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.

Composing Greatness: #17. The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "Black Panther" (2018)

Scene from Black Panther (2018)

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.

Best Song: "Shallow" (2018)

Scene from A Star is Born (2018)

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now but wait until the bad years.

An Overview of the 91st Annual Academy Awards Ceremony

Spike Lee

If one viewed Twitter seconds after The 91st Academy Awards announced its Best Picture winner, one would believe that this was the worst year ever. How could a film like Green Book beat more culturally relevant films like BlacKkKlansman or Roma? In some ways, it can be viewed as the perfect metaphor for a year of constant controversy where Academy President John Bailey tried (and failed) to introduce a Best Popular Film category, cut out several music acts, and go forward with no hosts. No matter what, this year was threatening to be different and many wondered just how well that turned out. Those who stopped at Green Book's Best Picture win, much like the other controversial missteps, didn't recognize how great this year was in small ways. It's a year where diversity was recognized, which shows that even if you view Green Book as a regressive winner, there has been inevitable change since the Oscars So White controversy of three years ago. This may have not been the most beloved Academy Award year, but it's far from the contrived mess people wanted it to be.

Here's the Official List of This Year's Academy Award Winners!

The cast and crew of Green Book

Well, the moment has come and gone. The 91st Academy Awards ceremony brought with it many highs and lows, but most importantly were the winners. With Green Book taking the top prize, it was a year full of diverse nominees that were fascinating and reflective of the growing body of voters. Before Oscar recap coverage begins, it only feels right to get to the heart of this Oscar season and answer the question: who won? The following is a rundown of every winner in the 24 categories. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and look forward to more coverage coming in the day and week to come.

Here's My Final Predictions for This Year's Academy Awards!

Scene from Black Panther

This is it! Tomorrow marks the day that everyone has been waiting for. After months of speculation, it's time for The Academy Awards ceremony to present to us the winners. It's an exciting time, and one has to wonder who is going to take home the gold. As is tradition, it's time to end the pre-Oscar coverage with my own predictions. I'll admit that 2018's line-up is a bit difficult to call, as it has been a wildly unpredictable year. While I feel less certain than normal about my picks winning, I can only hope that this year is a lot more exciting than it has gotten credit for. So, what are my picks? Read on and feel free to share your picks in the comments.

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.

An Optimistic Viewpoint of This Oscar Season

Scene from The Favourite

Ladies and gentlemen, we are less than a week away from the beloved Oscar Sunday. For many, it's one of the greatest nights to celebrate all things film. With that said, the past few months have been mired in controversy for reasons ranging from "Why is Bohemian Rhapsody so popular?" to "Present All 24." It's been a rough year for those who like the tried and true formula. However, in an attempt to make the final days of prognostication fun, I thought that I would try and open this week by looking at the positive. For as much as this year feels like a series of unfortunate events, it has produced one of the most exciting Oscar races in years. Even days out, there's so much that's left unclear, and that will make everything all the more exciting.

Composing Greatness: #2. Oscars 2019 Edition - "Black Panther"

Scene from Black Panther

Welcome to a very special edition of Composing Greatness. In this limited series, I will be looking at the five scores nominated for this year's Best Original Score category. To avoid favoritism, the list will be done in alphabetical order of composers and feature the same guidelines as the original series. This is meant to explore the music behind the great films of 2018, and provide insight into what makes each of them special and whether or not they deserved to be nominated at all. Join me all week as I listen to the  music, leave some thoughts, and hopefully sway you to check out these wonderful, wonderful scores.

Coming Soon: Composing Greatness Looks at This Year's Nominees

Terrence Blanchard

In what will become an annual tradition, it's time once again for Composing Greatness to revive itself for a week of covering every Best Original Score nominee from this year's ceremony. Given the great diversity in styles, it's going to be fun to look through what's here and find the heart of why these scores were nominated. So feel free to join in, starting the week of February 18 as I cover all five of the scores in alphabetical order by title. How will BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, If Beale Street Could Talk, Isle of Dogs, and Mary Poppins Returns compare with previous nominees? You'll have to wait and see.

*NOTE: Due to Composing Greatness' return, this month's Legitimate Theater has been cancelled. Please feel free to enjoy it next month when it returns.

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees of 2018

Love it or hate it, there's a certain honor that comes with being nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. In any given year, only a fraction of the hundreds of films released over the course of 52 weeks makes it to the big night. While most years have produced very interesting results, this year has been defined by divisive picks that range from hit-and-miss (BlacKkKlansman) to downright frustrating (Bohemian Rhapsody). Of the many films released in 2018, these are the eight that have been deemed worthy of continuing for the award. The following is my ranking of these films as well as how I feel about their place in the rankings. This isn't a prediction so much of what will win, but maybe what would've won had I decided. Join in and feel free to leave your own rankings in the comments.

Review: "Black Panther" Creates Exciting New Potential for Superheroes

Scene from Black Panther

While comic books movies have taken audiences to the far reaches of space, into the depths of the ocean, and into the most fantastical of fantasies, Black Panther has managed to find something groundbreaking within the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe narrative. It isn't just that it's the first black superhero to headline his own movie, or that he does so without having to navigate a white world. Its very embodiment of Afro-Futurism is something that even a decade ago would've seemed risky for Hollywood. In 2018 however, it has shamelessly come forward and told a story that is exciting both in action and in story. Director Ryan Coogler isn't just obsessed with making a film look cool, but also gives it a cultural depth that would place it alongside touchstones like A Raisin in the Sun. For all of its great moments, the film feels different because it feels important; not just in the sense of world building, but in the future of superhero cinema. There hasn't been a movie like Black Panther before, and hopefully there will be a bunch coming very soon.

An Update on The Academy Awards Ceremony's Many Strange Decisions

Scene from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

In every sense of the word, the three weeks leading up to the Academy Awards ceremony should be a time of excitement and anticipation. After all, the nominations have been revealed and everything should be in place for the broadcast. However, this year has been a bit of an uphill battle for most, as the past year has embodied a series of bad decisions lead by Academy President John Bailey that culminated in a Best Popular Film category that was rightfully laughed out of the conversation. However, it also brought with it a need for serious change that is unfortunately a bit baffling. Less than a week after it was announced that only two of the Oscar-nominated songs would perform, the ruling has been reversed. However, it does come with a bit of a price, especially if what has been said is to be believed. There's a lot wrong with the broadcast's proposed plan and part of that is cutting the music down to 90 seconds.

The Academy Rumored to Be Limiting Music Performances at Ceremony

Kendrick Lamarr

With the Oscar nominations firmly upon us, The Academy has found a way to make the final month-long stretch to Oscar Night more frustrating than trying to guess who will win. With theaters boycotting Roma, and the current plan of the show having no host, one has to wonder where the controversial decisions end. It didn't happen yesterday when a rumor surfaced that the show would be going without another key piece of the puzzle. While there hasn't been any confirmation as of yet, there's a report from Variety that there will be limited performances by the Best Original Song nominees. It makes sense then why people are once again annoyed by this decision, The Academy Awards is a place to celebrate film from over the past year. If they won't acknowledge the music that goes into a film, then what will they recognize?

A Look Back at my Final Oscar Nominations Predictions: How'd I Do?

Scene from BlacKkKlansman

This past Tuesday marked the announcement for this year's Oscar nominations. If you're like me, it was quite a wonderful day full of surprises both great and awful. While there will be plenty of prognostication to come, there is a certain thing that is true: my predictions are now dated. I previously posted how my predictions from August 2018 are now even more of a joke. So, before we get too far into the final stretch of Oscar season, it's time to look at the last grasp to guess the wildness of this year's nominees, or lack thereof. How did I do? Join me in looking back and laughing at what I got wrong and how things actually turned out.

Here's the List for the 2019 Academy Award Nominations!

Scene from Roma

This morning is the moment that a lot of people have been waiting for. After months of trying to guess what will make the cut, The Academy has officially shared their picks for this years Oscar nominees. It's been a heated year where crowd favorites (Black Panther) have fought with prestige (The Favourite) in hopes of being taken seriously. Still, it was a great year for film and the results are, like every year, a curious bunch. The following is a rundown of every Oscar nominee for this year's ceremony. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and tell me what you're happiest and most annoyed by from this year's line-up.