Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008)

Scene from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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.

After 10 Years, "Babel" is Still a Compassionate Universal Tale

Scene from Babel

It was 10 years ago that cinema experienced the shot heard round the world. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Babel had the hefty mission of combining four stories that spanned the globe while showing how they all connected. With the stories ranging from a shooting accident to a babysitter travelling to Mexico with American children, the film managed to creatively convey the passion and understanding that the world should be more accepting of. It was a film that showed the capabilities of Inarritu at their fullest, and he hasn't been able to capture the magic as effectively since. 

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Carol" (2015)

Scene from Carol

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.

10 Highlights from This Year's Academy Awards Ceremony

The four acting Oscar winners

With the ceremony behind us, it's time to remember everything that happened at this year's Academy Awards. For many, it marked one of the most exciting races in recent years. In fact, the year was not without some big surprises. For starters, the racially charged evening by host Chris Rock is likely to split many viewers. Even then, it's still great to know that this year wasn't the least bit dull. In the annual two part wrap-up, I will be recounting the highs and lows of the ceremony. In this article, I will be highlighting the positive, of which there's plenty to choose from.

Why this Years' Academy Awards Ceremony Was One of the Best

Chris Rock

Every year, there has been enough tension between the day that the Oscar nominations are announced and when the winners finally give their speeches. It is a fun time to speculate, especially if you're a prognosticator who enjoys nitpicking statistics or at any point believing that The Big Short was a front runner of any kind. The race itself was exciting, but this was likely undermined by what everyone else wanted to talk about: Oscars So White. For the second year in a row, every acting category was jam packed with white faces that would eventually lead to notorious boycotts from black celebrities, specifically that of Jada Pinkett Smith and Al Sharpton. This raised a question: how do The Oscars go on? Thankfully Chris Rock was there, and he turned  in one of the best awards ceremonies in years. It was controversial, sure, but Rock and producer Reginald Hudlin turned in a 3.5 hour production that not only addressed the elephant in the room, but reminded audiences as to why The Oscars are so integral to Hollywood, and international representation.

Review: "Carol" is About as Perfect as Movies Get

Scene from Carol

Love. At its core, almost every fiction narrative film has been in some capacity about the subject of love. It could be the explicit love between two subjects. It could be for the love of power. Whatever it may be, love remains just as vital to cinema after a century despite the emotions being the same thing in a different wardrobe. So how exactly do you improve on love in ways that The Lady Eve or Titanic hasn't covered? While thousands of films have tried, none have come close to the sublime new film from director Todd Haynes called Carol. While there's not much of a gimmick (two women fall in love), it's an example of love at its core; expressed with visual beauty and narrative excellence the likes of which haven't been seen in American films for quite some time. Carol may not have the most exciting story, but it has the purest depiction of what love is all about.

Nothing But the Best: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003)

Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

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.

Theory Thursday: "Hanna" (2011) is Joe Wright's Best Movie

Saoirse Ronan in Hanna

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

The "Carol" Teaser is a Sultry and Beautiful Debut for the Potential Oscar Contender

Cate Blanchett

It seems like we have been collectively talking about director Todd Haynes' Carol for eons now. Since its premiere this past summer at Cannes, it has been sparking a lot of debate with many prospecting that it will, in fact, be receiving an Oscar nomination at very least for Cate Blanchett. With the tale of lesbian love with co-star Rooney Mara, the film has sparked interest as the director's return to film (he most recently did the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce). Well, after months of fretting and speculating, there's some good news. There's officially a first trailer that is sure to get you hooked in the ecstasy of its two leads.

Lesbian Drama "Carol" Receives New Release Date

Cate Blanchett

If you're already marking up your calendar for Oscars season, there's plenty of chance that director Todd Haynes' Carol has been on there since its stellar debut at the Cannes Film Festival. With its initial release date planned for December 18, it was looking to open among a heady group that included The Hateful Eight and even blockbusters like Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens. Even if Carol is almost a surefire Oscar contender, it made a move recently that saved it from falling into obscurity. It has a release date that gives it more of a significant notice to the casual audiences.

Malick's Latest "Knight of Cups" Officially Has a 2016 Release Date

Christian Bale

It has been awhile since we last have heard from director Terrence Malick. Following the success of his long awaited The Tree of Life in 2011, it seemed like he was set to enter a period of prolific output. Starting with the 2012 film To the Wonder, he had an impressive amount slated for rapid succession, including Knight of Cups - which also stars Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett. While there has been a pretty good trailer that shows the old school director enjoying the modern era, it has been several months since we have heard any news about the film. Today, there's an official release date for the film that you can put on your calendar and prepare to revisit the awe-inspiring majesty of one of cinema's most unique voices.

Birthday Take: Cate Blanchett in "The Aviator" (2004)

Left to right: Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett in The Aviator

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

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.

Review: "How to Train Your Dragon 2" is a Perfect Cinematic Thrill Ride that Challenges the Medium

It has been almost a year (22 months to be exact) since an animated film last left me with an exhilaration and excitement. It has been awhile since a film has made me feel the joys and potential of what animation could be. This isn't to discredit the good films since (Wreck-It Ralph, The Wind Rises), but since ParaNorman, animation has been rather dour. No film has really impressed me and taken me on a whimsical journey. That is, until director Dean DeBlois released How to Train Your Dragon 2: the second film in a proposed trilogy based on the books by Cressida Cowell. Within the first five minutes, he reminds you the limitless potential of CGI animation with intricate scenery, wondrous flight sequences, and the breathtaking score from returning composer John Powell. It is a perfect family film exploring legacy and the impact of loyalty.

A Few Thoughts on the Academy Awards Ceremony: The Good

Steve McQueen

In order to best explore all sides of the 86th Academy Awards Ceremony, I have decided to split my opinions up into two posts: the good and the bad. We'll begin with the good, as any given year is not without its charm. For starters, there wasn't any major upsets for those predicting the top dogs. While this means that it limits the bickering for most of the ceremony's legacy, it does mean that the Academy has done something right and the results will now be tested by time. Of course, there is much else to be said from speeches to performances to the overall presentation. Even if this year's ceremony had a lot of downsides, it definitely had a lot of great memorable moments.

Review: "The Monuments Men" is a Safe Look at Art's Influence on Culture

George Clooney

After being moved to 2014 due to need for more post-production work, director George Clooney's The Monuments Men finally opened this month. It is in the midst of an Oscar season that it was once in the discussion of, which may be problematic for its chances next year. As evident by the past, films opening before June (and this year: October) are doomed to not even receive any recognition. While it could be that the largely competitors of the time are throwaway cash cows, it is also just because it is too early in any given year to be thinking about next year's ceremony. This isn't so much a problem for Clooney, whose prestige within the Academy has recently been recognized with a producer win for Argo. However, his star-studded World War II film is another story and one that does open the debate for next year's ceremony.

A Closer Look at the Best Actress Nominees

Continuing our look at all of the top category nominees is a race that is probably the least certain of all of them: the Best Actress category. Despite an eclectic group that ranges from sci-fi thrillers (Sandra Bullock - Gravity) to mental illness (Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine) to romantic conning (Amy Adams - American Hustle), the race seemed to have been locked since August and unlike 12 Years a Slave, the conversation hasn't shifted all that much. There are a few potential upsets for sure, but as a whole, this is just a matter of counting down the hours until the top name is rattled off and the acceptance speech is given.

Now "The Monuments Men" Gets Moved to 2014

George Clooney

It has been quite a day for movies getting switched around. Earlier today, The Wolf of Wall Street confirmed that it was coming out just in time for Christmas and thus qualifying for this year's Oscar race. As discussed in that article, it is going to be a packed season of films and there is a good chance that it will be hard to see them all. While this was why Jack Ryan was moved, it isn't so much the case with the latest announcement. Director George Clooney's war film The Monuments Men will not be around this holiday season. Much like The Wolf of Wall Street, the reasons are good enough to justify this shift.

"The Monuments Men" Debuts with an Exciting, Star-Studded Trailer

Left to right: Matt Damon and George Clooney

It seems like we're in a recent winning streak with trailers right now. In the past week alone, we have gotten stuff for American Hustle, Her, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and now one of the surefire Oscar contenders: director George Clooney's The Monuments Men. While it has been hyped since January as one of the films of the year, it is largely because Clooney is one of the biggest threats to competitors in general. As we'll discuss later on, he may not be the most decorated Oscar nominee/winner, but his presence and contribution is fascinating and the fact that this looks to be another strong entry only makes it harder to deny his charisma. 

Review: "Blue Jasmine" is One of the Most Creatively Twisted Woody Allen Film in Years

Cate Blanchett

In Annie Hall, Woody Allen famously said about people in Hollywood: "They don't throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows." In a sense, the director's career has almost seemed to be a huge tirade against the west coast lifestyle. His films were always famously shot in New York or later on Europe. With the announcement that his latest film Blue Jasmine would be taking place on the coast he had so long chosen to ignore, it almost seemed like a resurgence for the American filmmaker to make something equivalent to the west coast as his films like Manhattan did for the east. In a way, it does live up to Allen's vision as predicted in Annie Hall. It is by no means a flattering vision.