Well the summer movie season is over and now the fall and holiday movie season is upon us. This is the time of year when almost all the movies that will be nominated for Oscars will be released. For Oscar Junkies like myself it is a time of trying to guess what movies will be nominated and are a must see. Of course the fun thing about Oscar season is that one week a movie looks like a sure bet then the next week it will be out of the question. Plus smaller movies will get a big bounce and more buzz if they perform well at The Toronto Film Festival which hasn’t happened yet so there might be some movies that are still unknown to get some buzz.
Right now here are the 10 movies that have the most buzz that will be coming out in the next couple of months and are sure to have some nominations.
1. The Master 9/14 - Paul Thomas Anderson last gave us the Best Picture nominee There Will Be Blood in 2007. Now he is back with a controversial move that seems to tell the rise of Scientology. Looks like it has great performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. The September release could mean it will be forgotten about by the time the nominations are due but right now it looks to be a strong contender.
2. Argo 10/12 – Ben Affleck has been making a name for himself as a director after Gone Baby Gone and The Town. This time he is directing himself in a movie that is not in Boston. Based on true events during the Iran Hostage Crisis where the CIA sent operatives into Iran pretending to be Canadian filmmakers making fake movie called Argo. The Iranians bought the story and now it is a movie. Based on true events gives the movie an edge at Oscar time and many people think Affleck should have been nominated for The Town so this has a great chance of getting some nominations.
3. The Sessions 10/26- One of the big breakouts from Sundance earlier this year The Sessions is about a man in an iron lung who wants to lose his virginity at the age of 38. His priest helps him hire a sex surrogate. There is usually one small independent comedy that usually end up being nominated and this one has the best chances with a great cast of John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. Probably will not win anything but is a must see.
4. Lincoln 11/9 – This is the movie that screams Oscar more than any other. Directed by Spielberg and staring Daniel Day-Lewis and based on true events. Spielberg’s last movie War Horse had mixed reviews and still ended up being nominated for Best Picture so I don’t see how this one cannot be.
5. Anna Karenina 11/16 - Joe Wright has had two movies nominated for Best Picture Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. Both starred Keira Knightley and were based on a book. Anna Karenina is no different. Based on the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy about a Russian Princess this looks like it has everything Academy voters look for in a period piece.
6. Life of Pi 11/21 - This looks like a visually stunning movie if the whole concept is a little weird. But it is based on a popular book and if done right might be able to make it work. But a movie about a guy on a boat with a tiger, a hyena, a zebra, and an orangutan floating in the ocean after a shipwreck sounds like strange story and might be a tough sell especially with no famous stars.
7. Hyde Park on the Hudson 12/7- Another historic movie about a president this one about FDR. With Bill Murray playing the president in what could be one of his best performances the movie will be getting a lot of buzz, but I don’t know if it will generate enough to get a Best Picture nomination or just a Best Actor for Murray which seems to be very likely.
8. The Hobbit 12/14- The first in the Trilogy. After score three Best Picture Nominations for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Peter Jackson is back with the prequel. As of now there is no reason to think it won’t be nominated.
9. Zero Dark Thirty 12/19- After becoming the first female to win Best Director for The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow is back with another war movie. A movie about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden she has been working on it since The Hurt Locker finished but had to change it after he was found and killed making it one of the most timely movies coming out.
10. Django Unchained. 12/25- Quentin Tarantino makes some violent films and somehow ends up getting them nominated for Best Picture. His first western about a slave who becomes a bounty hunter and searches for his wife looks like it will be no different. Reteaming with Christoph Waltz who won Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds and an all-star cast including Jamie Fox, Leonardo DiCaprio and of course Samuel L. Jackson it looks like it will be a lot of fun and probably score another nom for Tarantino.
