"The Good Dinosaur" Has Pixar's Lowest Box Office Opening in 20 Years

Scene from The Good Dinosaur

Last week was a major milestone in Pixar's lengthy history. On November 22, it marked the 20th anniversary of its big screen debut with Toy Story. It was also the release of the studio's second feature of 2015 with The Good Dinosaur. While initially scheduled for last year, the film was pushed back for various production reasons. While Pixar's other 2015 film Inside Out embodies a loving tribute to Pixar's ability to manipulate our emotional responses to their films, The Good Dinosaur seemed to be part of the other camp. While still considered critically better, the film was considered to have more in relation to the lowbrow Cars side of the studio than the intellect and heart of Toy Story. However, there's one thing that The Good Dinosaur shares with Toy Story: it just had the lowest grossing wide release opening for the studio since the original 1995 film.

Jennifer Lawrence to Work with David O. Russell Till He Dies

Left to right: Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Joy

There is a good chance that if you're into The Oscars as much as I am, you'll have a big opinion on Jennifer Lawrence by now. After her first Oscar nomination in 2010 for Winter's Bone, she has become one of the most successful and overstated actresses out there. Her big break came in 2012 with the one-two punch of The Hunger Games and her Oscar-winning role in Silver Linings Playbook. If you're one of those that felt that that film was part of her best work, then I have some good news for you: she's not going to stop working for director David O. Russell. At least, not until one of them finally dies.

Birthday Take: Terrence Malick in "The Tree of Life" (2011)

Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Review: "The End of the Tour" is an Entertaining Form of Writer's Therapy

Left to right: Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel

In the realm of movies and TV, there are few stories as immediately compelling to writers as that of the frustrated writer. It's become a trope to make stories that are essentially about the process and overcoming personal and mental anguish just to find your self worth. That is why they should be more grating than their lovingly crafted payoffs suggest. However, films like Adaptation., American Splendor, and Stranger Than Fiction choose to disagree. In the case of director James Ponsoldt's biggest film to date The End of the Tour, it's not so much about understanding the craft, but understanding the feeling of self-worth. It's a subject that doesn't get breached much elsewhere, but is given a great comical and somber effect in a film that succeeds in making the mundane into something far more fascinating than the 5 W's would ever allow.

Best Song: "The Windmills of Your Mind" (1968)

Scene from The Thomas Crown Affair

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.

A Look at Transgender Culture at the Oscars

Scene from The Danish Girl

Among the most anticipated films from this year's Oscar season is director Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne as the first transgender woman. While the film is likely to rake up attention for its subject matter, it isn't the first LGBT film to tackle such subjects and get some Oscar love for it. It's not even the only trans film of 2015 that has gotten acclaim (just look at Tangerine). With the release of a film that's sure to rack up plenty of attention in the months to come, here's a look back at the films that won and were nominated for their representation of trans characters in the media, including one familiar Best Picture winner.

Will Smith Opens Up About Not Starring in "Django Unchained" With Hypocritical Reasoning

Will Smith in Wild Wild West

There's a good chance that if you're attentive to the news cycle, you'll know that director Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained almost ended up a little differently. While audiences now know title character Django Freeman as being played by Jamie Foxx, there was a time where it looked to belong to Men in Black actor Will Smith. While nobody really had a good idea why that was, guesses were that it was just too violent or crazy for the actor who has consistently been self-aware of his image (though that doesn't explain After Earth). In a recent interview while doing the rounds for his latest drama Concussion, he has opened up to why things didn't pan out. On the plus side, it's not anything irrational. On the other hand, it's a little strange.

Why I Don't Have Faith in "The Revenant" Winning Big at the Oscars

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

Today marks the first wave of reviews for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's The Revenant. The reviews are about what you'd expect for a film whose trailer has been constantly praised for its intensity. It's an epic that critics either found surreal or soulless, which is in keeping with what they thought of Inarritu's other dramas. However, the conversation has whittled down to the familiar old rant: "Leonardo DiCaprio WILL win an Oscar." Of course, there's a popular meme going around where The Academy purposely never rewards him of his talent. As much as I want to believe that this will be an amazing performance, I'm not without skepticism that it's all for naught. While I haven't seen the film, I do honestly believe that maybe we're setting our sights a little too high.

Check Out This Year's Nominees for The Spirit Awards

Scene from Anomalisa

As November has dwindled down, it's time to start looking ahead to the big awards season. While we're in the middle of a barrage of great films coming out, there hasn't been really any focus yet - largely because there hasn't been any major awards show yet. Today marks the announcement of the 31st Annual Independent Spirit Awards nominations, which is set on commemorating the best in independent cinema from the past year. While the Golden Globes are likely to be more of an indicator of The Academy Awards to come, there's no denying that the general impact of The Spirit Awards has grown over the past decade; even almost unanimously tying with the 2013 Oscar winners. What lies in store for this year's line-up? There's a few great surprises, of which likely will tell us of the films that we'll be discussing about for the next few months.

Best Song: "Talk to the Animals" (1967)

Scene from Doctor Dolittle

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.

At 20 Years, "Toy Story" is Still the Little Computer Animated Movie That Could

Scene from Toy Story

In the grand scheme of cinema, there are few animated movies that have had as much of an impact as that of director John Lasseter's Toy Story. While CG animation has become the norm, it is difficult to note just how much of a risk the film was in 1995. It was the first feature length release by Pixar about the unlikeliest of subjects: toys that come to life. Considering the success of Disney around the time with The Lion King and Pocahontas, it almost seems like a miracle that the studio came out of the gate strong. As the film celebrates its 20th anniversary today, it feels important to look back on the film's impact, and why it continues to resonate with audiences.

Nothing But the Best: "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946)

Scene from The Best Years of Our Lives

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.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Avatar" (2009)

Scene from Avatar

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.

Nothing But the Best: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)

Scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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.

Birthday Take: Jodie Foster in "Nell" (1994)

Jodie Foster in Nell

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Peter Jackson Explains Why "The Hobbit" Films Weren't His Best

Scene from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Over the past 15 years, there hasn't been a series as beloved and integral to the advancement of cinema as that of director Peter Jackson's work on The Lord of the Rings. With the third film also winning Best Picture, it was a high point in entertainment and provided epic scope to the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien books. When it was announced that Jackson would return to tackle "The Hobbit," hopes were high, but the results weren't as great. In a rare move, footage has surfaced in which the director and various cast members essentially apologize for any short coming, believing that they were "winging it." If nothing else, it's a rare and noble move the likes of which aren't seen often enough, especially with the final film only being a few years old.

Check Out the Track List for "The Hateful Eight"

Samuel L. Jackson

There's a good chance that, like most people, you are getting very exciting by the upcoming film from director Quentin Tarantino called The Hateful Eight. His second venture into western-themed storytelling is schedule for a special Christmas release, then followed by a January 2016 wide release. While there's a good chance that you likely have seen the footage and have prepared yourself, it's been awhile since we've heard anything regarding the soundtrack, which is supposed to be penned by compose Ennio Morricone. Today marks the release of the soundtrack, which features Morricone, but a few other surprises from rock and pop artists that you've likely heard. Click to find out who's on the compilation.

Theory Thursday: "The King of Comedy" is Scorsese's Most Important Film

Robert De Niro in The King of Comedy

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. 

Nothing But the Best: "Ben-Hur" (1959)

Scene from Ben-Hur

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.

The First "Son of Saul" Trailer is Not for Those Easily Distressed

Scene from Son of Saul

A little while ago, I talked about the shortlist for the Best Foreign Film candidates for 2015. Among the ones that I highlighted was director Laszlo Nemes' Son of Saul, which has been considered a dark and challenging look into the Holocaust through the eyes of a prisoner stuck in a compromised position. With the first trailer for the film released today, it definitely is one that is going to be a tough watch, but almost helps to solidify its chances of an Oscar nomination. Full of bleak imagery, it is likely to be an unforgettable experience for whomever decides to sit down and check it out. Even if the trailer is vague, I suggest holding off if unpleasant images are going to bother you right now.

Birthday Take: Martin Scorsese in "Hugo" (2011)

Scene from Hugo

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Nothing But the Best: "The Lost Weekend" (1945)

Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend

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.

Nothing But the Best: "The English Patient" (1996)

Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient

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.

Best Song: "Born Free" (1966)

Scene from Born Free

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.

Check This Out: Watch Clips From This Year's Governors Awards Ceremony

Spike Lee

This past Saturday marked the 7th annual Governors Awards, which was created to highlight those receiving Honorary Oscars for their work in film and media. As with every year, the selections reflected a diverse yet creative mix of artists, including Gena Rowlands, Debbie Reynolds, and Spike Lee. Along with being a typical ceremony, each winner was presented with a tribute from his or her peers - all of whom provided lively and comical anecdotes about their friends. Thanks to the folks over at Oscars' YouTube page,  you can watch all of the videos from that event, including an introduction from President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. The following is a highlight of the evening, including the speeches in full.

Nothing But the Best: "Birdman" (2014)

Left to right: Edward Norton and Michael Keaton in Birdman

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.

Theory Thursday: Leonardo DiCaprio is the Last Traditional Movie Star

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

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. 

Birthday Take: Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables" (2012)

Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Nothing But the Best: "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947)

Scene from Gentleman's Agreement

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.

Nothing But the Best: "An American in Paris" (1951)

Scene from An American in Paris

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.

The First "Finding Dory" Trailer Remembers Something Special

Scene from Finding Dory

It's hard to remember the impact that Pixar's fifth film Finding Nemo had upon release. Its aquatic journey brought to life one of the studio's most successful films to date with memorable performances by Ellen Degeneres And Albert Brooks. The film even became the first for the studio to win Best Animated Film at The Oscars. It will be 13 years later when they launch their latest sequel Finding Dory, which focuses on crowd favorite Dory as she goes about finding her mother. From the look of the first trailer, it's probably going to be more of the same madcap silliness that was present in the first film, just more Dory-centric somehow.

Nothing But the Best: "Dances with Wolves" (1990)

Scene from Dances with Wolves

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.

Nothing But the Best: "No Country for Old Men" (2007)

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

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.

"Steve Jobs" Continues to Fail, Drops From 2,000 Theaters

Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs

It has become one of the most gossiped about flops of the Fall. Two weeks after its notoriously underwhelming box office debut, it looks like the worst has finally happened for director Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs movie. The film, once considered to be one of the biggest films of the season, has now been pulled from over 2,000 screens nationwide due to abysmal box office. If this doesn't mark the end of its hold on the Oscar season, then it's definitely going to be one of its strongest detractors. 

Best Song: "The Shadow of Your Heart" (1965)

Scene from The Sandpiper

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.

Nothing But the Best: "12 Years a Slave" (2013)

Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave

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.

Nothing But the Best: "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935)

Scene from Mutiny on the Bounty

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.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Inland Empire" (2006)

Scene from Inland Empire

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.

Birthday Take: Emma Stone in "Birdman" (2014)

Emma Stone in Birdman

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Birthday Take: Vivien Leigh in "Gone with the Wind" (1939)

Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Theory Thursday: The Wachowski Siblings Are Overrated

Scene from V for Vendetta

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. 

R.I.P. Melissa Mathison (1950-2015)

Left to right: Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison

On November 11, 2015, screenwriter Melissa Mathison died at the age of 65 in Los Angeles, CA after battling an illness. Among her many credits is the screenplay for director Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, which many consider to be among his best films. Beyond that, her career has featured work on the sets of films such as Apocalypse Now, Kundun, and even in animation with the Studio Ghibli English translation version of Ponyo. With her plans to reunite with Spielberg on the Roald Dahl adaptation of "The BFG," the news comes as a shock. She leaves behind an impressive career spanning 40 years in which she inspired films to be more youthful, whimsical, and lively.

R.I.P. Colin Welland (1934-2015)

Colin Welland

Actor and writer Colin Welland passed away on November 2, 2015 at the age of 81. Over the course of his career, he won various awards such as a BAFTA for acting and an Oscar for writing. Among his many achievements is writing the screenplay for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson and featuring an iconic score by Vangelis. While he would have a career in writing, he was more prominently an actor, having appeared in films such as Kes and the controversial Straw Dogs. Despite it all, he will likely be remembered for his overt patriotism to his British homestead, of which he made note to in his acceptance speech claiming that "The British are coming." It's a statement that has since rang true not only for the film, but for most of foreseen future.

The First "Chiraq" Trailer Shows Spike Lee in Top Form Once Again

Samuel L. Jackson

With Beasts of No Nation already proving to be a smart bet for Netflix, it's looking like Amazon is about to unleash its own major film. While the awards season has been focused predominantly on theatrical screenings, online streaming companies are trying to get in the game with high profile directors and casts turning in work as compelling as their other original content. In the case of upcoming Honorary Oscar winner Spike Lee's Chiraq, he brings Amazon's shot at something great. In typical fashion, the first trailer is loud, abrasive, and everything that the best of Lee has to offer.

The First "Anomalisa" Trailer Features Kaufman Being His Typical Weird Self

Scene from Anomalisa

With it being already deep into Oscar season, there's a good chance that you've heard a lot about director Charlie Kaufman's stop motion film Anomalisa. Having become one of the most perplexing voices in 21st century cinema with the screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and his directorial effort Synechdoche, New York, it makes sense that he wouldn't take a conventional route on his latest film. Speaking as it's a nice change of pace from the other likely Best Animated film candidates (is anything beating Inside Out yet?), it's going to be fun to see if this film stands any chances. If nothing else, the first trailer promises to have more Kaufman-esque philosophy behind it. And that's not a bad thing at all.

Best Song: "Chim Chim Cher-ee" (1964)

Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins

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.