Most people this weekend will be clamoring to see Black Panther. Honestly, I'll probably be one of them. It's going to be the first true blockbuster of the year. But there's another movie worth checking out if you get the chance (or if Black Panther is sold out), the latest claymation family feature from Nick Park (Wallace … Continue reading Prehistoric Footballers Bend it Like Bedrock – Early Man
Tonight we continue our coverage of the short subject categories, with Documentary Short, typically the longest of the set. I've seen the groupings four years in a row now, and twice there was a case where enough of the films pushed up against the 40-minute time limit that an intermission was necessary after watching three … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Documentary Short
This is, technically, another category where you don't need to actually see the movies to get the nominees. You can literally go to YouTube right now and hear the soundtracks to all five nominated films and get the gist of it. Hell, I did that myself before I wrote this just so I'd have a … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Original Score
I've spent close to a decade as a video editor over the years, particularly in sports television. I learned how to edit reel-to-reel in high school, and non-linear editing began in college when I first was trained on Final Cut. I've used that system, as well as AVID, Quantel, and Edius over the course of … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Film Editing
This is, by far, my favorite part of Oscar season, when I get to watch the nominated short films. For the longest time this was also the hardest part of the season, due to a lack of accessibility. Until recently, the short film nominees in all three categories were voted on by Academy members who … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Animated Short
As a writer, this is my favorite award. As an overall fan of film, it can be the most infuriating. This is mostly because a) original ideas are hard to come by in Hollywood these days, and b) more often than not, the award becomes the consolation prize for a Best Picture also-ran. Since 2000, … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Original Screenplay
I've been a fan of Clint Eastwood my entire life. I used to watch the Dirty Harry movies as a kid, I love High Plains Drifter, and I've really come to enjoy his work as a director. Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, the man's hardly had a misfire. But over the last decade or so, there's been a noticeable … Continue reading Three American Heroes Save a Train… After 80 Minutes of Hokey Preaching – The 15:17 to Paris
Ah, Visual Effects, the category where the big budget blockbusters have the best chance to bring home some gold. Everything from CGI to animatronics to practical gore effects to explosions can be honored. It's probably the only reason for Michael Bay's existence at this point. Well, that and ruining everything I loved about my childhood; … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Visual Effects
I'll warn you in advance. This is gonna be a long one. This is one of the few categories that normally can't be completed before nominations are announced. This is in part because access to documentaries can be extremely limited, especially if you're trying to see them in theatres. You need an indie or arthouse … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Documentary Feature
How does your film look? That's the basic question of the Production Design category, known as Art Direction until 2012. It seems like a simple question, and the broad scope of the category seems equally cut and dry. This award recognizes the "interior look" of a film, specifically the artistic atmosphere of a film, as … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Production Design
