As the artform of cinema continues to evolve, and the business of it continues to devolve, it becomes more and more important to recognize the achievements of talented professionals and the definition of words. The Oscar for Production Design is the only one that's technically awarded to two different parties with separate job titles - … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Production Design
There's no right or wrong way to judge the Original Score category, mostly because each film requires a different atmospheric touch from the orchestral music to properly convey the tone. For some, like Star Wars or Jurassic Park, a bold, sweeping theme locks the scenes and the overall movie in your memory for all time. … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Original Score
I accomplished a lot this weekend. I was able to make my screening of Robot Dreams, so all features for this year's Oscars are in the books. I took in Madame Web, what is almost certain to be the worst movie of the year. I got my taxes done. I kept my blogging streak going. … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Animated Short
As I sit here typing, we are three weeks out from Oscar Night, and somehow I still have 10 movies from 2023 to review. God I'm piling a lot of stuff on my plate! Eight of those 10 are Independent Spirit nominees. I successfully cast my ballot this past Monday, and I look forward to … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – The Spirit Stragglers, Part Three
If you've had any kind of online presence over the last five days or so, you've probably seen that the reviews for Sony's latest Spider-Man adjacent film, Madame Web, have been abysmal. Even the few positive critiques (23 out of 181 as of this writing, making for a woeful 13% average on Rotten Tomatoes) basically … Continue reading Don’t Do Dumb Stuff – Madame Web
The last year has been a trying one if you're a fan of blockbuster films with great effects. We're approaching a nadir for CGI overuse, from Marvel shitting out one terrible movie after another (with the exception of tonight's sole MCU nominee) that are basically just shot on green screens now, to science fiction shlock … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Visual Effects (VIDEO)
When I first started learning about media and communications, it was so I could work on my high school's public access broadcasts of football and basketball games. It was like, the one advanced thing we had going in this semi-rural community. All of our home games in the three major sports had full-on productions where … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Cinematography
Last year we had legitimate suspense in three of the four acting categories. Only Ke Huy Quan's victory for Best Supporting Actor was a sure thing. This year, as I've mentioned before, is very much not the case. Supporting Actor is all but a lock for Robert Downey Jr., and being extremely generous we can … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Supporting Actress
More than any other category in the Academy Awards, this is the one I always feel least qualified to analyze. This is because I know fuck all about the practicalities of the craft. I have had makeup put on me before, including by professional HMU artists. But I am so basic my pH level is … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Makeup & Hairstyling
As previously mentioned, in two years' time the Oscars will be back up to 24 categories, as the Academy will introduce an award for Best Casting. I very much look forward to this new aspect of my annual obsession. But I have to admit, it's felt odd for the last few years to only have … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Sound
I Actually Paid To See This 