AWARDS SEASON: The Frontrunners

With the first televised awards groups announcing their nominees from Tuesday onwards (Critics Choice, SAG, Golden Globes) it's time to take stock of the Best Picture race. This is definitely one of the strangest Oscar seasons in recent years. Firstly, we don't know how large the field will be (anywhere between 5-10 nominees). Also, it doesn't seem like there are that many "slam dunk" hits (critically and box-office) like last year (The Social Network, The King's Speech, True Grit, The Fighter, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, Inception). At this point last year we already knew 9 of the nominees, with Winter's Bone and The Town fighting for the 10th slot. Right know, it seems like the following 10 films have the strongest chances for Oscar glory, according to the experts...

1. The Artist

2. Hugo

3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

4. The Descendants

5. Moneyball

6. Midnight In Paris

7. The Help

8. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

9. War Horse

10. The Ides of March

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch that many of the potential nominees. At the moment, it seems like "The Artist" and "Hugo" will emerge as the consensus favourites. "The Artist" is expected to score well through virtually all the categories, while "Hugo" will certainly earn respect with Scorsese as director and also for its dazzling visuals (Costume Design, Visual Effects, Art Direction). At the end of this week we'll have a much better idea of which films will keep showing up on the awards circuit.