Just reminding that while we sit and sprawl our way through the annual ritual of cinematic soul-draining known as the summer season, 57 films of at least some adult intrigue or constitution are sitting in the bullpen and waiting for the annual award season to open. Not 20, 30, 40 or 50 films — the number is 57, and all slated to open during a 14-week period between mid September and New Year’s Eve, which works out to three per week and closer to four.
What I’m basically doing is re-posting the Oscar Balloon rundown to ask about any disputes or write-downs that may have surfaced over the last several weeks. Please advise about anything I should add or subtract.
Straight from Oscar Balloon (in order of confidence or expectation): 1. Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester-by-the-Sea [locked Best Actor nomination for Casey Affleck]; 2. Martin Scorsese‘s Silence; 3. Steven Gaghan‘s Gold (Matthew McConaughey, Bryce Dallas Howard, Edgar Ramírez); 4. Ang Lee‘s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk; 5. Tom Ford‘s Nocturnal Animals; 6. David Frankel‘s Collateral Beauty (Will Smith, Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton); 7. Olivier Assayas‘ Personal Shopper (Kristen Stewart); 8. Clint Eastwood‘s Sully (Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney); 9. Denzel Washington‘s Fences (Washington, Viola Davis, Mykelti Williamson, Russell Hornsby). (9)
War-Related Brad Pitt Flicks — WWII Romantic-Dramatic, 21st Century Satiric: Robert Zemeckis‘ Allied w/ Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard (began shooting in March ’16) and David Michod‘s War Machine (Netflix) w/ Pitt as Gen. Stanley McChrystal + Ben Kingsley, Emory Cohen, Topher Grace, John Magaro, Scoot McNairy, Will Poulter. (2)
Overpraised at Sundance: Nate Parker‘s The Birth of a Nation. (1)
Duelling Interracial-Marriage Period Dramas: Jeff Nichols‘ Loving (Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Michael Shannon, Marton Csokas); Amma Asante‘s A United Kingdom (David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike). (2)
Probably Solid/Decent/Interesting/Approvable, etc.: 1. Morten Tyldum and John Spaihts‘ Passengers; 2. Damien Chazelle‘s La La Land; 3. John Cameron Mitchell‘s How To Talk To Girls at Parties, 4. Peter Berg‘s Patriot’s Day (Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons); 5. Niki Caro‘s The Zookeeper’s Wife; 6. Warren Beatty‘s No Rules Apply; 7. Ben Wheatley‘s Free Fire; 8. Tate Taylor‘s The Girl On The Train; 9. Ben Younger‘s Bleed For This (Miles Teller, Katey Sagal, Amanda Clayton, Aaron Eckhart). (9)
A Little Worried But Maybe: 1. Oliver Stone‘s Snowden; 2. James Gray‘s The Lost City of Z; 3. The Secret Scripture w/ Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave, Eric Bana; 4. Greg McLean‘s The Belko Experiment; 5. Werner Herzog‘s Salt And Fire (Michael Shannon, Gael García Bernal, Werner Herzog, Veronica Ferres); 6. Ewan MacGregor‘s American Pastoral (MacGregor, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Connelly, David Strathairn); 7. Garth Davis‘s Lion (Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman — released by Weinstein Co.); 8. Denis Villeneuve‘s Story of Your Life (Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg — Paramount). (8)
Very Interesting, Slight Hedging of Bets (random order): 1. Charlie McDowell‘s The Discovery w/ Rooney Mara, Nicholas Hoult (a love story set one year after the existence of the afterlife is scientifically verified, or a more thoughtful version of The Leftovers); 2. Wim Wenders‘ Submergence (Alicia Vikander, James McAvoy); 3. James Ponsoldt‘s The Circle (Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, John Boyega), 4. Pablo Larrain‘s Jackie (Natalie Portman, Greta Gerwig, Peter Sarsgaard). (4)
Seen in Cannes, Approved or Praised to Some Degree: 1. Cristian Mungiu‘s Graduation; 2. Asghar Farhadi‘s The Salesman (Sahahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti); 3. Paul Verhoeven‘s Elle. 4. Pablo Larrain‘s Neruda; 5. Woody Allen‘s Cafe Society (Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively); (5)
Overly Obvious: Juan Antonio Bayona‘s A Monster Calls. (1)
Feels Fringe-y: Barry Jenkins‘ Moonlight (based on Tarell McCraney‘s play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue” — a Plan B/A24 project about black queer youth amid the temptations of the Miami drug trade). (1)
This Year’s Animated Pixar Wonder-Package for the Whole Family: Andrew Stanton‘s Finding Dory. (1)
Spare Me: 1. Terrence Malick‘s Weightless; 2. Derek Cianfrance‘s The Light Between Oceans; 3. Gary Ross‘s Free State of Jones; 4. Benedict Andrews‘ Una (Rooney Mara, Ben Mendelsohn); 5. Justin Kurzel‘s Assassin’s Creed. (5)
Genres Have Their Rules: 1. Paul Greengrass‘s Jason Bourne w/ Matt Damon (political action thriller); 2. Shane Black‘s The Nice Guys (darkly humorous thriller); 3. Peter Berg‘s Deepwater Horizon (real-life disaster action-thriller); 4. Antoine Fuqua‘s The Magnificent Seven (western remake); 5. Gavin O’Connor‘s The Accountant (action thriller); 6. Ed Zwick‘s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (thriller); 7. Matthew Vaughn‘s I Am Pilgrim (murder thriller); 8. Todd Phillips‘ War Dogs. (8)
Who Knows?: Alex Garland‘s Annhiliation. (1)
