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Friday, March 29, 2024
December to be chock-full of last-minute Oscar contenders

True Grit: Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld in the Coen brothers thriller, ""True Grit.""

December to be chock-full of last-minute Oscar contenders

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced yesterday that James Franco and Anne Hathaway would co-host the Oscars Feb. 27, continuing the co-hosting precedent set last year by the dynamic duo of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. The Academy certainly chose to go in a younger direction with these hosts, seeing as the combined ages of Hathaway and Franco are still less than Martin's venerable 61 years, probably in an attempt to bring younger viewers to the notoriously long-winded ceremony. Neither Hathaway nor Franco is usually characterized as a particularly comedic actor, but even if this pair of blossoming Hollywood stars isn't as entertaining as their predecessors, Franco's presence may make for an uncommonly tension-filled evening, as there is major Best Actor buzz surrounding his portrayal of survivor Aron Ralston in ""127 Hours.""           

 

Now that the Oscars are on the horizon, films that have been biding their time and waiting for the opportune moment to hit theaters are finally opening or expanding release. December promises to be a month absolutely brimming with brilliant films. So whether you need something to look forward to over winter break or a respite from the stress of the stretch leading into finals, here are some of the most promising films this final month of the year has to offer.

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 ""127 Hours""          

 

 Early screenings of this film may have been marked by instances of audience members passing out, vomiting or leaving the theater due to the particularly intense scenes of amputation, but ""127 Hours"" isn't another torture-porn ""Saw""-knock off.

 

It is the remarkable true story of Ralston, the hiker who was trapped for five days in an isolated Utah canyon after a boulder fell on his arm. Director Danny Boyle's last film was ""Slumdog Millionaire,"" a Best Picture winner. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, calling the film inspirational and beautiful and Franco's performance one of the best of the year.

It will be interesting to see how the Academy handles the situation if Franco is a nominee as well as a host. If he loses, the rest of the show may be awkward. The audience will squirm a little and feel bad as they watch Franco pretend to be fine with it.

 

""127 Hours"" opened in select theaters in November but is still expanding throughout December.

 

""The King's Speech""

 

The British historical drama staring Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as an Austrian speech therapist who helps him overcome his speech impediment. The subject may seem dry but the film is really a vehicle for its performances, and early reviews have declared that Firth and Rush don't disappoint. Firth, nominated last year for his role in ""A Single Man,"" will be a major contender for Best Actor this year.

 

""The King's Speech"" had a limited U.S. release Nov. 26 and will also expand throughout December.

 

""Black Swan""  

 

Online,""Black Swan"" has generated buzz thanks to the lesbian sex scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis hinted at in its trailer, but don't mistake this flick for trashy exploitation. Director Darren Aronofsky's last film, ""The Wrestler,"" had Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscar nominations and likely would have garnered a Best Picture nomination if there had been 10 nominees then, as there are now. The film, billed as a psychological thriller, follows a ballet dancer (Portman) cast as the lead in a production of ""Swan Lake,"" as she finds herself in increasingly aggressive competition with her understudy (Kunis) and begins to unravel psychologically. Early reviews have been very positive and have singled out Portman's performance as particularly praiseworthy.

 

The film opens in select theaters Dec. 3.

 

""The Fighter""            

 

""The Fighter"" is widely considered a likely Best Picture nominee in the tradition of audience-favorites like ""The Blind Side"" and ""Rocky""—stories of athletic achievement paired with family drama. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as real-life boxer ""Irish"" Micky Ward and Christian Bale as his crack-addict brother who helped train him before he went pro. Bale is likely to garner his first acting nomination and some predict Wahlberg to have a shot as well.

 

""The Fighter"" opens Dec. 10.

 

""True Grit""          

 

If the trailer is any indication, ""True Grit"" looks like the Coen Brothers' true follow-up to the epic Best Picture-winning ""No Country for Old Men."" Jeff Bridges, who picked up a Best Actor Oscar last year for his portrayal of aging, alcoholic country musician ""Bad"" Blake in ""Crazy Heart,"" exudes bad-assness as Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. marshal hunting down a murderer on the run (Josh Brolin). Matt Damon rounds out the cast for extra Oscar potential.

 

The film is a remake of a classic John Wayne Western and opens Dec. 22.

 

""Blue Valentine""           

One of the films I most regret passing up while attending the Sundance Film Festival this past January was ""Blue Valentine,"" but luckily the Weinstein Company picked it up and is finally releasing it this month, just in time for Oscar consideration. The film follows a married couple, played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and constructs a portrait of their marriage by shifting between different time periods with a series of vignettes.

 

The premise may sound similar to last summer's indie rom-com hit ""(500) Days of Summer,"" but light-hearted fare this is not. The film was at the center of controversy this fall when the MPAA awarded it a crippling NC-17 rating due to an emotionally intense sex scene. The producers are currently in the midst of appealing the rating but the outcome, especially if the Weinsteins are unwilling to make cuts, is far from certain. The film had great buzz coming out of Sundance and may nab Gosling his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor after 2006's ""Half Nelson.""

 

Some even see ""Blue Valentine"" as an underdog Best Picture nominee, so make sure to seek it out when it gets released Dec. 31.

 

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