The Oscars are still some months away, but one thing is for sure: this is not going to be a year when one movie will sweep away all the big prizes. It is, of course, a lot more interesting when the Oscars are neatly divided amongst a handful - or more - of favourites. Let's face it: it is always a lot more fun when we have to keep on guessing for a long time which movie is going to win which award!
When we look at the movies, in general, this year, we can safely say that at the moment there are two big favourites: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino) and Martin Scorcese's The Irishman. As soon as the first one came out it was already rumoured to be an Oscar contender and things are still going strong for Tarantino. But The Irishman has had some raving reviews too and will probably feature in the major categories as well.
It would be nice of course to see these two directors in a neck to neck race, but lately, things have become even more exciting! JoJo Rabbit and Parasite - I already talked about them here and here - are going to offer some very interesting competition as well. The director of the first movie could even snag a nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category for his hilarious portrayal of Hitler (!); the movie is very likely to be nominated for its brilliant screenplay as well. And then there is Parasite... I have been a fan of director Bong Joon-ho ever since The Host came out - what an awesome horror movie! - and I was really very chuffed when he won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
To be honest, I'm actually a bit torn between Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite as my personal favourites. If you know me well, you know that I would love to see Tarantino win for Best Director. It has actually become an obsession of mine! But if I am really honest, he should have won that honour for Inglourious Basterds, which I still think is his masterpiece. And Parasite is actually a better movie than Tarantino's latest work. In other words, although my heart cheers for Tarantino, my mind wants Parasite to win for Best Director and even Best Movie.
Anyway, when it comes to actors, Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger are the big favourites. Phoenix has already been nominated 3 times and it's about (damn!) time he wins an Oscar. Joker, the movie in which he stars, has been under fire lately - and that's an understatement - for its depiction of violence and that could be a disadvantage for it doing well in other categories. On the other hand, I don't think that Judy - in which Zellweger is at her finest - will be a big contender.
The latest movie to have left a huge impression amongst the critics is Bombshell, with a splendid Margot Robbie and an almost unrecognizable Charlize Theron. These two ladies are probably going to be nominated and I am absolutely fine with that. By the way, there are so many names circulating for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor right now - and a lot of predictions that contradict each other! - that I need some time to think about it! On a personal note: wouldn't it be nice if Timothée Chalamet got nominated for Little Women? I'm still disappointed - even angry - that he was ignored by the Academy for his turn in Beautiful Boy and in my eyes, they have to make up for that. Okay, I have spoken my word.
Of course, I'm well aware that a number of highly interesting movies - with very big names - still have to come out: Clint Eastwood's last work, 1917 (Sam Mendes, really excited about that), Little Women (go! Timothée Chalamet, go!), Ford vs. Ferrari (with Christian Bale!) and so on. God knows what my predictions and favourites will look like next month! Besides, don't forget that November is the time of the year when the first nominations and awards are featured as well. I will, of course, write and tweet about them too.
Anyway, last week the Academy published its longlist of foreign films competing in the category of International Feature Film. Again, if you know me well, this is one of the categories that excites me the most! The list has a record number of 93 entries and Ghana, Nigeria and Uzbekistan participate for the first time. If I counted correctly there are about 10 African movies in the running, which is certainly not bad. Some critics have had a closer look at the movies and have come up with a list of 10 favourites. Among them are France, Spain and of course South-Korea - no surprises here - and even my home country! As you can imagine, I am absolutely over the moon about this and surprised as well, because the Belgian movie got mixed reviews in the USA. On the other hand, it did win the Camera d'Or in Cannes.
I'm not sure if I am going to publish a separate article about the International Feature Film Oscar... It is highly possible however that I'm going to be looking for the trailers of some of these movies and write about them instead. On December 16 the Academy will publish the shortlist in this category and I will certainly devote attention to this event. By the way, the shortlist will contain 10 titles from now on instead of 9. Will that be an extra chance for Belgium? Even if it is, we are certainly not going to win, because South-Korea is the big favourite here. Anyway, this week the Academy also published its longlist of Animated Features, always a fun category. The list is 32 titles long, which is also a record.
To be continued!
Comments
Post a Comment