Huh. Kidding aside—especially since Mr. Franco's Howl, about beat poet Allen Ginsberg, is already one of the more anticipated films coming in 2010—this year's indie-rrific slate is actually chock-a-block with ambitious projects. With that in mind, here are three films to keep an eye on. You won't get to see them in Park City, but that doesn't mean you have to miss them when they roll through BAM next summer!

Blue Valentine

How Sundance describes it: A complex portrait of an American marriage, Blue Valentine charts the evolution of a relationship over time. Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel, John Doman.

How we describe it: Do we all realize that the last time Ryan Gosling (also known as The Greatest Actor of His Generation) appeared on screen, it was in Lars and the Real Girl back in 2007? At this point, we'd watch him in anything. So that Blue Valentine, about a couple (Mr. Gosling and the always-excellent Michelle Williams) coming to terms with their crumbling relationship on the cusp of their 10th wedding anniversary, could be ripe with great material is only gravy.

Hesher

How Sundance describes it: A mysterious, anarchical trickster descends on the lives of a family struggling to deal with a painful loss. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Devin Brochu, Piper Laurie, John Carroll Lynch.

How we describe it: When Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears, we pay attention. As the titular Hesher, Mr. Gordon-Levitt gets to go all dark and twisty (complete with long, greasy hair and tattoos) to help a 13-year-old boy overcome the death of his mother. Just a couple of tips for whoever picks this one up for distribution: change the title and lose "anarchical trickster" from the plot description. Unless, of course, the goal is to have as few people see it as possible.

Holy Rollers

How Sundance describes it: A young Hasidic man, seduced by money, power and opportunity, becomes an international Ecstasy smuggler. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Danny A. Abeckaser, Ari Graynor, Jason Fuchs.

How we describe it: Directed by Great Neck, New York's own Kevin Tyler Asch, Holy Rollers sounds like Scarface by way of Boiler Room, which could be a problem until you realize it stars Jesse Eisenberg instead of Giovanni Ribisi. Fresh off Zombieland and with this and David Fincher's The Social Network due in 2010, expect Mr. Eisenberg to finally step out of Michael Cera's wispy shadow.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Is Fox Searchlight contractually obligated to release one film per year with a veteran actor in a career-defining showcase performance? Last year it was Mickey Rourke who delighted audiences in The Wrestler; this year, it looks poised to be Mr. Bridges in Crazy Heart. For those unfamiliar with the film, consider it The Wrestler gone country. Mr. Bridges plays an aging performer on his last legs hoping for one last... yadda yadda yadda. The film might seem trite, but the buzz on Mr. Bridges—who, as the trailer happily points out, is a four-time nominee—is already borderline deafening. Though Crazy Heart doesn't come out for another two weeks, he already feels penciled in as a nominee and perhaps could be a favorite to take home Oscar gold.

Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Call him Jeff Bridges, Jr. The long-beloved Mr. Harrelson has only been nominated once (for The People vs. Larry Flynt), but there is a very good chance that he'll wind up in the running next year. Best Supporting Actor is one of the weaker categories on the docket (lest we forget—and God love him—but people were taking Zack Galifianakis somewhat seriously as a contender for The Hangover), and Mr. Harrelson's work in The Messengers, as a casualty notification agent for the army, has been universally acclaimed. Whether voters actually sit-down and watch the little-seen indie film is a different story, but, hey, that's what screeners are for!

Best Feature: The Last Station

If you've never heard of The Last Station, don't worry: you're probably not alone. But we have a feeling everyone is going to be sure of its existence come Oscar night. The film tied Precious—the ostensible belle of the ball—with five nominations (in addition to Best Feature, nods went to director Michael Hoffman and stars Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer), and if the early reviews are any indication, the plaudits won't stop there. Our own Rex Reed outright gushed about The Last Station, saying it "should be accompanied by the sound of trumpets" and calling it "passionate, profound and unforgettable." With ten slots to fill for Best Picture, will it surprise anyone when The Last Station shows up on the not-short list?

1. 2012: $65 million ($65 million total)

The massive destruction in 2012 wasn't just limited to California falling into the Pacific (hey, you knew that was going to happen eventually, right?), and obviously the massive box office wasn't just limited to North America, either. Internationally, Roland Emmerich's disaster porn epic grossed $160 million, for a worldwide total of $225 million. If that sounds like a lot, that's because it really is: 2012 is the proud owner of the fifth highest international debut ever, and the highest ever for a non-sequel. With a deal that reportedly earns him 25 percent of the total gross, we're guessing Mr. Emmerich might be in the market for a bigger house... though maybe not on the California coast.

2. A Christmas Carol: $22.3 million ($63.2 million total)

Remember last week, when everyone was calling A Christmas Carol a disappointment? Yeah, forget about that. Down just 26 percent, the Robert Zemeckis film pushed its total past $63 million and is well on pace to crack $100 million by the end of Thanksgiving weekend. Right now, A Christmas Carol is running about 15 percent behind Elf—which opened on the same weekend six years ago and went on to gross $173 million—meaning it could wind up with at least $140 million domestically by the time Santa Claus comes to town. Some disappointment, huh?

3. The Men Who Stare at Goats: $6.2 million ($23.3 million total)

Speaking of Christmas, let's hope the guys and gals in the marketing department at Overture get a little extra in their stockings this year. After making a modest hit out of the totally uninteresting Law Abiding Citizen (the Jamie Foxx/Gerard Butler film broke $67 million this weekend), the studio is doing something similar with the critically reviled The Men Who Stare at Goats. With $23 million in the bank thus far, Goats has an outside shot at topping $50 million, a mark that, frankly, didn't seem possible before its release.

4. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: $6.1 million ($8.9 million total)

Say hello to Slumdog Millionaire, 2009 edition. Precious pushed into the top-five over the weekend by averaging $35,000 per showing on just 174 screens. Expand that out to next weekend, when the film hits 600 theaters, and Precious could be on track for $20 million or more and well on its way to $100 million overall. At this rate, be prepared to start hearing words like "phenomenon" and "sensation" used in conjunction with Lee Daniels' indie very shortly.

5. Michael Jackson's This Is It: $5.1 million ($68.2 million total)

Down 61 percent and scheduled to leave theaters after Thanksgiving, the end of the road for This Is It is fast approaching. Still, the Michael Jackson concert film added another $11 million overseas this weekend, meaning it has now grossed $222.6 million worldwide. Deemed a bust far too soon by some uninformed Internet hysterics, This Is It has proved itself to be a winner after all thanks to some heady international receipts. The moral: don't listen to Nikki Finke.

1. A Christmas Carol: $31 million ($31 million total)

Much like what happened with This Is It last weekend, there is a faction of people (read: Nikki Finke) who want to call A Christmas Carol disappointing. And to that, we say: huh? The Disney film had the fourth highest opening for a Christmas film in box office history, behind only The Grinch Who Stole Christmas ($55 million), Elf ($31.1 million) and Four Christmases ($31.07 million). And of those four, only Elf opened this early in the season—if you can even cal the first full weekend in November "the season." Elf went on to gross $173 million total, so if A Christmas Carol can follow suit—and frankly, with the added benefit of IMAX theaters, there is no reason it can't; the next big IMAX movie to hit theaters is Avatar in December—under no metric could it be considered a disappointment. Perhaps Ms. Finke should revise her history before its too late.

2. Michael Jackson's This Is It: $14 million ($57.8 million total)

The aforementioned This Is It dropped a slim 39 percent from last weekend, pushing its total to nearly $60 million domestically and putting it on course to become the highest grossing concert film ever here in America (see you never, Miley Cyrus!). Internationally, the film already has that title with $128.6 million in total grosses. That means this "disappointment" has grossed $186.4 million worldwide in just 12 days. What a disaster!

3. The Men Who Stare at Goats: $13.3 million ($13.3 million total)

A funny thing about George Clooney: he isn't the box office superstar you might think. If you take away his event pictures (the Ocean's series, A Perfect Storm and Batman and Robin), the average wide release opening (2,000 screens or more) for a George Clooney film is around $12 million. With that in mind, $13.3 million for an R-rated military comedy with little buzz—seriously, do you know anyone who wanted to see this?—seems like a pretty big win for both Mr. Clooney and Overture Films.

4. The Fourth Kind: $12.5 million ($12.5 million total)

We have to wonder: if Universal had opened The Fourth Kind two weeks ago would this alien abduction scare fest have scored a bigger debut? The film had to fight not only another weekend Paranormal Activity, but also newcomer The Box (Richard Kelly's parlay for mainstream recognition landed in sixth place with just $7.8 million) for the horror fans hard-earned dollar. We'd venture to say that decision cost Universal at east $5 million if not more. Lest we forget that in the right vehicle—that is: something genre, something scary—Milla Jovovich is usually good for a high-teens opening gross.

5. Paranormal Activity: $8.6 million ($97.4 million total)

Weekend seven of the smash hit of the fall brought Paranormal Activity ever closer to pushing past the $100 million plateau. We hope you're sitting down: even if it peters out at $120 million (likely since this weekend saw a 47 percent drop), Paranormal Activity will wind up grossing 8,000 times its reported $15,000 budget. Not even Nikki Finke could spin that as a disappointment.

A Christmas Carol

What's the story: Are you ready for Christmas? Yeah, we didn't think so. But that hasn't stopped Disney from trotting out yet another version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. This time around Jim Carrey stars as Ebenezer Scrooge, though the twist here is that his entire performance is motion captured and animated. Robert Zemeckis, apparently finished with flesh and bones—he is, after all, planning on a sequel to Roger Rabbit—directs what is sure to be a Polar Express-type money maker for years to come. It's in IMAX 3-D, people! Even Santa Claus couldn't resist that.

Who should see it: Tiny Tim.

The Box

What's the story: If you feel like The Box has been knocking around forever, that's because it has. Richard Kelly's follow-up to the inscrutable and unending Southland Tales was supposed to come out last November, and then again in early October. Now it's finally here, this November. This isn't necessarily a dump—it is opening in over 2,600 theaters—but don't get your hopes up (witness the 45 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Based on a Richard Matheson short story, "Button, Button" (which was turned into a famous Twilight Zone episode), The Box stars a badly accented Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who find a box on their front porch that, if opened, will give them a million dollars... and kill someone they don't know. Oh, the moral implications! Cue the dun-dun-dun music!

Who should see it: Donnie Darko.

The Fourth Kind

What's the story: We know Hollywood loves piggybacking on to trends, but usually it takes more than a few weeks to do so. Ripping a page right out of the Paranormal Activity playbook, The Fourth Kind paints itself as a true-life look at some mysterious disappearances in Nome, Alaska, that were blamed on alien abductions. Wait, isn't that a close encounter of the third kind? Meh. This probably should have come out before Halloween.

Who should see it: Roy Neary.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

What's the story: Despite being the other George Clooney movie here in 2009—Up in the Air, with all its Oscar buzz, will be the one to remember—it feels like we should still be a bit more excited about The Men Who Stare at Goats. Mr. Clooney's good friend Grant Helsov directs this adaptation of Jon Ronson's book about the military's use of the paranormal and psychic soldiers. Don't worry—it might sound creepy, but it's a wacky comedy! The Men Who Stare at Goats has the look of a watered down Coen Brothers movie, complete with Jeff Bridges in a Dude-like performance as the founder of the psychic soldier program. The reviews have been mixed, but our Rex Reed spared no vitriol, calling The Men Who Stare at Goats a "cinematic Katrina" while comparing it to being "stung by a wasp on the inside of your eyelid." Ha! Also, ouch.

Who should see it: The Coen Brothers.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire

What's the story: Since the buzz machine on Lee Daniels' new film has been turned all the way up to eleven for a few months now—Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey signed on as executive producers after it appeared at Sundance; the New York Times did a massive Sunday magazine piece on the film and Mr. Daniels—logic dictates that the backlash would start eventually. And here it comes! While a majority of the reviews have been strong—the Observer's Rex Reed called it "one of the most unforgettable films of the decade"—there are a select few critics who don't seem all that impressed. Of course noted contrarian Armond White eviscerated the film (apparently Norbit is better), but both David Edelstein and Anthony Lane have their doubts too. Still, what everyone seems to agree on is that Precious is not for the faint of heart—the 16-year-old heroine is raped, abused, and worse. And while that might turn you off, since this is sure to be one of the films on the long list for Oscar (hey, 10 nominees!), you should probably find yourself a ticket anyway.

Who should see it: Madea.

Raw, harrowing and undeniably unsettling, the controversial, much-anticipated Precious arrives on waves of film festival buzz this week. See it at your own risk, but be forewarned: It is not for the delicate of stomach or faint of heart. Nevertheless, it is so powerful a depiction of abuse among the mentally challenged and socially disenfranchised that it even manages to rise above what may well be the most pretentious title of the year. Yes, it’s actually called Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire—an albatross that won’t fit on any marquee, destined to keep potential filmgoers away by the thousands. You can’t even say it, much less remember it.

This is a shame, because Precious is one of the most unforgettable films of the decade. Business will probably build with the endorsement of Oprah Winfrey, who had already seen it before she signed on as executive producer. At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, she said it left her gasping for air, adding that she sees women like Precious on the street constantly and even saw herself in the character. This is hard to believe, since Precious is an obese, illiterate 16-year-old in the slums of Harlem who is verbally and physically assaulted on a daily basis by her vile, addicted mother and pregnant by her own father for the second time. Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, an office worker who beat out 500 seasoned actors for the title role, is positively astounding. Like everything Oprah promotes, the movie follows the classic Oprah formula: Mix one part suffering with two parts redemption and watch the audience squirm, then cry.

Claireece “Precious” Jones is plagued by more suffering than most people have the strength to endure in a lifetime. Shuffled between a father who rapes her and a chain-smoking slob of a mother who force-feeds her junk food in the hope that she will grow lethargic and fat enough to qualify for food stamps, Precious confides to her welfare worker that she had her first baby on the kitchen floor while her mother was kicking her. (The mother now calls the baby “Mongo,” which is short for “mongoloid”.) The mother is both brutal and sympathetic, thanks to the cliché-resistant direction of Lee Daniels and a blazing performance by the potty-mouthed, two-fisted comedian Mo’Nique. Salvation is rendered by a beautiful teacher improbably named Blu Rain (Paula Patton), who teaches Precious to read, write, confront her demons by keeping a journal and come out of her shell long enough to stand up for her own rights; and by a dowdy, plain-speaking social worker (played by singer Mariah Carey with no makeup and a look of dour exhaustion) who helps Precious find some dignity in a life of hell. The movie is about the struggle to survive in the face of severe adversity, and the message is that every undervalued Precious deserves respect as a human being.

To reach this moral, you are first subjected to almost as much pain as Precious. Already in the ninth grade and incapable of making complete sentences, she constructs barriers against the misery inflicted by her parents and by the other girls in her alternative learning program. This is obviously a girl who’s never heard of portion control. There’s a scene where Precious, destitute and hungry, steals an enormous bucket of fried chicken, wolfs it down running and throws up on the street. Some of the material is humorous but most of it is downright shocking, as Precious bravely bears black eyes delivered by her mother and heartbreaking humiliations from classmates who make oinking pig noises when she leaves the room. By the time her mother throws her new baby on the floor in a lacerating tantrum, there will doubtlessly be a few who head for the exit doors. There isn’t much for Precious to live for. When she looks up toward heaven, it’s not in pride, but with the hope that a grand piano will fall on her head.

Miraculously, she can still dream. Depression lifts only when she escapes reality long enough to imagine she’s a model or a rock star, dressed in feathers and finery, like Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, for a movie-musical close-up. In the fantasy sequences, director Lee Daniels relieves the tension by creating an inner world of celebrity and adoration that people like Precious see only on a TV screen in the squalor of their dimly lit rooms. The highs and lows in Geoffrey Fletcher’s screenplay capture the mood and imagination of the book by Ramona Lofton (“Sapphire”), who based the hardscrabble story on events she witnessed when she was a teacher in Harlem, and the magnificent actors are all inspired, many of them sure bets when awards season arrives. When she finally discovers an inner spirit that emerges after years of ignorance and neglect and summons the courage to leave home, you may applaud through your tears, but you won’t look at the next Preciouses you see on the subway and find them invisible.

(For the record, the nominees were Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader.)

The lack of quality films dawned on us last weekend when we saw a "For Your Consideration" ad for Betty White and her supporting performance in The Proposal. Yep, you read that correctly: The Proposal. Clearly this nomination won't happen, but what's scary is that it's not hard to imagine a scenario in which it does. Never mind that The Proposal was generic romantic comedy pabulum, served cold and wrapped in the admittedly strong charms of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Besides Ms. White, who else is even in the running for Best Supporting Actress outside of the apparently self-sabotaging Mo'Nique in Precious and the entire female cast of Nine? And it's not just Best Supporting Actress that's weak: across the board it's hard to find any standouts period. Christoph Waltz was very good in Inglourious Basterds, but in a normal year we wonder if he'd even get a nomination; in 2010, he'll be a favorite.

Taking it even further, by this time last year eventual winner Slumdog Millionaire had built up strong festival momentum and advanced praise, the campaigns for The Dark Knight and WALL*E were in full swing, and the buzz on Milk and Benjamin Button were deafening. However, now, with the exceptions of Up in the Air (the belle of the ball at the Toronto International Film Festival in the same way that Slumdog Millionaire was), and the aforementioned Precious (an Oprah Winfrey endorsement and a massive New York Times piece will do that), a Best Picture frontrunner cannot be found. Even Clint Eastwood's Invictus, an assumed lock for multiple nominations, looks decidedly blah based on its first trailer.

This would all be fine, but for the fact that the Best Picture category has expanded to ten nominees. How is the Academy going to fill up ten slots when they can barely come up with enough for five? We hope you're ready for the admittedly awesome Star Trek to be called  a "Best Picture candidate."

But, hey, such is the state of the Oscars, an awards show that feels perilously close to the edge of irrelevancy—not because of problems with its telecast—because there is a lack of compelling movies. If only Ricky Gervais were hosting, maybe we'd be excited for the Oscar season anyway. Oh, wait...