With a throng of prestige pictures flooding theaters in the fall, a lot of solid movies from the first half of the year get overlooked. That’s why the early releases deserve a little recognition before the awards campaigns shift into gear in two months — and we’re ready to single out some Moscars (mid-year Oscar) contenders.
TheWrap film reporter Jeff Sneider has seen roughly 75 feature films at the halfway point, though interestingly and perhaps fittingly, a documentary about a larger-than-life film critic is his pick for Best Picture.
While Sneider has missed plenty of well-reviewed movies including “The Fault In Our Stars,” “Belle,” “Ida” and “Nymphomaniac,” as well as all the films that premiered at Cannes, he is still waiting for the first show-stopping female performance of the year.
That said, it’s been a great year for comedies and genre films alike thanks to “The Raid 2,” “Cheap Thrills,” “The Guest” and “Afflicted,” as well as “Neighbors,” “22 Jump Street,” “Bad Words” and “They Came Together.”
Watch the video above to see which first-half releases impressed Sneider, and which blockbusters are best left forgotten.