Radical picks: 5 to consider in ’17’s first half
Oscar season doesn’t really start until the fall. But that doesn’t mean there can’t be true love for out-of-the-box movies that surface in the first half of the year.
The summer season promises to bring more traditional contenders, including director Christopher Nolan’s stunning World War II drama Dunkirk (July 21) and Kathryn Bigelow’s
Detroit (Aug. 4), about the city’s 1967 racially fueled conflict. Then the awards crush legitimately begins.
But here are some keepers that need to be remembered at Oscar-voting time:
BEST PICTURE ‘WONDER WOMAN’
Wonder Woman is more than an acclaimed superhero hit. It’s a social movement propelled by the emergence of the long-awaited female superhero, with director Patty Jenkins shattering the glass ceiling of the blockbuster boys’ club. Jenkins deserves her due, as does Gal Gadot, seemingly born to play Wonder Woman. And the Academy doubled the field for best picture (from five up to 10 possible nominees) to recognize just this type of achievement. Lasso of Truth on, Wonder Woman has its flaws. But it would be worthy and meaningful if it broke another barrier to become the first superhero movie nominated for best picture. Besides, who doesn’t want to see this group at the Oscars on March 4?
DIRECTOR JORDAN PEELE, ‘GET OUT’
Jordan Peele managed to combine real scares, laughs and a strong social message in his directorial debut, Get Out. With its seemingly impossible 99% Rotten Tomatoes score and $251.8 million in worldwide box office (the movie shot on a microbudget of $4.5 million), there are already not-so-subtle signals it has hopes, including a May DVD release party that seemed like an early awards soiree.
Horror is a tough awards sell, and Get Out’s February release date works against it, with months before voting consideration begins in earnest. But Get
Out deserves to be brought back into the discussion and Peele deserves to be in the mix for both best screenplay and director.
SUPPORTING ACTOR PATRICK STEWART, ‘LOGAN’
Logan brought a thrilling, gritty end to Hugh Jackman’s run as Wolverine in the X-Men series and consideration almost certain- ly will be paid to director James Mangold’s instant superhero classic. Jackman’s portrayal of an aging Wolverine will be overshadowed in the awards race by his upcoming role as P.T. Barnum in
The Greatest Showman (which gets an awards-friendly Christmas Day release). But Patrick Stewart’s seventh and final film outing as a mentally failing Professor Charles Xavier is a revelation that earns supporting-actor notice.
ACTOR JAMES MCAVOY, ‘SPLIT’
Split is another early release (January) and horror-thriller film, two big awards obstacles. But James McAvoy’s disturbing portrayal of Kevin Crumb and his 23 personalities is a mental masterclass, each character pulled off to perfection in M. Night Shyamalan’s film.
If Crumb had been part of a dark drama in, say, November, McAvoy would be right in the best actor mix.
ACTOR ANDY SERKIS, ‘WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES’
Put aside the debate about motion-capture performances deserving acting awards. They do. Serkis is heartbreaking and mesmerizing in his third appearance as Caesar in the final installment of the Planet of the Apes trilogy, masterfully handling Caesar’s full range of emotion, from blinding anger to subtle sadness. Academy, vote Caesar.