Putting the 2013 Oscars to Bed
Sunday night, the film world spoke, and the big winner at this year’s Academy Awards was … uhh … anyone know? Sure, Argo took home the night’s top prize—Best Picture. It was a win for the ages as no film since 1989’s Driving Miss Daisy pulled off a similar feat without a Best Director nomination. […]
Final 2013 Oscar Predictions
The endless speculation ends Sunday night. It’s been a wild year—fun to follow, frustrating at times. I’m the sure ceremony will feel the same way. I’m less confident in my predictions this year than I have been in any year I’ve been following the Oscars. A few locks—Best Actor, Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects—litter […]
Ranking the 2013 Oscar Nominees
It’s become an annual tradition for me to rip off In Contention’s annual tradition of ranking the Oscar nominees from best to worst. I did it in 2011. I did it in 2012. See my 2013 rankings below. But first, a list of the films I regrettably haven’t caught up with yet: Mirror Mirror, Chasing […]
If I Had a 2013 Oscar Ballot
This year’s crop of Oscar nominees is a strong one. And part of the reason this season has been so unpredictable is that there are quite a few films voters seem eager to acknowledge. I encountered the same problem when writing this post. I’m not foolish enough to say something “should” win an award. I […]
The 2013 Oscar Nominees
It wasn’t Lincoln‘s field-topping twelve nominations nor Silver Linings Playbook‘s sudden ascension from “happy to be nominated” to “genuine Best Picture threat” that dominated headlines today. 

No, it was the genuinely stunning absence of Argo‘s Ben Affleck and Zero Dark Thirty‘s Kathryn Bigelow from the Academy’s eclectic Best Director lineup that rocked Oscar watchers’ world. […]
2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: A Truly Wide-Open Race
As good as 2012 was for films in general, it’s been an even better Oscar race. Unpredictability reigns supreme in a field filled with mostly great films. Phase 2 will kick into gear Thursday morning after Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone announce the official nominees. It was tough, but here’s what I’ve got: Best Picture […]
The Ten Commandments of Oscar Watching
The Joker asked, “Why so serious?” Today, I ask, “Why so sour?” Seriously, was Tom Hooper’s stewardship over Les Miserables so objectionable? Is a nomination from the Directors Guild of America—which, today, named Hooper one of the five Best Directors of 2012, alongside Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow, Ang Lee, and Steven Spielberg—that big a deal? […]
Les Misérables Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Les Misérables is a boxer too intent on landing a knockout punch. Every swing for the fences leaves it open to attack. Director Tom Hooper actually lands his jabs. The film’s softer, less stylized moments are both effective and affecting. When Hooper’s manic camera plants its ass in front of the tragic […]
2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Official and Unofficial Shortlists
With Django Unchained and Les Miserables finally hitting theaters, we can finally remove a certain amount of speculation from the Oscar race. Audiences everywhere will officially have their say over this year’s crop of contenders, which will ultimately mean crossing some names/films of our lists (and maybe adding a name here and there). In other […]
A Golden Morning for Django
Tomorrow, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will announce what are bound to be some wild Golden Globe nominations. Sure, Argo, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and the rest of the front of the pack will clean up. But I suspect Quentin Tarantino might have something to say in the morning. I’m looking at several major nominations […]
2012 Fall Movie Preview
When I finally got around to updating the old Oscar predictions, I sort of bemoaned the coming of the fall movie season and all the chaos associated with it. That was perhaps a little facetious because I love this time of year so much. Not just for movie reasons, I should say. With the changing […]
2013 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Best Picture Spitballing
Yes, it’s time. Sorry, folks. With summer winding down, the festival lineups being announced, and the fall schedule experiencing its traditional last-minute jostling (Goodbye, The Great Gatsby. We hardly considered thee.) Oscar season is ready to begin. I’ll cover it as I usually do, with semi-regular posts covering what’s changed on a category-by-category level. Today, […]
