{"id":10176,"date":"2020-12-23T15:06:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T14:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/?p=10176"},"modified":"2020-12-24T15:17:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T14:17:22","slug":"usa-oscars-2021-a-guide-to-the-top-45-movies-in-the-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.queerlion.it\/en\/usa-oscars-2021-a-guide-to-the-top-45-movies-in-the-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Usa: Oscars 2021, A Guide to the Top 45 Movies in the Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Feb. 20 Oscars ceremony ended a shortened awards season, we had no idea what we know now: that the following awards season would be much longer because of the pandemic that shut down theaters and screening rooms worldwide, disrupting release schedules and leaving voters to struggle with their computers, viewing links and two-factor authentication. Many tentpoles were pushed to 2021, leaving streamers like Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+ and HBO Max to prove that all the other great films don’t need to be seen in theaters, as the Academy loosened its exhibition requirement. With 12 potential contenders \u2014 including Spike Lee’s\u00a0Da 5 Bloods<\/em>, David Fincher’s\u00a0Mank<\/em>, George Clooney’s\u00a0The Midnight Sky<\/em>\u00a0and Aaron Sorkin’s\u00a0The Trial of the Chicago 7<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Netflix in particular has a better chance than ever to earn the top prize it’s been eyeing for years.<\/p>\n

Festival favorites like\u00a0First Cow<\/em>,\u00a0Minari<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Nomadland<\/em>\u00a0also stand out in a year in which smaller films earned big attention. Studio heavyweights like\u00a0News of the World<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Tenet<\/em>, however, could still fend off the indies and the streamers. Or perhaps after this long and arduous year, Academy voters will favor lighter fare like\u00a0Palm Springs<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Soul<\/em>. As the season finally begins in earnest,\u00a0THR<\/em>\u00a0looks at the 45 films hoping to make the best out of what could be the strangest Oscars race ever. Fire up the laptops!<\/p>\n

Ammonite<\/strong>\u00a0NEON<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Nov. 13, 2020<\/p>\n

Oscar winner Kate Winslet and four-time nominee Saoirse Ronan lead this reserved period drama about British paleontologist Mary Anning (Winslet) and her romantic relationship with geologist Charlotte Murchison.<\/p>\n

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm<\/strong>\u00a0AMAZON<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Oct. 23, 2020<\/p>\n

Fourteen years after his first film became a box office smash (and earned an Oscar nom for adapted screenplay), Sacha Baron Cohen’s Kazakhstani journalist Borat Sagdiyev returns to a politically divided United States \u2014 this time with his scene-stealing 15-year-old daughter, Tutar (Bulgarian breakout Maria Bakalova).<\/p>\n

Cherry<\/strong>\u00a0APPLE TV+<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 26, 2021<\/p>\n

Avengers: Endgame\u00a0<\/em>directors Anthony and Joe Russo ditch comic book heroes for gritty realism with this adaptation of Nico Walker’s autobiographical novel in which an Army vet (Spider-Man<\/em>‘s Tom Holland) struggles with PTSD and addiction before turning to bank robbery.<\/p>\n

Da 5 Bloods<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0June 12, 2020<\/p>\n

Spike Lee’s latest drama follows four Black veterans who return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen leader (Chadwick Boseman) and the treasure they buried together during the war. In addition to Boseman’s supporting performance, the film features a best actor contender in Delroy Lindo.<\/p>\n

Emma<\/strong>\u00a0FOCUS FEATURES<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 21, 2020<\/p>\n

Photographer and music video director Autumn de Wilde makes her feature debut with this colorful and charming adaptation that breathes fresh life into Jane Austen’s classic novel.\u00a0The Queen’s Gambit\u00a0<\/em>star Anya Taylor-Joy plays the eponymous character, who can’t help but meddle in the affairs of her family and friends.<\/p>\n

The Father<\/strong>\u00a0SONY PICTURES CLASSICS<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 18, 2020<\/p>\n

Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman impressed Sundance audiences with their performances in writer-director Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his acclaimed, award-winning stage play about an aging man and his daughter who must come to terms with his dementia and memory loss.<\/p>\n

First Cow<\/strong>\u00a0A24<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0March 6, 2020<\/p>\n

The latest feature from indie darling Kelly Reichardt \u2014 which competed for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and earned four Gotham Award nominations \u2014 follows an unlikely partnership between an American cook and a Chinese immigrant who hope to find fortune in the lawless Oregon Territory.<\/p>\n

The Forty-Year-Old Version<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Oct. 9, 2020<\/p>\n

Radha Blank’s semiautobiographical comedy \u2014 in which the New York playwright stars as a New York playwright named Radha turning to hip-hop to find her artistic voice \u2014 was a hit at Sundance, winning the directing award. The Sundance Institute also honored Blank with this year’s Vanguard Award.<\/p>\n

French Exit<\/strong>\u00a0SONY PICTURES CLASSICS<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 12, 2021<\/p>\n

Despite a February release date, this dark comedy had a world premiere at the New York Film Festival in September, where it gained early buzz for Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as a New York heiress who flees to Paris with her son (Lucas Hedges), her cat and the pitiful fortune she has left.<\/p>\n

Greyhound<\/strong>\u00a0APPLE TV+<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0July 10, 2020<\/p>\n

Tom Hanks wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of C.S. Forester’s novel\u00a0The Good Shepherd<\/em>, in which he also stars as a U.S. naval commander leading an escort of Allied ships across the Atlantic to protect a merchant ship convoy from German U-boats in 1942.<\/p>\n

Herself<\/strong>\u00a0AMAZON<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Jan. 24, 2021<\/p>\n

Clare Dunne co-wrote and stars in Phyllida Lloyd’s drama about a single mother who struggles to build a comfortable life for herself \u2014 a fleeting achievement that is sidelined after her abusive ex-husband sues for custody of their children.<\/p>\n

Hillbilly Elegy<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Nov. 11, 2020<\/p>\n

Ron Howard’s adaptation of J.D. Vance’s controversial memoir \u2014 in which he tracks his journey from Appalachia to Yale Law \u2014 wasn’t a hit with critics, but Netflix audiences embraced it once it premiered on the streamer. Academy voters might be swayed by star performances from previous Oscar nominees Amy Adams and Glenn Close.<\/p>\n

I’m Thinking of Ending Things<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Sept. 4, 2020<\/p>\n

Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette and David Thewlis anchor this psychological horror film. Written and directed by Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman, the darkly comic movie features a woman traveling to meet her boyfriend’s family despite misgivings about their relationship.<\/p>\n

I’m Your Woman<\/strong>\u00a0AMAZON<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 4, 2020<\/p>\n

Julia Hart directs this ’70s-set neo-noir starring\u00a0The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel<\/em>‘s Rachel Brosnahan as a woman who goes on the run with her baby after her husband betrays his business partner. The stylish crime thriller features a strong supporting performance from Marsha Stephanie Blake.<\/p>\n

The Invisible Man<\/strong>\u00a0UNIVERSAL<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 24, 2020<\/p>\n

This modern retelling of the Universal monster classic, from\u00a0Get Out\u00a0<\/em>producer Jason Blum, stars Elisabeth Moss as a domestic abuse survivor whose presumably dead ex-husband returns from her past to taunt her in chillingly supernatural ways.<\/p>\n

Judas and the Black Messiah<\/strong>\u00a0WARNER BROS.<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0TBA<\/p>\n

Previous Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya stars as activist Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, in this drama about the FBI’s infiltration of the political organization that resulted in Hampton’s assassination in 1969.<\/p>\n

The King of Staten Island<\/strong>\u00a0UNIVERSAL<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0June 12, 2020<\/p>\n

Pete Davidson plays a fictionalized version of himself in Judd Apatow’s comedy (which he co-wrote with Davidson and Dave Sirus) about a wayward 20-something who must find purpose in his life \u2014 a realization sparked when his mother, a 9\/11 widow, becomes engaged to a firefighter.<\/p>\n

Let Them All Talk<\/strong>\u00a0HBO MAX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 10, 2020<\/p>\n

Steven Soderbergh directs this quirky comedy about a celebrated novelist (Meryl Streep) who convinces her estranged college friends (Candice Bergen and Dianne Wiest) and her nephew (Lucas Hedges) to join her on a transatlantic cruise.<\/p>\n

The Life Ahead<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Nov. 6, 2020<\/p>\n

Film icon Sophia Loren, a 1961 Oscar winner for\u00a0Two Women<\/em>, returns to the screen for the first time in a decade. In this Italian drama directed by her son Edoardo Ponti, Loren stars as a Holocaust survivor who forms a bond with a 12-year-old Senegalese boy (Ibrahima Gueye) in their seaside village.<\/p>\n

The Little Things<\/strong>\u00a0WARNER BROS.<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Jan. 29, 2021<\/p>\n

John Lee Hancock’s crime thriller boasts three Oscar winners in its cast, with Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as two California cops \u2014 a Kern County deputy and a Los Angeles detective \u2014 who join forces to hunt down a serial killer played by Jared Leto.<\/p>\n

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Nov. 25, 2020<\/p>\n

George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play boasts emotional, over-the-top performances from Oscar winner Viola Davis (whose previous win was for\u00a0Fences<\/em>, another Wilson adaptation) and Chadwick Boseman (in his final role) as blues musicians who spar during a heated session in a Chicago recording studio.<\/p>\n

Malcolm & Marie<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 5, 2021<\/p>\n

Euphoria<\/em>\u00a0creator Sam Levinson shot this black-and-white drama during the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantined with his cast and crew. John David Washington and Zendaya star as a director and his girlfriend who see their relationship tested after the premiere of his latest movie.<\/p>\n

Mank<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Nov. 13, 2020<\/p>\n

The Academy loves to celebrate films that celebrate Hollywood. David Fincher’s drama about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, who won an Oscar alongside Orson Welles for\u00a0Citizen Kane<\/em>, is both a tribute to one of the greatest American films ever made and a critique of the Hollywood studio system.<\/p>\n

The Mauritanian<\/strong>\u00a0STX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 19, 2021<\/p>\n

From director Kevin Macdonald, an Oscar winner for the documentary\u00a0One Day in September<\/em>, comes this true story about Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Salahi (Tahar Rahim), who was held without charge from 2002 to 2016. Two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley play the American attorneys committed to bringing his case to justice.<\/p>\n

The Midnight Sky<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 11, 2020<\/p>\n

After a deadly global event vanquishes the world’s population, the sole surviving adult must stop the crew of a space expedition from completing their return to Earth. Two-time Oscar winner George Clooney pulls triple duty as director, producer and star, alongside co-stars Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone and previous nominees Felicity Jones and Demi\u00e1n Bichir.<\/p>\n

Minari<\/strong>\u00a0A24<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 12, 2021<\/p>\n

Steven Yeun stars in this moving drama from writer-director Lee Isaac Chung \u2014 which earned both the grand jury prize and the audience award at Sundance \u2014 \u00adabout a Korean American family that settles as farmers in small-town Arkansas in pursuit of their American dream.<\/p>\n

The Nest<\/strong>\u00a0IFC FILMS<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Sept. 18, 2020<\/p>\n

Jude Law and Carrie Coon both earned Gotham Award noms for this marital drama, written and directed by Sean Durkin, about a British businessman who uproots his American wife and son to settle in a foreboding estate in the English countryside, only to see his career and relationships slowly crumble.<\/p>\n

Never Rarely Sometimes Always<\/strong>\u00a0FOCUS FEATURES<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0March 13, 2020<\/p>\n

Newcomer Sidney Flanigan leads this emotional drama from writer-director Eliza Hittman, playing a teenager who embarks on a risky trip to New York City with her cousin to obtain an abortion after being denied the care she seeks in her rural Pennsylvania hometown.<\/p>\n

News of the World<\/strong>\u00a0UNIVERSAL<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 25, 2020<\/p>\n

Tom Hanks plays a Civil War vet who travels the country reading the news to small-town residents in this Western from Paul Greengrass. But his encounter with a young girl (Helena Zengel) raised by the Kiowa people and now destined to be returned to her white family has him revisiting his own loss and sense of home.<\/p>\n

Nomadland<\/strong>\u00a0SEARCHLIGHT<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 4, 2020<\/p>\n

Two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand could earn a third trophy for Chlo\u00e9 Zhao’s drama \u2014 which earned the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival and the People’s Choice Award at TIFF \u2014 about a woman who traverses the Midwest in a van during the Great Recession.<\/p>\n

On the Rocks<\/strong>\u00a0A24\/APPLE TV+<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Oct. 10, 2020<\/p>\n

Rashida Jones stars in Sofia Coppola’s breezy comedy about a Manhattan woman who enlists her wealthy playboy father (frequent Coppola star Bill Murray) to help her track her husband (Marlon Wayans), whom she is convinced is having an affair.<\/p>\n

One Night in Miami\u00a0<\/strong>AMAZON<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 25, 2020<\/p>\n

Oscar winner Regina King’s directorial debut follows Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke during an evening in 1964 in which the four famous men discuss art, politics and revolution \u2014 all on the eve of Clay’s conversion to Islam.<\/p>\n

Palm Springs<\/strong>\u00a0NEON\/HULU<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0July 10, 2020<\/p>\n

Stuck in the desert for a destination wedding, two single guests (Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti) find themselves instantly attracted to each other in this romantic comedy that gained buzz at Sundance. But what might have been a one-night romance quickly becomes complicated when the pair discover they are caught in a never-ending time loop.<\/p>\n

The Personal History of David Copperfield<\/strong>\u00a0SEARCHLIGHT<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Aug. 28, 2020<\/p>\n

Veep<\/em>\u00a0creator Armando Iannucci brings his fast-paced and biting comic style to this irreverent adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic. Dev Patel stars in the title role and leads an impressive ensemble that includes Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw and Peter Capaldi.<\/p>\n

Pieces of a Woman<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Jan. 7, 2021<\/p>\n

After a botched home birth, a woman is left to grieve for her lost child while her family encourages her to face the midwife, accused of criminal negligence, in court. Korn\u00e9l Mundrucz\u00f3’s gripping drama had its premiere at Venice, where star Vanessa Kirby won the Volpi Cup for best actress.<\/p>\n

The Prom<\/strong>\u00a0NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 4, 2020<\/p>\n

Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of the 2018 Tony-nominated Broadway musical comedy stars Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman and Andrew Rannells as self-centered actors who travel to rural Indiana for a noble cause: to help a teenage lesbian who was barred from taking her girlfriend to prom. Kerry Washington and Keegan-Michael Key round out the starry ensemble.<\/p>\n

Promising Young Woman\u00a0<\/strong>FOCUS FEATURES<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 25, 2020<\/p>\n

From writer-director Emerald Fennell \u2014 a former showrunner on\u00a0Killing Eve<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 this envelope-pushing black comedy stars Carey Mulligan as a med school dropout who seeks out predatory men to expose them to their own toxic masculinity. A hit at Sundance, the #MeToo satire will surely inspire countless think pieces between now and Oscar night.<\/p>\n

Soul<\/strong>\u00a0DISNEY<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 25, 2020<\/p>\n

Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Angela Bassett and Phylicia Rashad lend their voices to the latest feature from Disney and Pixar, revolving around a middle-school music teacher and jazz pianist who, after an unexpected accident, finds his soul separated from his body. Entering a heavenly world where souls in training prepare to be assigned to human bodies, he must find his way back to Earth before his body dies without him.<\/p>\n

Sound of Metal<\/strong>\u00a0AMAZON<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Nov. 20, 2020<\/p>\n

A heavy-metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) experiences sudden hearing loss, an incident that threatens the sobriety he struggled to maintain. In addition to Ahmed’s committed performance, the film’s creative use of sound should have an impact on voters.<\/p>\n

Supernova<\/strong>\u00a0BLEECKER STREET<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Jan. 29, 2021<\/p>\n

Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci star in this romantic drama as Sam and Tusker, respectively. When the latter is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, the couple of 20 years travel across England to the country’s Lake District in an effort to spend the time they have left together.<\/p>\n

Tenet<\/strong>\u00a0WARNER BROS.<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Aug. 26, 2020<\/p>\n

After many pandemic-related delays, Christopher Nolan’s reality-bending thriller, starring John David Washington, earned $359 million at the global box office \u2014 one of the few titles on this list to have a traditional wide release. That could give the film a boost at the Oscars despite Nolan’s fresh feud with Warner Bros.<\/p>\n

The Trial of the Chicago 7\u00a0<\/strong>NETFLIX<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Sept. 25, 2020<\/p>\n

Aaron Sorkin helmed this ensemble-led drama, which depicts the trial of anti-war activists arrested for inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention. Sacha Baron Cohen, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eddie Redmayne and Jeremy Strong are all contenders in the supporting actor category.<\/p>\n

The United States vs. Billie Holiday<\/strong>\u00a0PARAMOUNT<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Feb. 12, 2021<\/p>\n

Lee Daniels directs this biopic, scripted by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Andra Day plays the drug-addled blues icon, who has an affair with the undercover agent (Trevante Rhodes) targeting her as part of a federal sting operation.<\/p>\n

Wild Mountain Thyme\u00a0<\/strong>BLEECKER STREET<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 11, 2020<\/p>\n

John Patrick Shanley, who won an Oscar for writing\u00a0Moonstruck<\/em>, directs this drama based on his play\u00a0Outside Mullingar<\/em>, the story of an Irish clan thrown into turmoil after its patriarch announces that he will leave the family farm to his American nephew.<\/p>\n

The World to Come\u00a0<\/strong>BLEECKER STREET<\/em><\/p>\n

RELEASE DATE<\/strong>\u00a0Dec. 12, 2020<\/p>\n

Vanessa Kirby, Katherine Waterston, Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott star as two couples facing hardship on the American frontier in the 19th century. The film premiered at Venice, where it won the Queer Lion award<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> by Tyler Coates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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