Composing Greatness: #3.The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "The Artist" (2011)

Scene from The Artist

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.

Nothing But the Best: "The Artist" (2011)

Scene from The Artist

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

R.I.P. Uggie (2002-2015)

Uggie with Jean Dujardin

In 2011, there was a reason to love canines. It seemed like they were everywhere from indie films (Beginners) to animation (The Adventures of Tintin). However, there weren't any that swept the zeitgeist quite like that of Uggie: the little Jack Russell Terrier from director Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist. Besides the film winning Best Picture, Uggie became the talk of the town, appearing nonstop over the next few years at public events (and even the Oscars ceremony). He even had an autobiography, which (according to the internet) he wrote himself. He was a dog with phenomenal talent that unfortunately was euthanized yesterday at the age of 12. He may not have had the most prolific screen presence, but he did make the most the most of his brief time in films.

A Look at the List of This Year's 76 Best Foreign Film Submissions

Waad Mohammed in Wadjda

In what is now unintentionally turning into a week looking at the Best Foreign Film category, we look at the list of eligible films for 2014's race. With a record 76 countries submitting nominees, the field may seem to be crowded, but there are definitely some standouts from the bunch. Even if majority of them aren't recognizable to the average viewer, these films will probably in discussion again at a later point. For a full listing of nominees as well as a few thoughts, please click below to read more.