Go Ahead and Try to Resist 'Monuments Men,' Oscar

It seems this is the week for trailers headed for the 2014 Oscars race: First there was Ridley Scott's The Counselor , then Spike Jonze's Her, then Tom Hanks' Captain Phillips , and Thursday, the first preview of The Monuments Men, the George Clooney-directed World War II drama, was revealed. Based on a true story, Men chronicles the adventures of seven art historians, museum directors, and curators who are given the dangerous task of going into war-torn Germany to save artworks from being destroyed by the Nazis. Check out the trailer below.

If the trailer's any indication of the actual movie, The Monuments Men should be a strong contender for a little golden man come 2014. The cast alone — Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, and Cate Blanchett, among others — is impressive enough, but the movie itself looks to be a smart, fast-paced thriller in the vein of Inglourious Basterds and, strangely enough, Ocean's Eleven. Count us in.

The Monuments Men is directed and co-written by George Clooney. It will be released by Sony on Dec. 18. Be sure to catch up with it before its cast hits the Oscars stage next March.