Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Widows" (2018)

Scene from Widows

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.

Review: "Widows" is the Best Kind of Heist Film Imaginable

Scene from Widows

In 2013, director Steve McQueen released 12 Years a Slave. It was a film so vital and important that it could be considered one of the rare essential American films of the 21st century so far. With stark honesty, he captured an uncomfortable piece of U.S. history and helped to reshape the history, and all with lingering shots of brutality that forces the viewer to soak in the discomfort. So, how does McQueen follow up the film? Fives years later he has returned with Widows, which in the first 30 seconds features a brash edit so explosive that it rattles the audience in a new way. This is McQueen not as the methodical filmmaker he has been known as, but as someone who places urgency in every frame, artistry in every angle, and enough memorable bits to make this one of the best films of 2018. It's a heist movie with one of the year's greatest ensembles and an even more electric script by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl). It's a film that will grab you in your seat and not let go for the entire two hours. It's perfect evidence that McQueen doesn't only make good art films, but just good films in geneal.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Get Out" (2017)

Scene from Get Out

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.

Long Shot Week: Best Director - Jordan Peele ("Get Out")

Scene from Get Out

Welcome to the first Long Shot Week, where I will attempt to persuade you to think outside of the Oscar box. While it's too late to change voters' minds, I believe that audiences need to take a moment to look at the other contenders in any category and give them a chance. Long Shot Week is designed as a way to highlight these talents that likely don't stand a chance of winning, but more than deserve a chance to be appreciated for what they bring to the game. In a way, this is my list of "Films that should've won," though it's not always indicative of my favorite. Join me all week as I look at different categories and pose the question "Why not?" in hopes that The Oscars still have a few surprises up their sleeve.