Oscar Party 2013 is going to be awesome.

Let's face it, last year was rather lackluster when it came to good films.  Perhaps I wasn't giving the movies my full attention, given that I had a much more important and adorable preoccupation, but I truly don't think it was an exceptional batch.  I promise I'm not just saying that because the only movie I felt appropriately lent itself to a good female costume was The Help.  I hate to sound like a movie snob here, but the fact that The Help was one of the nominees is a powerful statement in and of itself about what was available last year for singling out.  It's not that I didn't enjoy the movie, because I did.  Slumdog Millionaire it was not.  This year is turning out to be much more encouraging.  Take a peek at what's coming.  As usual, most of the biggies won't be out until November or December.

Les Miserables. 



I'm more familiar with the novel than the musical, but I still got goosebumps as I watched this teaser several times.

The Great Gatsby.

It's very, very Baz Luhrmann, obviously.  Definitely cool.

Anna Karenina.


I'm extremely excited about this lavish, unusual adaptation.

Django Unchained.

I can remember when the first Inglorious Bastards trailer was released, and I rather disdainfully dismissed it.  I had to eat my words, because it was one of the most entertaining movies I saw that year. I am now eagerly anticipating the latest Tarantino offering.

Zero Dark Thirty.

Kathryn Bigelow's take on Osama Bin Laden's capture and death has apparently been fraught with controversy, even involving a reported suit against the Department of Defense and the CIA.  The teaser is sparse and intriguing, but I do see Jessica Chastain (otherwise known as The Actress That Was In Every Movie Last Year) and Kyle Chandler (Coach!).

Argo.

When Ben Affleck steps behind the camera, he can do no wrong.  Hasn't let us down once.  I am really excited to see this movie, though its chances for actual awards may be slim.

Lincoln.

No trailer for this BIG movie yet, but do we even need to see one to know it's likely to be amazing?  LOOK at Daniel Day-Lewis.  He IS Lincoln.  Spielberg's project is based on the Doris Kearns Goodwin Pulitzer-Prize winning book, Team of Rivals, and besides titular chameleon Lewis, includes a very impressive cast.  

Other likely contenders:

The Master-Paul Thomas Anderson feature, thinly veiled attack on Church of Scientology, Joaquin Phoenix's glorious return?
Killing Them Softly-Brad Pitt's reunion with director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
Arbitrage-Richard Gere and finance
Hyde Park on Hudson-FDR had a love affair?  I had no idea.