10. Unbroken
Will the Academy take Angelina Jolie seriously as a director this time around? Unbroken stands a strong chance of stealing Fury‘s thunder and scoring big with the Academy – it’s a true story of American wartime heroism, focusing on the ordeal of Louis Zamperini (pictured above with Jolie), the Olympic runner taken prisoner by Japanese forces during WWII. Universal is pinning all its Oscar hopes of Unbroken, which is totally understandable – all the talent involved may be too massive for voters to ignore.
I’m predicting nominations for Best Picture, Best Cinematography (for Roger Deakins, who could finally win the category after 11 nominations), Best Adapted Screenplay (for Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson) and Best Original Score (for Alexandre Desplat). A Best Director nod for Jolie is also a strong possibility if the film is as great as early impressions suggest. I wouldn’t put any money on Jack O’Connell for Best Actor, however – consider him this year’s Suraj Sharma.
Unbroken opens December 25th.
Well, those are my picks for the ten movies opening later this year that I believe will stand the greatest chance of grasping Oscar glory. What did I miss, and what shouldn’t be here? Let us know what you think in the comments!
