The coming-of-age film is certainly nothing new. It's a well-worn bit of storytelling that can very easily fall into the trappings of cliché, but depending on your sensibilities, even the most tired moments can work because they ring true for the audience either hitting that point in their lives or reminiscing about bygone eras. Even … Continue reading I’m Gonna Run to You – Licorice Pizza
One of my favorite films of all time is the 1932 pre-Code horror film, Freaks. Like many of the great "monster" movies of the age, the film succeeds because of its very sympathetic treatment of the carnival workers that make up the bulk of its cast, asking the crucial, "Who is the real monster?" question … Continue reading Can You Read My Mind? – Nightmare Alley
We come to it at last. Twenty-four days straight, no breaks, one category after another. And now, there's just one more to go, the big one, Best Picture. Now, because I cannot just let things be easy, I have a completely convoluted process for determining my rankings in this field. This is for two reasons. … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2020 – Best Picture
Okay folks, I've waited long enough. I'm not going to "spoil" anything, because you've most likely already either seen the movie ($1.2 billion worldwide opening), have already been spoiled (seriously, LeSean McCoy, WTF Shady?), or simply just don't care. I will discuss plot elements, and I will reveal one late item that is already public … Continue reading Marvel Plays Their Greatest Hits – Avengers: Endgame
I meant to do this yesterday, but I just did a 16-day streak of blog posts, and in the end I decided that napping was more important. Plus, it never hurts to have a few more hours to process things. So now that the dust has settled, let's recap the proceedings. I'm not offended by Green … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Postmortem
The second year of the Oscar Blitz on this blog has been a wild ride, and I thank each and every one of my readers for taking it with me. Tomorrow's the big night, and after five weeks of in-depth analysis and general shit-talk, it's time to put my non-existent money where my loud mouth … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Who Will Win?
We've come to it at last, folks. The award to end all awards, the one win to rule them all. It's time to take all the laughs, tears, analysis, and petulant bitching and lump it all together to see which nominee should win Best Picture less than a mere 48 hours from now. And because … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Best Picture
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
As a writer who aspires one day to hear his name called by the Academy, I take special interest in the Screenplay categories. I prefer Original to Adapted, because if there's one thing Hollywood needs more than ever these days, it's original ideas. But the adaptation process is also fascinating in its own way, because … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Adapted Screenplay
It's time! It's finally time! Time to debate and debase the thinking of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, because the nominees for the 91st Oscars have arrived! Will I have to scramble to see multiple films I missed over the course of 2018? Will it just be a casual trip to the … Continue reading 3, 2, 1, BLITZ! – 91st Academy Award Nominees Announced!
I Actually Paid To See This 