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: #6.The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "Her" (2013)

Scene from Her (2013)

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: "Let It Go" (2013)

Scene from Frozen

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.

My Top 10 Favorite Amy Adams Movies

Amy Adams

Today is Amy Adams' 41st birthday. While I try to remain objective to all performers, there are few that I have publicly rooted for as much as her to eventually win an Oscar. With an impressive track record of 5 nominations, she seems overdue for something at this point. It also helps that I consider her to be one of the most charismatic and enjoyable actresses currently working. With an impressive career that features an array of great performances ranging from princess movies to dark dramas, she embodies what a great actress should be. So to honor her birthday, I have decided to highlight my personal top 10 favorite performances of hers that reflect why she is so great.

The Directors Project: #32 - Spike Jonze

Scene from Cinema Paradiso

With the many lists and essays written on the subject of film, there has been one thing that The Oscar Buzz has tried to understand: Who is my favorite of the film world? For 10 weeks this summer, I will be exploring this with a countdown of the Top 50 names based on a numerical ranking of ratings from various sources, the following is a list of directors who rank above everyone else. With occasional upsets, this is intended as both a discussion opener as well as a better understanding of me as a film critic and fan. Please enjoy and leave any comments you have regarding the entry's selection.

A Few Thoughts on the 86th Academy Award Winners

*NOTE: This is not a recap or highlight of the ceremony. This is a discussion of the films that won isolated from the ceremony.

There is something to be said when the applicable films that won at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards ended up being the big heroes at the Academy Awards. Unlike most years, there wasn't much of a race between anyone. Even from the moment that 12 Years a Slave hit the scene with its limited October release, there seemed to be an aura of predictability. At best, those who hoped that Gravity would be good would have a surprise by how openly acknowledged it became. Otherwise, as the race moved on, things became abundantly clear: it was the year of the front runners.

My Official Oscar Votes for 2014

With the Oscar ceremony this upcoming weekend, the time to see all of the Oscar nominees is dwindling down. For me, there are many notable categories where I unfortunately came up short. With that said, I also had the opportunity to see majority of the nominees in the major categories, which allowed me to have a more invested take. What follows is a reassessment of my initial votes, which have since changed. This will not be a rehashing of every nominee, but an abbreviated version of the list with any additional thoughts listed.

A Closer Look at the Best Original Screenplay Nominees

Now that we have covered the acting fields, it is time to look at the constructs of what makes those performances pop. First up is the Best Original Screenplay category that mixes modernist sci-fi (Her) with the AIDS epidemic (Dallas Buyers Club) and classy cons (American Hustle). It may even arguably be more interesting than the Best Adapted Screenplay category, as almost every selection on here provides an alternative view of American culture and chooses to explore the bigger themes of our lives. This is where the race becomes less solidified and the nominees are equally up for debate. Even then, this category is rather impressive and reflects what made 2013 a solid year for films.

A Closer Look at the Best Picture Nominees

Much like every other Academy Award enthusiast out there, there is great pride in reaching the point when the nominees go from being names to actual discussion pieces. For me, that includes watching every Best Picture nominee before the big day and being able to dissect my overall thoughts on the categories. What films were fueled more by bias than actual quality? There were a few this year. However, upon reflection, I noticed that I have ran into a strange issue this year: I don't consider too many to be "overrated" when it comes to this category. In fact compared to last year, which I still believe was far more interesting, this line-up is rather excellent and diverse. I still loathe the nine nominees of the 5-10 sliding scale, but with that aside, this is another excellent year for the category.

Review: "Her" is a Complicated and Poignant Analysis of Love

Joaquin Phoenix

Originally publishes here

Director Spike Jonze has made a career out of pushing visual aesthetics into visceral new levels of pleasure. His mind-bending tales challenge social commentary in some of the most profound ways possible with simple tweaks to familiar formulas. In fact, it is hard to even consider him a science fiction director simply because his tales feel real. He is working on levels above the average filmmaker, and that is one of the many reasons that his latest Her feels like the most honest depiction of a computer-to-human relationship. By humanizing the circuits, he unlocks the mysteries of love and codependency while also exploring why technology may better our lives, but it will also isolate us in delusional bliss.

A Look at the Oscar Nominees of 2014 and the Many, Many Surprises

This morning, the Oscar nominations were announced and there was more than a fair share of surprises. With plenty of snubs to go around, the final cut is an impressive mix that much like the Golden Globes, shows that there isn't a definitive front runner as initially predicted all the way back in September. However, there's a strange emergence of competition that seemed unlikely as well. Here is a look at the Oscar nominations for 2014 and brief thoughts on every category. To say the least, my Oscar predictions were far from perfect.

Calculating the Golden Globe 2014 Winners

Left to right: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

Last night saw the Golden Globes ceremony take place hosted once again by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. The show itself had plenty of memorable moments and with the hosts managing to do what Ricky Gervais couldn't (not outstay their welcome), it was a night that managed to pack a lot of surprises, notably for those rooting on 12 Years a Slave to dominate in every available category. In fact, there wasn't a single film that really "dominated," though it has raised questions on how the Oscar race could change (read my nominee predictions here). As it stands, things look less concrete going forward.

My Final Predictions on the 2014 Oscar Nominees

We are officially less than a week away from hearing the Oscar nominations for this year's ceremony. With Chris Hemsworth scheduled to announce them on Thursday, January 16 with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Cheryl Boone Isaacs, it is as good of a time as any to predict who will make the final cut. As mentioned earlier this week, the race looks quite different than it did at the start, and that is quite exciting. The follow is my predictions for each category, save for Best Animated Short and Best Live Action Short. Check them out and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. 

A Look at the Short List for the Best Original Song Contenders

This week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the short list of songs eligible for the Best Original Song category. As always, there are some favorites and a lot of strange choices. While it doesn't actually give any insight into who will win, it does create an interesting predicament to what could get nominated. The field is open to everyone on the list so far and there are numerous surprises that could occur. Much like the nomination of Norah Jones for a song from Ted last year, the category is rarely lacking in intrigue. 

The 2014 Golden Globe Nominations Are In and They Look Better Than You Think!

It is strange to admit, but it looks like this year's Golden Globes will not be nearly as much of an embarrassment as they have been in the past. After a brief glimpse, the year of movies has produced one of the strongest, least embarrassing line-ups with no confusion in the Best Comedy or Musical category. While there are some egregious omissions and some surprises, it looks to be a decent start to awards season. On the down side, my favorite whipping boy won't have too many complaints this year, which may be the biggest tragedy of all. So here are my thoughts on the awards as well as predicting the winners in each of the categories. There will also be links where applicable to posts I have written regarding the nominees.

Note: If you wish to see my thoughts on the TV portion, stay tuned to my Optigrab blog later this evening for a full post on it.

A Look at "Frozen" and the Best Original Song Category

I would like to apologize for my lack of consistency in the past few weeks. Hopefully with December proving to have a lot of goodies, I shall be more consistent.

This past Wednesday saw the release of the Disney film Frozen. Maybe it could be that this year hasn't been the best for animated films, but there is an inevitability of the film receiving a nomination. Along with highly positive reviews and lack of competition, it is looking to become part of the zeitgeist simply for being most people's only option to theatrical family entertainment. However, there is one interesting angle that gives the film even more potential. It is a musical with plenty of songs receiving a large amount of buzz, but can it sneak into the Best Original Song category?

The Trailer for Spike Jonze's "Her" Suggests the Year's Strangest Romantic Couple

Joaquin Phoenix

It will be tough for me to disassociate anything Joaquin Phoenix does from The Master, if only for the fact that it was the inspiration for launching The Oscar Buzz. With that established, I will admit that maybe my frenzy was a little too enthusiastic during the past season and while yes, Daniel Day Lewis didn't deserve it, I still stand by my belief that Phoenix is if not one of the best, one of the most ambitious performers currently working. Just check out how he sabotaged his career for satire in the discriminating underrated I'm Still Here. Even his poise at this year's Oscars ceremony suggests someone thinking outside the box. That is why, more than anything, it is exciting news to see that he has a new film, and it is with director Spike Jonze called Her.