Rejoice! It’s finally awards season. That means the speculation of what movies will get what nominations starts all over again. Despite having not seen most of the award-worthy movies that are still to come…
This is a very competitive year, one of the most of the decade. In my opinion, there have been five potential Best Picture nominees that have already been released, with 11 still waiting to be released to the public. That leaves us at 17 potential contenders for a category that can only hold 10 nominees at most.
The five possible nominees that have been released are the Marvel Studios epic “Avengers: Endgame,” the ever so controversial “Joker,” Tarantino’s ninth installment “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” the foreign film “Parasite” and Taika Waititi’s World War II satire “Jojo Rabbit.”
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Now that we’ve gotten the contenders that have already released out of the way, let’s talk about what films to look out for the last two months of the year.
“Ford v Ferrari” starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale as Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, respectively, as they try to build a racecar to beat Ferrari at the 24-hour race in France known as Le Mans. It debuted at Telluride Film Festival and has opened with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. The lesser-known film “Waves” releases that same week, with what I am hoping is wide release, as it has received a lot of praise as well.
“Marriage Story” is the biggest awards contender to release in November. Starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, it follows a couple as their marriage dwindles into a divorce. The reviews for this have been out of this world, with some people already giving the Best Actor and Actress awards to the two co-stars. This film not only seems to be a shoe in for acting categories but also Best Picture.
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The last month of the year comes with some possible big players in the awards races, starting with the double release on Dec. 13 with the fascinating true story of the 1996 Atlanta bombing “Richard Jewell” and the Adam Sandler crime drama “Uncut Gems,” which even has Sandler getting a campaign for a possible Best Actor nod. How awesome would it be to see Happy Gilmore get an Oscar?
The Sam Mendes world war one epic “1917” has been my most anticipated film for the rest of 2019 since “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” released in July, and it hits theaters on Christmas. With Roger Deakins as the cinematographer, it was already going to be a big player for awards, but after it was announced that the film is being shot in real time, and made to look like one continuous take, I am certain that it will win for Best Cinematography, and I would not be surprised to see Mendes take home a Best Director Oscar. Chalk “1917″ up as a huge player this awards season.
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” the final installment in the Skywalker saga, releases on Dec. 20 and is picking up a bit of steam for not just technical awards but also a possible Best Picture nomination. I personally think it could get one, but Disney could be having some internal conflicts when campaigning comes around. Should they go all in for Endgame or Rise of Skywalker?
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I think both pop culture phenomena have a good chance at nods and they should put in enough campaigning for both. Imagine an Oscar with a Star Wars and Avengers movie having a Best Picture nomination. Throw in a nomination for “Joker” and it’s every nerd’s dream come true. Being the nerd that I am, I would certainly love to see that.
Get those wallets ready because even though there are just two months of movie releases left, there are at least 11 films with some kind of shot at Best Picture, and once the year comes to an end, buckle up. This should be a fun and tight-knit awards season.
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