That may be a great call.

The Imitation Game getting strong notices too.

Pacino in MANGLEHORN too.

Cumberbatch will post a serious challenge.

I think he is supporting.

Can Carrell's performance be attributed to his talent or the make-up and costume departments?

He will have a much easier time winning supporting, so think they will go with that too.

That'll be weird having Steven Carrell as an Oscar winner.

Last I heard, SPC was pushing both Carell and Tatum in lead for Foxcatcher.

Yeah, that's been the word since Cannes, actually. Most people are just skeptical about SPC going through with it.

I have no idea how the actual film is but Tatum would be a shoe-in for nomination if they put him in supporting like Jake Gyllenhaal's weird supporting nomination for Brokeback.

The Gone Girl slayage begins. Get ready, y'all.

Glad to see Gone Girl The Movie retained some of Gone Girl The Book's humor. That was one thing the dreadfully dark teasers and trailers were lacking.

TIFF reactions:

St. Vincent: Upbeat reviews overall, being called a crowdpleaser, Bill Murray apparently great, rest of cast very good. May not be a big Oscar player but will likely catch on with audiences.

Nightcrawler: I've seen Drive (!) comparisons. Being called ambitious and creepy. Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo getting raves.

Men, Women & Children's initial Twitter reaction is pretty mixed, with some praise (Owen Gleiberman calls it a return to form for Reitman) mixed in with some very, very nasty reactions (Mike D'Angelo and Scott Tobias of The Dissolve were not fans in any way shape or form).

http://www.thewrap.com/stephen-hawking- ... n-toronto/

RT Reviews

Doesn't appear to be a BP contender, but Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones are looking good for noms.

TIFF didn't give us a true frontrunner last we had seen in the past. In fact, although the reviews for Birdman and The Imitation Game are very good, their RT averages are still below 8.0. Think this is paving the way for Interstellar to come in and dominate.

Julianne Moore is getting some buzz for Still Alice.

The Imitation Game won People's Choice at TIFF. Runners-up were Learning to Drive and St. Vincent.

I'm in line for The Imitation Game People's choice screening at TIff! Can't wait as I'm close to the front so should get tickets.

Do u think JLaw can get buzz for Mockingjay? The first half of the book shows Katniss rly cray. I think she can pull it off flawlessly.

Because it's JLaw, yes.

The Imitation Game is incredibly well done. I attended the TIFF People's Choice winner this year and last (12 Years A Slave) and Imitation Game is very powerful in its own right. The audience gave it a resounding applause at the end and it is surprisingly much more mainstream audience friendly than I expected.

The best example I can give for it is A Beautiful Mind meets The King's Speech. Out of the past 15 years of best picture winners it feels very much like a mixture of those two in terms of themes. I really liked Crowe's performance in Mind but Cumberbatch's performance here is at another level. The script and dialogue especially in this is top notch and can't be understated. The lead acting is phenomenal though Keira doesn't add/subtract much from this. I doubt she has a chance at anything more than a nomination.

Cumberbatch is a revelation in this though. He is incredibly good and it really is a highly powerful performance. He is a lock in my mind for a nomination and has a chance at a win though its too early to tell. In my opinion, I wouldn't rule out that he could win the best actor Oscar because he's that good in this.

Best actor, screenplay, director, picture seem like very good possibilities though.

I still feel it doesn't quite have the aura of 12 Years A Slave and so there is still an opening for another best picture winner. However, this has dark horse potential so I would not rule it out. It leaves the audience with a very powerful message that I think is going to resonate with audiences and will garner lots of attention once it expands. If this loses best picture, I can still see them reward the film with best actor for Cumberbatch's performance. It is going to be very hard to ignore this performance as it is the glue for the film that elevates it to another level.

I can't echo enough the dialogue on this as well as the lead performance. The audience really dug the British humor in this one and I was pleasantly surprised how this doesn't feel at all like a period piece on its own. I found in some ways it was even more accessible and powerful than The King's Speech in some ways.

Thanks for your thoughts, O. My anticipation for The Imitation Game went from "don't give a fuck" to "give a fuck" levels. Looking forward to seeing it. (and to a lesser extent, it duking it out with Interstellar for Best Picture)

The reviews for Gone Girl are coming out. They are good, but doesn't look like it'll be a strong contender for BP.