Matt vs. the Academy

Rehearsals are in full swing here at the Allenberry Playhouse in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. Fortunately, I have found some free time to continue this silly little project of mine. The poll to decide the next year of review is ready for your input and, considering there are ten nominees in the current year, I suspect you will have plenty of time to vote. We begin the review of 1940's Best Picture contenders with... The Long Voyage Home Director : John Ford Screenplay : Dudley Nichols (based on the four Glencairn Plays by Eugene O'Neill) Starring : John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Ward Bond Academy Awards : 6 nominations 0 wins One of two John Ford films nominated for Best Picture in 1940, The Long Voyage Home follows the crew of the freighter SS Glencairn as they sail from the West Indies back home to Mother England with a shipment of explosives that they are secretly transporting to aid in the Allies' war effort. Th...

Just over two weeks now until the Oscar nominations are announced, so let's take a quick look at how the lead acting categories are shaping up. Gary Oldman was the early frontrunner for the Best Actor prize for his transformation into Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. However, 22-year-old Timothée Chalamet could give him a run for his money due to a star-making performance in Call Me By Your Name. He'd be the youngest winner in that category by several years if he can pull it off. Tonight's Golden Globes (which are in progress as I write this) may boost one of their chances since they're competing against each other in the Best Actor in a Drama category. The Globes may also provide some insight into the Best Actress race, which is much more unclear at this stage. Sally Hawkins probably has the most buzz so far for her role in The Shape of Water, but Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) have both garnered attentio...

A brief and inconsequential anecdote from today's journeys in the Big Apple: I was on the 5th floor of a building on 42nd Street, heading to the elevator to go back down to the lobby. There was already a woman waiting, and as I approached, the elevator doors opened, so I naturally just hopped in after her. She asked me, "What floor?" and I told her the lobby, simultaneously noticing that she had already pressed number "9". Oops. I hadn't bothered to check to see that the elevator I was stepping into was actually going down. And obviously it wasn't. She graciously pressed "1" for me as I uttered the clichéd joke about going along for the ride. But when we got to the 9th floor, she took half a step out, realised she'd forgotten something, stepped back in, pressed "5" and giggled with embarrassment. So, back we went to the 5th floor, she got out and I continued my ride down to the lobby. Going along for the ride, indeed. Nothing mean...

For my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving! For everyone else, have a good Thursday. As I write this, Kat and I are about to head off with an Australian friend to another Australian couple's place to celebrate the entirely non-Australian holiday. But there's a large turkey involved, so how can we pass it up. Yesterday, on Thanksgiving Eve, I watched a somewhat forgotten Best Picture nominee, namely... Wilson Director : Henry King Screenplay : Lamar Trotti Starring : Alexander Knox, Charles Coburn, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell Academy Awards : 10 nominations 5 wins, including Best Original Screenplay Not a prequel to Cast Away , Wilson is a concise exploration of the political career of Woodrow Wilson from his days as President of Princeton University through his post as Governor of New Jersey to his election as the 28th President of the United States. Along the way, he must deal with the question of America's involvement in the Great War while simultaneously copin...

I'm back! Although I enjoyed an immensely fun time performing in an improv show every night and meeting some fantastic new people, my fondest memory of the last few days in Atlanta is my discovery of Whirlyball . Half sport, half amusement park ride, Whirlyball is like lacrosse in bumper cars. Yes, bumper cars. I defy you to play this game and not enjoy yourself. An unfortunate consequence of my time in Georgia is the considerable delay in viewing the next Best Picture nominee, a delay that disrupts the six-movies-per-week viewing rate that is required for this project to be completed by its arbitrary deadline. Rather than suffer the humiliation of admitting defeat less than a month into the project, I will simply continue at a slightly more leisurely pace and worry about it later. Besides, with things becoming a tad busier for me, less frequent posts may have been an inevitable byproduct anyway. But fear not. I am still as passionately determined to see this project through to...

Less than a week now until the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, so allow me these musings on how things may turn out. The four acting awards, as in most previous years, are relatively easy to predict, the supporting categories especially. Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique are all but locks for Inglourious Basterds and Precious respectively. Jeff Bridges is definitely leading the game for Best Actor. And Sandra Bullock currently holds the favourite spot for Best Actress, but don't be surprised if that goes a different way. If there's going to be an upset, this is where it will be. The screenplay awards are also fairly clear. Up In The Air seems to have Adapted Screenplay in the bag, and I suspect The Hurt Locker will edge out Inglourious Basterds for the Original Screenplay gong. Best Director and Best Picture are perhaps a little trickier. The media is certainly touting the competition between ex-spouses James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow for the director's award, an...

After a pleasant weekend in New Jersey, eating good food and playing Trivial Pursuit with good friends, and leisurely strolling through Princeton and eating more good food with more good friends, I sat down to watch the epic Gone With the Wind. Kat watched with me and gallantly made it to the intermission before heading off to bed, but I persevered and saw it through to the end. And I have to admit, I'm very glad that I did. The next nominee from 1939, and the eventual winner of the Best Picture award, is none other than... Gone With the Wind Director : Victor Fleming Screenplay : Sidney Howard (based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell) Starring : Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel Academy Awards : 13 nominations 8 wins, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress I've written and rewritten this opening sentence at least a dozen times in the vain hope I might be able to introduce this film by conveying somet...

Happy Anniversary! Last week marked one year since the inception of Matt vs. the Academy. Hurrah! I want to thank you all for reading thus far, especially during this slower period of recent weeks. You'll be glad to know (or maybe you won't care) that Mid-Life: The Crisis Musical opened last week and so I am finally free of rehearsals and therefore experiencing some free time. I have taken advantage of said free time by continuing with my review of the 1940 Best Picture contest. Next up is... Our Town Director : Sam Wood Screenplay : Thornton Wilder, Frank Craven, Harry Chandlee (based on the play by Thornton Wilder) Starring : William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee, Frank Craven Academy Awards : 6 nominations 0 wins Grover's Corners is a typical small town in early 20th century New Hampshire. Quiet, simple living is the order of the day. Our narrator introduces us to several of the town's residents and their daily routines...