Pro: A full 11 months after its Sundance bow, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is still one of the year's delights. And its epic, brazen screenplay deserves notice. Adapted from her short play, Lucy Alibar and the film's director Benh Zeitlin used that as a jumping off point for some bold and imaginative work. If it's really a contender for the major prizes, this has to be a serious consideration.

Con: But is it going to be seen as much of a writer's achievement? The vision is so extraordinary that most focus could shift to the director and actors than anything else. And the guilds won't do much to help the film this year due to ineligibilities. Those are the marks a film like this needs to hit along the way to keep up momentum.

- Kristopher Tapley