Welcome to Part Two of MovieRetriever's Picks for the 15 Upcoming Contenders for the 2008 Best Picture Oscar!

To read Part One, click HERE:

*****

Movie: The Soloist  

Director: Joe Wright

Screenwriter: Susannah Grant

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener

Tentative Release Date: November 21, 2008    

What's it About:  A true story, adapted from a series of Los Angeles Times articles, about Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless musical prodigy who dropped out of Juilliard due to his schizophrenia, and Steve Lopez, a reporter who strikes up a friendship with Nathaniel.

The Case For Best Picture:  "It's just like Shine, but with an urban edge!"  That might sound cutthroat, but you know some Hollywood development jerk said EXACTLY that when he was pitching The Soloist to his boss. While we're sure that the producers are hoping that this true story will be more Beautiful Mind than Resurrecting the Champ, they did an impressive job in assembling a team to bring it to the big screen - two hot Oscar-caliber actors (Foxx and Downey), the director of Atonement and Pride & Prejudice (Wright), and the screenwriter of Erin Brockovich (Grant).

The Case Against: Even though The Soloist is based on a true story, you have to admit, the premise does sound something that got cooked up in the Lifetime movie-of-the-week recipe book.  We're not mocking Nathaniel Ayers, but we're worried that the potential for unchecked sentimentality and overwrought heartstring-pulling is very, very HIGH with this project, so the challenge for Joe Wright is to keep the movie grounded in the real and veer away from feel-good-movie-of-the-year exaggerated reality.

*****

Movie: The Road  

Director: John Hillcoat

Screenwriter: Joe Penhall

Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Tentative Release Date: November 26, 2008

What's it About:  Based on the best-selling novel by No Country for Old Men author Cormac McCarthy, this sparse, post-apocalyptic tale follows a nameless man attempting to protect his son while they travel through the wasted landscape of America, facing danger from starving fellow survivors and gangs of violent cannibals.

The Case For Best Picture:  Because Oprah has decreed it so!  Kidding aside, despite Cormac McCarthy's reputation as a fairly dark novelist (Don't believe us? Read Blood Meridian and then tell us how you feel about humanity), the fact that The Road was anointed as an Oprah Winfrey-approved text means that, oh, most of America has already read it and a majority of them seem to love it... even with the marauding cannibals. And the producers have paired the novel with a strong cast and a perfect choice for director, John Hillcoat, the man behind The Proposition, i.e. the best movie of 2005 that you probably didn't see.

The Case Against: Um, it's essentially about freakin' post-apocalyptic zombies, for starters.  We're still a little knocked out by The Road's mainstream success.  McCarthy is a gorgeous writer, but, even with the novel's hopeful ending, we're just not sure that Academy voters will embrace something that, by its very nature, has to be a little grisly and blood-soaked. Not to mention that some might balk at voting for yet another McCarthy-based picture for Best Picture after No Country's win last year.

*****

Movie: Frost/Nixon

Director: Ron Howard

Screenwriter: Peter Morgan

Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell

Tentative Release Date: December 5, 2008 (limited)  

What's it About:  An adaptation of the popular play by Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon tells the behind-the-scenes story of the memorable 1977 television interviews between British TV personality David Frost and former President Richard Nixon, which concluded with Nixon addressing his culpability in the Watergate scandal.

The Case For Best Picture:  While Ron Howard's movies have ranged from the impressive (Apollo 13, Beautiful Mind, Parenthood) to the "meh" (Da Vinci Code, Ransom), you have to give him credit for attempting to turn such a respected Tony-nominated play into a movie and, in particular, resisting the urge to recast the roles with big-name stars. By keeping the Tony-winning Frank Langella on as Richard Nixon, Howard has retained a lot of what excited us about the play in the first place - two top-class actors playing two top-class masters of rhetoric (Nixon and Frost) as they engage in a volley of verbal sparring that had the whole world watching. This is a movie about actors and dialogue, not FX, plot twists, or sweeping backdrops, so if Howard can pull it off, it'll be impressive.

The Case Against:  But, as film fans know, turning a play into a movie is a lot harder than you'd think. There are certain verbal rhythms that work great on stage, but don't work at all on film.  There's an energy between two actors in a play that's really, really hard to capture on celluloid.  We're glad that Peter Morgan is adapting his own work for the big screen, but making a stage play work on film is a big hurdle to leap.

*****

Movie: Milk  

Director: Gus Van Sant

Screenwriter: Dustin Lance Black

Cast: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna

Tentative Release Date: November 26, 2008 (limited)   

What's it About:  Based on a true story, the film tells the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the United States, who was assassinated in San Francisco, along with SF Mayor George Moscone, by his political rival Daniel White.

The Case For Best Picture:  With the battle over gay marriage still raging in California, this might be the timeliest historical drama of 2008. Harvey Milk's assassination is a landmark event in 20th-century American gay rights, so, if placed into the proper historical context, the movie can really speak to a large segment of America. But the true secret weapon of Milk is Sean Penn, an actor who, when he wants to, can still stagger viewers with his ability to disappear into his characters (Dead Man Walking, Mystic River, heck, even I Am Sam).

The Case Against:  We can't believe we're saying this about the guy who directed My Own Private Idaho and To Die For, but the biggest wild card in Milk's success is Gus Van Sant. While Van Sant has directed some truly amazing films in the past, recently, he's been an extremely erratic filmmaker, releasing films that were either half-baked bad ideas (Finding Forrester, Psycho, Last Days) or love-em-or-hate-em cinematic experiments (Gerry, Elephant, Paranoid Park).  If Gus finds a way to make Milk engaging and accessible, it might be a classic.  If he decides to "try something new"... watch out.

*****

Movie: Defiance  

Director: Edward Zwick

Screenwriter: Edward Zwick and Clay Frohman

Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos

Tentative Release Date: December 12, 2008 (limited)  

What's it About:  During World War II, the Jewish Bielski brothers escape into the forests of Nazi-controlled Poland and, teaming with Russian freedom fighters, mount a guerilla campaign to protect themselves and their countrymen from the Third Reich.

The Case For Best Picture:  Academy voters love tales of World War II heroism, and this true story is uplifting enough to stir the passions of Academy members without being too much of a downer. (The sad fact about WWII movies is that audiences still want moments of rah-rah victory, even amongst the awful truths of the Nazi regime.)  And it doesn't hurt that the film is directed by Edward Zwick, who previously entranced audiences with the similarly tragic/inspiring Civil War epic, Glory. (Not to mention his other work, which includes Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, The Siege, and Blood Diamond.)

The Case Against: Or maybe it DOES hurt that Ed Zwick is directing.  Don't get us wrong - we love Glory and it totally makes us cry everything we see it, but Zwick's more recent works have been decidedly underwhelming, particularly his historical epics. Last Samurai was a toothless Tom Cruise vehicle, and Blood Diamond - while well-acted and about a truly serious subject - just didn't engage us at all.  We're not worried about Defiance getting nominated, but Zwick's new rep as a director of films that people respect-but-don't-love might hurt his chances for Best Picture.

*****

Movie: Seven Pounds

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Screenwriter: Grant Nieporte

Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy

Tentative Release Date: December 12, 2008    

What's it About:  A suicidal IRS agent decides to make amends with the people in his life before he ends it all, but, when he unwittingly falls in love during the process, it raises the question - will he still go ahead with his plans to kill himself?

The Case For Best Picture: Will Smith is a hell of an actor when he wants to be, and reteaming with Gabriele Muccino, the director of Pursuit of Happyness, seems like a definite formula for attracting some end-of-the-year award buzz.

The Case Against:  But here's the thing - people liked Pursuit of Happyness, but not many people loved it.  In terms of Oscar nods, it only got a Best Actor nomination for Will Smith and, to be frank, Smith is the only real thing that Seven Pounds has going for it.  And it doesn't help that the premise sounds a bit like a tragic romantic comedy - a la Sweet November - and the screenwriter's previous credits involve writing for ABC's 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter.

*****

Movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Director: David Fincher

Screenwriter: Eric Roth

Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Julia Ormond

Tentative Release Date: December 25, 2008

What's it About:  Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, at the turn of the twentieth century, Benjamin Button is born as an 80-year-old man and, while he ages, his body grows younger and younger. He spends the better part of the century trying to find his place in the world and dealing with the complicated problem - how do you fall in love when you're growing younger and your beloved's growing older?

The Case For Best Picture: It's an epic, century-spanning love story, i.e., the kind of story that the Academy adores. Plus David Fincher has proven himself again and again as a director, even if the Oscars ignored Zodiac last year. And, while, sure, the concept is a little fantastic, screenwriter Eric Roth found gold with a similarly exaggerated premise with Forrest Gump (not to mention, he's also the guy who wrote or co-wrote Ali, The Insider, and Munich). The cast isn't too shabby either, particularly its trio of Oscar-friendly actresses (Blanchett, Swinton, and Ormond).

The Case Against:  But the Academy DID ignore Zodiac, and some voters are going to have to get over their Fincher prejudice - the perceived notion that he's a dark filmmaker who only makes films about fight clubs and serial killers - to embrace this movie. And, if Fincher doesn't pull off the tone of this American fantasy just right, Button might end up looking less like Little Big Man and more like 18 Again.

*****

Movie: Revolutionary Road

Director: Sam Mendes

Screenwriter: Justin Haythe

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates

Tentative Release Date: December 26, 2008

What's it About:  Based on the 1961 novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road follows the struggles of Frank and April Wheeler, a 1950s suburban Connecticut couple, who feel trapped in their humdrum PTA existence and yearn to escape the bonds of conformity and domesticity... mostly through affairs, anger, empty dreams, and lots and lots of alcohol.  

The Case For Best Picture:  C'mon, it's a Titanic cast reunion directed by the guy who helmed American Beauty. This has award-bait written all over it.  Mendes is a great director - even if Jarhead was pretty underwhelming - and it's hard to imagine that Kate and Leo would risk all of the inane press junket questions about "Together again, eh?" if they didn't think the project was worthy.

The Case Against:  Icy East Coast tales of wasted dreams and seething infidelity aren't exactly feel-good movies of the year or easy sells to Academy voters.  Not even Todd Haynes' stupendous Far From Heaven got nominated for Best Picture, so Revolutionary Road is going to have to be something... well, revolutionary to make this more than an Ice Storm or The Corrections re-tread.