Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Front Runner" (2018)

 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.

Review: "Tully" Captures a More Personal and Funny Side to Being a Parent

Scene from Tully

If for no other reason than her Oscar win, writer Diablo Cody likely will never escape her debut script Juno. Its divisive use of flowery language both made her a distinctive voice and one whose grating presence felt false. No matter how many films she's made since, there's that legacy to overcome. With her latest Tully, it feels like a film that has multiple layers. On the surface, it's a personal story of motherhood that captures the struggles in ways that could only come from first hand experience. There's a defeated quality to the language, as if raising children are a metaphorical black hole. However, it's also a return to the world of children and pregnancy for Cody that sees her commenting not only on the parent's experience, but the naive one represented in title character Tully (Mackenzie Davis), whose youth and wealth of knowledge are reminiscent of a more scholarly Juno character. It's a film that may as well be about Cody's career, both on screen and off. It's the battle of one persona, and it's also her best work since 2007. 

A Look at the Illustrious Oddity of "Juno" After 10 Years

Ellen Page in Juno

It started with a chair.

The idea of indie comedies dominating the box office and Academy Awards was still a foreign idea in 2007. It had only been a year since Little Miss Sunshine popularized a quirky style of cinema that was charming, but proved to have a short shelf life. It reached peak perfection the following year when Juno launched Hard Candy and X-Men star Ellen Page into the queen of twee characters, whose Diablo Cody-penned script was at best different, and at worst grating. There have been movies with dialogue as stylized as Juno, but few captured the essence underneath, for which the controversial tale of one Minnesota girl's teenage pregnancy became a different kind of coming of age story. It's likely why the film grossed $143 internationally on a $7.5 million budget. Even for those who hated it, it was hard to deny the unforgettable approach to youth and maturity. Many films would try to be as brazen in their quirkiness, but the singularity of Juno's magic continues to shine brighter than its imitators 10 years later.

Theory Thursday: "Young Adult" is Charlize Theron's Best Movie

Scene from Young Adult

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. 

Check This Out: The 2017 Oscar Nominations Announcement Video

While many are likely still mulling over the Oscar nominations, there is one new thing that has already happened this year worthy of further discussion: the announcement presentation. It was billed as an "in house production" that would be different from the familiar rigmarole of presenting the nominees live before a press audience. With a video format highlighting every nomination with heartfelt stories of what it means to be a winner, the worst that can be said is that this year was different. If you're interested in seeing the video, as well as discussing its effectiveness, just click the button and read on.

Oscars to Try New Approach to Announcing Nominees

Cheryl Boone Isaacs

It was a year ago today that the 2016 Academy Award nominations were announced. While this year is running a little bit behind schedule (we still have 10 days to go), there's still plenty to look forward to when Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and a selected group introduce each of the categories that will define conversation for the upcoming weeks. While Oscar fans likely know what to expect, there's going to be one twist this year. It won't exactly be live, nor presented in the format that we've come to expect. That's right, things are going to be a little bit different, and they won't be presented live before a press audience. They will be presented digitally.

Birthday Take: Ellen Page in "Juno" (2007)

Scene from Juno

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.

Ranking the Films of Jason Reitman

Jason Reitman

Today is director Jason Reitman's 38th birthday. Over the course of his career, he has done impressive work to step out of his father Ivan Reitman's shadow by creating some of the most compelling and empathetic portraits of American culture of the 21st century. Mixing heart with humor, his work has been well recognized and has garnered him four Oscar nominations, including two Best Picture nominations. In honor of his birthday, the following is a ranking of all six of his films from his impressive debut with Thank You For Smoking to his more recent work with Men, Women & Children. Even if he's floundered a bit, he's still one of the more interesting voices in modern cinema.

What Happened to Jason Reitman?

Left to right: Rosemarie DeWitt and Adam Sandler

How did it come to this? After making an impressive career with films like Juno and Up in the Air, director Jason Reitman has done something disappointing. He has become somewhat of a shell of his former self. Where his past few films all had a sense of urgency that made me call him the contemporary Frank Capra, he hasn't quite captured the magic since Young Adult. In 2014 alone, he has released two films that have failed in one way or another. After Labor Day saw him attempt to do a straight-up drama in ways that were stilted, there was hope that it was a misguided effort. However, when Men, Women & Children matched the rating on critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes at 33%, the dreams of this being a potential Oscar nominee became shattered. What happened to Jason Reitman? He used to be so perfect.

Reitman Returns to Thought Provoking Drama with the First Trailer for "Men, Women & Children"

Left to right: Ansel Egort and Kaitlyn Dever

One of the great things about the end of summer is that it marks the beginning of Oscar season. While films like Inherent Vice, Interstellar, and Foxcatcher have their positions planned out, there is still the actual race. Despite what prognosticators will say, there are very few instances where predictions in July will be the same in January. There's way too much that comes out that takes surprising turns. For instance, did anyone see Gravity as a Best Director winner from the first trailer? Alfonso Cuaron fans maybe did, but all of the attention was on 12 Years a Slave. With the first trailer for director Jason Reitman's Men, Women & Children, he looks to be back and ready to surprise the world not only with a film about technology and how it isolates as well as potentially surprising performances. Is this going to be Adam Sandler's foray into the Oscar race? Knowing Reitman's abilities, it just might.

The Directors Project: #35 - Jason Reitman

Scene from Cinema Paradiso

With the many lists and essays written on the subject of film, there has been one thing that The Oscar Buzz has tried to understand: Who is my favorite of the film world? For 10 weeks this summer, I will be exploring this with a countdown of the Top 50 names based on a numerical ranking of ratings from various sources, the following is a list of directors who rank above everyone else. With occasional upsets, this is intended as both a discussion opener as well as a better understanding of me as a film critic and fan. Please enjoy and leave any comments you have regarding the entry's selection.

Review: "Labor Day" is an Insult to Forbidden Love

Left to right: Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin

The ultimate question to ask when considering director Jason Reitman's Labor Day is quite simple: Why? There isn't any shame in a director to experiment after making four highly successful, acclaimed films. But on a deeper level: why trade a winning formula to imitate what feels like the formula other people use to get Oscar nominations? The prospects make no sense despite two terrific leads and potential to raise Joyce Maynard's eponymous novel from romantic escapism into one of the contemporary, human stories that has made Reitman so enduring. From the trailer to the lack of Oscar recognition, what was this film really striving for? Upon viewing it, the viewer is unsatisfied and only left to ask "Why?"

The "Labor Day" Trailer Looks Good, But Probably Not Oscar-Worthy

Left to right: Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin

With October officially reaching the end of the line, it does feel like every potential Oscar contender has at very least released a teaser trailer. This is true for every film that is on statistics website Gold Derby's top 10 current Best Picture potential nominees. That is why is surprising that one of the most anticipated films of the year, director Jason Reitman's Labor Day, has waited this long to finally release a trailer with its Christmas Day limited release quickly approaching. Even with plans to expand in 2014, it almost feels like the release of the trailer parallels the film's actual level of buzz at the current moment, which almost seems to be flat lined. Hopefully things will turn around.

It's the One Year Anniversary of The Oscar Buzz!

Left to right: Luke Kirby and Michelle Williams in Take This Waltz

Ladies and gentlemen... we have done the unthinkable. The Oscar Buzz has managed to turn a year old! It is hard to imagine that what started off as a spring board to talk about The Master quickly evolved into a discussion forum for all things Academy Awards. The comments have been great and I proud of the cohorts I made, notably my Films with Friends cohort Mike (of Mike's Reviews). Hopefully this blog will continue to grow and cover more content with this Oscar season just starting to take off. But how do you celebrate a birthday?