10 Most Oscar Bait Movies From The 2015 Awards Season

8. The Judge

What's Oscar Bait About The Idea? The Judge is a fairly small film, at least when compared to the usual Oscar big hitters, but with a A-list cast (Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall are in the same freakin' film?!) and strong focus on traditional family values it's clear the debut Team Downey production was hoping to bring home some Oscar gold. Was It Any Good? There were a lot of solid individual elements - the acting was unsurprisingly strong (even if Downey, Jr. once again plays himself in reform mode), it shot Indiana with a sleekness and there were certain scenes that packed a real emotional punch - but it didn't all really come together in any meaningful way. David Dobkin isn't your typical drama director, and that's probably the source of it all, although it's still a good start for Downey, Jr.'s new production company. Was There Any Major Campaigning? After the middling box office and tepid response, The Judge didn't seem to have much of an Awards hope, but a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Duvall suggests there was some heavy pushing within the industry. Will It Get Anything For Its Efforts? J. K. Simmons has the Supporting Actor award pretty much on his mantle, so no.