Who are the early Oscar contenders?

The winter season is upon us and that means movie studios will be releasing their hopefuls for all the upcoming awards, most notably the Oscars. Here are my reviews of the first batch of these films, along with prediction about which major Oscar categories they will be nominated for.

“Birdman”

Genius. Simply genius. Michael Keaton plays a washed up actor trying to escape his past as a superhero character (sound familiar?) by producing and directing a Broadway play to prove that he is indeed an artist and not a Hollywood sellout. Keaton delivers the best performance of his career, but as good as he is, Edward Norton absolutely kills in every scene he’s in, playing an arrogant, yet brilliant, theater actor. Emma Stone also reveals some real talent playing Keaton’s former drug addict daughter. Oh, and did I mention that the entire film is shown as one long, continuous take? Like I said, genius.

Will be nominated for:
Best Picture
Best Director – Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
Best Actor – Michael Keaton
Best Supporting Actor – Edward Norton
Best Supporting Actress – Emma Stone
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography

“Interstellar”

Director Christopher Nolan delivers his most ambitious project yet, and it’s one worthy of his already impressive resume. Matthew McCounaghey doesn’t waste his comeback to A-level status and is terrific and believable as both astronaut and father. The imagery is awe inspiring and the film successfully explains physics in a way that is easily understandable. It does run a bit long, but it’s forgivable since it’s so pretty to look at. Oh, and that score!

Will be nominated for:
Best Cinematography
Best Original Score

“The Theory of Everything”

Speaking of physics, who hasn’t heard of Stephen Hawking? We all know him as the brilliant mind in the fragile body with the mechanical robot voice, but what do we really know about the man? “The Theory of Everything” takes a look at the human side of Hawking’s life, but a little too much for me. Despite the brilliant performances by Eddie Redmayne as Hawking and Felicity Jones as the most supportive wife ever, I found myself wanting to learn more about his genius rather than his family life. The film reveals his brilliance by having others telling him often that he is, yet barely makes an attempt to explain why to the audience. The performances of the two leads are really amazing, some of the best of the year, but the film feels like a generic biopic overall.

Will be nominated for:
Best Actor – Eddie Redmayne
Best Actress – Felicity Jones

“Wild”

Based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who hiked 1,000 miles along the Pacific Coast Trail to cope with a tragic loss, “Wild” has Oscar written all over it. It’s directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, who recently led Matthew McCounaghey and Jared Leto to Oscar wins for “Dallas Buyers Club,” and also stars another Oscar winner, Reese Witherspoon in the lead role. Vallee has a bland, straightforward storytelling style and I walked out of “Wild” with the same feeling I had after seeing “Dallas Buyers Club,” with a general feeling of indifference. Both films are technically sound, but lack any true heart and passion. Witherspoon is obviously shooting for Oscar No. 2 with this role, but feels miscast as a former drug addict with a habit of sleeping around with literally any man who approaches her.

Will be nominated for:
None

“Whiplash”

Who would have thought that a little film about a rivalry between a music prodigy and his teacher could be so riveting? Miles Teller plays Andrew, a student at a prestigious music academy, who dreams of becoming the next great American musician. He knows that the first step to achieving that dream is to gain the approval and respect of the academy’s most renowned instructor, Mr. Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons. Fletcher is ferocious in his passion for jazz and expects the same out of all his students. There is absolutely no room for error in his classroom and any fault found will result in a literal slap in the face or a humiliating tongue lashing worse than you could ever imagine. Simmons’ performance is flawless, and he immediately is the favorite to win the trophy for Best Supporting Actor. “Whiplash” is by far my favorite movie of 2014 so far.

Will be nominated for:
Best Picture
Best Director – Damien Chazelle
Best Actor – Miles Teller
Best Supporting Actor – J.K. Simmons