Red 2
Release date: July 19 Oscar prospects: Bad Yet another sequel I could have done without, Red 2 brings back together the group of geriatric ex-espionage operatives looking to locate and stop the use of a rogue nuclear weapon. Based on characters created in a graphic novel, I found the original dull, cliche, and rote, but clearly many would beg to differ, as the first film did well enough monetarily to warrant the production of the sequel. Whatever the film's fate with the fickle movie gods may be, I think even ardent fans of the series will agree that Red 2's chances at Oscar nominations are infinitesimally small. The action-comedy hybrid genre has never been a particular favorite of members of the Academy. A few of the especially well regarded mash-ups, such as Beverly Hills Cop and Back to the Future, did manage to get Best Original Screenplay nominations from the Academy's Writers Branch, but beyond that, the genre has never been recognized in the above-the-line categories. Even some of the genre's early pioneers, such as The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters, went largely unnoticed by the Academy, and as the years have gone by, the little regard the Academy held for these types of films has only diminished. The original Red did manage a Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical nomination from the Golden Globes though, so if the film's producers want to hand over a big bag of cash to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, they could always get another Globe nomination (just kidding, sort of). Possible nominations: None