Latest Oscar Buzz

With the end of the year fast approaching and everybody now going completely barmy for Christmas, I thought it would be a good time to look at what the latest rumblings are in Hollywood regarding the Oscars and the award season in general. Now is the time that films that hoped to be considered for the Oscars will be released and will move release dates to be included as well as maximise the opportunity to be noticed.

The first movement was to bring forward the release date of Silver Linings Playbook (preview here) which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, capitalizing on the lavish praise from critics it has opened early and is hoping to be a real contender during awards season. It is a film whose chances of success are certainly trending upwards which is in stark contrast to Denzel Washington's latest film Flight (preview here) which is suffering due to many fans of Denzel's organising a boycott of the film. Realistically it is unlikely to affect his stock to adversely but the boycott due to the stereotypical nature of Denzel's character certainly won't help.

Tradition dictates that Steven Spielberg will release a film ahead of awards season for consideration, last year it was War Horse that garnered a shocking number of nominations at the Oscars and Golden Globes but fortunately didn't actually win any. I'm pretty sure if you take Spielbergs name off the film and it would have gone nowhere. This year looks more promising though with Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis as America's 16th president but is looking more likely to win a Best Actor gong than a Best Picture.

Other films that have been mentioned are Anna Karenina, Life of Pi and even the final Twilight movie but realistically these are unlikely to feature due to the mediocre reviews from critics and the predictable nature of the films. Saving the best for last, Untouchable (review here) is the French foreign language entry to this years award season and is proving that last years success for The Artist wasn't just a fluke. I seriously believe that Untouchable will be a real contender for the main categories at the Oscars and am currently tipping it for Best Picture..............watch it fail!