Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #55-59

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: #5. James Horner - "Braveheart" (1995)

Scene from Braveheart

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.

Composing Greatness: #36. John Williams - "The Patriot" (2000)

Scene from The Patriot

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.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Hacksaw Ridge" (2016)

Scene from Hacksaw Ridge

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.

Composing Greatness: #20. John Williams - "The River" (1984)

Scene from The River

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.

Constance Wu is Not Wild About Casey Affleck's Oscar Nomination

Constance Wu

For a lot of people, the Oscar nominations announcement was a big deal. It was a moment where La La Land tied with Titanic and All About Eve for the most Oscars. It was the moment that the black LGBTQ movie Moonlight became an Oscar front runner with eight nominations. However, there is one person who isn't happy: Constance Wu. In particular, she isn't too thrilled with the news of Best Actor nominee Casey Affleck (Manchester By the Sea) getting nominated, believing that he doesn't deserve it due to the recent news of his sexual harassment lawsuits. Her frustration is only the latest in a long line of potential trouble for Affleck's Oscar chances, but it nevertheless could sway votes.

Review: "Hacksaw Ridge" is an Awe-Inspiring Look at Faith During War

Scene from Hacksaw Ridge

The events of Mel Gibson's aggressive personal life are likely well known by this point. It's full of a hostility that has kept him from being nearly as big of a star as he was even 15 years ago. Yet with his latest directorial film Hacksaw Ridge, he creates the perfect allegory for redemption. What's more impressive is that he does it without sacrificing the things that make his cinema singular (violence). Mixing war with faith, he explores how a man excised from his community based on his beliefs regains their trust through hard work. There's an earnestness here that is striking amid the graphic decapitations of the war scenes. This may be a story about having faith in time of crisis, but it's also a story about how Gibson regained our trust while producing his best film as a director. 

Theory Thursday: "Braveheart" is Overrated

Mel Gibson

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. 

A Round-Up of Recent Movie Trailers With Oscar Potential

Amy Adams in Arrival

With Oscar season upon us, it becomes harder and harder to keep track of all potential nominees with trailers released. I apologize for not quite keeping up with every new release over the past few weeks. As I do from time to time, I have decided to round up a few trailers for films that have potential to be awards contenders in some respects. While they range from plausible to a stretch, it's intriguing to think of which contender has already shown its face. Will Arrival, Allied, or even (but not likely) Hacksaw Ridge be the film of awards season? I don't have any answers, but I sure have plenty of opinions to make up for it.

Nothing But the Best: "Braveheart" (1995)

Mel Gibson

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.