Matt vs. the Academy

Happy New Year! I write this from sunny and warm Sydney, Australia. Despite the sweat glistening on my forehead, I am more than pleased to experience these hot climes because it means I have avoided the recent blizzardy conditions of New York. To ring in the new year, last night Kat and I first caught up with some friends to enjoy the early evening fireworks over beautiful Sydney Harbour with our view from a park in Lavender Bay (pictured - just imagine fireworks). We then made our way back to my parents' place to watch the midnight fireworks from an equally stunning viewpoint on their balcony. Earlier in the week, I watched my last film of 2010, another film classic from 1951's list of Best Picture nominees... A Streetcar Named Desire Director : Elia Kazan Screenplay : Tennesse Williams and Oscar Saul (based on Williams' play) Starring : Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden Academy Awards : 12 nominations 4 wins, including Best Actress (Leigh...

Happy holidays, everyone! On Wednesday, Kat and I will be flying home to Sydney to visit family and friends for the first time since we moved to New York a year and a half ago. That coupled with the holiday season will undoubtedly slow down the pace of Matt vs. the Academy for the moment. No fear, though. We will complete the current slate of nominees prior to my arrival in Los Angeles in mid-January, at which time I will visit the UCLA Film Archive to view the first of the 1930-31 contenders. Today, though, I took a look at another 1951 Best Picture nominee... Decision Before Dawn Director : Anatole Litvak Screenplay : Peter Viertel (based on the novel 'Call It Treason' by George Howe) Starring : Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner, Hildegarde Knef, Dominique Blanchar, O.E. Hasse, Wilfried Seyferth, Hans Christian Blech Academy Awards : 2 nominations 0 wins During the final days of World War II, the U.S. Army recruits German prisoners-of-war for espionage dutie...

My new job as an events waiter is proving to be quite the boon for associating with the rich and famous. Yesterday, I worked on an event for Lincoln Center, in which John Guare gave a speech. Coupled with Monday's sighting of Susan Sarandon, I now have a double connection to one of the film's already reviewed for Matt vs. the Academy - Atlantic City was written by Guare and starred Sarandon. An entirely meaningless connection, I know, but it's the little things... Earlier today, I watched the Academy's eventual choice for Best Picture of 1951... An American in Paris Director : Vincente Minnelli Screenplay : Alan Jay Lerner Starring : Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, Nina Foch Academy Awards : 8 nominations 6 wins, including Best Picture The man of the title is Jerry Mulligan (Kelly), a struggling artist who has moved to Paris for inspiration. His good friend, Adam Cook (Levant), an accomplished concert pianist who has never played a conce...

December must surely be the busiest month of the year - holiday parties aplenty; my new musical improv group, The Boombox Kids , has performed several gigs around town; I started a new job with a high-end catering company (at which, after working only one event, I have already rubbed shoulders with the likes of Susan Sarandon, Edward Norton and David Lynch); and in a week, Kat and I will be heading back home to Sydney for a brief visit, the first such visit since we moved to New York a year and a half ago. You will notice there is no poll to decide the next year of review for Matt vs. the Academy. As previously discussed, I'll be stopping in L.A. for a few days before I return to New York, so I will take that opportunity to pop in to the UCLA Film Archive for a viewing of two Best Picture nominees that lack home video releases. Thus, 1930-31 is the chosen next year of review. For now, we begin looking at 1951's slate of Best Picture nominees, starting with... A Place in t...

The Academy's eclectic tastes are hardly more evident than in 1986's shortlist: drama and comedy, contemporary and period. Stylistically, these five films have very little in common with each other, yet they each excel in their own right. Nonetheless, choosing a favourite was not as difficult as one would expect. The nominees for Best Picture of 1986 are: Children of a Lesser God Hannah and Her Sisters The Mission Platoon A Room with a View The nominee with the most visible flaw is Children of a Lesser God. Despite its touching story, the general conceit of a hearing man repeating everything his deaf lover utters is hard to overcome, so Marlee Matlin's debut film is first to be struck off the list. The next two to go are Hannah and Her Sisters, a fine contemporary comedy exploring the human condition (otherwise known as a Woody Allen film), and its polar opposite, The Mission, a fine adventure drama exploring politics, religion and racial relations. Finally, we have two mor...