Matt vs. the Academy

As my current LA trip approaches its end, it seems appropriate that we begin our next year of review with a film that features Los Angeles almost as a character of its own. I even had the privilege of taking in this masterpiece on the big screen for the first time, which was definitely a treat. Later, I also watched its sequel, The Two Jakes, which I had never seen before, and was pleasantly surprised, despite years of assuming its mixed reviews meant it was awful. In any case, let's take a look at the first nominee of the 1974 Best Picture contest... Chinatown Director : Roman Polanski Screenplay : Robert Towne Starring : Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, Perry Lopez, Burt Young, John Huston, Diane Ladd Academy Awards : 11 nominations 1 win, for Best Original Screenplay Los Angeles private investigator J.J. Gittes (Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Ladd) to confirm that her husband, Hollis, is having an affair. Hollis happens to be the chief engineer of th...

Another year of review comes to a close and this is the most recent year of movies I've tackled for this project thus far. As such, many of these movies were still relatively fresh in my memory, so unlike older films, of which my opinion can sometimes change significantly over the years, my assessments of these films mostly remained the same as they were on my first viewings. The nominees for Best Picture of 2010 are: 127 Hours Black Swan The Fighter Inception The Kids Are All Right The King's Speech The Social Network Toy Story 3 True Grit Winter's Bone As one might expect from a year with ten nominees, there's quite a wide range of scope in this group, yet if I were to try to find the common ground, I'd have to say that all of these stories have a gripping intensity (to varying degrees and styles). Those that perhaps gripped me less than the others - and will therefore be the first to be set aside in the race to be named my favourite of the year - ar...

I'm currently on my annual (sometimes semi-annual) trip to Los Angeles and, as has become habit when I visit the City of Angels, I've already spent a day at the Academy Museum where I thoroughly enjoyed their new Jaws exhibit. A treasure trove of memorabilia from the movie, alongside clips from the movie, as well as behind the scenes clips, including some home video (home 8mm film?) footage from Spielberg himself. Plus, the pièce de résistance: an opportunity to insert yourself into the famed dolly zoom shot. Our final nominee vying for Best Picture of 2010 is... The Kids Are All Right Director : Lisa Cholodenko Screenplay : Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg Starring : Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson Academy Awards : 4 nominations 0 wins When teenagers Joni (Wasikowska) and Laser (Hutcherson) decide they want to meet their biological father, Paul (Ruffalo), they initially keep it from their mothers, Nic (Bening) and Jul...

For my readers who will be in Sydney this weekend, come see me tread the boards in Love-All: A Roseville Story at the Chatswood Lounge. From playwright Alexandra Long, whose screenplay Thank God He Met Lizzie (released in the US as The Wedding Party) was one of Cate Blanchett's first films, the satirical play explores the sordid antics of four men at a fancy suburban tennis club. If you've ever had a hankering to see me play a middle-aged lothario, now's your chance! Time now to take a look at the next contender in the 2010 Best Picture race... The King's Speech Director : Tom Hooper Screenplay : David Seidler Starring : Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon Academy Awards : 12 nominations 4 wins, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Firth) As a representative of the British Royal Family, Prince Albert, Duke of York (Firth), known to those close to him as Bert...

Being an actor is not exactly the most stable of careers. Unless you're an A-lister, work is often unpredictable and inconsistent, so one must celebrate the rare wins when they come. I'm happy to say I'll be in at least two feature films this year - one major Hollywood production that was filmed in Melbourne a couple of months ago (which I'd gladly gloat about if it weren't for the pesky NDA), and one Aussie indie film which I'm about to start shooting here in Sydney. Coincidentally, they're both set in the 1980s, though that is perhaps their only commonality - one is a sports drama, the other a crime dramedy. Likely, they'll both be released next year, so I'll keep you posted with screenings when the time comes. Meanwhile, here are my thoughts on another 2010 Best Picture nominee... Inception Director : Christopher Nolan Screenplay : Christopher Nolan Starring : Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Pag...

It seems I've been slacking off again and left this blog to gather more dust. But I'm back! Granted, it was over a week ago that I actually watched the below film, which just goes to show how difficult it's been to find time for this silly (but incredibly important) project. And, of course, since this is the first post since the Oscars, I have to at least briefly comment on my winner predictions. I managed to correctly predict 16 of the 23 categories. Not a great score, but considering three of my errors were the short film categories, which often feel like a crap shoot, I'll take it. Let's rejoin our look at the 2010 Best Picture nominees with... The Social Network Director : David Fincher Screenplay : Aaron Sorkin (based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich) Starring : Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Brenda Song, Rashida Jones, Rooney Mara Academy Awards : 8 nominations 3 wins, including B...

My predictions for the Oscar nominations this year turned out to be roughly average to slightly above. I aced Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay and Production Design, but missed either one or two nominees in each of the other categories. Picking the winners seems decidedly more difficult, however. And with only a few days left before the Oscars ceremony, it's now time to make my predictions about who's going to take home the gold. I've tried to cram in viewings of as many nominated movies as I can, but I'm still quite behind. Though, to be honest, actually seeing a film is not all that important when it comes to figuring out whether it's going to win. I mean, it helps, of course, but there are other factors that are much more illuminating. Mind you, in this year's case, those other factors are not really giving as clear a picture as I would like. Most of the top categories barely have a frontrunner. Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director are two-horse rac...