Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Beasts of No Nation" (2015)

Scene from Beasts of No Nation

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Review: "Beasts of No Nation" is Redundant and Pointlessly Miserable

Left to right: Abraham Attah and Idris Elba

Over the course of the past few months, Netflix has gotten a lot of attention for a potentially groundbreaking strategy. Along with their growing quality content, they were going to take on The Academy Awards for a Best Picture nomination with director Cary Fukunaga's Beasts of No Nation. While it wouldn't be the first direct-to-Netflix movie in the company's history, it was the first to gain buzz, unanimously positive reviews, and riveting talent in newcomer Abraham Attah as a child thrown into becoming a soldier of war. With intense trailers and enough hype to drive you crazy, the film has arrived. It's as intense and dour as you'd expect a film about child soldiers to be. It's just not as interesting as you'd actually hoped.