What is it? Cold War spy thriller about an American lawyer (Tom Hanks) recruited by the CIA to rescue a pilot held in the Soviet Union. Why is it a major player? Simple: it's a Steven Spielberg film. Almost everything the director makes becomes an awards magnet, regardless of whether that film be controversial (Munich) or just plain not well-liked (War Of The Worlds), and Bridge Of Spies sounds at least more Oscar-friendly for being more patriotic than the former and more prestigious than the blockbuster-y sorts of the latter. Also to be taken into account is the screenplay, co-written by the Coen brothers (hopefully that'll work out better for them than it did on Unbroken), the score (John Williams hardly ever fails to get a nod) and the cast, least of all Tom Hanks - all could feasibly come in for Oscar nominations in 2016. The Academy may especially feel the need to grant Hanks an apology nod after he was snubbed for Best Actor for Captain Phillips in 2014.
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
