Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #30-34

Scene from Arrival (2016)

As 2019 reached its end, another decade of cinema had passed. It's amazing to think about how things have evolved since 2010 when the biggest controversies were about recognizing genre movies. Things look different now, especially as genre films like The Shape of Water and Parasite are winning Best Picture and the voting body looks incredibly different with each passing year. With this period in the books, it feels like a good time to celebrate their accomplishments by ranking all 88 titles nominated for Best Picture from worst to best with the goal of seeing which films are more likely to stand the test of time. Join me every Saturday and Sunday as I count them down, five at a time. It's going to be a fun summer looking back on what was, especially as we prepare for the decade ahead and an even more interesting diversity that we haven't even begun to think of.

A Look Back at My Oscar Predictions: How Did I Do?

Scene from Parasite (2019)

Now that the dust has settled and everyone knows what the results for this year's Oscars are, it's time to look back at one of the most fun/embarrassing things that we all do. Every year it's fun to predict the winners, and some years are clearly better than others when it comes to results. For me, this was a terrible year where almost everything was undone by the unexpected success of Parasite. Then again, I have yet to get 0%, so I'm doing something right. So... how did I do otherwise? The answer is just ahead and presents an interesting side to the Oscar season that is often overlooked. How did you do? Did Parasite get you too? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Here Are This Year's Oscar Winners!

Well, that's it. Another year is officially in the books. The 92nd Academy Awards were held last night and, by all accounts, it was an exciting night full of many surprising winners. Most importantly, it was the night when Best Picture (and three other trophies) ushered in a new era as The Academy celebrated Parasite. While there was a share of obvious winners, there's no discounting that it was another fun year full of great artists finally getting their recognition for hard work. There is more Oscar coverage to come in the week ahead, but for now, there is one question on everyone's minds: what actually won? Presented here without further commentary are this year's winners in every category.

Here's My Official Predictions for This Year's Oscars Ceremony

Scene from 1917 (2019)

After months of prognostication, the moment is finally here. Tomorrow is the day that every film fan has been waiting for as The Academy Awards take to the stage to announce this year's winners. Who will be the big winners? 1917, Parasite, Joker? There's nothing known for sure until that envelope is open. While I don't have any answer regarding who will win, I am still capable of making predictions, sometimes wild as they are, for who will be walking up to that stage and joining the selective circle of Oscar winners. So, without further commentary, here are my predictions for this year's ceremony. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and prepare for plenty of post-ceremony coverage coming on Monday.

Composing Greatness: #13. Thomas Newman - "1917" (2019)

Scene from 1917 (2019)

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees of 2020

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

One of the greatest games to play following every Oscar season is to see every film that's nominated in any given character. None are more fun than Best Picture, which remains the most anticipated category year in and year out, leaving behind a winner that is going to be talked about for decades and (very soon) a century. Now that I have seen every nominee in the class of 2020, I am throwing in my hat to determine which films I love the most and what are some of the weak spots on the list. As a whole, the films picked from 2019 presented another strong class that reflects the best of cinema's diverse potential. Could it be better? Sure, but the nine films here are no slouches.

A Look at Academy Award Nominations That Make Me Happy

Scene from Little Women (2019)

With the recent announcement of The Academy Award nominations, many have already taken to the internet to give criticism for what they have done wrong. Oh, Jennifer Lopez didn't get a nomination for Hustlers, or Greta Gerwig missed Best Director for Little Women. They're all fair criticisms that help prove why the Oscars have remained such an important part of film discourse. However, there is something else to highlight from these crop of nominees: the positive. Yes, for as much as they "got wrong," The Academy got a lot right and introduced a variety of things to be excited about. The following is a quick rundown of nominees that personally make me happy, or come as a pleasant surprise. While there's more that I liked, these are the pleasant surprises that make the season all the more worth supporting year after year.

Looking Back at Predictions: How Did I Do?

Scene from Parasite (2019)

On Monday, The Academy announced its nominees for this year's ceremony. There's a lot to be excited about on the list, including Parasite becoming the first Korean movie to be nominated... well, ever. Having had time to mull over all of the nominees, there is one thing that is fun to do: look back on predictions and see just how accurate things turned out. After all, they were the last moment to shape what should be nominated before finding out what ended up making the cut. The following is a rundown of six categories that I predicted along with how well things turned out. To say the least, it always produces interesting results. 

Review: "1917" Explodes with Brilliant Ingenuity

Scene from 1917 (2019)

Over the past 100 years, there hasn't been a filmmaker that understood the immersive, claustrophobic experience of being placed into trench warfare quite like director Sam Mendes. Audiences have likely spent hours inside these narrow rows of safety, but not quite like 1917. A masterclass in the film could be taught in the first 10 minutes of this film, showing the navigation of two soldiers through these endless, winding passages as they pass around soldiers on their way to combat. What starts at ground level slowly drops the audience further into the trenches until all peripherals are surrounded by soldiers and dirt. Even with this, there is a sense of geography that could be followed. It's a story through action, and one that slowly unveils details in casual asides, presenting a vision of World War I that is sparing in the conventional plot in favor of an immersive experience.

Part of that immersive experience is owed to Mendes' desire to shoot the entire film in the gimmicky long take. The audience is a third party to Lance Corporals Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George Mackay), experiencing the same winding paths that they do as they deliver a message from base to a distant party, walking through no man's land and various other obstacles in a quest to prevent further war. It's one thing if that was the story, but Mendes insists on presenting constant obstacles on some of the most breathtaking set designs of the century, once again slowly placing the viewer into a world so large that they too will become exhausted by the time that Blake and Schofield have walked miles through an eerie quietness, still fearing the gunfire of enemy soldiers. It's easily among the best WWI movies in that it recreates the harrowing experience better than any comparable film, and it does so with a visual accomplishment that's even more of a bragging right. For what 1917 lacks in great storytelling, it makes up for in overall scale and atmosphere. 

The 2020 Oscar Nominations Are Officially Here!

Ladies and gentlemen, at long last the day has arrived. The Academy gathered together to announce the nominees for this year's ceremony. Among the highlights is that comic book movie Joker lead the pack with 11 nominations, and Parasite became the first South Korean film to be nominated, period. Across the board, there are nonstop things to celebrate and get excited for. Now there's only one question to go: who will win it all? While nobody has the answers for that yet, there are several nominations to get excited about. Read on to discover what made the list and come back in the weeks to come to discuss news and reviews about all of the nominees.

Last-Minute Predictions for This Year's Oscar Nominations

Scene from Joker (2019)

The big moment is here! After a year of prognosticating, this year's Oscar nominations will be upon us and put to rest a lot of complicated questions. Which actors will make the cut? Will this be one of the best years for Best Picture ever? How big does Parasite or Joker show up? So many questions will finally be resolved, leaving only the biggest one (who wins?) to be resolved. With time ticking away until this moment comes, it feels like a good time to announce my predictions for what will get nominated this year. Like every time, it's difficult to narrow it down, but if half of these end up on the list, then we should be happy.

Sam Mendes Promises a War Movie Like No Other in First "1917" Trailer

Scene from 1917

Even as the decades and centuries rage on, filmmakers have been attracted to the idea of the war film. In recent years, The Academy has awarded films like Hacksaw Ridge and Dunkirk as these harrowing journeys into the frontlines of some of the 20th century's most visceral moments. And for good reason. It's a challenging feat to make war into something new and engaging in cinema. It may be what helps director Sam Mendes' latest, 1917, stand out as one of the most groundbreaking films of the genre. With the promise to look like one smooth long take, 1917 is promising to be, if nothing else, one of the most unique war movie experiences of the decade. The first trailer has a lot of explosive moments to tantalize us, and hopefully, they deliver on the exhilaration.