Monthly Archives: February 2015

Predicting the 87th Academy Awards

86th OscarsĀ®, Governors Ball Preview

(UPDATE: 02/22/15, 9:26 p.m.: I went 19/24 this year, which is about my average when it comes to predicting the Oscars over the years. The categories I got wrong were Director, Animated Feature, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, and Sound Mixing. Of these, Director, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, and Sound Mixing were really tricky categories to predict. Here’s to better luck next year!)

The time has come to take my annual psychic test, and I find myself both excited and unsure. The Oscars ceremony is set to televise in less than 24 hours, and I’ll be second-guessing my predictions down to the wire. This is the most competitive Oscar race in recent memory (even with this year’s snubs in mind – I cry for thee, A Most Violent Year), and for those who have been following this race for years, we’re in for a treat. There’s only a handful of guaranteed wins, and it’s so close for a good number of categories that only one in as many as three films can win that coveted statuette. This is going to be a nail-biter, and I find it humorous and somewhat sad how I’m using that word to describe an awards event that really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

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REVIEW: A Most Violent Year

CityscapeWatching A Most Violent Year is a blast from the past. It hearkens back to the brooding crime drama films from the ’70s and ’80s, which were irresistibly good ol’ fashioned adult entertainment. When was the last time we saw those types of films? Those were films that weren’t afraid to dive into dark territory yet packed nourishing food for thought – the films that showcased decent and sympathetic characters driven to making decisions that determine who they will be. This is a film that has all these goodies on full display, and what a grand show it is.

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