Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Vice" (2018)

Scene from Vice (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.

Every Best Picture Nominee of the 2010's Ranked: #80-88

Scene from Bohemian Rhapsody

As 2019 reached its end, another decade of cinema had passed. It's amazing to think about how things have evolved since 2010 when the biggest controversies were about recognizing genre movies. Things look different now, especially as genre films like The Shape of Water and Parasite are winning Best Picture and the voting body looks incredibly different with each passing year. With this period in the books, it feels like a good time to celebrate their accomplishments by ranking all 88 titles nominated for Best Picture from worst to best with the goal of seeing which films are more likely to stand the test of time. Join me every Saturday and Sunday as I count them down, five at a time. It's going to be a fun summer looking back on what was, especially as we prepare for the decade ahead and an even more interesting diversity that we haven't even begun to think of.

Todd Phillips Considers "The Joker" (2019) Oscar Worthy, Though Skepticism Remains

Scene from The Joker (2019)

The past few weeks of the summer have produced a lot of reasons to look forward to Oscar season. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood marks a potential return for Tom Hanks, and this weekend's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is a Quentin Tarantino movie (so we'll be talking about it for a while). However, there's one outlier that has made the rounds in recent days... and it is not what you'd expect. Even in a post-Black Panther world, it still seems ridiculous to think that any superhero movie could crack the Oscars again. It's why it seems odd that there is one to not forget this Fall, or at least The Hangover director Todd Phillips will have you believe. The Joker is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and there are talks that the Oscars are not too far behind. It seems like a risky gamble, but maybe what this season needs.

The First "Ford v. Ferrari" Trailer Looks to Speed Things Up This Oscar Season

Scene from Ford v. Ferrari

As the summer months warm up, it's time to start looking forward to Oscar season. While it has become more of a year-round event, it's still dominated by Fall releases. There's been plenty to look forward to, such as John Crowley's The Goldfinch, but few feel as anticipatory as the latest from director James Mangold. In what is one of the buzziest films yet, Ford v. Ferrari released a trailer featuring Oscar-winners Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Along with Mangold's recent Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Logan (a rare comic book nomination), the film has a lot of fire in its belly and looks to be one of the more exciting period pieces of 2019. If anything, the racing looks cool and the chemistry between its leads look to be a big enough reason to see the film, even if it turns out to just be fine.

Here's the Official List of This Year's Academy Award Winners!

The cast and crew of Green Book

Well, the moment has come and gone. The 91st Academy Awards ceremony brought with it many highs and lows, but most importantly were the winners. With Green Book taking the top prize, it was a year full of diverse nominees that were fascinating and reflective of the growing body of voters. Before Oscar recap coverage begins, it only feels right to get to the heart of this Oscar season and answer the question: who won? The following is a rundown of every winner in the 24 categories. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments and look forward to more coverage coming in the day and week to come.

Here's My Final Predictions for This Year's Academy Awards!

Scene from Black Panther

This is it! Tomorrow marks the day that everyone has been waiting for. After months of speculation, it's time for The Academy Awards ceremony to present to us the winners. It's an exciting time, and one has to wonder who is going to take home the gold. As is tradition, it's time to end the pre-Oscar coverage with my own predictions. I'll admit that 2018's line-up is a bit difficult to call, as it has been a wildly unpredictable year. While I feel less certain than normal about my picks winning, I can only hope that this year is a lot more exciting than it has gotten credit for. So, what are my picks? Read on and feel free to share your picks in the comments.

An Optimistic Viewpoint of This Oscar Season

Scene from The Favourite

Ladies and gentlemen, we are less than a week away from the beloved Oscar Sunday. For many, it's one of the greatest nights to celebrate all things film. With that said, the past few months have been mired in controversy for reasons ranging from "Why is Bohemian Rhapsody so popular?" to "Present All 24." It's been a rough year for those who like the tried and true formula. However, in an attempt to make the final days of prognostication fun, I thought that I would try and open this week by looking at the positive. For as much as this year feels like a series of unfortunate events, it has produced one of the most exciting Oscar races in years. Even days out, there's so much that's left unclear, and that will make everything all the more exciting.

The Academy to Not Broadcast Four Categories for First Time Ever

Scene from Cold War

The Academy Awards is officially less than two weeks away. However, it's still a year where every week brings some big news. Where most years would be content to just let audiences prognosticate who will win, it seems like The Academy has made it a challenge to slowly present controversial new rulings that fill the cinephiles more with dread than anticipation. So, what is in store this time around? Those predicting that categories would forgo being presented during the broadcast have finally been proven right to be skeptical as the Academy's increasingly incompetent president John Bailey has listed four categories that will appear in the broadcast, though not when you think they will. Yes, things are starting to evolve and change in ways more concrete, and none of it is particularly welcomed.

Ranking the Best Picture Nominees of 2018

Love it or hate it, there's a certain honor that comes with being nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. In any given year, only a fraction of the hundreds of films released over the course of 52 weeks makes it to the big night. While most years have produced very interesting results, this year has been defined by divisive picks that range from hit-and-miss (BlacKkKlansman) to downright frustrating (Bohemian Rhapsody). Of the many films released in 2018, these are the eight that have been deemed worthy of continuing for the award. The following is my ranking of these films as well as how I feel about their place in the rankings. This isn't a prediction so much of what will win, but maybe what would've won had I decided. Join in and feel free to leave your own rankings in the comments.

A Look Back at my Final Oscar Nominations Predictions: How'd I Do?

Scene from BlacKkKlansman

This past Tuesday marked the announcement for this year's Oscar nominations. If you're like me, it was quite a wonderful day full of surprises both great and awful. While there will be plenty of prognostication to come, there is a certain thing that is true: my predictions are now dated. I previously posted how my predictions from August 2018 are now even more of a joke. So, before we get too far into the final stretch of Oscar season, it's time to look at the last grasp to guess the wildness of this year's nominees, or lack thereof. How did I do? Join me in looking back and laughing at what I got wrong and how things actually turned out.

A Look Back at My Pre-Season Oscar Nominations: How'd I Do?

Christian Bale in Vice

This past Tuesday marked one of the best days of the year. It was when the Oscar nominations were announced. If you're like me, it's one of the most exciting days of the year when things finally get cleared up and suddenly everything begins to make sense. However, it's also a chance when I get to look back and ask myself: how good of a prognosticator am I really? I usually post a line-up pre-Oscar season, or late August. I want to see if the buzz around films can sustain as the narratives are finally shaped into what they will be come. So, how did I do this year? In a period where everything is unpredictable, it's a tad hard to call my line-ups a success. The following is a list of the actual nominees followed by what actually made the category. Trust me, it's pretty embarrassing and reflective of something more in tune with what a "classical" Oscar year might have looked like. 

Here's the List for the 2019 Academy Award Nominations!

Scene from Roma

This morning is the moment that a lot of people have been waiting for. After months of trying to guess what will make the cut, The Academy has officially shared their picks for this years Oscar nominees. It's been a heated year where crowd favorites (Black Panther) have fought with prestige (The Favourite) in hopes of being taken seriously. Still, it was a great year for film and the results are, like every year, a curious bunch. The following is a rundown of every Oscar nominee for this year's ceremony. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section and tell me what you're happiest and most annoyed by from this year's line-up.

Here's My Predictions for the Oscar Nominations

Scene from Green Book

With tomorrow marking the Oscar nominations announcement (click here for more info), it only feels right to take this moment for one last shot at some fun. As many have done before, the Oscar nomination predictions is a beloved past time, and one that's often more fun than the results. As I have done every year here on The Oscar Buzz, I will be breaking down the Top 5 categories in hopes of getting a perfect score. There hasn't been too many years where I've gotten that honor, often being off by two or three in each category, but I still have fun nonetheless. The following are my predictions for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Feel free to share your predictions in the comments.

Review: "Vice" Sets Its Sights a Little Too High

Christian Bale in Vice

The latest film from director Adam McKay couldn't have better timing if it tried. With 2018 coming to a close amid a government shutdown and lots of in-fighting, the chance to reflect on what we expect from the people in charge has never been more of a prominent subject. It's why Vice feels like it should be a bigger deal, where the most notorious vice president in 21st century American history is finally scrutinized in a text that fossilizes him as the awful human he was. It's the part of McKay's experimental film making that succeeds, throwing the audience into a story that will boil the blood of anyone who currently lives in the America that Dick Cheney helped to mold over 50 years. However, McKay is maybe a bit too obsessed with the style to ever make one element shine above the rest. The film is a mess that often reaches blips of greatness, and overall it's a missed opportunity to create something singular and definitive of not only Cheney's life, but of the 2018 the film was born into.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "The Big Short" (2015)

Scene from The Big Short

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.

The First "Vice" Trailer Finds Christian Bale Immersed in Another Oscar Campaign

Christian Bale in Vice

It continues to seem ridiculous, almost as much so as one of his broad comedies of yesteryear, but director Adam McKay has become an Oscar darling. With most of the Oscar season seemingly laid out with heavyweights, people have been holding out for his Dick Cheney film now called Vice. Considering how little presence it has had at film festivals, it's amazing to think of how anticipated the first trailer has been for months now. Well, it is here and from the looks of it, this is another Christian Bale performance primed for Oscar consideration. He looks immersed in the role to an impeccable degree, and the supporting cast doesn't look too bad either - filled with Oscar-nominees and winners who round out a cast of characters from one of the 21st century's most notorious American presidencies. To say the least, Vice looks like McKay is once again going to enjoy a cozy seat at the awards table.