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Oscar Season Preview

Nicholas

“I like fall,” you say, shivering ever so slightly; you have not unpacked your sweaters yet, but now you will, prompted by the low background soreness of a body that had forgotten, over those brief, bright months of joy and abundance, the need to vibrate itself at all times in order to ward off death.

Albert Burneko

Well, after seemingly eights months of warmth and happiness Summer has finally yielded to cooler weather. Fall is officially here, which means it’s just about Oscar Movie Season! “Oscar Season” is typically defined as the final two-to-three months of the calendar year where studios release their heavy-hitting films so as to be fresh in the minds of The Academy when they vote in February.

There have already been several movies released this year which will undoubtedly be nominated for (and win) Oscars. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”, “BlacKkKlansman”, “Avengers: Infinity War”, and “Incredibles 2” are just a few of them. Now, however, we are about to get a rush of the typical “Oscar-bait” films. From big-budget to small and from animated to indie, here are some of the movies I’m most looking forward to this Oscar Season.

the-oscars

October

“Bad Times at the El Royale” has one of the best trailers of the year. It looks part dark comedy, part mystery thriller all with incredible art direction. Plus the cast (Dakota Johnson, Jeff Bridges, John Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, etc.) is outstanding to boot. Suffice it to say I am EXTREMELY excited to see this movie.

“Beautiful Boy” is based on a pair of memoirs that track a father and son through a family’s struggles with addiction. It sounds incredibly dense, but also incredibly powerful and moving as well. We know by this point that Timothée Chalamet will turn in a fantastic performance, and Steve Carrell has shown he has some dramatic chops as well.

If “La La Land” taught us anything it’s that when Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling team up good things happen. The early reviews paint “First Man” as the most personal movie about the space program ever. It’s basically an intimate character study of Neil Armstrong, which honestly sounds incredible.

Based on the best-selling book by the same name, “The Hate U Give” promises to be a nuanced look at the current state of race relations in America. The movie features an outstanding cast, including Amandla Stenberg, Issa Rae, and Common.

November

I was immediately hooked the first time I saw this trailer. Unfortunately, after some production turmoil, my interest has wavered a bit. I still expect Rami Malek to deliver a pitch-perfect performance as Freddie Mercury, but I am left to wonder just how well constructed the rest of the film will end up being.

“Boy Erased”, like “Beautiful Boy”, is a brutal coming-of-age story based on a memoir. This time, however, forced conversion therapy is at the center of a family’s struggles. The film stars Lucas Hedges who is one of my favorite young actors. He had an incredible 2017, and he has multiple movies coming out late this year that will hopefully keep his momentum going.

If you didn’t love “Wreck-it Ralph” back in 2012, well, I’m not sure you’re alive.  The entire cast from the first film is back, plus, except for Mary Costa (who voiced Aurora in 1959 and is now 88), every living actress to voice a Disney Princess will reprise their role. With Disney’s track record I would be absolutely floored if this movie is not a critical and box office hit.

Imagine “Driving Miss Daisy” but the races are reversed and you’ve got the basic premise of “Green Book”. The 1960’s period piece co-stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. The film turned heads by winning the prestigious “People’s Choice Award” at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.

“Moonlight” writer/director Barry Jenkins is back, this time working with an adapted screenplay that follows two young lovers in Harlem in the 1970s. This film actually finished first runner-up to “Green Book” at TIFF, so having them back-to-back here on my list seems fitting as well.

December

The genre of “superhero origin story” has been done to death in recent years, but “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” looks primed to stand apart from the rest of the field. The animation looks unique, the plot sounds intriguing, and the cast is to die for.

I am skeptical about this. I find it hard to believe it is possible to recreate the magic of the original “Mary Poppins”. The trailer does look promising and they have assembled the perfect cast, but I still have my doubts. Fingers crossed.

Those are some of the movies I am excited to see in the upcoming months…are there any I missed?

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