Best Song: "Shallow" (2018)

Scene from A Star is Born (2018)

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 Rundown of Who's Performing on The Academy Awards this Sunday

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Things are getting exciting. With approximately 48 hours left until this year's Oscars ceremony, it's time lo look forward to the ceremony. Knowing that there isn't any host, what is there to look forward to? Well, there's good news (and some bad) in regards to this year's music performers. As of this moment, four of the five songs will be performed at the ceremony. While some would think this is a side effect of the infamous cuts that the show temporarily had, it's merely a side effect from scheduling. To find out who is still on the show, please feel free to read on and prepare for what is shaping up to be one of the oddest ceremonies in the modern era.

An Update on The Academy Awards Ceremony's Many Strange Decisions

Scene from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

In every sense of the word, the three weeks leading up to the Academy Awards ceremony should be a time of excitement and anticipation. After all, the nominations have been revealed and everything should be in place for the broadcast. However, this year has been a bit of an uphill battle for most, as the past year has embodied a series of bad decisions lead by Academy President John Bailey that culminated in a Best Popular Film category that was rightfully laughed out of the conversation. However, it also brought with it a need for serious change that is unfortunately a bit baffling. Less than a week after it was announced that only two of the Oscar-nominated songs would perform, the ruling has been reversed. However, it does come with a bit of a price, especially if what has been said is to be believed. There's a lot wrong with the broadcast's proposed plan and part of that is cutting the music down to 90 seconds.

The Academy Rumored to Be Limiting Music Performances at Ceremony

Kendrick Lamarr

With the Oscar nominations firmly upon us, The Academy has found a way to make the final month-long stretch to Oscar Night more frustrating than trying to guess who will win. With theaters boycotting Roma, and the current plan of the show having no host, one has to wonder where the controversial decisions end. It didn't happen yesterday when a rumor surfaced that the show would be going without another key piece of the puzzle. While there hasn't been any confirmation as of yet, there's a report from Variety that there will be limited performances by the Best Original Song nominees. It makes sense then why people are once again annoyed by this decision, The Academy Awards is a place to celebrate film from over the past year. If they won't acknowledge the music that goes into a film, then what will they recognize?

AMC and Regal Theaters Refuse to Play "Roma" Amid Several Oscar Nominations

Scene from Roma

If you've read the Oscar nominations that were announced on Tuesday, then there's a good chance that you've had plenty to celebrate. For Netflix in particular, there's plenty to enjoy as they not only get their first Best Picture nominee, but has the most nominees of any film (they also have a sizable total for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs). Considering that Amazon Studios and Hulu also have considerable nominations, it's a sign of the times that The Academy is finally recognizing streaming services as the quality distributor of entertainment that they are. But, there's an issue for anyone who wants to see Roma on the big screen. The nominations may have done plenty to raise its profile, but thanks to the ongoing conflict between Netflix and theatrical distribution, you may have to try extra hard to see it anywhere besides your home.

Review: "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" is a Fun and Off-Beat Kaleidoscope of Western Skewering

Scene from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Over the course of a career spanning close to 40 years, co-directors Joel and Ethan Coen have done wonders to not only create captivating westerns, but have reinvented the very idea of Americana in the process. Some of their most successful movies, whether it be Miller's Crossing or the more candid True Grit, have all helped to redefined an essential part of the American mythology. So, what else do they have to say in 2018? With anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, it looks like there's quite a bit actually. Ranging from slapstick to some pitch black drama, The Coen Brothers' take on the west is far more nihilistic these days. It may be among their weaker films, especially with each segment tending to bounce around from tone and style so radically, but it's also further evidence that the old west is still special to them and that they have stories to tell, even if they're not their own.

The First Trailer for "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" Saddles Up Another Wacky Coen Brothers Film

Scene from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

There are few directors who have the unpredictable track record of brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. It seems like every time they release a dark and gritty movie like No Country for Old Men, it's immediately followed by a farcical gem like Burn After Reading. Even their most recent film, Hail Caesar!, is a Hollywood satire that has a subtext about the power of a metaphorical religion within the studio system. So, where do you go from a film that encapsulated every genre possible and turned it into one of their silliest films yet? Well, you go back to the genre that earned you some clout. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs started out as a TV series for Netflix, but comes to audiences now as an anthology film about a cowboy going on wacky adventures. If the first trailer is any sign, it's a different take on the genre than something like True Grit. Much like Hail Caesar!, it's downright farcical.