Back Row Thoughts – The Blitz Campaign

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

Back Row Thoughts – Animation Nomination, Part 4

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

Back Row Thoughts: Doc’s Orders – Part 4

Well folks, we made it. After nearly two months of searching, planning, and running all over creation, we've once again reached the end of the Documentary Feature shortlist. This year was harder than most, as a lot of non-fiction films flew completely under the radar. Only a few got full-on theatrical releases, while the vast … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts: Doc’s Orders – Part 4

Back Row Thoughts – The End of the Tour

The quest to tackle the list of candidates for specialized feature films is always a fun adventure. Fifteen films make the shortlist for both International and Documentary, while the Animated field is just whatever eligible movies get submitted regardless of individual merit or quality. But it's always exciting to see as many of them as … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – The End of the Tour

Back Row Thoughts – Doc’s Orders, Part 2

We're in the thick of it this Awards Season, with the Oscar Blitz fast approaching. The Academy announces its nominations in just over a week, the major guilds have already released their lists (with the Writers Guild of America curiously waiting until a day after AMPAS), the BAFTA nods are coming later this week, and … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Doc’s Orders, Part 2

Back Row Thoughts – Animation Nomination, Part 3

I am now 24 films deep into this year's field for the Animated Feature Oscar. Only three entries remain after this, and of those three, only one will definitely become available this month. The debate for me then becomes whether to watch it and give it a standalone review, wait until the other two get … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Animation Nomination, Part 3

Back Row Thoughts – Doc’s Orders, Part 1

Hello all, and welcome to 2023! I hope everyone had a pleasant holiday, regardless of how you celebrated. Mercifully, 2022 is finally over, but that doesn't mean we're done with its cinematic slate, not by a long shot. The unofficial tally for the year, cut off at calendar's end, is 116 films viewed, but obviously … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Doc’s Orders, Part 1