First Trailer for "Macbeth": Intense, Dark and Beautiful

Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" was a big surprise coming out of the Cannes film festival, being better than previously anticipated. Though stars Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender won acclaim for their performances as the infamous plotting couple, Kurzel's direction and the film as a whole were praised.

Ultimately, I do fear if the film gets any awards attention (it is being distributed by Weinstein after all) it'll center around Fassbender and Cotillard. But after watching the new trailer, I see what a shame that would be, because it looks gorgeously rendered. There are a number of "money shots" to pull from the short teaser, and the overall tone is incredibly morose and intense, in the best way possible. Here's to hoping the film can find some success outside of the performances come awards season.

Watch the trailer below. "Macbeth" is scheduled to be released later this fall.

What does Cannes mean for Oscar?

Rooney Mara won the festival's Best Actress award for her performance in "Carol", coming the second consecutive American actress to win after Julianne Moore last year. 

The Cannes Film Festival is the unofficial start to Oscar season; enough time has passed between the ceremony to begin murmuring about awards contenders, unlike Sundance which finds itself in the thick of awards season. However, success at Cannes rarely spells success with Oscar. Though there are those few that manage to maintain momentum throughout the year (Christoph Waltz from "Inglorious Basterds", Jean Dujardin and the team behind "The Artist") films that are favored by the Cannes jury don't align with Oscar's interests ("Blue is the Warmest Color, Kirsten Dunst in "Melancholia", etc).

However, this year's festival seems like it may be a little different; with so many films in competition, there are several that seem destined for Oscar glory, or at least a shot at it.

Let's take a look at some of the titles we could be seeing again come the end of the year.

Natalie Portman's Directorial Debut to Screen at 2015's Cannes Film Festival

This year's Cannes Film Festival is being headlined by some of the buzziest titles of the year. Not only will Oscar hopefuls "Carol" (Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson), "Macbeth" (Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard), but Academy Award winner Natalie Portman makes her directorial debut with the Hebrew language biopic entitled "A Tale of Love and Darkness". Portman will also star in the film, but is eligible for the festival's prestigious Camera D'Or which is given to new directors.

It's Never too Early to Look Ahead

After playing a witch in last year's "Into the Woods", Meryl is looking to break her own record as a rock star mom in "Ricki and the Flash" 

Last year's Oscar season just barely ended, and it's already time to start looking ahead at the race that's already starting to form for this year. Though none of the actual contenders have actually premiered to the public yet (unless you count the gorgeous costumes from "Cinderella") there's a slew of buzzy titles with huge names that have people talking.

With nothing at the theaters really holding our attention at the moment, it's never too early to look ahead at what's to come.