What is it? Political comedy-drama based on the documentary of the same name, in which US campaign strategists become involved in the 2002 Bolivian Presidential election. Why is it a major player? Sandra Bullock as the lead is one reason; George Clooney and Grant Heslov as producers is another. Bullock and Clooney are two of the biggest players in Hollywood, regularly making trips to the Oscars arguably whether either of them deserve to be nominated in that particular year or not. The last time Clooney and Bullock teamed up, Gravity happened, and one of the reasons why two of the world's biggest stars find themselves so loved by the Academy is this: they bring in the money. You've also got Oscar-nominated Peter Straughan on screenwriting duties, and a pretty solid cast including Scoot McNairy, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton (who could get an acting nom based partly on the fact that he's having a resurgence after Fargo) supporting Bullock. How well this one does depends on what mode director David Gordon Green was in when he made it - if Green made the film more Joe than Your Highness, expect the hot-button politics of Our Brand Is Crisis to take care of the rest.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
