I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a few of the movies up for the double Gs that haven't been widely seen just yet. This quartet of potential winners will have major releases after New Year's(with a couple getting a limited Christmas Day opening),so you might want to keep an eye out for them at your local multiplex.
First up is Big Eyes, with director Tim Burton taking on another true story about artists, this one focusing on the infamous Keane paintings that were a big hit in the 1950s. Husband Walter(Christoph Waltz) sold his wife Margaret's(Amy Adams) work and claimed it as his own, which greatly distressed her but due to threats and intimidation, she put up with Walter's outrageous exploitation for years.
Finally, Margaret had had enough and declared her independence as well as the truth about who was the true artist in the family. The film is up for Best Song(another Lana Del Ray theme,she's really cornering the market on these) and Best Actor and Actress nods for Adams and Waltz. Hope that Amy Adams gets an Oscar nom for this one, as this story is a sound reminder of what happens to many trusting artists out there:
Next up is A Most Violent Year,which in this case happens to be 1981. The story is set in New York City as a series of criminal actions lead up to a deadly showdown that threatens the lives of an immigrant family trying to create a small empire for themselves.
Jessica Chastain is up for Best Supporting Actress,although from what I've read, she sounds like the lead. Then again, this does appear to be a rather male centric piece,so maybe her nom is in the right spot. Regardless, AMVY is said to be a gritty Sidney Lumet type of film, so keep on the lookout for it as it might become an Academy Award sleeper surprise:
Director Ava DuVernay and writer Paul Webb(both nominated) bring the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights march to life on screen, with a cast that includes Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Roth, Tessa Thompson and David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King,Jr.
Unlike some films that have dealt with this subject lately, Selma appears to be an earnest yet thought provoking take on one of the most turbulent times in U.S. history. Given that we're currently experiencing some of these same social protests(which shows just how far we have and haven't come) right now, to say that this film is timely is quite the understatement indeed:
The Best Actress field is bound to be extra competitive this year but that hasn't stopped Jennifer Aniston from throwing her hat into the ring with Cake, for which she has a GG nom as the female lead for.
She plays Claire Simmons, a snarky woman addicted to pain killers who becomes obsessed with the suicide of a member of her support group(Anna Kendrick) and even seeks out that woman's remaining family in order to find a way to reconnect with life.
Aniston does have the chops for arthouse fare and she's gotten some film festival buzz for the film already(plus a SAG nom). This might lead her to Oscar territory but not sure if she'll take the award home with the likes of Reese Witherspoon on her heels. On the other hand, let's not get ahead of ourselves on this:
The Golden Globes will be handed out on January 11,2015 and for the third time in a row, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey will be on deck as co-hosts. Should be a fun show and as they say, the third time's the charm(although the first two have been as well). With the Sony Pictures hack scandal still being fresh by then, these gals should have plenty of material from that alone to make some mocking mince meat out of for our amusement, I'm sure:
So Selma has been on my radar as a must-watch for a while. Me and my brother have nearly caught it twice now. The story and cast make it a must-see for me.
ReplyDeleteA Most Violent Year made my list as soon as I heard the synopsis. The big seller for me here is that this is my hometown, and I have to see how well they represent NYC during its (arguably) most visually and culturally distinct era.
I've had no interest in any more Tim Burton movies for a while. That said: this doesn't sound like more of Tim's cutesy and excessive self-indulgence. This sounds like a real story, and even if I wasn't also a visual artist (photography), I would be intrigued by what this poor woman went through. Also - Tim Burton not working on another fing camp-fest is appealing.
As to Cake, I had no especial interest in it at all... But what you told me about it privately does make the movie sound quite interesting. I don't dislike Aniston - she can do fine work, but she's spent a lot of her heyday slumming it, professionally. If someone wanted me to see it with them, I'd go.
It's very funny, to me, that this list runs the entire gamut for me - one I anticipated, one I liked when I learned the lest little thing about it, one I disdained until I heard the synopsis, and one that makes me ambivalent. All we need to do is add a movie I want to stay away from, and one more that I want to hate-watch, and we would cover most of my personal movie prejudgment spectrum!
S--t, I can't wait for 2014 to be over