Matt vs. the Academy

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...

Here's a tip for the unaware... When at the supermarket browsing bottles of wine, it may be worth looking more closely at the labels. Although the label on the bottle you purchase may, at first glance, have a design that is indistinguishable from the labels on more expensive bottles found in boutique wine shops, don't wait until you get it home to read the small text that describes the contents as "Wine Product." Not the same thing... To wrap up the viewing of 1986's Best Picture nominees, yesterday I watched... A Room with a View Director : James Ivory Screenplay : Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (based on the novel by E.M. Forster) Starring : Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Denholm Elliott, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Rosemary Leach, Rupert Graves Academy Awards : 8 nominations 3 wins, including Best Adapted Screenplay Just as Platoon is not for those with an aversion to war films, it seems safe to say that those lacking passion for period...

Kat and I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Miami with a couple of fellow Aussie ex-pats. We walked along Miami Beach, we shopped on Lincoln Road Mall, we lay by the hotel pool, but mostly, we ate at restaurants. It was essentially three days of eating ... in beautifully warm weather. Back to the cold climes of New York City now... Next up in 1986's race for Best Picture is... Platoon Director : Oliver Stone Screenplay : Oliver Stone Starring : Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Reggie Johnson, Mark Moses, Corey Glover, Johnny Depp Academy Awards : 8 nominations 4 wins, including Best Picture and Best Director Drawing from his own experiences during the Vietnam War, director and writer Oliver Stone tells the story of Chris Taylor (Sheen), a young soldier arriving in Vietnam for a one-year tour of duty. As the newbie, he struggles to acclimate to the poor conditions and his fellow soldiers. Making mat...

It's Thanksgiving week here in the United States. That generally means people are flying home to be with their families. Kat and I will be doing that next month instead when we fly to Australia, so for this holiday, we've chosen Miami as our destination. And I'm sure we'll be giving thanks for the warm weather down there. Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. readers! Yesterday, I viewed the next in 1986's lineup of Best Picture nominees... Children of a Lesser God Director : Randa Haines Screenplay : Hesper Anderson and Mark Redoff (based on the play by Redoff) Starring : William Hurt, Marlee Matlin, Piper Laurie, Philip Bosco Academy Awards : 5 nominations 1 win, for Best Actress (Matlin) James Leeds (Hurt) is the new speech teacher at a New England school for deaf children. While his unorthodox methods raise some eyebrows, he is very successful and much loved by his students. As he teaches them to speak (and even sing!), he finds himself smitten with the school's...