "Lord Of The Rings" films, although I found them visually amazing. But if "The Hobbit" gets good reviews, I might go see it. Thanks for your comment!

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  3. I am looking forward to the new movies. could you please turn your word verivication of I need six now times to get my comment going .

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    1. Thanks, Riet, for your comment. I turned off the word verification (at least I hope I did). I guess as I gain more International readers, I'll be learning all sorts of new things about blogging!

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  4. thanks for the list of films...some of those look quite intriguing. and thanks for your visit. Hope you have a great week, and keep shooting...Love that shot of the Majestic with the dramatic sky!

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    1. Thanks, Anita! That photo of the Majestic was the very first one I took with my new Canon DSLR. Had to work quickly since the clouds were breaking up.

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  5. I haven't "been to the movies" in ages! We usually wait for our picks to be released on Blu-Ray. Out of the ones you mentioned, I may be interested in seeing Cloud Atlas, but I don't know much about it. I'll have to look for a movie trailer to see, if this is a title I need to add to my watch list. The Hobbit is a must see for my LOTR die-hard enthusiast daughter. She'll go to see the premiere release of it, I would bet no matter what the hour is. Although we have the LOTR trilogy, I'm not sure if I'll make the effort to get this movie as I'm not a huge fan, but I may change my mind just to keep the collection up-to-date. I'm a bit weird like that. lol. Thanks for visiting!
    Cathy Kennedys' Blog

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    1. No one really quite knows what "Cloud Atlas" is about, even the critics who have seen it, and I don't know what the plot is. But, the acting branch of the Academy loves to nominate films with large casts, so although I think it may be the weakest of the nominees, it will still get in.

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  6. Adding them all to my Netflix Que...

    We have a film festival here and I am going to try hard to enjoy it instead of complaining about the traffic this year....

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  7. We especially want to see The Hobbit, but they all sound pretty good!

    =)

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    1. Hi Jamie ~~ You are on top of the films really well. On our list the only one I have seen is Lincoln. I heard this morning that Bill O'Reiley has a nomination for writing that one.

      I saw Lincoln and also a couple of versions of The Three Musketeers so far this year. Oh yes, and the bringing up Obama film also.
      ..
      ..

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    2. Sorry, Jim, but the Spielberg film "Lincoln" is not based on Bill O'Reilly's book. This film was written by Tony Kushner, who wrote "Angels In America." However, I did hear that there will be a docu-drama of O'Reilly's book narrated by Tom Hanks. So, that will probably be interesting as well.

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  8. Hello.
    I'm not much of a film buff and I haven't been to the movies in ages, but I do love autumn...it's my favorite season. Nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

    Quench My Fire

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  9. I haven't been paying too much attention to the Oscar race yet. My husband is in the Academy, so the screeners are going to start trickling in soon. While it's fun to watch everything, it actually turns into work during November and December when we have to cram so many movies in to see them all!

    Enjoy!

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  10. I so rarely go to the movies unless it's a movie our Grandlittles want to see!

    I always think we will go more and then we end up doing something else.

    I feel a bit of autumn in the morning air here AND it's supposed to drop below triple digits finally. Perhaps in those lovely cool days we will go see Lincoln. That sounds quite intriquing to me.

    Thanks for a wonderful link for the letter "Q".

    A+

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