Matt vs. the Academy

You really haven't lived until you've witnessed first-hand the Christopher Walken mid-sentence pause. He is currently starring on Broadway in Martin McDonagh's new play A Behanding in Spokane , which I saw during the week. I lost count of how many times he surprised me by adding more words to a sentence that I had thought was conclusively over. His relaxed, dry delivery is so intensely entertaining that he hardly needs to speak for the audience to erupt with glee. Add Sam Rockwell to that equation and you've got yourself a very fine show, I assure you. Granted, the story is a little weird but with actors like that, they could be reading the nutritional information on the back of a cereal box and I'd be enthralled. This evening, I watched nominee number four from the Best Picture shortlist of 1950... Father of the Bride Director : Vincente Minelli Screenplay : Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (based on the novel by Edward Streeter) Starring : Spencer Tracy, Joan B...

Am I wrong to assume that, when I order a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae from Dunkin' Donuts, the server will know what ingredients to use without having to ask me? I mean, I didn't come up with it. It's on the menu. Is there not some kind of training that you are given when you are hired? Training that shows you how to make each menu item? ... It might also help if you gave me a spoon. Rant aside, don't forget to be counted in the vote for Matt vs. the Academy's next year of review. The poll can be found over there on the right hand side of the page. Today, I took a look at another nominee from 1950's Best Picture race... King Solomon's Mines Director : Compton Bennett & Andew Marton Screenplay : Helen Deutsch (based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard) Starring : Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson Academy Awards : 3 nominations 2 wins, including Best Color Cinematography H. Rider Haggard's literary creation Allan Quatermain (Granger) ...

There is a discussion among two characters in the film I have reviewed below about "blowing one's own horn" and I trust you will forgive me as I do just that. Yesterday, just under a year after arriving in the country, I am proud to say I officially became a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the distinguished union representing actors working in film and television. Quite a milestone, I assure you. Even though I have been a member of the Australian performers' union for almost 20 years, joining SAG still feels like an accomplishment. Of course, in Australia, there is only one union covering actors in all areas of their careers. Americans like to do things bigger, so there are at least three unions that an actor can join here - SAG for film & TV, Equity for theatre and AFTRA for TV & radio. One down, two to go... Today, I watched another classic Best Picture nominee from 1950... All About Eve Director : Joseph L. Mankiewicz Screenplay : Joseph L. Mankiewicz...

Last week, I accompanied Kat and her parents, who are in town visiting, to take in a Broadway show. We chose A Little Night Music , starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. One of them was making her Broadway debut. The other decidedly was not. Five-time Tony Award winner Lansbury (whose screen debut , incidentally, has already featured in this project) was an absolute delight to watch. Although all her stage time was in a wheelchair, she was spirited and sprightly, bounding out of the chair for her curtain call. Not bad for an 84-year-old. I can only hope I am as prolific at her age. You can now vote for the next year of review for Matt vs. the Academy by selecting one of the options in the poll on the right. Meanwhile, we begin taking a look at the Academy's contenders for Best Picture in 1950, starting with... Sunset Boulevard Director : Billy Wilder Screenplay : Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder & D.M. Marshman, Jr. Starring : William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich vo...

Once again, I am confronted with five very worthy contenders for the Best Picture crown. As is the case with most of the awards years of this decade, the films on 1975's shortlist could each plausibly have been my pick in some other year. Despite this abundance of cinematic excellence, I had little trouble selecting my favourite. The nominees for Best Picture of 1975 are: Barry Lyndon Dog Day Afternoon Jaws Nashville One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Five classics of 1970s film-making from five accomplished directors whose films feature heavily in this project. With the exception of perhaps Barry Lyndon, the only period piece in the mix, all these films achieve their engaging mood mostly through realistically conversational dialogue. Characters talk over each other and there is a general feeling of chaos. Understandable when you consider some of the circumstances - a bank robbery, a mental institution, a shark-induced panic. In any case, each of these films are certainly compelli...

A colleague at work asked me the other day whether my wife was a nerd. My initial response was to suggest that she is as much of a nerd as I am. That is to say, only slightly. I then proceeded to list some of the slightly nerdy things we do together, concluding with the fact that we are currently in the midst of completing Lego Star Wars on the Wii. I paused to comprehend what I had just said. Lego. Star Wars. Wii. Yes. My wife is a nerd. As am I. Today, I concluded the review of the Best Picture nominees from 1975 with my watching of... One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Director : Milos Forman Screenplay : Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman (based on the novel by Ken Kesey) Starring : Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Brad Dourif, Sydney Lassick, Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Dean R. Brooks Academy Awards : 9 nominations 5 wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Nicholson) & Best Actress (Fletcher) Transferred from prison to a m...

Have you ever eaten waffle fries? If not, find some now and eat them. They're just like regular fries, only shaped to look kind of like waffles. I'm not entirely sure how that happens. I assume it's some kind of latticed pressing implement. But whatever the method, it takes regular slices of potato and turns them into crispy waffles of deliciousness. My local diner makes them and, if it weren't so detrimental to my arteries, I could live off them. Today, I viewed another Kubrick entry into the Best Picture nominated family, this one from 1975... Barry Lyndon Director : Stanley Kubrick Screenplay : Stanley Kubrick (based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray) Starring : Ryan O'Neail, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Kruger, Leon Vitali Academy Awards : 7 nominations 4 wins, including Best Cinematography Redmond Barry (O'Neal) is an 18th century Irishman with a crush on his own cousin who, despite her initial reciprocation, shuns him for a well-to-do En...

Once again, I have been waylaid from my duties here at Matt vs. the Academy. And once again, it is due to an exciting work opportunity. This week, I spent time in Peekskill, New York, on the set of Mildred Pierce, an upcoming HBO mini-series, based on the novel by James M. Cain. Coincidentally, this production is linked to this blog for two reasons. First, it is based on the same source material as the 1945 Best Picture-nominated Joan Crawford film of the same name, which will be reviewed right here in due course. Second, it stars Kate Winslet, who appears in a number of films on the Best Picture honour roll. The character I played had the not-at-all demeaning moniker Starched Collar Man #2, which perhaps gives you an indication of his importance to the plot. Nonetheless, the entire experience was incredibly exciting, if for no other reason than I rubbed shoulders (and will share the screen) with Ms. Winslet. Although I did not have the chance to chat to her at length, I did have short...