Our inaugural metformin 500 mg buy Oscar Forecast concludes with Part 3, November & December. Part 1 covered the metformin hydrochloride and alcohol Early Birds released outside of the typical Hollywood Oscar season of September-December, while Part 2 covered the first two months, September and October. Part 3 is dominated mostly by the late-comers of the season on the more independent side of things, squeezing a limited release into contention with the hope of some good buzz to not only give them Oscar consideration, but allow them to expand their theatre runs and expand to more cities.
Miral – The Weinstein Co., December 3rd
Julian Schnabel’s narrative followup to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Schnabel was previously a “neo-expressionist” painter, whatever that means. IMDb says some of his art includes smashed plates glued to wooden panels. Well, then…I guess we’re not all meant to understand. Regardless, Butterfly was an incredible film about an incredibly inspiring story, so I’ll definitely be interested to see what else Schnabel can do. Miral stars Willem Dafoe, Freida Pinto and Vanessa Regrave, and is based on a book of the same name by Rula Jebreal. Check out the trailer if you like.
At the age of 17, [Miral] (Pinto) is assigned to teach at a refugee camp where she is awakened to the reality of her peoples struggle. When she falls for political activist, Hani, she finds herself torn between the fight for the future of her people and Mama Hinds belief that education is the road to peace.
What to Watch For: Best Director (Julian Schnabel), Best Actress (Freida Pinto), Best Actor (Willem Dafoe)
The Fighter – Paramount, December 10th
David O. Russell is probably known more for his insane tirades than his films. He famously went insane and berated Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees while trashing the entire set. What we do forget is that he’s definitely got some talent as a director, with many being fans of Huckabees, as well as the great Three Kings. Russell must not scare Mark Wahlberg since this is their third film together with the actor playing real life lightweight boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward. Biopics are always up for Oscar consideration, mainly for the stars playing the real life figures. Maybe we can finally get a nomination for Christian Bale, who inexplicably has not yet received that title (see Rescue Dawn, American Psycho, The Machinist). Here’s the summary shown on IMDb, and the awesome trailer over at Apple:
The Fighter, is a drama about boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward’s unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dickie Ecklund (Christian Bale), a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO’d by drugs and crime.
What to Watch For: Best Actor (Mark Wahlberg), Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale), Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams)
The Tourist - Sony Pictures, December 10th
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (wow…FHD? vonDonn? YES, vonDonn.) last directed the Oscar winning foreign film, The Lives of Others. Now vonDonn makes his English language debut at the helm of a film starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Tourist is actually a mess of a project the past couple years. It was originally set to star Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron, then they boy left, as well as director Lasse Hallström (Chocolat). Then another director came on, and left shortly after. Then came vonDonn, and Sam Worthington replaced Cruise. Then vonDonn left over creative differences, and so did Worthington. Then vonDonn came back, and finally Depp and Jolie stepped in. I’m sure shit like this always happens, but this was pretty publicized during the whole thing. Tourist is a remake of the 2005 French film titled Anthony Zimmer. I guess we should expect some buzz around the Depp/Jolie combo in a romantic thriller type film. Here’s the trailer via Yahoo! Movies. From IMDb:
Revolves around Frank (Depp), an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise (Jolie) is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path.
What to Watch For: Best Actor (Johnny Depp), Best Actress (Angelina Jolie)
The Tempest – Miramax Films, December 10th
I have a feeling I’m not gonna like this film. I know I shouldn’t say that, and I know I’m supposed to be objective, but anything that even sniffs of a musical makes me queasy. Julie Taymor’s last film was the Beatles themed musical, Across the Universe. Here she’s taking an old Shakespeare play of the same name and giving it a female twist by changing the role of Prospero to Prospera. With a heavyweight cast including Helen Mirren, Djimon Hounsou, Alfred Molina, Chris Cooper and David Strathairn — and the Shakespeare angle — this definitely has some Oscar buzz potential.
Going back to the 16th or 17th century, women practicing the magical arts of alchemy were often convicted of witchcraft. In Taymor’s version, Prospera (Helen Mirren) is usurped by her brother and sent off with her four-year daughter on a ship. She ends up on an island; it’s a tabula rasa: no society, so the mother figure becomes a father figure to Miranda. This leads to the power struggle and balance between Caliban and Prospera; a struggle not about brawn, but about intellect.
What to Watch For: Best Actress (Helen Mirren), Best Supporting Actor (Chris Cooper/Alfred Molina/David Strathairn), Best Adapted Screenplay (Julie Taymor)
How Do You Know – Columbia, December 17th
Yes, we all love Paul Rudd. Yes, we all used to love Reese Witherspoon (Cruel Intentions anyone?). From the looks of the trailer, well, the trailer isn’t too good. However, this is James L. Brooks, and we can’t just go on a single piece of marketing. Reese looks very likeable again. Rudd looks Rudd-ish. Nicholson is back with Brooks. We can all hope for a great film here. Why? Because Brooks is from New Jersey. Sure, he made As Good As It Gets, which was nominated for 7 Oscars and managed to walk away from Titanic-fest ’98 with statues for leads Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson, but it’s mostly because he’s from Jersey. I have sources on the matter. Man that title’s awful though. Could make a small, single water drop-esque splash at the Oscars. Doesn’t look like much else to me, but it’s a snap judgement off a not-s0-great trailer.
Feeling a bit past her prime at 27, former athlete Lisa Jorgenson (Witherspoon) finds herself in the middle of a love triangle, as a corporate guy (Rudd) in crisis competes with Lisa’s current, baseball-playing beau (Owen Wilson).
What to Watch For: Best Original Screenplay (James L. Brooks)
Somewhere – Focus Features, December 22nd
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Somewhere just took top prize of Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, where ex-boyfriend Quentin Tarantino presided over the festival jury. The selection caused some chatter about favoritism from QT to Coppola, but the Italian press can’t really do much about it other than accuse them of favoritism. We’ll never know, but at least we’ll soon find out if the film is any good or not. Coppola’s critically beloved Lost In Translation won her an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, as well as nominations for Best Director, Best Picture and Bill Murray as the lead. With the buzz already churning in the Hollywood machine, expect some praise and love come release time. Check out the trailer, which is pretty interesting for not containing much dialogue at all.
A hard-living actor (Stephen Dorff) holed up in the Chateau Marmont gets a reality check when he’s visited by his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning).
What to Watch For: Best Picture, Best Director (Sofia Coppola), Best Original Screenplay (Coppola), Best Actor (Stephen Dorff), Best Cinematography (Harris Savides), Best Original Score (Phoenix)
True Grit – Paramount, December 25th
The Coen Brothers bring the heat with a remake of the 1969 John Wayne western. No Country For Old Men was essentially a western, so there’s no reason to think this can’t have the same kind of luster. Sporting a cast of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Barry “Who Needs A Character Actor?!” Pepper and Josh Brolin, Grit hopes to be a player as all Coen films do. I love a good western and I wish more were made, but that’s likely the fault of the studios not getting behind the genre that once dominated the landscape. Hopefully this is another step towards changing that, for the better. And maybe we could finally get an Oscar win for Roger Deakins (7 nominations, 4 of which were Coen Bros. films), who’s probably the greatest cinematographer alive.
A tough U.S. Marshall (Bridges) helps a stubborn young woman (Hailee Steinfeld) track down her father’s murderer.
What to Watch For: Best Picture, Best Director (Joel & Ethan Coen), Best Adapted Screenplay (Coen’s), Best Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Supporting Actor (Matt Damon), Best Supporting Actress (Hailee Steinfeld), Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins)
Biutiful – Roadside Attractions, December 29th
Alejandro González Iñárritu co-wrote and directed his first film since the Oscar nominated (too many times over) Babel. Starring Javier Bardem and a lot of Spaniards & Mexicans I’ve never heard of, Biutiful first premiered at Cannes back in May and just played at the Telluride and Toronto International Film Festivals in the last two weeks. Good reviews have already come in, but we’ll have to wait to see the mass reaction once the release gets closer.
This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who’s sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.
What to Watch For: Best Director (Alejandro González Iñárritu), Best Actor (Javier Bardem), Best Original Score (Gustavo Santaolalla), Best Cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto)
Another Year – Sony Classics, December 29th
British writer/director Mike Leigh is 6-time Oscar nominee and looks to pick up some more of those accolades, and maybe even his first victory. I’ve never seen Mike Leigh film and I should probably do something about that. I’ve only just found out he’s been nominated for that many Oscars, and the only film of his I had ever really heard much about was 2008′s Happy-Go-Lucky. I don’t know much about Leigh, but IMDb trivia says The 400 Blows is one of his top 10 of all time favorite films, so he’s immediately in my good graces, not that my good graces mean anything to anyone. Here’s a link to the international trailer.
Husband and wife Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen) lead blissful lives. They are deeply content in their relationship and satisfied with their careers; Tom is a geological engineer and Gerri a counselor. They are secure people whose outlet is the small market garden that they tend with loving care, come rain or shine. Another Year is a deeply absorbing look at people who have arrived at a point in their lives where happiness has been achieved by some but not by others.
What to Watch For: Best Picture, Best Director (Mike Leigh), Best Original Screenplay (Leigh), Best Actor (Jim Broadbent), Best Actress (Ruth Sheen)
Blue Valentine – The Weinstein Co., December 31st
Valentine premiered at Sundance in January to a lot of great buzz around the performances of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. It was nominated for Grand Jury Prize, and later premiered at Cannes, followed by Telluride and Toronto. That’s 4 big Oscar stops around two of the best young actors working today. Both actors are former Oscar nominees — Half-Nelson for Gosling and Brokeback Mountain for Williams — and both look to pick up their second nominations with the film to be released just in time to qualify for consideration. This seems like it’s got the potential to be a big indie drama for co-writer & director Derek Cianfrance.
A look at the idyllic past and troubled present of working-class couple Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams).
What to Watch For: Best Original Screenplay (Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis & Cami Delavigne), Best Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Actress (Michelle Williams)
Casino Jack – ATO Pictures, December (TBD)
Lobbyists, government fraud and corruption? Based on a real life lobbyist? This has got Best Actor nomination all over it. Who knows how good the film will actually be from watching the trailer, but Spacey’s sure to get some recognition playing real-life lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his fraudulent practices in filling his own pockets. Release date isn’t yet set, but there will probably be some single theatre, one week run so that it qualifies for Oscar consideration to get Spacey in contention.
Inspired by true events that are too over–the–top for even the wildest imaginations to conjure, Casino Jack lays bare the wild excesses and escapades of Jack Abramoff (Spacey). Aided by his business partner Michael Scanlon (Barry Pepper), Jack parlays his clout over some of the world’s most powerful men with the goal of creating a personal empire of wealth and influence.
What to Watch For: Best Actor (Kevin Spacey), Best Supporting Actor (Barry Pepper)
