1. CBS Films Or Not, Inside Lewyn Davis is a Genuine, Bona Fide Awards Player
On my initial list of possible 2014 Best Picture nominees, I had Inside Llewyn Davis ranked at the sixteenth spot. This was not due to any dislike of the Coens or disinterest in Lweyn Davis (in fact it's quite the opposite, as the Coens are some of my favorite filmmakers and Inside Llewyn Davis is one of my most hotly anticipated films of the year), but merely because the film struck me as to small to garner enough buzz for a Best Picture nomination. The film, which centers on the folk music scene during the early 1960's, seemed like a smaller-scale film in the vein of A Serious Man, but without the serious subject matter or semi-autobiographical nature of that film, it seemed unlikely that Inside Llewyn Davis could sneak into the expanded Best Picture lineup, as A Serious Man managed to do back in 2009. It strikes me now at this time just how established the Coens are in being monumental figures on the landscape of cinema. While their films may have started out with humble independent beginnings, since their debut film Blood Simple,they have managed to win awards multiple times at the Cannes Film Festival, and if Inside Lewyn Davis does manage a Best Picture nomination, it will be the Coens' fourth film out of their last five to do so. They are unarguably among the cinematic giants of their generation. Beyond Best Picture, the film is assuredly in line for a Best Original Screenplay nomination, as well as a possible Best Director nomination for the brothers. There was much praise for the lead turn from the up-and-coming Oscar Issac, but if his performance is relatively subdued compared to the competition, it might not strike the Actors branch as flashy enough to deserve nomination.