Category: Screener Watch

Weinstein sends out their second screener of the year. Southpaw Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris, Oona Laurence, Rita Ora, Forest Whitaker, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Skylan Brooks, Victor Ortiz, Beau Knapp, Miguel Gomez, Dominic Colon, Malcolm Mays Director: Antoine Fuqua Premise: From IMDb: “Boxer Billy Hope turns to trainer Tick Wills to help…

Magnolia Pictured and Magnet Releasing are the biggest shippers to the OFCS. Every year, we receive an unadorned batch of screeners that feature some very interesting fare. The image at right includes the first ever batch of info cards to go with the bountiful DVDs received. Each film is outlined below starting with the narrative…

A second offering from Universal. Furious 7 Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Dwayne Johnson, Lucas Black, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Gal Gadot, John Brotherton, Luke Evans, Tony Jaa, Djimon Hounsou, Noel Gugliemi, Ali Fazal, Sung Kang, Ronda Rousey, Miller Kimsey, Charlie Kimsey,…

Arrived today from The Weinstein Company. Woman in Gold Stars: Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Bruhl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Max Irons, Charles Dance, Antje Traue, Elizabeth McGovern, Jonathan Pryce, Frances Fisher, Moritz Bleibtreu, Tom Schilling, Allan Corduner, Henry Goodman, Justus von Dohnanyl Director: Simon Curtis Premise: From IMDb: “Maria Altmann, an octogenarian Jewish refugee,…

Arrived Friday from Universal. Straight Outta Compton Stars: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge, Marlon Yates Jr., R. Marcos Taylor, Carra Patterson, Alexandra Shipp, Paul Giamatti Director: F. Gary Gray Premise: From IMDb: “The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the…

Arrived last week from Participant Media. The Look of Silence Director: Joshua Oppenheimer Premise: From IMDb: “A family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.” Oscar Chances: Good: Oppenheimer’s predecessor, The Act of Killing, had a good run through the critics awards and earned an Oscar nomination.…

For our last-minute viewing pleasure, Angelina Jolie’s second film, Unbroken, gets the screener treatment. Unbroken Stars: Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Glesson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, Finn Wittrock Director: Angelina Jolie Premise: From IMDb: “A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.” Oscar Chances:…

Fox Searchlight has a heavy slate this year with Birdman alone. Throw in Best Actress contender Reese Witherspoon for Wild and they have a pretty good shot at several nominations. Then there’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is a film of a whole other character. Birdman Stars: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough,…

From Roadside Attractions, comes three films that haven’t been very present in the awards conversation and may generate few nominations if any. The Homesman Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Hilary Swank, Barry Corbin, David Dencik, William Fichtner, Evan Jones, John Lithgow, Tim Blake Nelson, Jesse Plemons, James Spader, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter, Hailee Steinfeld,…

Universal put all their eggs in the Get On Up basket, largely because of Chadwick Boseman’s performance. That doesn’t mean they don’t want it nominated elsewhere, but they’d be satisfied with Best Actor. Get On Up Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jill Scott Director: Tate Taylor Premise: From IMDb:…

Focus Features has sent us two films from their 2014 releases for consideration. The Boxtrolls and The Theory of Everything. The Boxtrolls Stars: Ben Kingsley, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, Dee Bradley Baker, Steve Blum, Nika Futterman, Pat Fraley, Fred Tatasciore, Max Mitchell, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Elle Fanning, Maurice LaMarche, James Urbaniak,…

The annual Magnolia / Magnet drop has arrived. Twenty screeners from both indie production houses. As usual, they don’t have a lot of Oscar competitors in the bunch, but some true indies make it more appealing. Alan Partridge Stars: Colm Meaney, Steve Coogan, Tim Key, Karl Theobald, Nigel Lindsay, Felicity Montagu Director: Declan Lowney Premise:…

Participant Media has manage to sneak in the year’s first screeners of two prominent documentaries this year: The Internet’s Own Boy and Ivory Tower (which follows after the fold). The Internet’s Own Boy Director: Brian Knappenberger Premise: From IMDb: “The story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at…

The last screener to come in before the voting deadline (barely making it), is Alexander Payne’s black-and-white Nebraska Nebraska Stars: Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Will Forte, Stacy Keach, Bob Odenkirk Director: Alexander Payne Premise: From IMDb: “An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim…

A Coen Bros. film I’m actually interested in seeing? I must have come down with a deadly virus or something. Inside Llewyn Davis Stars: Oscar Isaac, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Premise: From IMDb: “A week in the life of a young singer as…