In an ongoing effort to try and supplement podcast topics with word and video-heavy corresponding blog posts, we've been trying to compile lists like this one for your reading and viewing pleasure.
As usual, youtube couldn't be counted on to cover 100% of our visual aid needs. But I feel like, for the most part, I put together a pretty decent cross-section of scene clips and song samples.
Read MoreAn epic list like the one discussed in our most recent podcast deserves an equally epic audio/visual presentation. So I compiled Oscar and my complete lists here along with as many video clips of the discussed scenes I could dig up on the interwebs...
Read MoreWell they did it. It happened. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but it happened.
I don’t want to go into my reaction about the assembled nominees here. I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but kvetching with fellow Oscar nerds all day so I’ll save my thoughts for the inevitable podcast discussion.
But if I could use a visual aid to perhaps illustrate my incredulity at some of the decisions made this morning, perhaps you will indulge me and see if you can tell what's wrong with this [best] picture:
Read MoreFor those of you who aren't into the whole "listen to a podcast for 45 minutes thing" OR for those of you who ARE into the whole "listen to a podcast for 45 minutes thing" but also enjoy getting to read along at home- here are Oscar Dahl and my complete prediction lists for the "Big 8" categories.
Read MoreFriends! Colleagues! Compatriots! Denizens!
It's that time of year again. That glorious time of year when we all assert our opinions loudly, judge each other's callously, and form unified fronts around those films that truly touched us over the course of the last year with the blunt, stoic, aggressively-biased solidarity.
Read MoreWe made lists!
Our favorite movies of the year!
Listen as we count them down!
Matt and Oscar agree on almost nothing!
Hello friends! Happy New Year!
New Years is, of course, a time for looking forward, a time for starting fresh and a time for new beginnings.
And it is in this spirit that I proclaim: “Let’s look backwards and get nostalgic about the films we watched in 2011!”
While typing this up I began to realize how borderline obnoxious it is that my partner in blog, Oscar Dahl shares his name with the ubiquitous, coveted golden statue. But, once a year we must grit our teeth, embrace the madness and attempt to set a record for just how many times we can use the "O" word in one post.
What follows are the predictions in the "major categories" (sorry sound effects editing) from myself and the aforementioned "O" man. As you will see we rarely deviate too far from one another and, for once in far too long, seem to think that the Academy may be on the right track to handing out awards to the proper recipients for a change. As such you may also notice that there are almost no discrepancies between the "should" and "will" brackets. This is very rare to say the least.
Read MoreThe past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for us cinephiles. We battened down the hatches, braced for the worst and were happily surprised when the four horsemen of the cinematic apocalypse never arrived. We were struck, not only by how many gems emerged from this year’s slate. But, more importantly, by how GOOD the best films were. I honestly had a tougher time than usual shaving my favorites down to just ten. I was also surprised by just how many “mainstream” studio films ended up on my list. I’m not some sort of chest-pounding indie snob who doesn’t believe there’s anything to be gained from setting foot outside the art house from May to September. But, that being said, I look back at the films topping my lists in the last few years (A SINGLE MAN, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, LITTLE CHILDREN, etc.) and I can see a definitive trend in terms of financing and distribution structure. So, with all this in mind, I submit for your approval my ten favorite films of 2010- the year the studios closed down their “independent” boutiques and kept all the good films for themselves.
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