Last season was a success all the way across the board (see my For Your Consideration post for more). Thus, Season 24 has had some big shoes to fill. The results thus far have been mixed. Jeff Stockton, last season’s prognosticator of our multiple masterpieces, has said that this season’s slate is full of good/possibly great films but not many stone-cold masterpieces.
As was the case last season, only one film has notched a MUST-SEE Metascore thus far: Natural Selection. The history of the erotic-thriller genre at LRF is brief but highly successful. Roy Horne’s two Poison Ivy films were both box office successes and earned Sydney Sweeney two Best Actress awards and two Best Villain awards. Could this be a sign of things to come for Angelina Jolie? But it’s not just lead actress where the film is the front-runner at the moment. It appears that Natural Selection also has viable contenders for Best Actor, Supporting Actor, and Director.
As far as GRAs go, Natural Selection’s main competition at this point appears to be the season opener, The Big One. The pedigree behind it—John Malone, Jimmy Ellis, and Paul Thomas Anderson—is undeniable. That one once again boasts a strong lead female performance, hopefully meaning a sign of good things to come for the Best Actress category when considering Jenna Ortega for Her Dying Wish as well.
Best Actor, on the other hand, is looking a little more unsteady. Biopics tend to fare well for their lead actors so Andrew Garfield’s performance in Shoe Dog will likely put up a fight. And as previously mentioned, Warren Beatty’s comeback performance also a great chance at a nomination. The lukewarm reception to Citizen means that Chalamet, who might’ve seemed like a potential contender heading into the season, is likely out of the running. And there is not much beyond that for that big category.
So what is to come? Well I would bet that the studio is still looking for its first big mega-hit. The season’s two DC Comics films have performed well at the box office but a surprise hit (like Judas Iscariot last season) would make a lot of people happy. As far as comic book properties go, X-Men: Sinister is certainly drawing a lot of eyes as it ties together the main series with the side Gambit films. Fans are also excited for Sam Heughan’s return as Daredevil after making an appearance in Elektra.
These next few rounds should tell us a lot about how the various GRA races will shape up. Amber Midthunder, hot off the praise for her performance in Prey, will be leading a big-budget adaptation of the Pocahontas story from blockbuster veteran Gore Verbinski. Leonardo DiCaprio, who is always worth keeping an eye on given his track record, is reuniting with writer Jacob Jones. Their last collaboration, Golden Girl, was the only time Leo gave a performance at LRF that he was not nominated for. Elsewhere we have Chad Taylor’s return to the director chair after 12 seasons and Chloe Zhao has assembled a star-studded cast for the historical epic Queen Margot. All of those films feel like they can shake up the GRA races if done right.
That’s what I’ve got for you for now but I will be back at the end of the season with a For Your Consideration post. See you at the movies!
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