Movies: Who are the early 2019 Oscar Contenders?

Say Hey Kid

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Dec 10, 2007
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A Star Is Born - Best Picture, Best Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Actor (Bradley Cooper),

Roma - Best Picture, Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Actress (Yalitza Aparicio)

Green Book - Best Picture, Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen), Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Best Picture, Best Director (Marielle Heller), Best Actress (Melissa McCarthy), Best Supporting Actor (Richard E. Grant)

The Favourite - Best Picture, Best Actress/Supporting Actress (categories not determined yet for Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz)

First Man - Best Picture, Best Actor (Ryan Gosling)

Black Panther - Best Picture
 

Jussi

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Feb 28, 2002
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Since Sony moved Stan & Ollie from a 2019 release to this year, it seems they wanted Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly to qualify for Oscar considerations.
 

Trap Jesus

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Feb 13, 2012
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Haven't really heard much buzz for Best Picture about any movie that has come out yet. Not uncommon with most awards contenders coming out near the end of the year, but usually it feels like something that came out in the first 2/3 of the year would squeak in.

General impression is that it's been a weak year so far. At the same time though, if Black Panther actually does manage to get nominated... yikes. I admittedly just can never get into any comic book movies, but I tried to give it a fair shot, and I just don't get it. Like, I understand how the black community got behind that movie, but I don't understand the sentiment that it was an actually good or well-crafted movie. I look at something like Mission Impossible, and I could 100% understand the appeal behind that getting nominated in a weak year as an action movie, but I haven't heard any buzz around that.

Really looking forward to The Favourite, although I have to wonder with how absurd Lanthimos' films are (I didn't even need to see the trailer to tell you it was going to be crazy), how well that will play into its chances of winning.
 

kihei

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Jun 14, 2006
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Roma is getting the kinds of buzz that suggest it might even be a contender in the the main event, not just in the "foreign language" category.

After TIFF, the Hollywood movies with the most Oscar buzz were: The Green Book; A Star Is Born; and First Man, none of which in terms of expectations wets my gills in the least. With the exception of The Green Book, that was pretty close to the expected favourites before TIFF. Could be a weak year for English-language film. Hope the 30 people who saw Leave No Trace mount a campaign for it. Both leads--Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster--deserve nominations in the acting categories. A story about a father and nearly adult daughter living in the wilderness, Leave No Trace is easily the best English-language movie that I have seen this year.

Haven't seen it yet, but pretty sure Shoplifters is a lock for the "foreign language" category.
 
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HanSolo

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Apr 7, 2008
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Hezoos Krist that's not even the best Marvel film of the year.
Not that I think Marvel will ever get a Best Picture nominee let alone winner, but at least Black Panther made some kind of social statement. Not enough to make BP even close to sniffing the Oscars but certainly closer than Infinity War.
 
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kihei

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Actors whose performances I have seen so far who deserve consideration (none of whom seem to be getting any):

Ben Mendelsohn—The Land of Steady Habits
Joaquin Phoenix—You Were Never Really Here
John C. Reilly—The Sisters Brothers
Ben Foster—Leave No Trace
Ethan Hawke—First Reformed

Yalitza Aparicio--Roma
Thomasin McKenzie--Leave No Trace
Emily Blunt--A Quiet Place

 

Say Hey Kid

The best all around player ever
Dec 10, 2007
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Actors whose performances I have seen so far who deserve consideration (none of whom seem to be getting any):

Ben Mendelsohn—The Land of Steady Habits
Joaquin Phoenix—You Were Never Really Here
John C. Reilly—The Sisters Brothers
Ben Foster—Leave No Trace
Ethan Hawke—First Reformed

Yalitza Aparicio--Roma
Thomasin McKenzie--Leave No Trace
Emily Blunt--A Quiet Place
You could work for Vegas picking the losers. ;) There are actually coolers who are so bad luck they are sent to sit at tables where a player is too hot. I'm not kidding.
 

Puck

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Jun 10, 2003
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Well the majority of films nominated for the last Oscars (Best Picture) had not been released yet at this time of the year. (not counting early film festival viewings)

I predicted early that Three Billboards would win last year. I lost that bet.

I think I might hold off on quick predictions...
 

kihei

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Jun 14, 2006
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You cannot be serious.
Of course, I can be. So not for the first time, we have wildly divergent opinions. Nothing new there.

I thought Mendelsohn was excellent. He plays a particular kind of f*** up perfectly. He's not mean or evil; he just doesn't think things through much. To use a line from my review, he is more a "stick the fork in the toaster and see what happens" f*** up. He makes the kind of decisions that to him feel worth trying at the time but are ultimately bad in retrospect. That's a very specific type of character, one who is mostly clueless about learning from his mistakes, and Mendelsohn with his air of being ever so slightly on a different wavelength from that of those around him really nailed that character in my opinion.
 

MMC

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May 11, 2014
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Does Infinity War have a shot at Best Picture? I know next to nothing about how the Oscars work so don't laugh too much pls
 

Outofbodyinhungary

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Aug 6, 2018
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I think stallone could get a nomination if his performance in creed 2 is good, the movie honestly looks better than the first and he was nominated for his performance there. I believe Michael b Jordan will get a nomination with either BP or Creed
 

Puck

Ninja
Jun 10, 2003
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Does Infinity War have a shot at Best Picture? I know next to nothing about how the Oscars work so don't laugh too much pls
I think the Academy was talking about introducing a new category, Most Popular Picture. I believe they dialed that back, too many thought it would dilute the Best Picture award. Black Panther was thought to have been the thought behind creating this idea. Infinity War would have had a good shot at this category too. I don't think the Marvel Universe films would have a chance at the more serious Best Picture award. One argument is they win all the money anyway, it's enough, they should be happy without a nomination. (they win the box office vote $$$)
 

Ainec

Panetta was not racist
Jun 20, 2009
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Toni Collette for best actress

since 2015 these are the best films for me:
Mad Max, The Wailing, Moonlight, Arrival, The Handmaiden, Get Out, Blade Runner 2049, Burning, Hereditary

2014 was a great year though

but 4 years 9 films and only 3 best picture noms. I don't see why foreign films get snubbed so hard
 

xtra

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May 19, 2002
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Black panther will get a nomination. They have 10 nomination spots open if I’m not wrong and I bet they want to avoid another #oscarssowhite hashtag.

With that said though it is a good movie and the cultural significance to African Americans is enough to get a nomination.

I bet we will say the same things about captain marvel also
 

Trap Jesus

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Feb 13, 2012
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Black panther will get a nomination. They have 10 nomination spots open if I’m not wrong and I bet they want to avoid another #oscarssowhite hashtag.

With that said though it is a good movie and the cultural significance to African Americans is enough to get a nomination.

I bet we will say the same things about captain marvel also
Considering that it looks to be a weak year and considering that short-lived announcement about the "popular best picture" or whatever that was, I'd be shocked if it wasn't nominated.
 

discostu

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Considering that it looks to be a weak year and considering that short-lived announcement about the "popular best picture" or whatever that was, I'd be shocked if it wasn't nominated.

It seem like things are lined up for BP to land a nomination. The movie did a lot right for a popcorn movie that a best picture nomination doesn't seem absurd. It was well made all around, and delivered a coherent theme that it took seriously.

What's unfortunate is that if it does get nominated, it gets a perception that by way of being the only comic book movie to get nominated, that it is being considered as the best comic book movie of all time, which isn't the case. It really is about timing. But, that type of perception ignites strong opinions from fan bases that are quick to defend their favourites in the genre.

If Black Panther doesn't get nominated (which is very much a possibility), it would raise the question if there would ever be a comic book movie that could win over the academy.
 
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Bit wary about A Star Is Born at first but it got rave reviews on RT and seems to be highly received. Obvious Oscar candidate so far.
 

Rebels57

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Does Infinity War have a shot at Best Picture? I know next to nothing about how the Oscars work so don't laugh too much pls

No chance. Comic-book/Action movies rarely get any consideration. They typically get technical nominations only, just as Best Visual Effects.
 
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