24 Predictions For This Oscar Season's Rotten Tomatoes Scores

13. Trumbo (88%)

Predicted Critical Consensus: "Equal parts hilarious and tragic, Trumbo benefits from Jay Roach's sensitive direction and a terrific performance from Bryan Cranston." Given that Trumbo is a film very much about filmmaking (the titular subject was infamously blacklisted from Hollywood during the Communist witchhunt of the late 1940s), this one should strike a chord with critics and Oscar voters alike, all the more so because it should give Cranston a solid opportunity to give probably his best non-Breaking Bad performance to date. As long as the tone is right, seeing new actors playing legendary stars like John Wayne and Kirk Douglas in bit parts should be highly entertaining, even if there is inevitably the chance it could go full ham and end up going nowhere like 2012's disappointing Hitchcock (a generous 62%). As for Roach's Tomatometer? It's all over the place: his political movies like Recount, The Campaign, Game Change are all solidly acclaimed (76%, 64%, 65%), whereas some of his broader comedies, namely Little Fockers (10%) and Dinner for Schmucks (42%)? Not so much. Prolific TV writer John McNamara's cinematic chops remain to be seen, but if Trumbo lives up to even a pinch of its promise, nailing 88% should be a piece of cake.