Les Miserables

Les Miserables

There are now about six weeks to go until the Oscar nominations are announced and it looks like it is going to be the most competitive year ever.

We have talked about nothing but who and what will bag a nod since September but now there really are some clear frontrunner's.

So we return to the Best Picture category to give out verdict on the movies that will be serious contenders - and there could be as many as ten movies battling it out.

Les Miserables may not have been released yet but the feedback from the secret screening over the weekend is nothing but positive.

The cast were met by a standing ovation at the end of the screening and it seems that director Tom Hooper as captured everything people love about the musical in this movie.

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman's performances have been heavily praised and it seems Hooper has produced another gem.

Les Miserables is the first film from him since The King's Speech won Best Picture and Best Director two years ago.

Lincoln is another movie that is currently in the middle of a lot of Oscar hype as it has shot up the U.S. box office in the last couple of weeks.

To say that the Academy likes a biopic picture is a bit of an understatement as so many have picked up awards in recent years.

The movie marks the return of Steven Spielberg to the director's chair and the film is set to concentrate on the latter years of Lincoln's presidency as he battles to end slavery and the Civil War.

Daniel Day Lewis takes on the central role of Abraham Lincoln and he could well go into battle for a third Best Actor Oscar.

Support for Argo is also growing as Ben Affleck is back in the director's chair for the first time since The Town.

Affleck perhaps should have already been recognised for his directing work on Gone Baby Gone and The Town but this year could just be his year.

Argo is based on true events of 1980 when the CIA undertook a secret mission to get six Americans out of Iran.

Affleck has delivered a terrific political thriller that is fast paced as well as being packed with interesting characters.

Argo has had the critics raving over the last three weeks and has really cemented Affleck as a major directing force - he could well be getting a Best Director nod as well as Best Picture.

Silver Linings Playbook is a film that has been gathering momentum since it was screened at the Toronto Film Festival - where it won the People's Choice Award.

The movie is an adaptation of the Matthew Quick novel of the same name and sees David O.Russell back in the director's chair for the first time since The Fighter.

Bradley Cooper leads the cast that also features Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.

This is such a heart-warming and delightful movie that sees the cast at their very best and Russell has delivered a story that is engaging from start to finish.

Support is also growing with Kathryn Bigelow's new picture Zero Dark Thirty while The Master took the U.S. box office by storm earlier this year.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Skyfall are the blockbuster that are most likely to be nominated - I do expect The Dark Knight Rises to miss out.

And early support for Anna Karenina has died down and this is a movie that may just well miss out.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw


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