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

Pick a Damn Lane! – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

In the vast and infinite incompetence, er, wisdom of Kevin Feige, the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are now canonically and collectively referred to as "The Infinity Saga." Phase Four, which began with Black Widow and will continue through Phase Six, is called "The Multiverse Saga." Now, the idea of several parallel … Continue reading Pick a Damn Lane! – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

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

Finding Your Strength – Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night

The previous entry in the Sword Art Online film series began the cinematic adaptation of the "Progressive" spinoff light novels, where franchise creator Reki Kawahara began a more detailed retconning of the main story, which originally jumped from Floor 1 of the floating castle Aincrad inside the titular virtual reality death game (if a player's … Continue reading Finding Your Strength – Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night