1. Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Guillermo Del Toro
3. Baz Luhrman
4. Peter Jackson
5. The Coen Brothers
6. Alfonso Cuaron
7. M. Night Shyamalan
8. Quentin Tarantino
9. Tim Burton
10. Marc Forster
Honorable Mentions: Sophia Coppola, Wes Anderson, Cameron Crowe, David Fincher, Danny Boyle, Jean Pierre-Jeunet
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Fall Oscar Potentials!
Yes, my avid reader, the time has come to look at our oscar hopefuls as they ready to enter the cinemas. We were lucky enough to observe a solid summer of blockbuster critical successes with Iron Man, Wall-E, and The Dark Knight to name a few, but now we move into the time of the year where studios flash their dramatic teeth. Do not look for this list to be the definitive list, but these are the ones I think have a chance.
My Top 5 Contenders(as of right now and not including The Dark Knight):
1. Revolutionary Road by Sam Mendes
Revolutionary Road looks to be an intense character drama about a fading marriage in the 50s starring Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the former Titanic lovers. An early trailer that has been taken offline showed some extremely raw and phenomenal perfs from these two.
2. Australia by Baz Luhrman
This film looks to be typical Luhrman in the best way, it looks to take a cliche and overdone genre and revamp it with a new flair and passion only Baz could create. An added bonus is his reuniting with Nicole Kidman after their masterful collaboration in Moulin Rouge!
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher
Here we have a much underrated director helming a risky screenplay with Cate Blanchett, the critical darling, and Brad Pitt, Jolie's darling. This will either be a huge success or an ugly flop.
4. Milk by Gus Van Sant
As a christian this is the hardest movie for me to put on here, BUT I have to say I am looking very forward to it because it is a challenging topic with the universal theme of the underdog. Penn looks great in the role and is backed by a phenomenal supporting cast including Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin who have had busy years.
5. Changeling by Clint Eastwood
Why? Well it's Eastwood, he's gold. Plus how cute would it be to see Pitt and Jolie nominated in the same year ::wink wink:: In all seriousness Jolie looks stunning in this role and the story seems fascinating.
Don't Count These 5 Out
6. The Road by John Hillcoat
No Country for Old Men won last year, and Cormac McCarthy's book is highly acclaimed so with the right resources this could be an intense contender.
7. Doubt by John Patrick Shanley
Meryl Streep is beloved by the academy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is working his way to academy fame after his win for capote, and Amy Adams needs some love. These 3 actors plus a hot topic screenplay should provide some buzz.
8. Frost/Nixon by Ron Howard
Howard hasn't had much luck with the academy lately, but this is based of an award winning play with two very strong performances. This could be the small actor vehicle that goes all the way visa vie Capote.
9. The Soloist by Joe Wright
After scoring with critics for both Atonement and Pride and Prejudice Wright has moved into contemporary times drawing on the revival of Robert Downey Jr.'s career and the fading star of Jamie Foxx for sentimental drama. The sentimental part worries but Wright has been good at avoiding that so far so this could be the audience winner.
10. The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky
This is probably the riskiest prediction as Aronofsky has a very spotted resume when it comes to critical and audience responses, but this film seems to be being carried on the wave of festival success and Mickey Rourkes performance.
My Top 5 Contenders(as of right now and not including The Dark Knight):
1. Revolutionary Road by Sam Mendes
Revolutionary Road looks to be an intense character drama about a fading marriage in the 50s starring Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the former Titanic lovers. An early trailer that has been taken offline showed some extremely raw and phenomenal perfs from these two.
2. Australia by Baz Luhrman
This film looks to be typical Luhrman in the best way, it looks to take a cliche and overdone genre and revamp it with a new flair and passion only Baz could create. An added bonus is his reuniting with Nicole Kidman after their masterful collaboration in Moulin Rouge!
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by David Fincher
Here we have a much underrated director helming a risky screenplay with Cate Blanchett, the critical darling, and Brad Pitt, Jolie's darling. This will either be a huge success or an ugly flop.
4. Milk by Gus Van Sant
As a christian this is the hardest movie for me to put on here, BUT I have to say I am looking very forward to it because it is a challenging topic with the universal theme of the underdog. Penn looks great in the role and is backed by a phenomenal supporting cast including Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin who have had busy years.
5. Changeling by Clint Eastwood
Why? Well it's Eastwood, he's gold. Plus how cute would it be to see Pitt and Jolie nominated in the same year ::wink wink:: In all seriousness Jolie looks stunning in this role and the story seems fascinating.
Don't Count These 5 Out
6. The Road by John Hillcoat
No Country for Old Men won last year, and Cormac McCarthy's book is highly acclaimed so with the right resources this could be an intense contender.
7. Doubt by John Patrick Shanley
Meryl Streep is beloved by the academy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is working his way to academy fame after his win for capote, and Amy Adams needs some love. These 3 actors plus a hot topic screenplay should provide some buzz.
8. Frost/Nixon by Ron Howard
Howard hasn't had much luck with the academy lately, but this is based of an award winning play with two very strong performances. This could be the small actor vehicle that goes all the way visa vie Capote.
9. The Soloist by Joe Wright
After scoring with critics for both Atonement and Pride and Prejudice Wright has moved into contemporary times drawing on the revival of Robert Downey Jr.'s career and the fading star of Jamie Foxx for sentimental drama. The sentimental part worries but Wright has been good at avoiding that so far so this could be the audience winner.
10. The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky
This is probably the riskiest prediction as Aronofsky has a very spotted resume when it comes to critical and audience responses, but this film seems to be being carried on the wave of festival success and Mickey Rourkes performance.
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