Gravity premieres in Venice... It's out of this world!

With seven years since Cuaron's last film, the extremely good Children of Men, I was worried that Gravity had the potential to be... bad. My fears are gone, since reviews for his latest seem to be even better than Children of Men!

Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
★★★★★...With nothingness pressing in on all sides, in a place where the grip of someone else’s hand is all that keeps you from the void, life really does seem like a miracle. (link to review)

Dallas Buyers Club trailer!

Blue Jasmine (2013)- Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown (3½ Stars)

...and the winner of Best Cast at this year's SAG awards will be Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. Well, I wish it could be the winner. Blue Jasmine is a film with great dramatic talent and comedic dialogue, especially with Cate Blanchett's leading performance that will rattle your mind.

2014 Oscar Predictions: Best Supporting Actress

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler
The buzz has been strong on this since... forever. It's an Oprah performance, that's enough to turn the heads of the Academy.

2. Meryl Streep, August, Osage County
She won so recently, and there's Oprah to reward too. Then again, this is a very meaty part that many people think is actually a leading role, so... I won't be surprised if something happens.

3. Vanessa Redgrave, Foxcatcher
Foxcatcher matches the perfect Oscar meld for me: A film with a lot less pre-release buzz, surging into play by a director that has yet to win, but is pretty well-regarded. Yeah, that sounds like Foxcatcher. This is a real outside shot, but if Sony Pictures Classics plays their cards right, they might get something big with Foxcatcher, and drag Vanessa Redgrave along with them.

4. Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
Though I liked Fruivale Station (not nearly as much as others), I found Octavia Spencer's work to be superb. Oscar worthy, especially since it is better than her work on The Help. She's got Harvey Weinstein helping her too, so I think a nomination is good. A win? Nah, Harvey has Oprah to support too.

5. Cameron Diaz, The Counselor/Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Both sights to be seen. Right now I'm split, since both films are not making festival appearances, I'm judging off what people think of the trailers. Diaz seems to have a meatier part, but Lawrence seems to be going on a hot streak of sorts, so... we'll see.

Check back soon for screenplay predictions!

Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)- Not the year's best serving (1½ Stars)

Now let me say this: I like the 4-star rating system. It allows a certain amount of lenience to film ratings, without being too specific. Although 1½ Stars doesn't sound too nice, that's the most that The Butler deserves, star-wise.

There's a joke/idiom/old quote that reads like this:
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."
In this situation, I am the second mouse, mainly because I did not get this cheese-fest of a film. The Butler (ahem, Lee Daniels The Butler) is a film that sounds like a good story, but is not a good film, primarily due to lackluster performances, bizarre style (Kuleshov Effect?), and jarring overlength.

The Zero Theorem poster.

The film's poster looks pretty awesome, and I'm game for anything Christoph Waltz does that is not The Green Hornet.

First trailer for The Book Thief.

In my Iowan school district, it is a requirement to read The Book Thief for school. It's not a perfect book, but is a masterpiece compared to the trailer. Perhaps it will be good.

Parkland trailer.

This year's dark horse contender is Parkland. In classic Oscar tradition, this film is directed by a newbie director Peter Landesman, and is also having a premiere at Toronto (and Venice). So far, it looks pretty good, with a SAG-friendly cast that doesn't look baity at all. Check it out!

Blue is the Warmest Color trailer.

Although this trailer is in French (without subtitles), I must admit that this film looks really good. There is a nice mix of what feels like classic style and modern substance. I, however, will not see this film for awhile: It's been rated NC-17!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty trailer.

Another star-turned-director, Ben Stiller headlines a cast that reminds me a lot of SNL. This film is centerpiecing at the New York Film Festival, so I expect good things.