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.

LA, Boston and New York Online Critics Announce Winners

Good news for former outside looking in Best Actress contender Marion Cotillard! More critics stamped their seal of approval for her performances in "The Immigrant" and "Two Days One Night". With exposure such as this it's hard to imagine her not being named amongst the final 5. If she's nominated by SAG and/or the Globes, she's in.

Take a look below at who else cleaned up with the critics today.

Dear Oscar

Dear Oscar,

I know that awards season can get really crowded with so many high profile films and contenders vying for your attention. It must get tricky being able to remember films from the beginning of the year when several presumed juggernauts don't even premiere until the end of December. Yes, it must get hard when you have actors losing weight, or donning prosthetics in flashy biopics. Yes, I know it's hard, but before the endless onslaught of awards movies, I ask you to hear me out.

I'm sure you've heard how Rosamund Pike is fantastic in David Fincher's "Gone Girl", a film that has crossed $100 million in just 3 weeks since premiering, and I'm sure a Best Actress nomination would seem fitting as a reward for that film. I'm also sure you've heard Julianne Moore, Jessica Chastain, Reese Witherspoon, Felicity Jones, and Amy Adams are all great in their respective films. It must be hard to see past all of these flashy, very familiar names; some of these women are past winners, or multiple time past nominees. But I'm asking you to look past those names for a moment, to consider Marion Cotillard's groundbreaking work in James Gray's, "The Immigrant".

Halfway Mark: Worthy Oscar Contenders from the first Half of the Year

Today officially marks the halfway point of 2014, if you can believe it. I don't know about the rest of you but I feel as if this year has been a blur, and I can say that about a lot of the movies that have come and gone through the last few months.

There has been only one movie from this year, thus far, that's challenged anything on my top 10 list from last year (a truly banner year in film unlike one we've had in awhile). That being said, there are truly some memorable performances, and even details about those films that were standouts, even if the overall product wasn't as great as its little pieces.

So read on, to see a few worthy contenders I feel deserve to remain in the conversation come awards season time.

Marion Cotillard Discovers the American Dream in "The Immigrant"

The opening shot of director/writer James Gray's fifth feature (entitled, "The Immigrant") is an image we're all familiar with: the back of The Statue of Liberty . To many, the statue represents the ideals that America was (allegedly) built on: truth, freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

Gray's film opens in New York City, 1921 as 2 sisters, Ewa (Marion Cotillard) and Magda (Angela Sarafyan) are arriving on Ellis Island to be processed, and hopefully begin their new life in the legendary United States of America. However, they are turned away; Magda has contracted Tuberculosis and is carried away into the infirmary where she will be left until she can be deported back to Poland (the sisters' home country). Ewa, on the other hand, has been accused of having "questionable morals" during her time on the boat ride (we later learn she refused a man's sexual advances) and we learn "America doesn't accept women of questionable morals into the country."

In these first few moments of the film, Gray lays the overall tone of the film. The grand wide shots and bleak, sepia filter of the cinematography accentuate Ewa's helplessness and loneliness, and it becomes very clear why he chose to shoot the infamous statue from the back; While she stands for freedom and the hope of a better life, it becomes clear through the course of the film that she literally has her back turned to Ewa's plight, and the rest of these powerless people.