2019 Winter: The Biggest Logjam of an Oscar Race I Have Seen
The movie slate of 2019 was one of the weakest I have seen in a long time. Probably not since 2011, when a silent film won best picture.
I say was, well because of this upcoming 2 months. I count 20 films that at least seem interesting and more than likely will be really good, which has never remotely come close to happening so far for me in one of these previews.
The films below somehow couldn’t make my top 10 most anticipated list:
Bonnie & Clyde for the modern day, as Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith go on the run after they shoot a cop who almost shot them for a minor traffic offense. And written by the uber talented Lena Waithe? We could have a potential generational film on our hands.
Terrence Malick movies are always going to be beautiful to look at. The key is if his subject matter is as ambitious as his filmmaking. Well, a movie about a German conscientious objector in WWII sounds pretty ambitious to me.
Word on the street with this Safdie brothers film is that Adam Sandler rose to the material. The movie looks kinetic and thrilling, and lives at the intersection of sports and gambling, using Mike Francesa and Kevin Garnett. Welcome back good Adam Sandler!
Mark Ruffalo stars in a movie built for awards: corporate lawyer discovers his corporation is poisoning the water supply of the local population. Erin Brockovich meets All the President’s Men.
Take the Short Term 12 Director, Michael B. Jordan, and a story about a black civil rights attorney in the deep South. If that doesn’t scream important, I don’t know what does…
This film might be even more ambitious than a Terrence Malick film. The Skyfall director supposedly made a 1 shot film. Set in WWI. About a bunch of troops trying to deliver a message to the front lines and stop a massacre. It looks pretty amazing too, and has a real shot to become one of the great war films of our time.
A car racing movie, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon. This is the fun period piece drama that guarantees acting talent everywhere, including a certain Outlander actress. This is 2019’s surest thing.
Who better to update Louisa May Alcott’s story then the Lady Bird director? There’s also a prodigious amount of acting talent on display too, including Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Emma Watson, and some lady named Meryl Streep. Add in the period piece setting, and this thing should have long Oscar legs.
Noah Baumbach’s films are usually very insightful and perceptive, but about very fickle subjects for idle rich people. Marriage Story finally finds a universal subject fitting Baumbach’s sharp eye: the dissolution of a marriage. Plus he got ScarJo and Adam Driver, so, that’s awesome too.
It’s almost like Martin Scorcese solicited his biggest fans to come up with this new movie. 3 Hour Crime Epic. Check. Gangsters. Check. Pesci, Pacino, De Niro. Check. Netflix. Check. On top of that, we’ve got de aging technology, and the Jimmy Hoffa regime. Plus, you know, the buzz for this movie has been spectacular as you’d expect.
