Matt vs. the Academy

The battle for Best Picture of 1994 included a particularly impressive selection of nominees. I realise that assessment is one that has prefaced almost every verdict I have delivered so far in this project, but this time I really mean it. In a decade and a half, four of these five films have achieved a rather prominent place within pop culture. Nothing to sneeze at. The nominees for Best Picture of 1994 are: Forrest Gump Four Weddings and a Funeral Pulp Fiction Quiz Show The Shawshank Redemption Five very accomplished films, all with bucket loads of merit. The sole romantic comedy of the bunch, Four Weddings and a Funeral, is the first one out of the running for my top honours. Partly due to the innate unfairness that labels comedies as less significant as other genres, and partly due to its saturation of slightly underdeveloped supporting characters. The other four pictures are much harder to separate. Quiz Show, the nominee with the least success cementing its place in film history, ...

Last chance to vote on the next year of review for Matt vs. the Academy. The poll is in the panel over to the right. Since there is currently a tie, there is rather a good chance that the next person to vote will single-handedly decide the result. Unless, of course, that person creates a three-way tie, but let's not put ideas into his head. Last night, Kat and I sat down to watch the last of the nominees from 1994's Best Picture contest... The Shawshank Redemption Director : Frank Darabont Screenplay : Frank Darabont (based on the novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King) Starring : Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, Mark Rolston, James Whitmore Academy Awards : 7 nominations 0 wins In 1947, softly-spoken banker Andy Dufresne (Robbins) is convicted of the cold-blooded murder of his cheating wife and her country club lover. Despite his adamant claims of innocence, he is given a life sentence and s...

One of the lesser known perks of being a SAG member is that I now have the opportunity to join the SAG Film Society (for a nominal fee, of course), which allows me to attend any of their four or five screenings per month that take place at the DGA Theater . Mostly, they are films that have just hit the cinemas, but occasionally there is a preview screening of an upcoming release. At the risk of sounding elitist, I have noticed something fascinating from the couple of events that I have attended so far. Somehow, these screenings are a much more pleasant affair than watching a movie with the general public. Perhaps it's because of the near capacity attendance, so the communal atmosphere exudes excitement. Perhaps it's because of the odd rule restricting any food or drink inside the theatre, so the distracting crackling sound of candy wrappers is absent. Perhaps it's because the industry audience are more respectful of the film-going experience, so there is nary a whisper dur...

As we jump headlong into October, the smell of awards season is wafting in the not-too-distant air. I've been trying to catch up on some lost cinema time, taking in a few movies this week, each of which could possibly hear their titles announced come nomination day. The American, a gripping thriller full of paranoid tension; The Town, a gripping thriller full of heart-pounding excitement; and Inception, a gripping thriller full of mind-bending twists. Three very different pictures, each satisfying my need for being gripped and thrilled. Today, I viewed a film of a rare genre for a Best Picture nominee, the 1994 romantic comedy... Four Weddings and a Funeral Director : Mike Newell Screenplay : Richard Curtis Starring : Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow, James Fleet, John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Corin Redgrave, Rowan Atkinson Academy Awards : 2 nominations 0 wins Before the world had even heard of Harry Potter, this quirky comedy was the ...

This post marks the 100th film to be reviewed for Matt vs. the Academy, a milestone that took a lot longer to reach than I first expected. If nothing else, it is pleasing to know that I haven't yet thrown in the towel. So, thank you for following along as I journey through Academy history and here's to the next 100! Yesterday, I watched a modern classic from the 1994 Best Picture shortlist... Pulp Fiction Director : Quentin Tarantino Screenplay : Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary Starring : John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Maria de Madeiros, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Rosanna Arquette, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis, Quentin Tarantino Academy Awards : 7 nominations 1 win, for Best Original Screenplay Essentially three episodes cleverly interwoven, Pulp Fiction jumps around in its chronology as it follows a few days in the lives of some less than savoury characters. In the first episode, Vincent Vega (Travolta), a well-dr...

The next year of review is finally under way, which means the new poll to decide the year of review after this one is ready for your votes. Just shift your eyes over to the right. Yesterday, I began the task of sorting out the Best Picture nominees from 1994 by watching... Quiz Show Director : Robert Redford Screenplay : Paul Attanasio (based on the novel "Remembering America" by Richard Goodwin) Starring : John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, Christopher McDonald Academy Awards : 4 nominations 0 wins Based on the real events surrounding the game show scandal of the late 1950s, Quiz Show follows the charming and intelligent Charles Van Doren (Fiennes) as he decides to take a shot at being a game show contestant. The producers at Twenty One (Paymer & Azaria) love his all-American vibe and the fact that his father (Scofield) is a Pulitzer prize-winning poet. Not to mention he would be a far more ratings-friendly champion th...