12 Most Desperate Oscar Grab Movies Of 2016
4. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Based on an acclaimed novel? Check. Got an Academy Award adorned director? Check. A patriotic storyline that combines both the Iraq War and American football? Check. An Oscar shoo-in for sure, right? Eh … no, not exactly.
We’ve mentioned the success of wartime dramas with Oscar contender Hacksaw Ridge, but it’s also true that films dealing with the after-effects of war like Oliver Stone’s two-time Oscar winner Born on the Fourth of July and the late Michael Cimino’s five-time Oscar winner The Deer Hunter can be just as successful.
And it’s true that before Ang Lee’s latest film Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk looked set for Academy Award glory, or at least until its release and the swathe of middling reviews that followed. Despite a solid cast and crew, an impressive screen debut from star Joe Alwyn, and a pioneering filming style shot at an unprecedented 120 frames per second, an Oscar contender Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is not.