Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" (2019)

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.

Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #35-39

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

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.

A Look Back at My Oscar Predictions: How Did I Do?

Scene from Parasite (2019)

Now that the dust has settled and everyone knows what the results for this year's Oscars are, it's time to look back at one of the most fun/embarrassing things that we all do. Every year it's fun to predict the winners, and some years are clearly better than others when it comes to results. For me, this was a terrible year where almost everything was undone by the unexpected success of Parasite. Then again, I have yet to get 0%, so I'm doing something right. So... how did I do otherwise? The answer is just ahead and presents an interesting side to the Oscar season that is often overlooked. How did you do? Did Parasite get you too? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Here Are This Year's Oscar Winners!

Well, that's it. Another year is officially in the books. The 92nd Academy Awards were held last night and, by all accounts, it was an exciting night full of many surprising winners. Most importantly, it was the night when Best Picture (and three other trophies) ushered in a new era as The Academy celebrated Parasite. While there was a share of obvious winners, there's no discounting that it was another fun year full of great artists finally getting their recognition for hard work. There is more Oscar coverage to come in the week ahead, but for now, there is one question on everyone's minds: what actually won? Presented here without further commentary are this year's winners in every category.

Here's My Official Predictions for This Year's Oscars Ceremony

Scene from 1917 (2019)

After months of prognostication, the moment is finally here. Tomorrow is the day that every film fan has been waiting for as The Academy Awards take to the stage to announce this year's winners. Who will be the big winners? 1917, Parasite, Joker? There's nothing known for sure until that envelope is open. While I don't have any answer regarding who will win, I am still capable of making predictions, sometimes wild as they are, for who will be walking up to that stage and joining the selective circle of Oscar winners. So, without further commentary, here are my predictions for this year's ceremony. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and prepare for plenty of post-ceremony coverage coming on Monday.

Ranking the Acting Nominees of Oscars 2020

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Next to Best Picture, there are few fields as scrutinized annually at The Oscars as much as the four acting fields. Every year there is a constant buzz over who should've been nominated and what the final group represents to the industry. While there are hundreds of movies and thousands of performances to pull from, these are the 20 that were deemed worthy to make it to Hollywood's biggest night. What follows isn't meant to be a prediction of who should win, but how I feel the 20 nominations rate against each other, finding the best and worst in a group of talent that is now part of film history forever. Who deserved the cut, who didn't? Read on to find out.

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees of 2020

Scene from The Irishman (2019)

One of the greatest games to play following every Oscar season is to see every film that's nominated in any given character. None are more fun than Best Picture, which remains the most anticipated category year in and year out, leaving behind a winner that is going to be talked about for decades and (very soon) a century. Now that I have seen every nominee in the class of 2020, I am throwing in my hat to determine which films I love the most and what are some of the weak spots on the list. As a whole, the films picked from 2019 presented another strong class that reflects the best of cinema's diverse potential. Could it be better? Sure, but the nine films here are no slouches.

Why I Think "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" Will Win Best Picture

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Last Monday, the Oscar nominations were announced and cut the competition in half for all of the major categories. Now it's down to the wire with only a few weeks until The Academy Awards answer all of the questions that movie fans have been clamoring for: what will win Best Picture, Best Actor, etc. It's the territory that comes with every year, and this one is no slouch, presenting a variety of front-runners that are undeniable charmers. If one was to follow conventional awards rules, 1917 would be the front-runner, followed closely by Parasite (one of few films to win the Screen Actors Guild Award's prize for Best Ensemble without another acting nomination). However, there is one that's lingering just under the surface, and one that makes a lot of sense if one was to apply Oscar trends on it.

Director Quentin Tarantino's proposed penultimate film Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is a film that has become forgotten in recent weeks of awards season. With exception to Brad Pitt winning Best Supporting Actor, it hasn't exactly had any consistency since winning Best Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes. Even then, one has to merely look at the campaign to see how brilliant their approach to a Best Picture win is. It wasn't just the decision to release the film in the dumping grounds of August, almost 50 years to the date of Sharon Tate's untimely death. It was everything around it, which has only proven it to have a longevity that half of the nominees have yet to prove (save for maybe Parasite, now in its fourth month of theatrical release). Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood isn't just one of Tarantino's most accessible films, it's arguably the one that appeals to Academy biases the most. In a time where the old clash with the new class of voters, few films feel as connecting (both in appeal and themes) quite like Tarantino's film. 

Looking Back at Predictions: How Did I Do?

Scene from Parasite (2019)

On Monday, The Academy announced its nominees for this year's ceremony. There's a lot to be excited about on the list, including Parasite becoming the first Korean movie to be nominated... well, ever. Having had time to mull over all of the nominees, there is one thing that is fun to do: look back on predictions and see just how accurate things turned out. After all, they were the last moment to shape what should be nominated before finding out what ended up making the cut. The following is a rundown of six categories that I predicted along with how well things turned out. To say the least, it always produces interesting results. 

The 2020 Oscar Nominations Are Officially Here!

Ladies and gentlemen, at long last the day has arrived. The Academy gathered together to announce the nominees for this year's ceremony. Among the highlights is that comic book movie Joker lead the pack with 11 nominations, and Parasite became the first South Korean film to be nominated, period. Across the board, there are nonstop things to celebrate and get excited for. Now there's only one question to go: who will win it all? While nobody has the answers for that yet, there are several nominations to get excited about. Read on to discover what made the list and come back in the weeks to come to discuss news and reviews about all of the nominees.

Last-Minute Predictions for This Year's Oscar Nominations

Scene from Joker (2019)

The big moment is here! After a year of prognosticating, this year's Oscar nominations will be upon us and put to rest a lot of complicated questions. Which actors will make the cut? Will this be one of the best years for Best Picture ever? How big does Parasite or Joker show up? So many questions will finally be resolved, leaving only the biggest one (who wins?) to be resolved. With time ticking away until this moment comes, it feels like a good time to announce my predictions for what will get nominated this year. Like every time, it's difficult to narrow it down, but if half of these end up on the list, then we should be happy.

"Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" is Getting a Rerelease This Weekend... With 4 New Scenes!

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

While this past summer may have not had a lot in the way of standout entertainment, it did have one shining star: a new Quentin Tarantino movie. Love it or hate it, the film sparked a conversation that was sorely missing. Not only was it praised for becoming one of the rare original adult stories of 2019 to gross over $100 million at the box office, an honor that wasn't really matched until September's Hustlers. Still, there was talk from the get-go of potential Oscar chances for everyone from Tarantino to actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt (who has also gained acclaim for Ad Astra), and Margot Robbie (who has also gained acclaim for Bombshell). So, how does a film wanting to stay in the race try and stay relevant? While the film hasn't entirely left theaters, this weekend finds a revival of sorts with a new extended cut that you can see nationwide. 

Review: "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" Rewrites Film History with Heartwarming Results

Scene from Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

For most of the 21st century, director Quentin Tarantino has reveled in a certain kind of cynicism. You don't even need to see his films, as the mere presence of his titles (Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, and The Hateful Eight) all feature something confrontational. Even his last film ended with everyone dead. However, there feels like a change of heart with Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, itself a play on the idea of fairytales and happy endings. Yes, he's still the verbose, sadistic filmmaker with a love for the comedic violence, but for the first time in decades, he feels... happy? With this being his presumed penultimate movie, Tarantino goes to the movies and, for nearly three hours, finds a reason to make us care not about the style or glamor that he's packed into so many frames, but of the people who made it possible. It's a story that repurposes careers and forces us to wonder how legacies are shaped, and it makes for one of his most reverent films yet.