Last year, Natalie Portman made a political statement by calling out the fact that all five nominees for Best Director at the Golden Globes were men. It was a bit annoying, because it didn't matter whether or not a woman actually did a directing job worthy of consideration (Patty Jenkins, perhaps?), what mattered in her … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Best Director
The Short categories are always my favorite part of Oscar season, because you get to see the whole set all at once, and immediately judge them against each other. And as it turns out, each of the three lists have four films that are all thematically similar in some way, with one oddball that doesn't … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Documentary Short
The Original Song category carries the suggested caveat that the nominated numbers be considered within the contexts of their respective films. The Original Score category, however, outright requires it. Because, you know, that's the point. One of the cool bits about this category is the way it's evolved over the years. It actually currently sits … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Original Score
Even though the Academy tends to award both Sound categories together, I like tackling them with a good amount of space in between. It helps to prevent me conflating the two disciplines. That way I can properly process my thoughts on the subtle differences between the two, because I took a brake to parse everything … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Sound Mixing
I only had two movies to see to complete this year's Oscar Blitz (outside of the Shorts, that is), the fewest I've ever had to see, which is good, because I'm dead flat broke at the moment. Anyway, given that there were just the two, I figured it'd be best to work the appropriate categories … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Animated Feature
While the Oscar Blitz has been going on, the other major ceremonies of this year's Awards Season have been having their say on the final outcome. Over the last couple of weeks, we've gotten results from the BAFTAs, SAG, and the DGA. The Writers Guild and the Independent Spirit Awards are still to come, but … Continue reading I’m Giving Out Wings! – Awards Circuit Catch-Up
It's been a long time since Best Actor was a competitive race of any kind. Last year, Gary Oldman was anointed before Darkest Hour even came out, practically. It was the same the year before with Casey Affleck, even though Denzel Washington's performance in Fences was beyond belief. The year before, Leonardo DiCaprio was given his "Lifetime … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Best Actor
This year the Academy has been all about pleasing the audience, for better or worse. On the plus side, more crowd favorites are up for major awards, including Black Panther and Bohemian Rhapsody, which makes the ceremony more accessible to the audience at large, even if it's something of a stopgap measure to stave off the possibility … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Documentary Feature
Film Editing is arguably the most personal category to me, as I've got about a decade of experience as a TV editor under my belt, the vast majority of it in cable sports (those SportsCenter highlights don't cut themselves). As such, I know the incredible amount of hard work that the post-production staff puts in on … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Film Editing
By its very nature, the Visual Effects category is the most fluid of the entire ceremony. Not only do the artists and editors constantly put in some insane hours trying to one-up each other, but as technology evolves, so does the collective taste of the audience and the Academy voters. It's amazing to look back … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Visual Effects
I Actually Paid To See This 