Despite To The Wonder being Terrence Malick's worst critically received film to date, the director will still manage to receive a decent amount of support from the always Pro-Malick Academy members. If To The Wonder has any chance at a nomination, it would have to come in the form of Best Cinematography. Although a majority of critics spoke negatively of the film, just about everyone agreed that To The Wonder was beautifully shot by Malick's go-to cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki. As a close friend and co-author of this week's segments, Greg Rouleau has pointed out that Malick's feature also carries the distinction of being the last film ever reviewed by the late-great Roger Ebert.
Director Sam Raimi released the highly anticipated prequel, Oz the Great and Powerful, back in March. As the first major blockbuster of the year, the film played to mixed reviews but a few technological achievements. While I wouldn't bet the bank on it, Oz the Great and Powerful still has an outside chance at receiving some Oscar-attention in any of the following areas: Production Design, Costume Design and Makeup. Furthermore, April's release, Oblivion, stands as a long-shot in the Visual Effects category as well.
This summer kicked off in grand style with Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. Like many early-year releases, the film played to mixed reviews. However, The Great Gatsby still has potential for Oscar recognition in the Costume Design and Production Design races. Other summer blockbusters such as World War Z, Man of Steel, Iron Man 3 and Star Trek Into Darkness each have some life the Visual Effects, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing categories.
The summer also has become the perfect platform for animated features to hit theatres. This summer we've seen the release of potential Oscar-Nominated films in the Best Animated Feature race such as sequels Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University, as well as the long-shot Epic.
One of Greg's favorite films of the year is Richard Linklater's Before Midnight. But before any of us can simply disregard the indie relationship comedy as a biased selection, Before Midnight has been remarkably lauded by nearly every critic. Therefore, the third installment of Linklater's trilogy could find itself as a dark-horse contender in the Best Picture category. Although that high of a recognition seems far less likely, maybe a better fate would be Julie Delpy's inclusion in the Best Actress race.
Finally, closing out the first-half of 2013 Oscar discussion is a film that both Greg and I had in our Top 5 Movies of the year (so far). Jeff Nichols' Mud is without question a stellar film that's both critically acclaimed (98% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a solid Oscar contender in the Best Picture category. Since it's an early-year release, its chances of making the final cut for the Academy's biggest honor hinges on the quality of many late-year releases. It's a film that will stick in voters minds if the rest of the pack fails to separate itself in the latter half of 2013. Mud's Matthew McConaughey also has a fair shot of receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the title character's somewhat-debated leading vs. supporting turn.
*** Be sure to stay tuned all this week for a preview of 2013's second-half releases with serious chances at some Oscar's recognition.
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