Oscar Season

OK people. Summer has been over for a while. Just look at the box office, the last month has seen about two movies worth watching filled in with a bunch of shit the studios have nothing else to do with but squeeze what money they can out of them and hope to God there is a decent DVD market. That being obvious, I'll go ahead and list out some of the top movies with Oscar hopes, and Oscar pseudo hopes.

Side note: Brett Ratner wants to do a movie about the origins and early crime of the Joker. I will burn hollywood to the ground alone, if that man is allowed near anything other than his own burning piles of shit. We do NOT need another Joel Shumacher era.

These are in order of release date. The Oscar rating is a guess at the movies chance of receiving an Oscar nomination.

Choke-9/26: Another adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk novel, the psycho who wrote Fight Club which was adapted beautifully. I have yet to see it, being released today actually, but it looks like it could be just as dark and disturbing, however much less twisted than Fight Club is. With first time director Clark Gregg, the ex-husband from The New Adventures of Old Christine, at the helm, its all up for grabs as we have no idea what his talent level or feel for the camera look like. It has been getting good reviews and was well received at the film festivals, so there is decent hope for quality here. Oscar chances-20%

Appaloosa-10/3: This could be referred to as an Ed Harris joint with him directing, writing and starring in the movie. His last direction was for Pollock, a very good movie about the painter, seemed to hold true to his character and actions. This will be however, his first writing attempt, so the story quality is up for grabs, but you don't land Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons(forget Eragon please) with a weak script. So the story is of two friends that are hired to police a small town that is a bit out of control, and I assume they must wrangle it back to order. The trailer shows promise of some very good dialogue, whit, and the old lovely taste of western violence. Oscar chances-50%

Religulous-10/3: A Bill Maher documentary about religion in America and the world. That is not to say it is a typical documentary, it is a Bill Maher documentary so you'll get a left point of view on it, but as he has always done, he talks to both sides, one just usually comes out looking stupider than the other. From the trailer it would seem though, that only the crazy people on each side of the issue appear stupid, while those a little more intelligent and accepting just have a difference of opinion. Should be fun to watch. Oscar chances-5%

RocknRolla-10/10: Not since Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch has Guy Ritchie had a really great film. This however, cannot be judged till you see the movie, so I have little to say other than Gerard Butler is in this from 300 and others, along with new Bond girl Gemma Arterton, the always good Thandie Newton, and apparently Jeremy Piven. So I'd wait for the reviews and as long as a few of them compare it to his old days, check it out. I say a few because many critics don't like him, just how it is. Oscar chances-10%

Body of Lies-10/10: Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe have yet to make a movie together that wasn't of epic size and quality. We've got Gladiator, A Good Year, and American Gangster, with the new addition of Leonardo DiCaprio to the team, this movie is going to be SICK. Its a CIA spook movie taking place today and would appear to have all the elements of a great story, lots of action, and possibly some slight Oscar buzz from the performances, but thats all speculation till the movie is released. Oscar chances-65%

Max Payne-10/17: Mark Wahlberg stars in this character adaptation from a video game. Hitman being the most recent, and most recent disappointment in a string of disappointments, my feelings are mixed, and mostly anxious. They have a director who has shown flashes of talent but never seemed to hit the mark with the movie he was making, but there is Mark Wahlberg, who tends to surprise me. He's bad in movies people seem to love, and really good in those they hate. I love shooter, one of my favorite recent action movies. Frankly, Invincible, not my thing. Who doesn't love the Departed though. I added this in here because I'll be seeing it and think some of you may enjoy it. The character is extremely dark and disturbed and who wouldn't be when you are dealing with the devil and death itself. Oscar chances-0%

Pride and Glory-10/24: This particular movie conjures up a lot of hesitation. It was filmed in the first half of 2006, and has been rumored for release since the winter of the same year. Two years later it finally has a locked down and apparently secure release date. Thats to say it has moved a handful of times, sometimes only a few weeks in advance. Starring Colin Farrell, Ed Norton, and Jon Voight the story follows a family of cops who end up having to investigate each other after a mass shooting incident involving a number of police officers. They don't leak much to you in the trailers, so hopefully the story is good and they dont' feel the need to explain themselves before hand. The only real reason I can think of for this movies delay was the release of The Departed and soon after We Own the Night. Either this movie didn't want to compete, or could not compete against those. Oscar chances-10%

Quantum of Solace-11/14: The sequel, and first Bond movie to actually relate to its predecessor, Casino Royale. Thats right, the story actually continues on into this movie as Daniel Craig reprises his role as the ass kicking tough guy with no remorse. A new director, Marc Forester, has taken the reigns, but if anything that will just mean even better scenes and shots. After Monsters Ball, Finding Neverland, and Stranger than Fiction, this is going to be one really beautiful Bond movie. Other than that all there seems to be out about this movie is that Bond is still trying to find the people responsible for killing Vespa. Enjoy. Oscar chances-its a Bond movie....5%

Milk-11/26: Gus Van Sant appears to be heading back to his high point of the late '90s when he did Finding Forester, Good Will Hunting and Psycho. Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco. Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Diego Luna, and Victor Garber round out the stupidly talented cast of this movie. This is probably my most anticipated movie based on actors and story, and it would be nice if it was a box office success...hint hint... so Hollywood will go ahead and be more willing to green light this stuff, instead of Beverly Hills Chihuahua...which someone obviously killed someone to get funding for. Oscar chances-80%

Frost/Nixon-12/5: This is a recreation of the David Frost interviews with Richard Nixon including a lot of behind the scenes and what was going on off camera during, before, and after the interviews. Ron Howard directs with Frank Langella as the President and Michael Sheen as David Frost with Sam Rockwell and Kevin Bacon providing supporting roles. Not sure what the interest level will be, but since I wasn't around for the original interviews, I am sure to find this interesting while those of you who have seen the interviews before might be intrigued to see what was going on between shots. Oscar chances-70%

Defiance-12/12: A telling of a story most people have never heard, that is something around what the tagline is but its pretty true. I had no idea what they were talking about till I looked it up a little bit. The movie is getting good reviews from the few that have seen it and looks like a really great story with some really good actors. The Oscar buzz is pretty high for this movie, so we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out, but the cast has Daniel Craig, Liev Screiber, and Jamie Bell, so I'm going to jump in and push the increase buzz button! Oscar chances-90%

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-12/19: A story about a baby born old that grows younger instead of older physically. Putting his prime mental level equal to his prime physical level as far as knowledge and experience go. Stars Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, directed by David Fincher and most likely going to be really really good backwards love story with some random world events providing the action. Oscar chances-100%

Valkyrie-12/25: Bryan Singers new movie starring Tom Cruise, Eddie Izzard, Bill Nighy, and Stephen Fry. The story follows the men behind the plot to assassinate Hitler in Nazi Germany during the war. They've got a really good cast, a director who sometimes delivers, and Tom Cruise, who I know have a lot more respect for after his showing in Tropic Thunder. Definitely came out swinging for a boost in the forum of public opinion and got it. Excellent move, and re-excited me for this movie which I wasn't sure was going to be more than a Tom Cruise brooding movie. Oscar chances-90%

There are several other movies I'll list blow just in a row with no explanation. These are ones I'm pretty sure aren't going to be hitting Oscar home runs and frankly just look funny or entertaining enough to watch randomly when there is an off week this fall and winter. Hope you like the list, feel free to comment and add any movies I might have missed or you think deserve a spot and I just might update it!

W., Sex Drive, Role Models, The Spirit, Humboldt County, Flash of Genius, City of Ember, Twilight, Yes Man, and Zack and Miri make a Porno.

I've put so many on here, that trailers would have made this page a mile long, so just go here and check out almost all the trailers and clips, many in HD you want. Enjoy!