Master Oscar Bait

It’s time for the fall season, and all the movies angling for an Oscar start preening their cinematic feathers to woo the elusive golden man.  Movies that are obviously courting an academy award are call Oscar Bait.  And some are masters of it.  Here are some of this year’s frontrunners:

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

These are the 2 latest trailers for the 1st part of the 7th movie.  Although the Harry Potter movies have not been traditional Oscar Bait, they might just reward them for the last installment.  They did the same for LOTR.  Although 4 of the 6 HP films have been nominated, none have won an award.  Plus, it’s included because it’s my favorite.

The Social Network

This is the real frontrunner.  Most Oscar-watchers say this is the film to beat.  From one of my favorite directors of all time, David Fincher, I’m itching to watch this one.  We actually have an invite to watch the media premiere tomorrow, but we have a hosting, so I’ll have to wait a little longer…

The King’s Speech

I am so intrigued!  I love British Oscar Bait!  Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush? It’s a critical orgasm!

Stone

The 2 leads seem a tad hammy for my taste (at least as far as the trailer showed), but Robert De Niro is my male Meryl Streep.  I’d fawn even if he played a mushroom.  Same with Edward Norton.  And I really think Milla Jovovich is just waiting for a role that will get Hollywood taking her seriously.

Love And Other Drugs

Just when I thought it would be another romantic dramedy, it’s nice to see this in the backdrop of the age of Viagra.  I don’t see this as a major contender, but who knows?

Conviction

NOT a fan of Hilary Swank.  Never have, never will be.  But I must say, I might just watch this movie when it comes out.  The idea of spending the rest of your life trying to save your brother’s life is an inspiring theme for a movie.  I just hope she doesn’t get nominated.

127 Hours

True story of Aron Ralston’s ordeal where many viewers supposedly walked out or fainted during the film’s climax.  I don’t want to spoil it for those who don’t know the outcome of the story, but it hearkens to the Saw series.

Hereafter

I guess anything with Matt Damon in it means it’ll be taken seriously.  I was just surprised that the 2004 Asian tsunami was written into the story.  I’ve forgotten how eerie that whole disaster was until I saw the film’s version of it, bringing back a lot of the harrowing images of that day.

How Do You Know

The sole comedy that has strong buzz going into awards season, mainly with Reese Witherspoon as an early front-runner.  I’m surprised, given that the academy usually ignores lighter comedy fare to weepy dramas.

The Black Swan

I expect this to be over-the-top, but this really piqued my curiosity, playing like a garish euro-horror flick, ala Dario Argento.  Plus, I LOVE Natalie Portman, so it can’t be that bad.

Welcome To The Rileys

Melissa Leo is still an undermined treasure, despite a nomination a couple of years ago.  She reminds me of Patricia Clarkson, hugely underrated.  And I’m curious to see Kristin Stewart outside of the Twilight morass, and see how she fares in heavier roles.

Nowhere Boy

By virtue alone of being a huge Beatles fan, of course I’m going to line up to see this film.  It doesn’t really tackle the height of Beatlemania, but more of the prequel to their story.  It’s the icing on the cake to see Kristin Scott Thomas as Lennon’s aunt Mimi.

The Kids Grow Up

I’m just surprised that no one thought of doing this before!  What a brilliant idea, to film your daughter from when she was little until she leaves for college, and make a movie out of it.  Reality TV has nothing on this!

Catfish

One of the strongest buzz in the fall season.  Not so much for being an awards front-runner, but more of the supposed “shocking” conclusion.  People who have seen it say that it’s better to watch the movie with ZERO info on what it’s all about.  The lesser you know, the stronger the impact.

Ok fine, I’ll include a movie that is NOT Oscar Bait.  Just to lighten the mood:

Little Fockers