Matt vs. the Academy

In my last post, I bemoaned the tribulations of moving house. For most, the discomfort of the move is, at least, offset by the excitement of the new surroundings. However, Kat and I have unfortunately managed to experience that discomfort with no subsequent excitement. I won't bother with the frustrating - and somewhat humiliating - details, but suffice it to say, we found ourselves involved with a rather shady real estate broker. Luckily, the ordeal ended with no monetary loss on our part, but the annoying result is that we packed everything into boxes only to unpack it all at the same apartment. Yep, we're not moving after all. I am now currently in Delaware to shoot a short film for a week (more details at a later time) but with my one day off yesterday, I shunned the Diamond State's sights to stay in my hotel room and watch the next of 1982's Best Picture nominees... Tootsie Director : Sydney Pollack Screenplay : Larry Gelbart, Don McGuire, Murray Schisgal ...

As I write this, I am surrounded by boxes and bags, full of Kat's and my belongings, in preparation for our apartment move next week. I cannot express how much I abhor moving, and yet somehow, I seem to have moved every couple of years. Interestingly, even though we are staying in the same neighbourhood - our new apartment is only about a mile away from our current one - the move from Australia to the States seemed somewhat easier. Sure, there were all sorts of administrative things to worry about then, but the actual transport of our belongings was rendered much simpler by the fact that we just bought all our furniture anew. Thus, all we really brought with us from Sydney were clothes. Now, we have a whole apartment of stuff to schlep. How did we accumulate so many things in just two years? Next up in 1982's selection of Best Picture nominees is... The Verdict Director : Sidney Lumet Screenplay : David Mamet (based on the novel by Barry Reed) Starring : Paul Newman...

Our friends at the Academy have announced a change to the recently-adopted rule concerning the number of nominees for Best Picture. After only two years of a ten-horse race, next year's shortlist will consist of anywhere between five and ten nominees, depending on how many films receive the requisite five percent of first-place votes during the nominating procedure. After studying the hypothetical results that this method would have produced in the past decade, it appears we may consistently have seen greater than five nominees, but fewer than ten. In other words, forcing only five nominees sometimes may have left some worthy films by the wayside, yet making it compulsory to cite ten films for the top award may have allowed one or two less than stellar pictures to sneak in. Undoubtedly, this new change will have its critics. Some will certainly say that the Academy is changing its rules too often. Indeed, it seems plausible that this announcement is in response to criticism of i...

Yet another genuinely difficult decision has befallen me. Although these pictures explore different themes, they are surprisingly similar in genre. Along with their evenly matched quality, the task of separating them is by no means an easy one. The nominees for Best Picture of 1948 are: Hamlet Johnny Belinda The Red Shoes The Snake Pit The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Five excellent films, each full of passion and intensity, covering a range of thought-provoking material. From greed and ambition to depression and mental illness, 1948's shortlist is one of the more contemplative the Academy has seen. Without exception, each nominee could easily be described as a psychological study. Due to this abundance of stimulating cinema, I simply cannot bring myself to name one - let alone two or three - as specifically inferior. Yet, my task is to single out one film as my favourite. Thus, for purely finicky reasons, I will eliminate The Snake Pit first, though there is n...

Last chance to vote on the year that Matt vs. the Academy tackles next. It's still a close race, so make sure you have your input using the poll on the right hand side of the screen. The final nominee from our look at 1948's Best Picture contenders is... Johnny Belinda Director : Jean Negulesco Screenplay : Irma von Cube and Allen Vincent (based on the play by Elmer Harris) Starring : Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally, Jan Sterling Academy Awards : 12 nominations 1 win, for Best Actress (Wyman) A deaf-mute since she was a baby, Belinda McDonald (Wyman) seems content performing menial tasks for her father Black (Bickford) and aunt Aggie (Moorehead) on the family farm in Nova Scotia. Known as "The Dummy" by the less polite members of the community, Belinda is not considered to ever be able to contribute intelligently to society. Not even her own family gives her any credit... Until the new town physician, Dr. Rich...