R.I.P. Emmanuelle Riva (1927-2017)

Emmanuelle Riva in Amour

On January 27, 2017, actress Emmanuelle Riva died at the age of 89 in Paris, France from cancer. The French actress had a lengthy career full of great performances. She is most likely going to be remembered for her role in director Michel Haneke's Amour, in which she played a dying woman opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant. Her career featured several astounding performances that played to her strengths and helped solidify her as a unique talent. She leaves behind an impressive body of work the likes of which cannot be matched. 

Review: "Amour" is a Great Love Story Coming to an End

Left to right: Jean Louis-Trintignant and Emmannuelle Riva

One of the great perks of the Oscars this year was director Michael Haneke's surprise Best Picture/Best Director nominations for Amour. While foreign films have managed to sneak into the Best Picture race (the previous being Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), it is a rarity that was met with fine applause that at least the Academy was still recognizing world cinema. True, the Best Foreign Film category may be lacking great films like Holy Motors and Rust and Bone, but it still has some reputable titles like No. However, what is it about Haneke's tale of love in the twilight years that was so enduring, and was it really Best Picture worthy?

Predictions: Who Should Get a Best Director Nomination in 2013?

2012's Best Director winner Michael Hazanavicius (The Artist)

We are in an exciting time for Oscar enthusiasts. We are officially one week away from the announcement of this year's nominees. In order to contribute some thoughts, I will be going down the major categories (Acting, Directing, and Best Picture) and predicting who will be the most likely to get nominated, as well as a few tidbits on why I agree with these decisions. Be warned that every story that I am going to write in relation to predictions will not actually feature any bias towards who should win. However, I will be detailing why I think each should be nominated. Also stay tuned for post-coverage in which I will actually be sharing my thoughts on the nominations and solidify who I believe should win in each category.