8. Trash
Potential Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Stephen Daldry), Best Supporting Actor (Martin Sheen), Best Supporting Actress (Rooney Mara), Best Adapted Screenplay (Felipe Braga and Richard Curtis), Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Score Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close isn't quite the stuff of a cinephile's wet dream, but all four of these films, directed by Stephen Daldry, have received either a Best Director and/or Best Picture nominations. Daldry's newest film then, Trash, is certainly a film worth considering. Based on the novel by Andy Mulligan, Trash tells the story of three boys living in some unnamed Third World country who make quite the startling discovery in the trash heaps they call home. What the boys discover puts them in trouble with the law and the powerful, as they venture against their better judgment to see justice done. Doused with the strong smell of Slumdog Millionaire overtones, Trash appears to be the sort of middlebrow material that Daldry excels at, and that certain portions of the Academy devour like rabid dogs. While lately, it is true the Academy's been a bit more adventurous in their aesthetic sensibilities, they still continue to make room for at least one good 'ole awards bait flick (see Philomena), and it's hard to bet against Daldry, so for now, consider it a contender.