This is a movie absolutely tailor-made for Oscar voters to lap up, given that it's about a group of Allied art experts who are tasked with entering Germany during the end of World War II and salvaging precious artworks that were to be destroyed by the Nazis. Its message about the preservation of art and its importance will speak to Academy members in the most self-indulgent, back-patting way, and if the film has a certain lightness of touch to it that I expect it will (given that George Clooney and Grant Heslov have written it), then it should be a major player in all awards categories. But the problem is that it was originally shooting for a Christmas 2013 release date, and was pushed back to February after post-production took longer than anticipated. This could simply be exactly as it is said, or it could be the result of some disastrous test screenings, or simply Sony realising that the film just isn't an awards player. Still, it's going to fight an uphill struggle to keep voters' attention all the way through the year even if turns out to be a masterpiece, even though this is about as obvious and pandering as Oscar bait comes. That it just might be very good as well is the icing on the cake, but we'll see for sure pretty soon. Which Oscar bait films do you see on the horizon? Sound off in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
