Best Song: "Lose Yourself" (2002)

Scene from 8 Mile

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 Runner-Ups: Mia Farrow in "Rosemary's Baby" (1968)

Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby

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: Paul Greengrass is Overrated

Matt Damon in Jason Bourne

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. 

At 10 Years Old, "Little Miss Sunshine" is Still a Proud Super Freak

Scene from Little Miss Sunshine

It was the Little film that could. When one reads the plot description to co-directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton's Little Miss Sunshine, you'll be forgiven for thinking that it's stretching for laughs. The central cast features a beauty pageant dreamer, a failed salesman father, an aspiring fighter pilot son who remains silent, and a drug-addled grandfather. It's the stuff that would barely work in Arrested Development, yet somehow came to define an unprecedented indie hit that among other things received a Best Picture nomination along with a Best Supporting Actor win for Alan Arkin. It was a comedy that challenged the notion of dysfunctional families while also connecting on something deeper and more human. After 10 years, it still is a film that captures the essence of following your dreams, even if you're shut out for being different. It may have a lot of bizarre tassels to get over, but what it ends up being is sweet, sincere, and one of the most original independent comedies in recent history.

Birthday Take: Stanley Kubrick in "2001:: A Space Odyssey"

Scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey

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.

After 65 Years, "Alice in Wonderland" Remains Disney's Best Animated Film

On this date in 1951, Disney released one of its most fantastical, whimsical films: Alice in Wonderland. At the time, it was deemed a failure due to low box office and some frankly "psychedelic" visuals. Yet it's impossible to not note the power that it holds as the definitive adaptation of Lewis Carroll's seminal works about a young girl named Alice as she traveled down the rabbit hole. It was far from the first adaptation by decades, yet there's a lot that has solidified it as the quintessential take. It is in part the music that launched the "unbirthday" trend, and classic characters like the Cheshire Cat, whom remain some of Disney's key iconography. Still, the one opinion that isn't often held - but should be - is that Alice in Wonderland is something more. In the first century of Disney's existence, it is without a doubt the best animated film that they've released.

R.I.P. Marni Nixon (1930-2016)

Marni Nixon

On January 24, 2016, singer and actress Marni Nixon died in Manhattan, New York at the age of 86 from breast cancer. It is likely that you don't know her face or name that well, but you'll likely recognize her voice. Dubbed by Time Magazine as "The Ghostess with the Mostest," she largely made her career in film working behind the scenes as a singer dubbing for actresses ranging from Deborah Kerr to Natalie Wood to Audrey Hepburn in films like The King and I, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady. She was also proficient on stage as a singer and sometimes toured with performers like Liberace and Victor Borge. She enjoyed a Hollywood career without the tassels of fame, serving as the underrated talent that made some of cinema's greatest musicals work so well. Her name may not be familiar, but her work will live on forever in Oscar history thanks to her tireless work to make lesser singers shine.

Best Song: "If I Didn't Have You" (2001)

Scene from Monsters Inc.

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 Runner-Ups: Ewan McGregor in "Big Fish" (2003)

Ewan McGregor

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: In Defense of Young Adult Movie Adaptations

Scene from Ascendant

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. 

Super Delegates: William Russell and Joe Cantwell in "The Best Man" (1964)

Scene from The Best Man

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.

Best Song: "Things Have Changed" (2000)

Scene from Wonder Boys

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.

R.I.P. Hector Babenco (1946-2016)

Hector Babenco

On July 13, 2016, director Hector Babenco died at the age of 70 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. With a career spanning over 40 years, he leaves behind an impressive body of work that includes the Oscar-nominated films Kiss of the Spider-Woman and Ironweed. After getting his start in Latin American cinema, he would go on to work with actors like William Hurt, John Lithgow, Raul Julia, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Tom Berenger, Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn and Kathy Bates. While he doesn't have the most memorable resume, his films explored love and identity in strange and interesting places. With a career that continued until his death, he was passionate and capable of making great things.

The Runner-Ups: Harold Ramis in "Groundhog Day" (1993)

Bill Murray in Groundhog Day

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: Winona Ryder is Underrated

Winona Ryder in Stranger Things

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. 

Warren Beatty Returns After 18 Years With Underwhelming "Rules Don't Apply" Trailer

Scene from Rules Don't Apply

It has been awhile since we've heard from the multi-talented Warren Beatty. For a man whose career has given us cherished films such as Bonnie & Clyde and Reds, he seems to have become quiet in recent years. So quiet that we haven't seen him on the big screen since 2001's Town & Country, and behind the camera since 1998 with the rapping politician satire Bulworth. However, his long gestating film about Howard Hughes has finally broken his silence. With many wondering what's in store from one of cinema's richest voices, it's Rules Don't Apply: a film that looks far more comedic and slapdash than one could imagine for a director known for his meticulous nature. However, it looks to be good, even if it isn't quite the welcome home party that people waiting 18 years would want.

A Look at The Top 10 Lowest Grossing Spielberg Films

Scene from The BFG

By now, it is likely well known news that director Steven Spielberg's The BFG is a bomb. True, most Roald Dahl adaptations are, but considering Spielberg's status as one of cinema's most influential and greatest talents, it is a little baffling that it isn't just a bomb that has barely scrapped together in two weeks $41 million on a budget that's almost $100 million more. While international markets can still keep this from being an outright disaster (though one can't be too sure), this looks to be the director's worst performing film in years. But, how badly is it doing? Do you even know what Spielberg's lowest grossing film is? The following is a look at the Top 10 lowest grossing of a director whose name is synonymous with success despite having a few blips and blops along the way.

The First "La La Land" Trailer is in Running for Best Musical of 2016

Left to right: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling

While the summer season tends to be a wasteland for Oscar-related cinema, there's one upside to it all: the trailers for the upcoming season are starting to drop with some frequency. So far, we've seen trailers for films like Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, Snowden, The Birth of a Nation, Cafe Society, and The Light Between Oceans to name just a few. Adding their name to the list is director Damien Chazelle, whose Sundance hit Whiplash became one of the surprise Oscar hits of 2014 and earned J.K. Simmons a deserved Best Supporting Actor statue. In his follow-up, he teams with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in a musical called La La Land, which dropped its first trailer today. To say the least, it is in the running for best trailer of the year - less so possibly even the best original movie musical in quite some time. 

McDonald's Film "The Founder" Moved From August to December Release

Scene from The Founder

Depending on who you ask, this summer's movie season has been a bit of a drag with very few films rising above an average rating. Considering that we're almost halfway through July and haven't had a stand-out on par with Mad Max: Fury Road, the sentiments may be hard to ignore. However, there are those few like myself who had faith in an August release from director John Lee Hancock called The Founder, which sees Michael Keaton playing Ray Kroc: the man who turned fast food chain McDonald's into America's most recognizable name. Many have pitted it in the Oscar race, especially with Keaton coming off of two back-to-back Best Picture winning films. However, those who are eagerly hoping that The Founder makes this summer a little better, prepare to be disappointed. You'll have to wait a little longer. The only upside is that if you're hoping for some Oscar buzz, its late December release should perk you right up.

Best Song: "You'll Be in My Heart" (1999)

Scene from Tarzan

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.

Theory Thursday: "The Green Mile" is the Best Stephen King Adaptation

Scene from The Green Mile

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. 

Review: "The BFG" Brings Back the Spielberg Magic That We've Been Missing

Scene from The BFG

Everyone has that moment in their lives when they first discover the magic that is Steven Spielberg. For many, it was how terrifying the water was in Jaws; or how cloning dinosaurs in Jurassic Park was a bad idea. There's an unabashed amazement that comes with realizing the potential of cinema on a grand scale with the power to produce works that wouldn't seem fathomable on anything less. For kids of today, the magic of Spielberg may seem like a thing of the past, especially with back-to-back serious dramas like War Horse, Lincoln, and last year's excellent Bridge of Spies. However, the Spielberg that brought magic to family films is back with his take on Roald Dahl in The BFG. Lead by Mark Rylance and Ruby Barnhill, the fantasy adventure film may not be quite as captivating as the director's finest works, but it sure is a lot of fun while taking the viewer into a new and exciting landscape that only works because of Spielberg's assurance as a director, and we're all the more better for it.

R.I.P. Michael Cimino (1939-2016)

Michael Cimino

On June 2, 2016, director Michael Cimino passed away at the age of 77 in Los Angeles, California. While his later career was met with several problems, he received early acclaim as part of the New Hollywood system on films such as Thunderbolt and Lightfoot as well as the Best Picture winner The Deer Hunter. He was known for his perfectionist style of film making, often focusing disillusionment caused by the American Dream. Still, his 1979 tale of the Vietnam War remains one of the greatest looks not only at the war, but of the traumatic results of dealing with such overpowering violence. His filmography may be small, but what he produced spoke volumes, and for that he will be missed.

Super Delegates: President Thomas J. Whitmore in "Independence Day" (1996)

Bill Pullman in Independence Day

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.

A Look at Roald Dahl's Box Office Curse

Scene from The BFG

While everyone is busy today celebrating Independence Day, it looks like director Steven Spielberg may have a bit of worry on his hands. His latest film The BFG opened this past weekend, and the results were far from the stellar numbers that you'd expect from the man behind Jaws and Jurassic Park. With an estimated $18 million opening weekend for a film budgeted at approximately $140 million, it's going to need major business overseas to even recoup its initial cost. However, what if I were to say that this is pretty common for movies adapted from Roald Dahl books? Yes, to date there has only been one runaway hit of the seven big screen adaptations, and it's one of the less revered titles on the list. The following is a look at those films and the curse of Dahl.

Best Song: "When You Believe" (1998)

Scene from The Prince of Egypt

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: Spielberg Shares Stories on Universal Studios Tour

Left to right: Anthony Breznican and Steven Spielberg

If you are a native to Southern California and you love movies, there's a good chance that you're familiar with the Universal Studios Theme Park, and specifically the studio tour that takes patrons around the back lot to various sets from the studio's long and expansive history. However, have you had the chance to do it while receiving personal anecdotes from highly acclaimed, Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg? Probably not. Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican got the chance to go down memory lane with Spielberg, and the results give some personal stories from the man who made some of the 20th century's most iconic works, including his feelings on the missing boat from the Jaws exhibit, and the times that he met Alfred Hitchcock and Marlon Brando. Check out the video after the jump to see all of the excitement.

The Runner-Ups: The Wachowskis in "The Matrix" (1999)

Scene from The Matrix

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.

A Look at the Oldest Oscar Winners That Are Still With Us

Olivia De Havilland in Gone With the Wind

Today marks a very special occasion. It's actress Olivia De Havilland's 100th birthday. Unlike her peers who in recent years we've celebrated centennials (Frank Sinatra, Ingrid Bergman), she has the distinct honor of being the oldest living Oscar winner, having won twice for The Heiress and more imporant as Melanie in the box office sensation Gone With the Wind. While she leaves behind an impressive career, one of her most recent achievements is being the oldest Oscar winner to still be alive. So, who else is getting up there in age? The following is the 10 actors and actresses who come close, but no cigar.

The First Trailer for "It's Only the End of the World" Promises a Tense Dinner Conversation

Scene from It's Only the End of the World

If you're anyone who follows international cinema, then you'll have a passing recognition of French-Canadian director Xavier Dolan. At the age of 27, he has had an impressive career that puts him leagues ahead of several other young directors. Of his five films as director, the lowest on critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes has Heartbeats at 73%. If nothing else, he has a promising career ahead of him and if whatever he does compares to last year's phenomenal Mommy, he doesn't have much to worry about. While his latest, It's Only the End of the World, looks to have a divisive reception already, its first trailer promises a tense family dinner and a great cast that features Lea Seydoux, Marion Cotillard, and Vincent Cassell. It may be a slight and simple trailer, but it definitely packs the punch that we've come to expect from Dolan.