Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Into the Woods" (2014)

Scene from Into the Woods (2014)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

A Rundown of Who's Performing on The Academy Awards this Sunday

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Things are getting exciting. With approximately 48 hours left until this year's Oscars ceremony, it's time lo look forward to the ceremony. Knowing that there isn't any host, what is there to look forward to? Well, there's good news (and some bad) in regards to this year's music performers. As of this moment, four of the five songs will be performed at the ceremony. While some would think this is a side effect of the infamous cuts that the show temporarily had, it's merely a side effect from scheduling. To find out who is still on the show, please feel free to read on and prepare for what is shaping up to be one of the oddest ceremonies in the modern era.

This Oscars Ceremony Performers and Presenters Continue to Get Weirder

Lady GaGa

If the current line-up of performers and presenters at the Oscars hasn't gotten you all sorts of excited, curious and confused, then you're about to experience a whirlwind of surprises. While previous reports have announced the familiar line-up of performers who will sing the Best Original Song nominees, there hasn't been too great of an understanding of what the show itself will be like. It has only been a week and it looks like we'll be having one of the craziest ceremonies in years. Or at least one of the most inventive.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Cake" (2014)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

New "Into the Woods" Trailer Offers a Better Look at the Curious Spectacle and Whimsical Music

Meryl Streep

As the Oscar season starts heating up and the big films come out, there's a need to not lose focus on the potential upsets. There is bound to be a few films that will enter the race after an unassuming start. My personal money has long been riding on director Rob Marshall's Into the Woods for many reasons. Beyond the fact that it is a very musical year that has already featured Jersey Boys and Get On Up as well as the upcoming Annie, it is opening in prime real estate for Oscar voters: Christmas Day. The last musical to open on this day (Les Miserables) did pretty well for itself with a Best Picture nomination and a few other slots. That is why I believe that it's time to start taking Into the Woods a little bit more seriously. Also, the trailer is actually pretty good.

Is "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" Capable of an Oscar Nomination?

Left to right: Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart

This Friday marks the end of an era for many people. What started as an independent film has grown into an international phenomenon that has broken box office records and has popularized vampires for a new generation. However, with director Bill Condon's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, can the series join the pantheon of series finales such as director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and David Yates' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 as Oscar nominated films that at very least have gotten recognition for the culmination of work over the past few years?

Why "ParaNorman" should win Best Animated Feature

One of the most interesting categories every year at the Oscars is the Best Animated Feature. Many think that it has always been a Pixar-owned category, but the brief 11 year history proves otherwise. Films such as Shrek, Spirited Away, and Rango have defeated Pixar's mighty reign on the family entertainment category. With Brave undoubtedly getting a nomination this year, I am rooting for another strange little feature. One that actually shows ambition and deserves the statue: ParaNorman.