Matt vs. the Academy

I seem to be on a roll with the big-screen viewings of the nominees in this current year of review. First, it was  Bugsy at the Los Feliz 3 in Los Angeles, and now, I've just taken in the eventual victor at the Randwick Ritz here in Sydney. I won't hold my breath waiting for the other three nominees to pop up on any local cinema's schedule, so this streak will likely end at two, but it was fun while it lasted. Continuing our look at the Best Picture nominees of 1991, here are my thoughts on... The Silence of the Lambs Director : Jonathan Demme Screenplay : Ted Tally (based on the novel by Thomas Harris) Starring : Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith Academy Awards : 7 nominations 5 wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Hopkins) and Best Actress (Foster) FBI agent in training Clarice Starling (Foster) is entrusted with an interview of notorious psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Hopkin...

For the first time in over two years, I'm back in Los Angeles. In fact, only a few more days and I'll be heading home again to Sydney. But I haven't wasted the opportunity to catch a classic on the big screen. I ventured out to the historic Los Feliz 3 Theatre  to see another Best Picture nominee, presented in 35mm. While it was nice to experience the nostalgic graininess of a real film projector (as opposed to the flawless digital projectors currently in use almost everywhere), this particular print had clearly collected 30 years of dust, grit and hair, which was surely not what movie-goers in 1991 experienced. Nonetheless, watching old movies (it feels strange to me to call 1991 old, but I think that's undeniable now) on a big screen is still one of my favourite pastimes so I'm not complaining. So, let's begin our review of 1991's race for Best Picture by taking a look at... Bugsy Director : Barry Levinson Screenplay : James Toback Starring : Warren Bea...

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 ...

Despite my lack of confidence, my Oscar predictions this year (20 correct out of 23 categories) turned out to be my best ever. (Well, I once correctly picked 21 categories, but that was when there were 24 categories total, so as a percentage, this year was better.) I'd like to say it was all skill, but in the end, it turns out all the favourites and slight favourites came out on top, so there really weren't any major surprises... (I mean, there was obviously one big surprise on the night, but that's not what I meant.) The two main categories that I missed (Picture and Original Screenplay) were also gettable, to be honest, but for whatever reason, I ignored the late rise of CODA and Belfast, respectively, and stuck to my guns with The Power of the Dog and Licorice Pizza. If I'd gone ahead and chosen the slight favourites in those two categories, then Animated Short would have been the sole mistake. Now, here's the final nominee in 1935's Best Picture competition....

My nomination predictions this year didn't turn out to be my best performance. In fact, it was probably one of my worst in recent memory. And to be honest, predicting the winners is going to be just as complicated. There are a lot of categories this year without a clear frontrunner. Many have slight favourites, but many more are up in the air. I'm most confident about Jane Campion becoming the third woman to win Best Director and Will Smith taking home his first Oscar, and maybe there are a couple of other sure things (or close to it), but other than that, I'll just have to hope that my educated guesses are enough. Best Picture, which has often been my Achilles' heel recently, is once again a tough nut to crack. The Power of the Dog seemed like the frontrunner for most of the season, even if it was only a slight advantage, but CODA is now coming home strong, so could pip Dog at the post. I'm genuinely torn between the two, but I've selected The Power of the Dog ...

Here we are once again, awaiting the announcement of the coveted Oscar nominations. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since the last one, but that's probably because it hasn't been. The elongated 2020 season has accordingly created a slightly abbreviated 2021 season. But there was still plenty of time for filmmakers to release some entertaining and award-worthy movies. I've still got a lot to catch up on, but my favourites so far include Being the Ricardos, CODA and Tick, Tick... Boom, all three of which could quite reasonably see their names on the Best Picture contenders list (and potentially several other categories) come Tuesday. Another film I really enjoyed this season is The Harder They Fall, though I expect that may struggle to get nominated for anything. Its best shot is Best Original Song, but even I haven't predicted it securing that nod. Dune and The Power of the Dog are poised to be the nomination leaders and my predictions reflect that. W...

Happy New Year! Awards season is beginning to ramp up and there are a lot of exciting titles in the running, barely any of which I've seen as yet. I did get the chance to watch Encanto  with my family the other night and thoroughly enjoyed it. No doubt we'll be hearing its name mentioned when the Best Animated Film nominations are announced. And with new films from Oscar-bait directors Anderson, Branagh, Campion, McKay, Scott and Spielberg, among many others, I'm looking forward to potentially adding some new favourites to my all-time list. For now, let's begin the new year with one more of 1935's Best Picture contenders... The Informer Director : John Ford Screenplay : Dudley Nichols (based on the novel by Liam O'Flaherty) Starring : Victor McLaglen, Heather Angel, Preston Foster, Margot Grahame, Wallace Ford, Una O'Connor Academy Awards : 6 nominations 4 wins, including Best Director and Best Actor (McLaglen) It's 1922 in Dublin during the Iris...