Here's My Official Predictions for this Year's Oscar Winners

Scene from Lady Bird

Well, this is it. Tomorrow is finally the day when all of the Oscar prognostication pays off and we all discover who are the winners at this year's Academy Awards. All of the coverage has been leading to this moment, and one can hope that this ends up being one of the most surprising and exciting years. Only time will tell on that one. For now, it feels like a great time to run down our predictions and determine what we expect to win. For me, this is a tough year, and I wouldn't be mad if some of these lost. Still, here's hoping that there's a few pleasant surprises, because that's what The Academy could really use to stand out.

Review: "War for the Planet of the Apes" Ends the Trilogy on a Satisfying Yet Predictable Note

Scene from War for the Planet of the Apes

In a time where spoiler culture is frowned upon, it becomes baffling that a franchise like Planet of the Apes is as popular as it is. After all, the reboot prequels that began in 2011 are building towards the back half of the title. In theory, there should be nothing exciting about seeing the birth of a planet of apes. However, director Matt Reeves has found a way to not only make it compelling, but use revolutionary technology to make gripping stories full of rich empathy and powerful allegories of the modern time. With the final piece of the new trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes, he gets us to the final destination. Is it satisfying? In a sense, yes. However, it's more of the same from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (for better or worse) and it keeps the story from being more than a dark and sometimes too brooding parable of modern militarism and xenophobic ignorance. It's satisfying, but it's very much the third part of a trilogy at the same time.