The Runner-Ups: Stanley Donen in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)

Scene from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Every Oscar season, there are a handful of actors who get tagged with the "snubbed" moniker. While it is always unfortunate to see our favorites not honored with at very least a nomination, there's another trend that goes largely unnoticed: those who never even got that far. The Runner-Ups is a column meant to honor the greats in cinema who put in phenomenal work without getting the credit that they deserved from The Academy. Join me every Saturday as I honor those who never received any love. This list will hopefully come to cover both the acting community, and the many crew members who put the production together.

Theory Thursday: "Spider-Man 2" is the Best Superhero Movie

Scene from Spider-Man 2

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. Prince (1958-2016)

Prince

On April 21, 2016 musician and actor Prince died of influenza at the age of 57 at his home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was a man of many talents and over a career spanning more than 40 years, he became well known for his prolific output and ability to blend musical styles while singing sexually charged music. His flamboyant style and androgynous features helped to make him one of the most distinct and successful musicians of all time, earning more than 100 million record sales worldwide. While his later career featured various lawsuits that even included him changing his name to a symbol and "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince," he remained just as vital, refusing to give up on his artistic passions. He leaves behind an exhaustive body of work and a career unlike any other. 

The First "Snowden" Trailer Has Lots of Action and Little Drama

Scene from Snowden

The last that we heard about director Oliver Stone's Snowden was that it got pulled from last Fall's release schedule in favor of an early 2016 one. Then, through some good signs, the film was moved yet again to Fall 2016. With many already anticipating the film's politically charged subject as being an Oscar contender, the first trailer hits with a certain anticipation. Can the director behind such provocative films as JFK and Born on the Fourth of July deliver a prescient tale of the downsides of NSA and American security? The answer isn't very clear still, but at least it looks like maybe it will be upbeat and fun. The first trailer looks to be very action oriented, so at very least this won't be the Snowden story that we're expecting, for better or worse.

Super Delegates: Harvey Milk in "Milk" (2008)

Scene from Milk

Welcome to Super Delegates, a bi-monthly column released on Tuesdays and are done in part to recognize politics on film, specifically in regards to Oscar-nominated works. With this being an election year in the United States, it feels like a good time to revisit film history's vast relationship with politicians of any era and determine what makes them interesting while potentially connecting them to the modern era. The series plans to run until the end of this 2016 election cycle, so stay tuned for every installment and feel free to share your thoughts on films worthy of discussion in the comments section.

The Runner-Ups: The Music of "Walk Hard" (2007)

Scene from Walk Hard

Every Oscar season, there are a handful of actors who get tagged with the "snubbed" moniker. While it is always unfortunate to see our favorites not honored with at very least a nomination, there's another trend that goes largely unnoticed: those who never even got that far. The Runner-Ups is a column meant to honor the greats in cinema who put in phenomenal work without getting the credit that they deserved from The Academy. Join me every Saturday as I honor those who never received any love. This list will hopefully come to cover both the acting community, and the many crew members who put the production together.

Theory Thursday: "Easy Rider" is Overrated

Scene from Easy Rider

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: Rooney Mara in "Carol" (2015)

Rooney Mara in Carol

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.

Best Song: "Let the River Run" (1988)

Scene from Working Girl

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.

"The Birth of a Nation" Trailer Jumps With Ferocity and Purpose

Scene from The Birth of a Nation

With the year only being four months old, there's few films that already have an Oscar conversation around it quite like director Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation. For starters, it was an immediate success when it premiered at Sundance and even acquired one of the highest buys in the film festival's history. With little known to the public other than its plot about Nat Turner's slave rebellion, it has been curious to see if it will escape the festival circuit buzz and strike a chord with audiences. From the looks of the first trailer, it's definitely trying to hit all of those marks.

The Runner-Ups: Peter Lorre in "M" (1931)

Scene from M

Every Oscar season, there are a handful of actors who get tagged with the "snubbed" moniker. While it is always unfortunate to see our favorites not honored with at very least a nomination, there's another trend that goes largely unnoticed: those who never even got that far. The Runner-Ups is a column meant to honor the greats in cinema who put in phenomenal work without getting the credit that they deserved from The Academy. Join me every Saturday as I honor those who never received any love. This list will hopefully come to cover both the acting community, and the many crew members who put the production together.

Nothing But the Best: "The Last Emperor" (1987)

Scene from The Last Emperor

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: The 90's was Disney's Best Decade for Film

Scene from The Jungle Book

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. 

The First "Neon Demon" Trailer is a Beautiful, Bloody Vision

Scene from The Neon Demon

Director Nicolas Winding Refn is one of the more interesting directors working today. While he has never sacrificed his style, the bright and popping imagery mixed with violence helped to make his 2011 film Drive a cult favorite. However, his follow-up Only God Forgives received a brutal lashing for being darker and more violent. Still, it reflected Refn's one gift as a filmmaker: he could turn the grotesque into art like nobody else. With his first film since then called The Neon Demon releasing its first trailer, it looks like it'll be more of the same deranged Refn charm. Thankfully, that's enough to get me in the door.

Birthday Take: Saorise Ronan in "Brooklyn" (2015)

Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn

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.

Super Delegates: The Continental Congress in "1776" (1972)

Scene from 1776

Welcome to Super Delegates, a bi-monthly column released on Tuesdays and are done in part to recognize politics on film, specifically in regards to Oscar-nominated works. With this being an election year in the United States, it feels like a good time to revisit film history's vast relationship with politicians of any era and determine what makes them interesting while potentially connecting them to the modern era. The series plans to run until the end of this 2016 election cycle, so stay tuned for every installment and feel free to share your thoughts on films worthy of discussion in the comments section.

An Open Letter From The Oscar Buzz

Scene from Slumdog Millionaire

Hello everyone. I am proud to say that after a break that ran a little over a month, I am planning to return starting this week to the old stomping grounds. I am sure that there are a few of those who missed me, while there's also those that thought that I never left thanks to the handful of posts that I have written over the past few weeks. While I don't plan to have quite the overwhelming output that I did during Oscar season, I do plan to get back to commemorating all things Academy Awards related. While I don't have quite as much outlined yet as I had intended (I took the break a little too liberally, I guess), I do have a few great ideas in store for what's to come. Check them out after the jump.

Review: "Demolition" is a Great, Endearing Depiction of Grief

Scene from Demolition

Over the past three years, director Jean-Marc Vallee has pretty much made a career out of being presumable "Oscar bait." This is most prevalent in his problematic debut Dallas Buyers Club, which earned Matthew McConaughey a Best Actor award as well as a Best Picture nomination. While he hasn't quite hit that high since, his work definitely continues to veer off into far more interesting directions. His mixture of humanity and familiar yet earnest themes may not make for the most captivating dramas, but what he does so well is make dramas full of personality and life that compensate for their familiarity. While not his best, Demolition feels like the perfect embodiment of what he does so well, thanks in part to a great lead performance by the reliable Jake Gyllenhaal.

Best Song: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" (1987)

Scene from Dirty Dancing

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.

Best Song: "Take My Breath Away" (1986)

Scene from Top Gun

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: "Patton" (1970)

George C. Scott

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.