Logan Lerman and Emma Watson in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

Credit: Summit Entertainment

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Variety's Jon Weisman has fallen a little bit in love with "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." As have many people, including us here at In Contention. Yet the film isn't even being mentioned as a dark-horse Oscar player in most circles. Why so? Because, Weisman, argues, it wasn't tapped for awards glory sight-unseen. Referring to awards season as being run a bit like a high school clique: "[S]ome pics get a head start and others a hurdle based on little more than their loglines. This is true even though movies don't need to please everyone to reach the Dolby Theater in February." (He points to the recent Best Picture nomination for the poorly received "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" as an example of the latter.) What other gems are fighting to be considered awards material? [The Vote]

Leos Carax breaks down Kylie Minogue's haunting musical number in his astonishing film "Holy Motors." If you ask me, a Best Original Song Oscar is in order. [New York Times]

Jamie Foxx bigs up "Django Unchained," promising audiences will "automatically go back to the time and way slaves were treated." Read another way, that doesn't sound like a compliment. [LA Times] 

Nathaniel Rogers and friends tackle "Life of Pi,"  "Hyde Park on Hudson" and the resurrection of Matthew McConaughey, among other topics, in a hugely entertaining podcast. [The Film Experience]

One of those friends, Nick Davis, offers a lovely report on a career tribute to Joan Allen, surely one of the best un-Oscared actresses at work today, at the Chicago Film Festival. [Nick's Flick Picks]

Category by category, Tom O'Neil breaks down the Oscar chances of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." [Gold Derby]

The ever-diligent David Hudson does a thorough job of gathering critical responses to "Flight." Approval with reservations is the dominant tone. [Fandor] 

Sasha Stone goes crazy for Denzel Washington's work in the film, and re-handicaps the Best Actor race with the actor in the #2 position. [Awards Daily] 

Rifling through the pricey designer wardrobe of "Skyfall." Meanwhile, if you have nearly $6000 going spare, you can get a bespoke replica of one of Bond's suits. [Financial Times]

Following a recent statement to the contrary by Maggie Smith, Max Davidson argues that things have never been better for older moviegoers. [The Telegraph]

Guy Lodge
Critic

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Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.