Matt vs. the Academy

I'm back in Sydney once again, though I'll have another brief getaway next week when I'll be shooting a commercial for a cruise line company. The ad is being shot on an actual cruise ship during a regular four-day sailing, so apart from the approximate half-day that I'll be required to work, I'll have the rest of the time free to enjoy the cruise. Nice work if you can get it ... and I got it. Back to the task at hand. Just before I left Los Angeles, I squeezed in a viewing of another of 1974's Best Picture nominees... The Conversation Director : Francis Ford Coppola Screenplay : Francis Ford Coppola Starring : Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Michael Higgins, Elizabeth MacRae, Teri Garr  Academy Awards : 3 nominations 0 wins Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Hackman) leads a team in secretly recording an intimate outdoor conversation between a couple (Williams and Forrest) who appear to be concer...

As my current LA trip approaches its end, it seems appropriate that we begin our next year of review with a film that features Los Angeles almost as a character of its own. I even had the privilege of taking in this masterpiece on the big screen for the first time, which was definitely a treat. Later, I also watched its sequel, The Two Jakes, which I had never seen before, and was pleasantly surprised, despite years of assuming its mixed reviews meant it was awful. In any case, let's take a look at the first nominee of the 1974 Best Picture contest... Chinatown Director : Roman Polanski Screenplay : Robert Towne Starring : Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, John Huston, Diane Ladd Academy Awards : 11 nominations 1 win, for Best Original Screenplay Los Angeles private investigator J.J. Gittes (Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Ladd) to confirm that her husband, Hollis, is having an affair. Hollis happens to be the chief engineer of th...

I'm currently on my annual (sometimes semi-annual) trip to Los Angeles and, as has become habit when I visit the City of Angels, I've already spent a day at the Academy Museum where I thoroughly enjoyed their new Jaws exhibit. A treasure trove of memorabilia from the movie, alongside clips from the movie, as well as behind the scenes clips, including some home video (home 8mm film?) footage from Spielberg himself. Plus, the pièce de résistance: an opportunity to insert yourself into the famed dolly zoom shot. Our final nominee vying for Best Picture of 2010 is... The Kids Are All Right Director : Lisa Cholodenko Screenplay : Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg Starring : Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson Academy Awards : 4 nominations 0 wins When teenagers Joni (Wasikowska) and Laser (Hutcherson) decide they want to meet their biological father, Paul (Ruffalo), they initially keep it from their mothers, Nic (Bening) and Jul...

For my readers who will be in Sydney this weekend, come see me tread the boards in Love-All: A Roseville Story at the Chatswood Lounge. From playwright Alexandra Long, whose screenplay Thank God He Met Lizzie (released in the US as The Wedding Party) was one of Cate Blanchett's first films, the satirical play explores the sordid antics of four men at a fancy suburban tennis club. If you've ever had a hankering to see me play a middle-aged lothario, now's your chance! Time now to take a look at the next contender in the 2010 Best Picture race... The King's Speech Director : Tom Hooper Screenplay : David Seidler Starring : Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon Academy Awards : 12 nominations 4 wins, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Firth) As a representative of the British Royal Family, Prince Albert, Duke of York (Firth), known to those close to him as Bert...

Being an actor is not exactly the most stable of careers. Unless you're an A-lister, work is often unpredictable and inconsistent, so one must celebrate the rare wins when they come. I'm happy to say I'll be in at least two feature films this year - one major Hollywood production that was filmed in Melbourne a couple of months ago (which I'd gladly gloat about if it weren't for the pesky NDA), and one Aussie indie film which I'm about to start shooting here in Sydney. Coincidentally, they're both set in the 1980s, though that is perhaps their only commonality - one is a sports drama, the other a crime dramedy. Likely, they'll both be released next year, so I'll keep you posted with screenings when the time comes. Meanwhile, here are my thoughts on another 2010 Best Picture nominee... Inception Director : Christopher Nolan Screenplay : Christopher Nolan Starring : Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Pag...

It seems I've been slacking off again and left this blog to gather more dust. But I'm back! Granted, it was over a week ago that I actually watched the below film, which just goes to show how difficult it's been to find time for this silly (but incredibly important) project. And, of course, since this is the first post since the Oscars, I have to at least briefly comment on my winner predictions. I managed to correctly predict 16 of the 23 categories. Not a great score, but considering three of my errors were the short film categories, which often feel like a crap shoot, I'll take it. Let's rejoin our look at the 2010 Best Picture nominees with... The Social Network Director : David Fincher Screenplay : Aaron Sorkin (based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich) Starring : Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Brenda Song, Rashida Jones, Rooney Mara Academy Awards : 8 nominations 3 wins, including B...

Awards season is well and truly under way now with most of the critics groups releasing their top picks, including nominations from the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. There are a few films that seem to be appearing again and again on these lists - Wicked, Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave, Nickel Boys, Dune: Part Two - suggesting these are the frontrunners for Oscar's top prize. Personally, I tend to be wary of the "critics mirage" since the critics' preferences don't always align with those who work in the industry. It's not uncommon for a film or actor to sweep the critics' awards yet find themselves left off the shortlist on Oscar nomination day. That said, I expect those films above will remain in the conversation (particularly since there are 10 Best Picture nominee slots to fill) but it would be wise to wait for the nomination announcements from the guilds and other industry organisations, including BAFTA, to see exactly which ones have th...

Oscar season is heating up as more and more genuine contenders are released. I'm once again finding myself behind the eight ball with a lot of catching up to do in terms of viewing said contenders, so I won't offer any thoughts about frontrunners just yet, except to say at the top of my watchlist right now are current box office hits Wicked and Gladiator II, as well as the smaller talks-of-the-town Anora and Conclave. Varying degrees of buzz around each of those films. Next up on our tour of the Best Picture nominees of 2010 is... Black Swan Director : Darren Aronofsky Screenplay : Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin Starring : Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassell, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied, Ksenia Solo, Sebastian Stan Academy Awards : 5 nominations 1 win, for Best Actress (Portman) As a member of the New York City Ballet, Nina (Portman) has high expectations of herself, almost as high as her overbearing mother (Hershey) who trea...

This past Saturday night was a nostalgic one for me as I attended the concert of a musical hero of mine. It had been more than 20 years since I last saw him live, but even at the age of 75, Billy Joel still knows how to put on a spectacular show. From start to finish, I couldn't stop smiling as I listened to all the hits and album tracks that have been ingrained in me since I was a teenager. Perhaps the most nostalgic part of the night, however, came when he introduced Axl Rose to the stage to sing Live and Let Die. You might not think those two have a lot of common fans, but in 1992, all I ever listened to was Billy Joel and Guns N' Roses, so my brain near exploded during that number. All in all, a fantastic night out. From music back to movies, our next Best Picture nominee from 2010 is... The Fighter Director : David O. Russell Screenplay : Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington Starring : Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey ...

A highlight of any Oscar fan's trip to Los Angeles will undoubtedly be the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures . I enjoyed such an outing last week when I attended the museum's third anniversary celebrations. After watching a special screening of Chaplin's The Gold Rush , I ventured into the exhibitions to absorb all I could. It was my second time visiting the museum, but as ever, I remained as intoxicated by the movie magic on display. Of particular interest were the spotlights on Casablanca and The Godfather , which housed Sam's piano and Don Corleone's desk, among other treasures. Perhaps the most thrilling section for me, though, was the room dedicated to the Oscars ceremony itself. Various acceptance speeches are played on big screens surrounding a central display cabinet that provides a chronological history of the Academy Awards. Several past winners' Oscars are on display, as well as other artefacts, including presenters' envelopes and Oscar night ...

After a 14-hour flight yesterday, I'm writing this from the sunny climes of Los Angeles. Long-haul air travel is excruciating, of course, but the silver lining is always the chance to watch as many movies as I can cram in between take-off and landing. This time, I managed four, and it was an eclectic bunch. I caught up with a couple of recent films I missed at the cinema (Kinds of Kindness and Civil War) and threw in a couple of classic comedies to boot (Beetlejuice and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life). A half-day well spent. Before I left Sydney, I watched the next nominee in 2010's Best Picture race... Toy Story 3 Director : Lee Unkrich Screenplay : Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich Starring : Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf Academy Awards : 5 nominations 2 wins, for Best Animated Feature and Best Origina...

Awards season is fast approaching, but as yet, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of buzz around any of the films that have already been released. By this time last year, we had already experienced the phenomenon that was Barbenheimer . This year, however, there's Dune Part 2, which will likely pick up several Oscar nominations and maybe one for Best Picture, like its predecessor, but it seems much less likely that it will actually win. Another sequel, Inside Out 2, might enjoy the rare achievement of an animated film finding itself in the Best Picture race, but again, it's certainly no front runner for the top prize. Other potential contenders are Civil War and Challengers, which also seem poised to get some acting nominations perhaps. In any case, still to come are plenty of Oscar bait movies attempting to garner buzz, including some more sequels of previous Best Picture nominees (Joker: Folie à Deux and Gladiator 2). There's also an upcoming film from Oscar royalt...

In the intro to my last review, I wrote about my binge of the Mad Max movies. I followed that up with another 80s franchise that has a current sequel. Recently, I rewatched the first three Beverly Hills Cop movies, before tackling the new instalment, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. I enjoyed them all but, as I think seems to be the general consensus, there was somewhat of a decline between each film in the original trilogy. The latest addition to the franchise is, I feel, a perfect example of a nostalgia sequel. It captures the tone of the original while still finding a way to make it contemporary. Eddie Murphy slips back into wisecracking Foley wonderfully, and I loved seeing all the old faces (Reinhold, Ashton, Reiser, Pinchot) as well as the new ones (Gordon-Levitt, Bacon, Paige). Even the soundtrack mixes 80s hits with modern tunes. Sure, it probably won't end up on anyone's top 10 list, but for me it hit all the right nostalgic buttons. You might also be surprised to learn th...

In an attempt to fill some embarrassing gaps in my watch history and to avoid being an unpatriotic Australian, I finally got around to viewing a classic Aussie franchise. Yes, shamefully, until last week, I had not seen a single Mad Max movie. (Well, it's possible I saw Beyond Thunderdome as a teenager but I have no recollection of it.) I've yet to see the current instalment, Furiosa, and I fear I may have just missed my chance to see it on the big screen, but I viewed the previous four films in rapid succession and what struck me most is the clear evolution present in the series. Obviously, that's expected between the third and fourth movies since there was a gap of 30 years between them, but even the first three films, which were all released within a six-year period show a distinct progression from one to the next. The budgets evidently matured each time, but so did the filmmaking. Even the stories themselves are quite disparate. Fury Road is the only one (so far) to re...

I've been sitting here for quite a while trying to think of something to write about for this intro. I've had a couple of ideas but, after writing a sentence or two, decided they weren't all that interesting. Of course, writing about how I couldn't find anything interesting to write about is undoubtedly even less interesting than if I'd just written about the uninteresting thing, but I'm finished now and I couldn't be bothered rewriting it again. I guess I need to do more interesting things so that I can write about them. Anyhoo, our review of the nominees from the 1958 Best Picture race continues with... Auntie Mame Director : Morton DaCosta Screenplay : Betty Comden & Adolph Green (based on the novel by Patrick Dennis and the stage adaptation by Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee) Starring : Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Fred Clark, Roger Smith, Patric Knowles, Peggy Cass, Jan Handzlik, Joanna Barnes, Pippa Scott Academy Awards...

Recently, I've had the opportunity to twice visit a cinema here in Sydney that I've written about before - the Ritz . On the weekend, I took the whole family to see a special screening of Inside Out 2 (I guess we contributed to the film's immense global box office numbers). And while I'm sure the Ritz's main revenue must come from new releases like that, it's one of the very few movie theatres in town that has a robust classic film program, including many 35mm and 70mm screenings. There's a complete Kubrick retrospective imminent, but it's the year-long Classic Matinees series that will likely see me returning often, as I did yesterday for the following film. So let's take a look at another picture from 1958's Best Picture shortlist... Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Director : Richard Brooks Screenplay : Richard Brooks & James Poe (based on the play by Tennessee Williams) Starring : Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith An...