Matt vs. the Academy

Another set of nominees in the can and another verdict to be made. I must say that the decision this time around was one of the easiest I've had to make in quite some time. In my mind, there was a clear frontrunner that was simply the most enjoyable. Consequently, my verdict below is possibly the shortest I've yet written. The nominees for Best Picture of 1973 are: American Graffiti Cries and Whispers The Exorcist The Sting A Touch of Class Forget about trying to compare this bunch. Nominee shortlists have been diverse before, but 1973's selection is ridiculously multifarious. A 1960s coming-of-age comedy, a foreign arthouse film, a supernatural horror, a 1930s heist flick and a quirky romantic comedy. Although, perhaps these films' commonality, with one exception, is in their sense of fun, albeit for entirely different reasons. American Graffiti's youthful fun is borne out of nostalgia. A Touch of Class delights with its witty and romantic fun. For those w...

Last chance to vote for which year from the 1940s we will investigate next. The poll is over there on the right and down a little. Closing out our current shortlist, the last nominee from the 1973 Best Picture race is... A Touch of Class Director : Melvin Frank Screenplay : Melvin Frank & Jack Rose Starring : George Segal, Glenda Jackson, Paul Sorvino, K Callan, Hildegard Neil Academy Awards : 5 nominations 1 win, for Best Actress (Jackson) In the classic screwball style of 1940s Hollywood, A Touch of Class follows the shamelessly unfaithful Steve Blackburn (Segal), an American living with his family in London. By chance, he meets divorced English designer Vicky Allessio (Jackson) and, after sharing a flirtatious cab ride, they arrange a date. A couple of rendezvous later, Steve takes Vicky to a hotel for some, ahem ... action. Apparently unperturbed by beginning an illicit affair, Vicky is more concerned that a hotel room is not the ideally romantic place for it. N...

This week, I was fortunate enough to be working at an event at which Steve Martin was in attendance. I managed to serve him a plate of salmon while fighting the urge to hand him my headshot and resume. Along with last week's sighting of Alec Baldwin at a similar event, I have now rubbed shoulders with both of the hosts of last year's Oscars ceremony. (See? I managed to bring it back to the topic at hand.) Yesterday, for the very first time, I closed the curtains to watch a modern horror classic that was nominated for Best Picture for 1973... The Exorcist Director : William Friedkin Screenplay : William Peter Blatty (based on his novel) Starring : Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller, Linda Blair Academy Awards : 10 nominations 2 wins, including Best Adapted Screenplay In keeping with previous decisions regarding which version of a nominee to review when there is more than one available, I snubbed the extended editi...

During a lovely stroll along the High Line on Manhattan's West Side, Kat and I stumbled upon a rather sad sight indeed. Is there anything that could elicit more sympathy than a five-year-old girl holding a limp piece of silver ribbon and crying with devastation as she watches her balloon fly off into the upper atmosphere? Reminded me of this . Yesterday, I took in a classic Swedish film from 1973, a rare foreign-language Best Picture nominee... Cries and Whispers Director : Ingmar Bergman Screenplay : Ingmar Bergman Starring : Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullman, Erland Josephson, Henning Moritzen, Georg Arlin Academy Awards : 5 nominations 1 win, for Best Cinematography If you don't like artsy foreign films, probably best for you to steer clear of Cries and Whispers. From acclaimed Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, the film centres on three estranged sisters, one of whom, Agnes (Andersson), is dying slowly ... painfully slowly. Her flirty ...

This past Sunday, I made my U.S. television debut in the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet. If you missed it, here's a screen grab of my turn as the obviously integral Starched Collar Man #2. (I'm on the right.) In fact, even if you watched the show on Sunday night, you may still have missed it, that brief was my appearance. For those of you with HBO, I believe you can now watch the first two episodes on demand, so fast forward to about 43:15 into Part One and keep your finger poised on the pause button. The poll for the next year of review is now up, situated to the right of your screen. Coincidentally, the Joan Crawford version of Mildred Pierce is in the running. Yesterday, I looked at the eventual Best Picture winner from 1973... The Sting Director : George Roy Hill Screenplay : David S. Ward Starring : Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, John Heffernan, Dana Elcar, Jack Kehoe...

This week, I saw a preview screening of Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal. I enjoyed it - I love all movies, remember  - but I feel compelled to comment on one aspect of the film that left me wanting. First, let me say that I'm all for suspension of disbelief. Part of what makes the movie-going experience so wondrous is the fantastical element. It's an escape. I get that. Not every movie needs to be a thinker. And Source Code certainly centres itself around a highly implausible concept. Which is perfectly fine. It is what it is and I accept that. But here's a tip, Hollywood. The attempts to justify implausible concepts with nonsensical science talk is probably unnecessary. You're really just adding to the implausibility. As a self-confessed science nerd, I find it less convincing when you try to cement the crazy idea in reality. The whole point is that it's not  reality, so there's really no need for a scientific explanation. Charlie Kaufman didn't bot...

There is a contingent of Oscar pundits who consider the result of the 2005 Best Picture race as the Academy's worst decision in its storied history. Indeed, there are plenty who rank Crash as the worst film to have claimed the prestigious title. Of course, there will always be contrarians, for the Academy will never please all of the people all of the time. Besides, there is no real evidence to suggest that their 2005 decision was any more unpopular with the general public than any other year. Yet that myth persists. Comparing the public opinion of Crash with its main competitor, Brokeback Mountain, yields fairly even results. Brokeback Mountain clearly won the battle for the box office , yet Crash boasts a slightly higher score on IMDb's user ratings. (In fact, it just squeezes into IMDb's Top 250 .) Over at Rotten Tomatoes, Brokeback Mountain scores higher with the critics, but Crash remains the victor with the audience. So, perhaps this particular contest garnered more...