Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies.

Some trailers try to sell you on an entertaining premise, loading two minutes with jokes or explosions or scares.  Others, however, are built to simply scream “Oscar bait!” as loudly as possible.  They typically appear around this time of year in anticipation of movies coming out in the last three months of the year.  Oscar bait trailers usually highlight their impressive casts, are often about family drama, and frequently revolve around a death.  Here’s the first one I’ve seen so far this year:

The Judge totally fits the Oscar bait bill.  It has an impressive cast including Robert Downey, Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton and Vincent D’Onofrio.  The story of a big city lawyer (with a penchant for peeing on opposing attorneys) returning to a small town upon the death of his mother, forced to deal with his estranged father is right down the center of the typical Oscar bait story.  The only thing it lacks is a big-name director, instead it’s directed by David Dobkin who is famous for comedies like Wedding Crashers.

The film actually looks pretty good, and I think Duvall and Downey, Jr. will make for an exciting onscreen pairing.  The twist of Duvall’s judge character being prosecuted for murder by running someone over with his car, with his son forced to defend him in court, seems like a nice setup for drama.  I doubt there’s much in the way of surprises in store in the film, and I imagine the two main characters will learn about each other and come to appreciate each other’s viewpoints by the end of the film.  Still, while I may not be eagerly awaiting The Judge, it looks like it will be worth seeing when it comes out.

The trick with “Oscar bait” movies is that these days the traditional Oscar bait movies aren’t guaranteed to get a nomination.  The Academy still rewards these sorts of films, but they often get overlooked in favor of more unique or more obscure films.  For example, last year’s August: Osage County seemed like stereotypical Oscar bait, but it was mostly shut out of the Oscar race, earning only two nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress (after Meryl Streep screwed over Emma Thompson).  In the 90’s The Judge would have been guaranteed a slot, but things aren’t as simple these days.

What do you think?  Does The Judge look interesting?  Do you think it screams “Oscar bait?”  What do you think of the cast?  Does the story look predictable?  Let me know in the comments!