3. Inherent Vice
Release Date: December 12th
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Jena Malone, Reese Witherspoon
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, The Master)
Had it not been for No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood would have won every Oscar in 2007. Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those directors that critics love to swoon over, and for the most part, it’s justified. I thought The Master was incredible, most notably because of Joaquin Phoenix’s insane performance. The idea of these two guys working together again in a 1970 Los Angeles crime drama where Phoenix plays a character named Doc Sportello has me all sorts of excited. There hasn’t even been a trailer yet, but one production still was all I needed to vault this to #3.
Oscar Alert! Everything is in play here. This is a strong contender.
