After a surprisingly strong summer at the multiplexes, it's once again time to turn our direction to the "prestige" films vying for Oscar consideration. But first, it's worth mentioning the contenders that have already been released this year.
During the same weekend that "Moonlight" scooped a shocking Best Picture win, Jordan Peele gave us an early preview of the next awards race with "
Get Out". This horror-comedy opened to raves from critics and chart-topping box office numbers, with audiences praising its astute satire about race in America.
Towards the end of the summer, another film about race relations made its own Best Picture claims in the form of Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit". But while some praised raw intensity of this true story, others criticized its depiction of brutality against African-Americans and questioned Bigelow's intentions as a white director.
With the bona fide "genre" style of "Get Out" and controvery surrounding "Detroit", it remains to be seen whether the Academy will ultimately embrace them. But there was one summer film that emerged with serious potential to go all the way. Namely, Christopher Nolan delivered another astonishing masterwork to his filmography with "
Dunkirk", a truly nerve-wracking cinematic experience. You can expect Warner Bros. to pull out all the stops to get Nolan his first Best Director nomination to go along with a likely Best Picture nod.
Looking ahead, "Dunkirk" will surely face some stiff competition however, as evidenced by the reactions to the recent Venice and Telluride premieres. And in a few days, the Toronto International Film Festival gets under way with even more possibilities to consider. With so many Oscar hopefuls, it can be hard to keep track of the race. But if you dig deep enough, you can see the Best Picture field starting to take shape. With that in mind, here are the trailers for the major films to keep an eye on over the next 6 months:
