13 Oscar Contenders for '13

Well, we swung and totally missed out on the festivities of the 2012 Oscars... Some movie won, there was award show banter, and people were happy or sad about the winners. There. We didn't miss much... However, we do apologize whole-heartily for not covering the Oscars, as well as we should have. After all, we are, oh yeah, A MOVIE BLOG. Le sigh.

That being said, out with the old, in with the new! It's time to look forward and look forward we will. While the Oscar season may seem to be far off in the distance, it's never too early to think about what films are contenders to snatch up those weird gold, naked-men statues.

Do yourself a favor and WATCH THIS FILM!!!

After all, if we didn't cover the Oscars over the summer, you'd be bogged down by the latest superhero flick or mindless action movie... Not that there's anything wrong with that, just... Sometimes, a breath of high-brow film making is a sweet, sweet thing.

Like in years past, I have compiled a list of films that could be contenders in the upcoming Academy Awards. While my track record is less than stellar... these are films that should at least be kept tabs on. Even though some of the main Oscar buzz won't come until October or November at the earliest, again, it's never too early to look forward to these Oscar-esque films!

Here is a list of 13 films that should be contenders for the 2013 Academy Awards...

The Contenders:

To Rome with Love
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin, Penelope Cruz
Release Date: 22 June 2012

Savages
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Blake Lively, Uma Thurman, Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch
Release Date: 6 July 2012

The Master
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern 
Release Date:12 October 2012

couldn't find a pic of The Master... So here's Amy Adams. You're welcome.

Gravity
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Starring: George Clooney, Sandra Bullock
Release Date: 21 November 2012

Like 2001 but not.

The Silver Lining Playbook
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence !!!!!!!!!!!! Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Chris Tucker
Release Date: 21 November 2012

WAIT? A REASON TO PUT IN A JENNIFER LAWRENCE PIC???

Hyde Park on the Hudson
Director: Roger Mitchell
Starring: Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Laura Linney
Release Date: 7 December 2012

Bill Murray telling the world Garfield was still a mistake.

Les Miserables
Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Russell Crowe, Sasha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter
Release Date: 14 December 2012

oh... hi Hugh...

Zero Dark Thirty (previously titled: Kill Bin Laden)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Chris Pratt
Release Date: 17 December 2012

Kathryn Bigelow being awesome. 'Nuff said.

Life of Pi
Director: Ang Lee
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Gerard Depardeiu, Irrfan
Release Date: 21 December 2012

Will this be trippy? You betcha.

The Great Gatsby
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher
Release Date: 25 December 2012

Any time Carey Mulligan can be on this site is a good time...

Lincoln
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jared Harris, Sally Field, Jackie Earle Haley
Release Date: TBD (December 2012)

ummmm... wrong Lincoln movie...

The Surrogate
Director: Ben Lewin
Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, NOT BRUCE WILLIS
Release Date: 23 January 2013

I would make a snarky comment, but... I would just feel bad...

Big 7 Honorable Mentions:

Prometheus
The Avengers
The Hunger Games
Brave
The Hobbit, Pt. I
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained

As before, I will break this list down to smaller articles. I plan to give an in-depth look at what makes each of these films contenders, and what could hinder them come the award show circuits. And unlike before, I will actually finish the articles relatively on time... and/or actually write them... A slight warning, I may or may not get around to the Honorable Mention section. I would love to explain my choices and why I put them there, especially Prometheus which YAMB will be covering in more depth in the next coming months.

Stay posted for the upcoming installments on the 13 for '13 series!