After a month long break it's time to get ready for the 83rd Academy Awards. As it stands there are still ten films that can be nominated for Best Picture, and already there are some early stand outs. "Alice In Wonderland" is not likely to get any major awards nominations, but Tim Burton's latest should easily sneak into some of the visual effects categories. Right now there are two movies that look like good potential Best Picture nominees: "Shutter Island" and "Greenberg." "Shutter Island" would make perfect sense early on even in this game. Yeah it's a horror film but it's also directed by Martin Scoresese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Both these men look like they are potential Best Director and Best Actor nominees (respectively).
The other Best Picture potential is Noah Baumbach's critically acclaimed "Greenberg." This movie has potential for nominees for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. However if there's only one nomination for this film it very well could be for Ben Stiller's remarkable out-of-character performance as the title character. Having finally found a role that shows he can be a serious actor, Stiller looks like a shoe-in for Best Actor at this point in time. Other early potential nominees is Dreamworks "How To Train Your Dragon," which is threatening to defeat Pixar's winning streak in the Best Animated Feature category.
Also of note is Disney's critically acclaimed documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty." Though the Academy ignored the last Disney doc "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers," this new movie about Disney's great revival of their animation legacy in the late 80's is getting audiences to stand up cheering after the movie is over. Chances are something more important might win the prize in the end, but this movie has the potential to get audiences behind it enough to get the nod. The race may just be starting, but it's looking oh so promising already.
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