We finally made it, everyone! After weeks of speculation, analysis, viewings, and general complaining, it's finally time for the 95th Academy Awards. The celebrities are out in force, idiots are asking about "who" a person is wearing when they really mean "what," and the good people at PricewaterhouseCoopers have been duly instructed to actually pay … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Live Diary
Most of the time, when a film is pulled from a studio's release schedule, it's because the movie either isn't finished and won't be on time, or it's incredibly bad, necessitating a new date in order to let it quietly die alongside much stronger competition at the box office. Sometimes it's both. Over the last … Continue reading Hacking It – Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
The nominees have had their moments in the sun. Every category has been given its due consideration. I've crossed my fingers and endorsed all my favorites in hopes that they'll take home a well-earned victory come Sunday night. But will it all shake out the way I want it to? Of course not! If I … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Who Will Win? (VIDEO)
We're less than 72 hours away from this year's Academy Awards, and as happens every year, I didn't get to see everything before nominations were revealed. I did better than I've ever done before, coming up just five shy of pre-announcement totality, and in three of the five cases, the films weren't readily available, with … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – The Blitz Campaign
We made it! After 22 categories, five videos, and a metric tonne of anxiety over possible typo's (DAMMIT!), we've come at last to the final and most important field of this year's Blitz, Best Picture! It's been exhausting, but oh so satisfying to see votes come in on the polls, views and like totals raise … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Best Picture (VIDEO)
As you may know, I have a particular set of issues when it comes to the Oscars every year. Sometimes it's who gets nominated. Sometimes it's the naked corporate fealty to Disney. Sometimes it's the exercise in utter cringe that the ceremony itself has become. Sometimes it's all of the above. But I keep following … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Documentary Feature
If you know me, you know I'm sort of a stickler when it comes to rules and organization. Hell, on some of the shows I work on in real life, I literally write them. I'm not completely anal about things, but I do believe that when regulations are made in good faith, they should be … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Original Song
We're officially one week from the 95th Academy Awards, and in these final days, the task falls upon me to begin officially closing the book on 2022 cinema. I was able to clear the vast majority of the Oscar nominees before they were even announced, and in my pursuit of hopefuls and also-rans after the … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Nomination, Part 4
More than anything else in Creed III, this latest entry in the Rocky film series (notably the first where Sylvester Stallone doesn't appear, serving only in a Producer role) emphasizes the idea of casting aside the shadows of the past. Whether it's through personal healing, confrontation, or taking the reins on a meta level, this … Continue reading Out of the Shadows – Creed III
For the second straight year, my journey through the Short Film Program had an extra degree of excitement. Due to the timing and location of the screenings, I was able to view all three categories in one day. It started with Animation at the newly-remodeled NuArt Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard, followed almost immediately by … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2023 – Live Action Short (VIDEO)
I Actually Paid To See This 