Summer and all its big comic book Blockbusters has come and gone, and it is finally time for film buffs such as myself to come out of hiding in preparation for this year's Oscar race. Now and again a good old CGI-heavy popcorn extravaganza can be really good fun, but for me personally, the last four months of the year is where the real action is at in terms of movies. With new films from directors such as Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher and Alejandro González Iñárritu coming out, the fall of 2014 looks particularly promising, and thus I find it only fitting to take some time to write about some of my most anticipated films on this year's Oscar season.
Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice
Currently, PTA is my favourite film director, and Joaquin Phoenix is one the most interesting actors working today. Alas, it should come as no surprise that their latest collaboration finds itself on the top of my own and hundreds of other film fans' lists of upcoming films to look out for. This one is a contender in all the main categories as far as I can tell, although its biggest potential probably lies in the leading actor's category (Phoenix) and possibly the adapted screenplay category as well (Anderson). We have not seen a trailer from this film as of yet, but the vibe I get from the posters and the interviews that I have been able to find is that of a smokey, weird, 1960's detective film noir, which seems to fit the Anderson/Phoenix combo perfectly. Saying that I am extremely excited for Inherent Vice is an understatement, but I will just leave it at that for now. Getting too hyped for a new movie can often spell its downfall, but I in this case, I simply just can't help it.
Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler
Take a look at this poster, claim that you are not excited to watch Nightcrawler, and the world will know you for a liar. I had no idea who the director was or what he had done in the past when I first laid my eyes upon this visual feast of a poster, but I instantly knew that this was a movie I just had to watch. Call it successful marketing or visual manipulating if you want, but as someone who loves films such as Collateral, Taxi Driver and of cause Drive, this poster and the film's two trailers struck a nerve in my head that had me hooked form the very beginning. The fact that it happens to star Jake Gyllenhaal in the leading role does not hurt my anticipation in the slightest, as he happens to be one of those actors who overcame a somewhat rough start and has gone on to become one of the biggest talents in Hollywood, and one of my personal favourite actors. This film is a lock for the Oscar for best poster as far as I can tell, although I have to admit that I don't see it winning any main awards because of its indy-ish vibe.
David Fincher's Gone Girl
Yes. Please. Ben Affleck has been proving everyone wrong over the past few years, both behind and in front of the camera, and based on the incredibly high standard of everything Fincher has been involved with over the last two decades, I see no real reason to believe that Gone Girl is going to be anything but spectacular. My one reservation would be the fact that the film is an adaptation of a very popular novel written by Gillian Flynn, who interestingly enough wrote the adapted screenplay herself as well. Whether this is a good or bad thing is somewhat hard to say, seeing as successful authors don not always turn out to be good screenwriters, Cormac McCarthy. Finding a better director to take good care of said script would prove incredibly difficult however, and as far as I can tell, Gone Girl is a major contender in all the major categories come November 2015. This could very well be the year where Fincher takes home his first Oscar, and if that indeed happens, I would neither be surprised nor upset.
Christopher Nolan's Interstellar
I am about to trespass on holy ground here, but please, stay with me for a moment. Yes, I agree that Chris Nolan is a very talented director, and yes, his Batman films were a lot of fun, but I do not think that he is the Messiah of movies in the same way that everyone else does. He has yet to make a better film than Memento in my opinion (which is an incredible movie), but who knows, Interstellar might be the one to top it. The film finds itself on this list mainly because of its spectacular cast and the success of its first teaser trailer, which given its ambiguous nature and sense of mysterious grandness remains the best trailer of the year so far, but I'm still not entirely convinced that the film is going to be as "epic" as most people would have you believe. Unlike a lot of people, I personally do not think that the academy has "robbed" Christopher Nolan of any awards in the past either, but I would not be mad at all if he ended up taking home an Oscar or two for Interstellar. Still, I do not see that actually happening.
Final thoughts:
Although most of these films probably could be considered the "cream of the crop", they are in fact just a few of the many, many upcoming films that I am extremely eager watch. Titles such as Birdman, Foxcathcer, The Imitation Game and A Most Wanted Man are all very high on the list as well, along with a bunch of films from the earlier parts of 2014 which are not available in Denmark as of yet, such as Boyhood, Frank, Locke, Calvary and Snowpiercer. The next few months contain a lot to look forward to for a film nerd such as myself, and I solemnly vow to watch every single one of the previously named titles, in order to make as in depth and varied a top 10 list as possible once the season is over. Movies, ho!
No comments:
Post a Comment