A Glass of Wine at the Movies - A Look Ahead at Awards Season

The 2022 Oscars are behind us and with that we are going to look at the movies coming out in the next year that I am personally excited about and may end up having Oscar buzz. Since these are films that I am personally looking forward to seeing you may notice a few films missing from the list that are already being discussed.

These films, of course, may not end up receiving any nominations at all. It is way too early for actual predictions. This is, instead, a list of movies that I am going to ensure to see as part of my goal to watch all of the Best Picture nominees again this year.

In no particular order here is my list of the top ten potential Oscar movies of 2022.

 1. Elvis

People tend to roll their eyes when you say that a biopic is going to be nominated. The history of the Academy though tells us they do tend to nominate them a lot. They also tend to like musical biopics. This has Austin Butler playing Elvis and if rumours are true his performance is a star making one. It also has Baz Lurhmann directing which makes me more interested as I love many of his other films. 

2. Babylon

This is set in Hollywood and is rumoured to be around the time of the switch from silent films to 'talkies'. There are not many other plot details but reactions to test screenings have been positive and Damien Chazelle movies tend to create some buzz. 

3. Don't Worry Darling

Olivia Wilde's follow up to Booksmart is one I have been looking forward to since it was announced. It's described as a psychological thriller in which 'a 1950s housewife whose reality begins to crack, revealing a disturbing truth underneath'. It has the potential to be a critical and box office success due to its cast which include Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.

4. Bones and All

This is based off a novel and it sounds like it might have some horror influence so it may have a harder time getting acknowledged by the Academy. I am including it because I am definitely excited to see but it is the next film from director Luca Guadagnino. It also stars Timothee Chalamet and the last time these two worked together it resulted in a lot of Oscar nominations. 

5. My Policeman

This is adapted from the book Bethan Roberts. It's a love story of sorts and the cast is certainly buzzworthy. The dual time line (spanning 40 years) is also interesting. It revolves a man and a woman both in love with the same policeman set in a time where two men couldn't openly be together. 

6. Rustin

This tells the story of Bayard Rustin, a gay, civil rights activist, who organized the 1963 March on Washington. It stars Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin and that was enough to pique my interest.  

7. Till.

This follows the mother of Emmitt Till and the events after his death from what I have read. Not a whole lot is released just yet but the brief synopsis I could find mentions that it follows her pursuit of justice for her son and it leads to the creation of the civil rights movement. 

8. The Fabelmans

This is mostly here because it is one of the buzziest movies for this upcoming season. This is Steven Spielberg's sort of autobiographical movie about his childhood. I expect it'll get compared to Belfast a lot (Kenneth Branagh's autobiographical childhood movie) during the season. I like the cast (Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play his parents). I am intrigued to find out what the plot of this actually ends up being and what they decide to focus on.

9. Killers of the Flower Moon

This is probably the movie with the most buzz right now. It's got Leonardo DiCaprio reuniting with Martin Scorsese so that already has people's attention. This is adapted from a true crime book so the true story nature could also be a drawn. I expect this one to get plenty of nominations. 

10. I Wanna Dance With Somebody 

Another biopic on my list. This one focuses on Whitney Houston and has Naomi Ackie in the lead role. I hope this movie celebrates her amazing career and her music most of all. The Academy seems to like nominating musical biopics so I wouldn't be surprised to see Naomi Ackie up for Best Actress.

What movies do you think might be in discussions for award season? What ones are you excited to see? Let me know in the comments.