Awards Season is firmly underway, and we're getting ever so close to the main event. The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominees this morning, and the Golden Globes will reveal their list next week, though obviously I put far, Far, FAR less stock in the latter. A week after that, the Academy will release their … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Autumn-ation, Part 2
If you tuned in to the blog today hoping to see my review of Wicked for Good, all I can say is... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!*deep inhale*HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! All jokes aside, I will see it eventually, but given the eight month advertising blitz for the first half of the movie last year and the five month campaign for the … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Autumn-ation, Part 1
Over the course of a given year, I wind up providing coverage for a number of film festivals for my friends at No Rest for the Weekend. This includes the Brooklyn Film Festival, Tribeca, Slamdance, Mill Valley, and AFI Fest on a regular basis, and others like Soho, Newfest, Brooklyn Horror, and the New York … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Late Doc Appointments
The annual quest to complete the Animated Feature category before it starts is a goal I've come painfully close to achieving for years now. Every time that I've attempted the feat, I've fallen just one or two films shy of totality, usually because a foreign entry only got a one-week Academy qualifying release, and I … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Ani-Maybe?
Tomorrow is my birthday, so this weekend I decided I would celebrate a little bit by returning to the multiplex. Despite my financial woes, it is still my goal to stay as far ahead of the potential slate for next year's Animated Feature contest as possible. Also, in a bit of good news, I finally … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Wheel of Four Toons
It's the middle of April, so why in God's name am I already doing batch reviews of animated films? Well, there are a few reasons. First is that I'm already super stoked for next year's Oscars. The Academy will be debuting its new category for Casting, and just to keep aficionados like me super hyped, … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Mythologization
Believe it or not, folks, this is the end of my backlog! At long last, every feature I saw for the 2024 canon will get its proper review, and I can move on to 2025 stuff (I already have four new releases in my back pocket, and I plan on two more before the week … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – The True Warriors
A few weeks ago, I began my crash course through this year's Documentary Feature shortlist. I make it my mission every year to see all 15 semifinalists, preferably before Oscar nominations are announced. For the past few years, I've succeeded more times than not, and that includes the class of 2024. This is far from … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – The True Killers
It's been just over a week since the Oscar nominations were announced, and the annual Blitz is already in progress. The timeline is extremely tight this year, with only five and a half weeks between the nominee release and the ceremony itself, which as I've previously mentioned is the shortest window since the pandemic. Normally … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – A Compressed Blitz
The Oscar Blitz begins proper in 24 hours, people. The annual marathon labor of love is just a day away! I'm so excited I can't sleep! I'm also running myself ragged and begging for sleep! The things we do for our art. HAH! Like what I do is art. Anyway, adjacent to the Blitz coverage … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Jet-Setting, Part Two
I Actually Paid To See This 