5. HER
Spike Jonze directs his screenplay about a lonely heartbroken man, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who falls in love with an artificially intelligent operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
Amy Adams co-stars as a flesh and blood love interest, but the emphasis is on the love story between a man, and what is essentially a robot, albeit one with a really sexy voice.
I wouldn't be surprised, given Jonze's track record, and the interesting subject matter, if this film received a writing nomination next Oscars.
4. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Marking the fifth pairing of director Martin Scorsese with star Leonardo DiCaprio (and probably not the last), The Wolf of Wall Street, is the story of the rise and fall of a real life Wall Street scumbag.
DiCaprio is surrounded by an ensemble of stellar actors including Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, and Jonah Hill.
The Academy loves Scorsese, so it's sure to receive some nominations. DiCaprio has a good shot at a nomination, and maybe finally a win after an 0-for-3 record.
3. THE COUNSELOR
The first screenplay by Cormac McCarthy, author of No Country for Old Men, and The Road, is directed by Ridley Scott, with an all-star cast including Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, and Javier Bardem.
The story involves a lawyer, played by Fassbender, who gets in too deep with drug traffickers, which may be too risque for previous Oscar voters, but the influx of younger blood into the Academy may allow for a film like The Counselor to get in.
Ridley Scott has been hit or miss in his last several endeavors, but with this cast, and a writer like McCarthy, it is surely worth a watch.
2. DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB
Matthew McConaughey is having a banner year, delivering an amazing performance in Mud earlier this year, a supporting role in the aforementioned The Wolf of Wall Street, and a metamorphic role in Dallas Buyer's Club.
McConaughey is likely to get a best actor nomination for his role as Ron Woodruff, a womanizing party animal who contracts HIV. When he has no access to medicine, Ron travels to Mexico, bringing back medication to sell at low cost to ailing AIDS patients.
Jared Leto, who plays a transvestite prostitute afflicted with AIDS, is likely to get a best supporting actor nomination.
1. GRAVITY
Alfonso Cuaron proved with 2006's Children of Men, that he can make great thinking man's sci-fi. His follow up is Gravity, which is more space survival story than strait sci-fi, but has the feel of a great futuristic space story with the tension of a thriller like Open Water.
With George Clooney and Sandra Bullock being the only two non-voice over characters, the storytelling is certainly limited, yet the visual effects give the film a grand scope that will surely not go unnoticed by the Academy when it comes to visual effects and tech category nominations.
Coupledwith the caliber of filmmaker and lead actors, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gravity on the best picture ballot, especially with the category expansion a few years ago.
