For “Foxcatcher” Miller switches gears to the wrestling world. A shocking true crime drama, it focuses on the lives of Olympic wrestlers Mark (Channing Tatum) and David (Mark Ruffalo) Shultz and their relationship with multi-millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carrell), a prominent sponsor for USA Wrestling in the 90s.
To this point, most of the critical attention has been lavished
on Carrell’s transformative turn as du Pont, a role that required him to wear a
prosthetic nose. Co-star Mark Ruffalo could prove to be a dark horse in the awards race; sporting a different look and starring in an uncharacteristically dark drama, may draw him attention as a contender. The big performance gamble is whether Tatum can carry a drama of
this magnitude. His performance is just as vital a component to its
effectiveness. Now Open
#9 The Theory of Everything | Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking’s remarkable life and first marriage is the subject of this biopic. Based on his first wife, Jane Wilde Hawking’s memoir “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen”, this film follows their relationship as it blossomed when they were both students at Cambridge in the 1960s and continues throughout their marriage.
If you’ve seen the 2013 documentary “Hawking” you have a strong idea about the various adversities and triumphs the film will cover and the sad revelation that despite all they surmounted, their marriage didn’t have a happy ending.
#9 The Theory of Everything | Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking’s remarkable life and first marriage is the subject of this biopic. Based on his first wife, Jane Wilde Hawking’s memoir “Traveling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen”, this film follows their relationship as it blossomed when they were both students at Cambridge in the 1960s and continues throughout their marriage.
If you’ve seen the 2013 documentary “Hawking” you have a strong idea about the various adversities and triumphs the film will cover and the sad revelation that despite all they surmounted, their marriage didn’t have a happy ending.
While it’s hard to imagine this drama capturing the raw disclosure
of the moving doc, the powerful emotion of their story is a rousing cinematic
prospect. Eddie Redmayne is already garnering Oscar attention for his portrayal
of Hawking. As large of an icon as Hawking is, the first Mrs. Hawking is a
strikingly fascinating figure herself and watching them explored at the same
time is exciting. Release: Nov 26
#8 The Imitation Game |
In 2011 the script for this historical thriller earned the top spot on the
annual Black List of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood. Three years
later, it is among the heavy hitters this awards season. This biopic stars
Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, the British cryptanalyst, mathematician,
logician and computer scientist who played a key role in deciphering the Nazi’s
Enigma code which was crucial in securing the Allies victory in World War II.
The last chapter of Turing’s life would take a tragic turn when he was
prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952.
A story about Turing’s life has been in the works for a
while and after years of pre-production travails it is finally making its way
to theaters. “The Imitation Game” marks the English language directorial debut
of Morten Tyldum, who brought audiences the astounding thriller “Headhunters”.
A strong supporting cast that includes Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark
Strong and Charles Dance rounds out the recipe for something spectacular. Release
Date: Nov 28
#7 Wild | Only a
year after his Oscar winning film “Dallas Buyers Club”, Jean-Marc Vallee is
back with a follow-up that is already making waves as an awards competitor. Reese
Witherspoon stars in this adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir “Wild From Lost
to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail”, which tells the true story of her 1,100 mile solo trek to find clarity after a string of personal hardships. During her various sojourns, she reflects back on her life and through flashbacks viewers
learn what led her to make a journey of self-discovery.
After a string of commercial travails at the box office with
her romantic comedies, Witherspoon is aiming for the stripped down simplicity
of indie drama in “Wild”. Sans the glamorous hair and make-up of her usual
roles, she’s digging into something deeper here. As one of the first actresses
to successfully navigate between the worlds of big box office and critically
rewarding indies, her contribution as a trailblazer hasn’t necessarily received the credit
it deserves in recent years. As a critical comeback “Wild” is a pivotal moment
in her career and many will be watching to see how it turns out. Release Date: Dec 5
Scott has not matched the success of “Gladiator” with any of his other films and it’s a long shot this will be the one to rival it. As a sweeping piece of high drama, it is likelier to hit the mark. Its cinematography is the most distinct aspect to set it apart from similar films.
Steering away from the arid visualization of Wolfgang Peterson’s “Troy”, “Exodus” has a darker, more foreboding feel that compliments its subject matter. Chiefly fueling most of the interest in this movie is curiosity and much like “Noah”, once people actually see it, the initial buzz will decide its fate. Release Date: Dec 12
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Click here for Part 2: #15 - #10
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