Oscar Frontrunners Make Strides at Telluride and Venice

With the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals opening this past week, the Oscar contenders wasted no time in making their stakes at the front of the evolving race.

Below are a list of the films that received a boost from critics and bloggers after their respective premieres.

Buzz For Birdman Out of Venice

"Birdman" has landed in Venice; the film has received a rapturous amount of praise by nearly everyone that's seen it. 

Take a look at some excerpts from the reviews below, which boost Birdman ahead as the strongest (seen) contender in the picture, director, acting, and tech categories.

New Trailer for Philomena Solidifies Judi Dench's Position in the Best Actress Race

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan (credit. collider.com)
A new trailer for Judi Dench's Oscar vehicle, "Philomena" has landed. The film was warmly received at this year's Venice film festival (where it won a screenplay award) and Toronto film festival. However, buzz for the film has been surprisingly quiet given the mammoth sized performance from Dench it was said to hold, you'd figure the buzz would be a little louder. But after watching the new trailer  you can tell Dench won't be counted out quite so easily, even if the campaign that's positioned around the film is small. Judi Dench is a previous winner and has been nominated a total of 6 times (4 of those being Best Actress nominations).