Category: Oscar
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My Oscar Picks – 2025
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My Oscar Picks – 2024
Predicting (hate that word) what the Academy will choose is risky business. But those of us who follow cinema closely can’t help ourselves. The Academy is all about proclamation. Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Sound, etc. But can there really be a Best of anything in art? The full Academy…
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My 2023 Oscar Picks
It is tempting vote for everything Everything Everywhere All at Once was nominated for, but I don’t believe it is that kind of film. I recognize why it is so popular and perhaps even influential on future films, but there are other great efforts to recognize. But, who knows what will happen…
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My Oscar Picks for 2022
The 94th Academy Awards of Motion Pictures is Sunday, March 27, 2022. The ceremony has changed formats many times over recent years in response to cultural, social and ratings issues. Cries are always many, “It’s too damn long; lose the hosts; bring back the hosts; show more clips; stop reminding…
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Oscar Predictions 2021
A tougher than usual year to choose in the wake of a pandemic, intense political events, our continued struggle with race relations, and plethora of acting performances. This year we have a seriously diverse set story lines and filmmakers. Makes things more interesting, but so much harder to cast votes.…
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My 2018 Oscar Picks
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hold it’s 90th awards ceremony this Sunday. Controversy within the industry continues. Most organizations are slow to change and this one is no different. Changes were made to the voting members to include more minorities and women. I’m hopeful that as…
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My 2017 Oscar Picks
Ladies and gentlemen, the post you’ve all been waiting for. My picks to win the 89th Academy Awards. This year’s nominees gives us hope that the Academy has at least made some effort to look across the wonderful diversity that makes up the filmmaking community. The Academy released a list of…
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My 2016 Oscar Picks
The Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will will hold their 88th award ceremony Sunday, February 28th. I will not be discussing the over indexing of whiteness among the nominees, except to say it is something that certainly needs to be addressed. My interest here lies in the films, filmmakers and artists that were nominated by the Academy.…
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My Annual Oscar Picks – 2014
It’s that time again. The Academy hands out their picks for best of every category. They can select 10 films for best picture, but apparently could find only nine worthy of the crown. The pictures span history, deep drama, AIDS, hijacking, swindle and a celestial exploration of the human spirit,…
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Your Favorite Film of 2013 – Poll
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has the ability to nominate ten films for best picture in any given year. In the 1930’s and 1940’s eight to twelve films were nominated, but in the 1950’s there was a conscious decision to limit it to five. In 2009 that…
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Remembering Roger Ebert
Any lover of film my age was heavily influenced by what Roger Ebert wrote about the movies. He was not trained in film theory and started out his career as a journalist. You might say he was in the right place at the right time as the Chicago Sun-Times decided…
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My Oscar Picks for 2013
The 85th Academy Awards ceremony is only a day away. So many terrific films and excellent performances this past year has caused me lots of back and forth in filling out my ballot. In my opinion there are only two slam dunks; Daniel Day-Lewis for actor and Anne Hathaway for…
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Zero Dark Thirty – Film Review
2012 will be remembered as the year the movies took back their time slot. The year the industry remembered they have a super power; making big, ambitious, thought-provoking pictures and damn the running time or who might be protesting. Six major feature films released in the fall/winter season topped the…
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Film Review
It took me until about the third reel to fully appreciate Rooney Mara’s acidic portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. Ms. Mara inhabits the character with fearsome angst, throwing herself into the darkness of Lisbeth’s world. Literally, she has peered into the precipice to manifest this character. I hope she comes back.…
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Hugo (3D) – Film Review
I had given up hope that Martin Scorsese would ever make a picture aimed at all ages. With his love of film and unsurpassed knowledge of the art form, I felt he was a natural. But with New York as your muse, there are more serious matters to attend to.…
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My Oscar Picks for 2011
This Sunday, February 27, 2011 will be the 83rd annual Oscar awards presentation. An art form with a storied past, and I believe a bright future. Although India churns out many more pictures than the U.S. each year, the art of the film and the studio are uniquely American. I’m…
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2010 Academy Awards – Vote Your Favorites
For years I ran an office pool on the Oscars and did very well. I’ve since dropped the gambling which was a smart move because over the last few years my predictions have not matched well with the Academy members. As we approach the March 7th awards show it’s worth…
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My Oscar Picks – 2009
I used to be much better at picking the winners than I am these days. I would see every film, some more than once, then sit down and agonize over who would win. Frankly I was pretty good at it in the ’90’s. One year I only missed four or…
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Frost/Nixon – Film Review
On the first day of government class as a freshman in college, my professor entered the room pushing a television on a small cart and carrying a stack of magazines. He introduced himself and said that if anyone had not yet purchased the textbook to save their money. For those…
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Through a Glass and Darkly – Veterans Day
Today, Veterans Day, is a day to reflect and appreciate the countless citizens who served or are now serving our country in military uniform. My father and his brother were in the Navy in WWII, having enlisted right after Pearl Harbor. Dad served in the Pacific Theater and was involved…
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