“Rush” is one of those feature films that has so many things going for it, like an Academy Award winning director in Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind”) and a top-notch cast in Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, but has the chance of not being noticed at this year’s Oscars. I could see this year playing out one of two ways. Either “Rush” upsets and shows up in Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay, among others, and lands as one of the best films of the year. Or it merely shows up in categories like Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects, with the second option being the more likely. Although I loved “Rush”, there’s something amid this year that makes me feel like it won’t make much of a mark, but I honestly hope I’m wrong.

For me, I like a good mixture of films landing in Best Picture and with the floor open to 8-10 films, there is still a strong possibility that this film makes the cut. A well-rounded Best Picture category is key to having that many films nominated and seeing “Rush” among “Gravity” and “12 Years A Slave” is a) nowhere near out of the realm of possibility and feels right just typing it and b) makes for a very well-rounded Best Picture category already. With the acting categories stacked, there’s nothing that makes me believe anyone could get nominated for those, except possibly Daniel Brühl who shows enough Oscar prowess in one of his first major outings that could garner some attention. “Rush” and it’s possibilities are completely up in the air, but the dreamer in me will bank heavily on seeing this film bring in some surprising nominations.

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