We're a week away from the Oscars, and starting tomorrow, the Blitz enters the home stretch. Even though I published my first new review of the year yesterday, I still have five more films from 2025 left to cover. Two of them I'll hold until Saturday, as they kind of fit into their own separate … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – So Much Blitzing, Part 4
I will fully admit, I did not have high hopes for Pixar's latest feature, Hoppers. It was coming out in early March, which is a very iffy statement for the studio's confidence in the quality. The trailers were not encouraging, at times making the film seem like an updated version of the unwatchable G-Force, and … Continue reading Nice Beaver! – Hoppers
An odd thought occurred to me today. We're fully two months into 2026, and I still haven't seen a "new" movie yet this year. Sure, I've taken in a bunch as part of the Blitz, but nothing for the official 2026 canon yet. And I'm still working my way through the review backlog, with nine … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – So Much Blitzing, Part 3
As we get closer and closer to Oscar Night, there are moments when we take stock of the year that was in cinema as a whole. So much is ignored when it comes to Awards Season, so it's often difficult to remember and recognize the quality - or lack thereof - when truly assessing the … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – So Much Blitzing, Part 2
I do my best each year to see as many movies as possible, with a particular igniting of the proverbial afterburners as we get closer to Oscar season. I know I'll never have full feature completion by the time nominations come out and the Blitz begins, but most of the time I come within a … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – So Much Blitzing, Part 1
In less than 48 hours, I'll begin the Oscar Blitz, and run a gauntlet for five weeks breaking down every category and nominee, as I've done every year that I've kept this blog up. As I write this, I still have 11 films from 2025 on my review backlog, not counting the nine I had … Continue reading DownStream – For Your Consolidation, Part 3: Narrative
Every year, no matter how many films I see, there will always be a few that slip through the cracks during their theatrical runs, and inevitably some of them will be nominated for Oscars, including in high-profile categories like Best Picture. I've never had feature completion before nominations come out, though I've gotten close a … Continue reading DownStream – The Pre-Blitz Catch-Up
I've harped a lot on my annual quixotic ambition to clear the Animated Feature list, even though I've never been able to accomplish the goal. What I do make a normal habit of is dusting off the shortlists for International Feature and Documentary Feature. This is oftentimes a very difficult mission, as strictly speaking, the … Continue reading DownStream – For Your Consolidation, Part 2: Documentary
The quest for completion during Oscar season can at times be arduous, not to mention tedious and expensive, especially when you don't actually complete. As I do every year, I set the goal of finishing all the films submitted and accepted as eligible by the Academy for the Animated Feature prize. I knew from the … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Cleanup Animation
The Oscar nominations are officially out, and the annual Blitz is on! I'll determine my coverage schedule over the next few days, with the first breakdown coming on Monday, February 9. In the meantime, though, I have a TON of films still to review, 36 to be precise. Yeah, between stuff that got nominated, stuff … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – International Festivities
I Actually Paid To See This 