Matt vs. the Academy

We've reached the end of another year of Oscar nominees, so once again, it's time for my verdict. I must say this wasn't a clear-cut decision. There's something to love about all these films so it wasn't immediately obvious to me which one I'd select as my favourite. So let's break it down, shall we? The nominees for Best Picture of 1958 are: Auntie Mame Cat on a Hot Tin Roof The Defiant Ones Gigi Separate Tables Of the five nominees, only one is an original screenplay, while the rest are based on a play or a novel or both. Two films are stylishly extravagant spectacles full of brightly-coloured fashion and lavish sets. Two others are dramatic stage adaptations, intimate and emotional. Let's deal with the spectacles first. Both Auntie Mame and Gigi are entertaining and a feast for the eyes (and, in Gigi's case, the ears). Gigi's toe-tapping music helps to make it my pick of that pair, and while I don't fault the Academy for selecting...

Without question, this has been the quickest year of review in this blog's recent history. It took six weeks from first review to verdict, which may not sound that impressive until you consider that the last time I completed a review year in less time was just over nine years ago! The nominees for Best Picture of 1983 are: The Big Chill The Dresser The Right Stuff Tender Mercies Terms of Endearment As I watched the five films in contention for 1983's big prize, there were two common themes that became apparent. First, from a genre perspective, each picture could easily be classified as a character  (or characters) study. They all drill down deep into what makes people tick, and with the possible exception of The Right Stuff, relationships are at the forefront of that exploration. Second, none of these films shy away from taking their time to tell their stories. Each movie embraces a leisurely pace at some point - or in some cases, at many points - during their runtimes....

Well, I've set yet another record for a single year of review on this blog. At almost twice as long as the previous record, this one took almost four years to complete! Granted, this was one of only two Best Picture contests that consisted of 12 nominees, but that still means that, on average, I only watched one film every four months. In any case, they've all been viewed now, so let's get to the business of crowning a winner. The nominees for Best Picture of 1935 are: Alice Adams Broadway Melody of 1936 Captain Blood David Copperfield The Informer Les Misérables The Lives of a Bengal Lancer A Midsummer Night's Dream Mutiny on the Bounty Naughty Marietta Ruggles of Red Gap Top Hat As mentioned, this is the equal largest crop of Best Picture nominees in Academy history, so as one would expect, there's something for everyone - dramas, musicals, adventures, and almost every combination thereof. With such a variety of genres, separating them is no easy ...

It's always a little difficult writing a verdict when I've left so long in between the first and last film viewings of a review year because I barely remember the first film any more. Thankfully, though, this is a blog, so I can just read my posted thoughts on each film to refresh my memory. Funny how that works. The nominees for Best Picture of 1946 are: The Best Years of Our Lives Henry V It's a Wonderful Life The Razor's Edge The Yearling This shortlist is heavy on classics and, with a diverse range of subject matter, no two are particularly alike, either. From a Shakespeare adaptation to a coming-of-age drama to the ultimate feelgood Christmas flick, it's quite a mixed bag. The Yearling was probably my least favourite, though certainly not unworthy of its recognition as a Best Picture nominee. The Razor's Edge, too, is fine but the melodrama prevents it from being at the top of my list. Third to go is Henry V. I thoroughly enjoyed the clev...

Like the previous year of review, there is one picture among these nominees that is clearly held in high regard by film buffs, film reviewers and film historians, so it's tough to look past that. Nonetheless, when making these verdicts, I try to set aside any outside influence and focus on the filmmaking, so let's see where that leads us. The nominees for Best Picture of 1972 are: Cabaret Deliverance The Emigrants The Godfather Sounder Three films in that list have continued to enjoy a place in pop culture for the last several decades. The other two are not quite as well remembered. All of them, however, are intensely dramatic in different ways, and they share a common theme: survival. Perhaps not surprisingly, the two least remembered films were also my least favourite. Sounder had some fine moments but overall, it felt too superficial for my liking. The Emigrants was engaging on many levels, but its laboured storytelling is not my cup of tea. If the first h...

Well, this verdict is over two years in the making. Since it's been so long, it was somewhat difficult to recall the first few viewings, so I've had to rely on my original thoughts as written down in the blog itself. Not that it really matters, to be honest, since this one was pretty much a foregone conclusion from the beginning. The nominees for Best Picture of 1943 are: Casablanca For Whom the Bell Tolls Heaven Can Wait The Human Comedy In Which We Serve Madame Curie The More the Merrier The Ox-Bow Incident The Song of Bernadette Watch on the Rhine Of the ten nominated films, exactly half of them are contemporary pieces exploring some aspect of the war with varying degrees of patriotism and propaganda. Together with the other half, though, it's quite a diverse group with several genres being represented. All in all, they don't constitute an outstanding collection of cinema, though many of them are captivating. I found particular enjoyment in Th...

In sharp contrast to the last year of review, this one has gone from first review to verdict in under two weeks. I haven't managed that in a very long time. I can't guarantee this will last, but let's continue to ride the wave, shall we? Here now are my thoughts on these five fine films. The nominees for Best Picture of 1996 are: The English Patient Fargo Jerry Maguire Secrets and Lies Shine Interestingly, four of these pictures are independent movies, produced outside of the studio system. That correlates well with the fact that many of them were helmed by writer/directors. I don't have official statistics at hand, but I suspect it's relatively unusual for 80% of the nominees to fit that category. Additionally, all five pictures feature some brilliant ensemble acting, so all in all, it's a tough bunch to separate. I genuinely liked each of these films so there's no sense in naming a least favourite. But in order to make my way to a most f...

I believe I've yet again broken the record for the longest period between the first review and the verdict. At around nine months, reviewing 1987's Best Picture nominees has certainly taken a long time, all the more shameful considering it's not even a 10-nominee year. But let's wrap it up now with my thoughts on which film should have taken home the trophy. The nominees for Best Picture of 1987 are: Broadcast News Fatal Attraction Hope and Glory The Last Emperor Moonstruck Quite an eclectic bunch. Period war films and epic biopics are stalwart genres for the Academy, but this year also saw the poorly represented comedies and psychological thrillers have their shot at the limelight. It will be no surprise to anyone who read my previous review that Hope and Glory is being eliminated from the running first. Contrived in script and performance, it did not appeal to me at all. Beyond that, it's a much tougher decision. Moonstruck is incredibly charmin...

I can't seem to find an explanation as to why the Academy decided to increase the nominee count to 12 for the 1934 Best Picture category. It's an odd number (well, it's an even number, but you know what I mean), and not at all warranted when you look at the list of films that received those nominations. There are certainly a small handful that could easily have been left off the list and nobody would have complained. The nominees for Best Picture of 1934 are: The Barretts of Wimpole Street Cleopatra Flirtation Walk The Gay Divorcee Here Comes the Navy The House of Rothschild Imitation of Life It Happened One Night One Night of Love The Thin Man Viva Villa! The White Parade In a time before the Academy shied away from romantic comedies, the genre was well represented among this dozen. For that matter, so were romance films in general. In fact, every nominee features some sort of love story, whether it be the main focus or a supporting character...

This year of review has certainly taken its time to complete, but despite that, the verdict was a relatively quick decision to make. Most likely, that's due to one of the films lining up almost perfectly with my taste in genre. Still, here's my explanation. The nominees for Best Picture of 1961 are: Fanny The Guns of Navarone The Hustler Judgment at Nuremberg West Side Story Selecting my least favourite of the 1961 Best Picture contenders was even easier than choosing my winner. Fanny is artificial and, though it has its charms, it is clearly overshadowed by its four competitors. Each of the remaining films would be a worthy victor. The iconic musical West Side Story is thoroughly entertaining, enough to win over the Academy and be chosen as their Best Picture. The Guns of Navarone excites with its masterful action and adventure. And Judgment at Nuremberg engages its audience by laying bare some heavy philosophical issues. But it's the gritty and abso...

Choosing which Best Picture nominee I would have voted for is always challenging, but when there are ten contenders, as is the case for 1942, the difficulty obviously increases. As such, the possibility exists that my decision will be inadvertently influenced by a film's longevity and position in cinematic history. There's a good chance that subconscious phenomenon has occurred for this verdict, but so be it. The nominees for Best Picture of 1942 are: Kings Row The Invaders The Magnificent Ambersons Mrs. Miniver The Pied Piper The Pride of the Yankees Random Harvest The Talk of the Town Wake Island Yankee Doodle Dandy Since 1942 was the first full year in which the U.S. participated in World War II, there were understandably a great deal of pictures that dealt with war themes. Four of the Best Picture nominees use the war as a main focus, while Yankee Doodle Dandy's unabashedly patriotic style features the war towards the end of the film. Separat...

My good intentions of wrapping up this year of review quickly have clearly failed. Who would have thought producing a play would be so all-encompassing?  Così , the play in which Kat and I are acting in and producing is now in its final week and I'm finally beginning to come up for air. We've had some great reviews  and wonderful audiences, so if you're in New York City, get your tickets to the madness. We play until Sunday. Now, at long last, let's review the latest contenders... The nominees for Best Picture of 1971 are: A Clockwork Orange Fiddler on the Roof The French Connection The Last Picture Show Nicholas and Alexandra All five are extremely entertaining films, fine examples of their respective genres, and interestingly, all five essentially end on downers. Perhaps the Academy was feeling depressed in 1971. Between getting kicked out of their hometown, failing to catch the bad guy and being executed, the protagonists in these films don...

The last year of review took me about three and a half months. I've knocked off about a month this time around, so hopefully that's a sign that things will move at a swifter pace from here on in... But don't quote me on that. The nominees for Best Picture of 1959 are: Anatomy of a Murder Ben-Hur The Diary of Anne Frank The Nun's Story Room at the Top Five nominees with vastly disparate subject matters, united by their intensity and thought-provoking themes. Despite this excess of gripping drama, it was the epic that presented itself as the clear front-runner, no doubt due to its legacy. Perhaps not coincidentally, the other four films all offer conclusions that could in some sense be described as unsatisfying - not because of any error in the filmmaking, but rather that they're simply just downers of varying degrees. Each of the lead characters essentially fails to achieve what they really want, or if they do, they then realise it wasn't actua...

Here we are again, only a mere three and a half months since the last verdict... Sarcasm aside, I will obviously need to pick up the pace a bit. At this rate, it will take another 20 years to finish this project. Not ideal. Nonetheless, we're all having fun, right? The nominees for Best Picture of 2006 are: Babel The Departed Letters from Iwo Jima Little Miss Sunshine The Queen The five contenders for 2006 are quite an impressive bunch. All five are engaging and thought-provoking, and any of them could appropriately be named my favourite. But a five-way tie is not what this verdict is about, so... Little Miss Sunshine is quirky and lovable, and while its climax is deeply moving, it doesn't quite match the consistent intensity of the other films. Call it the comedy curse, but such is the tendency of those who give out accolades, even insignificant ones like mine. I will remove The Queen from the running also, for similar reasons. It's not a com...

One of the things I'm enjoying about this silly little project is the opportunity to watch some of cinema's early offerings, an activity that I previously did not engage in very frequently. While it is clear to me that my tastes lie with slightly more modern filmmaking, I am always pleasantly surprised by how fascinating I find some of these vintage pictures, and even more surprised when I come across a forgotten gem. I may not have uncovered one of those gems with the current crop of films under review, but they each contained elements worth appreciating and I'm genuinely glad to have experienced them. The nominees for Best Picture of 1929/30 are: All Quiet on the Western Front The Big House Disraeli The Divorcee The Love Parade When sound was introduced to moving pictures in the late 1920s, it forced a change not only in the obvious technical aspects of filmmaking but also in the conventions that cinema used to tell a story. It took a few years ...