My Top 25 Favorite Films of the Decade

Scene from The Master (2012)

The following is an excerpt from my new e-book "A Decade Now Available for Streaming: Celebrating the Films That Helped Define the 2010's," which is currently available for $2 on Amazon. It's a celebration of the best films of the past decade, including these 25 films that stand out as something special to me personally. If you want to read more, the e-book goes into detail on 75 more films that defined the decade and made going to the cinema an exciting past time. 

Birthday Take: Bruce Dern in "Nebraska" (2013)

Bruce Dern in Nebraska

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.

A Look at "Nebraska" (in Color) and Why Black and White Matters

Left to right: Bruce Dern and Will Forte

Like a strong portion of film critics, I loved director Alexander Payne's Nebraska. From its story to the wondrous scenery, there was plenty of charm in it that eventually lead to six Academy Award nominations. When it was decided that it would be airing on Epix in color, I was immediately torn between admiration for Payne's intended cut and the original format that was created for countries that preferred colorized editions. It either feels like an exclusive or the biggest attention-grabbing scheme in Epix's short history. Nonetheless, I watched it with enthusiasm and I am here to report on the film's quality and if it changes (note: this is not a review of the film but a comparison to the alternative versions. Read my original review here).

Payne's "Nebraska" to Debut in Color on Epix This Sunday

Left to right: Bruce Dern and Will Forte

One of my favorite films of 2013 as well as a nominee for six Oscars at this year's ceremony, director Alexander Payne's Nebraska, is having a strange new resurgence this upcoming weekend as it makes its debut on TV. While it has happened before, it seems increasingly unprecedented that films would be shown in two formats. Not HD and standard definition. I am talking about something more blatant that may help to shape the way that we literally view the film. For those interested, the Epix movie channel is having a "limited" run of the film in a never-before-seen form of color. This is done without Payne's permission, but does it necessarily mean that it won't be worth a gander? To me, it is worth checking out solely to understand how color and black and white formats can impact a film tonally.

The Directors Project: #29 - Alexander Payne

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.

My Official Oscar Votes for 2014

With the Oscar ceremony this upcoming weekend, the time to see all of the Oscar nominees is dwindling down. For me, there are many notable categories where I unfortunately came up short. With that said, I also had the opportunity to see majority of the nominees in the major categories, which allowed me to have a more invested take. What follows is a reassessment of my initial votes, which have since changed. This will not be a rehashing of every nominee, but an abbreviated version of the list with any additional thoughts listed.

A Closer Look at the Best Original Screenplay Nominees

Now that we have covered the acting fields, it is time to look at the constructs of what makes those performances pop. First up is the Best Original Screenplay category that mixes modernist sci-fi (Her) with the AIDS epidemic (Dallas Buyers Club) and classy cons (American Hustle). It may even arguably be more interesting than the Best Adapted Screenplay category, as almost every selection on here provides an alternative view of American culture and chooses to explore the bigger themes of our lives. This is where the race becomes less solidified and the nominees are equally up for debate. Even then, this category is rather impressive and reflects what made 2013 a solid year for films.

A Closer Look at the Best Supporting Actress Nominees

Continuing this year's sense of ragtag nominees in the supporting categories is the Best Supporting Actress category. Where the lead categories feel like competitive locks with numerous outcomes, this category feels less assured. It isn't that any of their roles are necessarily lackluster, but more that all of them, save for Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) come to this film without any strong bias backing them. With three of them being first time nominees, it makes the race a little more interesting and raises curiosity on if they can transcend the rookie chances and beat the veterans.

A Closer Look at the Best Actor Nominees

One of the most difficult races at this year's ceremony to predict is going to be the Best Actor race. Along with a scandalous moment in which CNN supposedly revealed this year's winner, this race has lead to plenty of discussion, and for good reason. Each performance delivers a slightly different skill that makes it better than the next. Its only issue is that in a year where the playing field almost feels too even, it leaves plenty of surprise for Oscar night and has already launched numerous think pieces such dissecting each nominee. The following is my look at the field as well as who I think should win as well as why.

A Closer Look at the Best Director Nominees

*Note: While I had previously publicized that I was covering all of the categories in a look at the Best Picture race, I have decided to dedicate posts to each of the main categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Acting, and Writing fields). I will be critiquing each nominee as well as ranking them in order of preference.

One of the more exciting things about this year's Oscar nominations is that there is uncertainty in the front runner. While speculation has it that American Hustle may be a potential upset, there is still Gravity and 12 Years a Slave proving to be roadblocks. Even The Wolf of Wall Street, despite controversy, is capable of thriving on its notoriety into some unforeseen glory. A lot of that has to do with the directors behind the camera. This year's selection is an impressive mix of fast-paced adrenaline to meditative slowness to stylistic nostalgia. Each of the five Best Director nominees have something unique to offer, and that may be the most exciting of all.

A Closer Look at the Best Picture Nominees

Much like every other Academy Award enthusiast out there, there is great pride in reaching the point when the nominees go from being names to actual discussion pieces. For me, that includes watching every Best Picture nominee before the big day and being able to dissect my overall thoughts on the categories. What films were fueled more by bias than actual quality? There were a few this year. However, upon reflection, I noticed that I have ran into a strange issue this year: I don't consider too many to be "overrated" when it comes to this category. In fact compared to last year, which I still believe was far more interesting, this line-up is rather excellent and diverse. I still loathe the nine nominees of the 5-10 sliding scale, but with that aside, this is another excellent year for the category.

A Look at the Oscar Nominees of 2014 and the Many, Many Surprises

This morning, the Oscar nominations were announced and there was more than a fair share of surprises. With plenty of snubs to go around, the final cut is an impressive mix that much like the Golden Globes, shows that there isn't a definitive front runner as initially predicted all the way back in September. However, there's a strange emergence of competition that seemed unlikely as well. Here is a look at the Oscar nominations for 2014 and brief thoughts on every category. To say the least, my Oscar predictions were far from perfect.

My Final Predictions on the 2014 Oscar Nominees

We are officially less than a week away from hearing the Oscar nominations for this year's ceremony. With Chris Hemsworth scheduled to announce them on Thursday, January 16 with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Cheryl Boone Isaacs, it is as good of a time as any to predict who will make the final cut. As mentioned earlier this week, the race looks quite different than it did at the start, and that is quite exciting. The follow is my predictions for each category, save for Best Animated Short and Best Live Action Short. Check them out and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. 

Reevaluating My Pre-Oscar Season Predictions

Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave

It is an exciting time for Oscar fans. On Thursday, January 16, the nominations come out and we will know for sure what films made the cut. It has been a strange, rocky road that has revealed some favorites and some upsets. For those familiar with The Oscar Buzz, I published my initial predictions before the Oscar season went underway. With a little over a week before the final votes come in, I decided to revisit my predictions and see what ended up making the cut and what turned out to be surprises. The following is a re-editing of my predictions to match the conversations and my overall understanding of how I think that the race will go.

The 2014 Golden Globe Nominations Are In and They Look Better Than You Think!

It is strange to admit, but it looks like this year's Golden Globes will not be nearly as much of an embarrassment as they have been in the past. After a brief glimpse, the year of movies has produced one of the strongest, least embarrassing line-ups with no confusion in the Best Comedy or Musical category. While there are some egregious omissions and some surprises, it looks to be a decent start to awards season. On the down side, my favorite whipping boy won't have too many complaints this year, which may be the biggest tragedy of all. So here are my thoughts on the awards as well as predicting the winners in each of the categories. There will also be links where applicable to posts I have written regarding the nominees.

Note: If you wish to see my thoughts on the TV portion, stay tuned to my Optigrab blog later this evening for a full post on it.

The "Nebraska" Trailer Introduces Bruce Dern into the Best Actor Race

Left to right: Bruce Dern and Will Forte

While I made my preseason predictions a few weeks ago, I still feel like some contenders have yet to form themselves in the public consciousness. The most notable example of this is director Alexander Payne's follow-up to The Descendants called Nebraska. While I had posted statistics about the film and didn't rank it high, save for a nod for Best Actor for Bruce Dern, I am still eagerly awaiting the film as well as the trailer. Up until this morning, little was known about the film. Now with the release of some clips and the official trailer, it looks like Payne is back with a film reminiscent of About Schmidt.