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REVIEW: THE WHITE RIBBON

For all my best intentions, I was never meant to be a schoolteacher. I had many a meltdown and breakdown over just trying to teach my first graders. I hated disciplining them (as I always hated being disciplined in school) and tried pacifying them with screens. When I would scream at them, I felt the ultimate embarrassment of giving in to the base desire of screaming as punishment. Safe to say after I walked out of the classroom while a superior watched them to my car and subsequently my home, I was soon to quit being a teacher. Screaming and anger are not the building blocks to the growth and success of healthy children.  So why do the superiors in The White Ribbon think their children won’t grow up to be as selfish, insulting and brutal as them? When you’re taught you’ll get hit when you deviate slightly, why are we surprised when Sigi gets thrown into the water for being slightly annoying? Children are sponges, and the best imitators there are. This is the generation Haneke is i...
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OSCAR NOMINATIONS PREDICTIONS 2023!

I picked categories to predict that I thought I could actually attempt; goodness knows I never know anything about the shorts races, the doc races, or all the international contenders. But here, with a smattering of commentary, are my predictions for tomorrow's nominations:  BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: All Quiet on the Western Front Avatar: The Way of Water Empire of Light The Fabelmans Top Gun: Maverick BEST MAKEUP: All Quiet on the Western Front The Batman ( Whale is probably winning this one come March, but I think Matt Reeves' superhero flick should get it for The Penguin alone) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Elvis The Whale BEST SCORE Babylon The Banshees of Inisherin Black Panther: Wakanda Forever The Fabelmans Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio BEST ORIGINAL SONG:  "Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" from Avatar: The Way of Water "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever "Naatu Naatu" from RRR "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Mave...
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GOLDEN GLOBES 2023 PREDICTIONS!

Hey, I still remember the password to this thing! Here are my picks for all the major film categories come this Tuesday night, with red indicating who I think will win, and an asterisk denoting my personal pick. BEST DRAMA: Despite the presence of two blockbuster behemoth sequels that saved 2022's box office, I think the only thing close to topping Elvis is Spielberg's movie memoir of his childhood. The HFPA are known to love the bigger, flashier choice of the nominees (see: Revenant, Bohemian Rhapsody and 1917 's victories just in the past decade), and I wouldn't be mad at all at Baz Luhrmann's gloriously dizzying look at the King's downfall. Avatar: The Way of Water Elvis   The Fabelmans Tár* Top Gun: Maverick BEST COMEDY/ MUSICAL : No musicals this year compared to 2021's embarrassment of riches in the category, but this is one of the best lineups in years, with, *gasp* each nominee in this category actually generically listed by IMDb as a comedy. Someon...
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2022 GOLDEN GLOBE PREDICTIONS!

It's that time of year again where I remember I have this blog and write out my predictions for the (maybe not being aired??) Golden Globes! Even though they've both gotten polarizing reviews, they come from awards season titans, so I do believe Adam McKay's Don't Look Up and Aaron Sorkin's Being the Ricardos  will pick up some nominations. I'm also wishfully hoping that after drudging through 2021, the Globes will focus on the feel-good, with crowd-pleaser King Richard , lovably weepie CODA and Branagh's childhood memoir Belfast all vying for Best Drama. The Globes also love Lin-Manuel Miranda (as do I) and I think may be the only major awards organization to recognize him in the director slot, but I wouldn't be sad! Speaking of Lin, it is been a wonderful year for the musical, box office be damned, and I personally cannot wait to see the West Side Story remake after the glowing reviews! In no particular order, just as they came to my exhausted, first g...
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MY LAST MINUTE OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2021

I'm doing 'em all this year! Bold indicates my personal preference, red is what I think will win. NOTE: I will only include my preference if I've seen at least 3 out of the 5 nominees. BEST PICTURE: It gets under my craw that some are complaining that nothing happens in Chloé Zhao's soon-to-be-Oscar-winning Nomadland . The film depicts nothing less than the journey of a spirit, the chronicling of grief and the experiencing of a shift of the American mindset. But sure, let's focus on Frances McDormand defecating in a bucket. Won't the haters feel like a poop-bucket when Nomadland makes a clean sweep of the BAFTA's, the Globes, the Critic's Choice, and now the Academy Awards.  The Father Judas and the Black Messiah Mank Minari Nomadland   Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 BEST DIRECTOR: Everyone is worthy. Fincher should've won a decade ago for Social Network (maybe we could've avoided that year's winner Tom Ho...
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EVERY ACTOR EVER NOMINATED FOR AN EMMY/OSCAR/TONY FOR PLAYING AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT!

I...don't know what this blog is anymore. Now that I'm over doing movie reviews and have been more interested in writing theatrical pieces...I still have my interest in awards shows! Bold indicates a winner in that category. If the president was largely known by his initials, I have chosen that moniker. For presidents with identical last names, I have written their full names out as they were known in their presidency.  TONY AWARDS BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY: Ralph Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello (1958) as FDR Sam Waterson in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1994) as Lincoln Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon (2007) as Nixon Bryan Cranston in All the Way (2014) as LBJ BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: William Daniels in 1776  (1969) as John Adams Daveed Diggs in Hamilton  (2016) as Jefferson Christopher Jackson in Hamilton  (2016) as Washington ACADEMY AWARDS BEST LEADING ACTOR: Raymond Massey in Abe Lincoln in Illinois  (1940) as Lincoln Alexander Knox in Wilson  (1944) as ...
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2021 OSCAR PREDICTIONS!

BEST ACTOR: Predicting this victory truly feels like the only 100% certain bet we've had so far this season. It would be a gargantuan upset if anyone other than the late Boseman took home the trophy. I think this win will age as well as Peter Finch's and Heath Ledger's Oscars, which is to say...tremendously. If you knew nothing about what Mr. Boseman was enduring from 2016 to 2020, you would still be floored away by his agonized, fame-hungry Levee we get to see onscreen. I think Minari hype has been peaking at just the right time, so expect to see Yeun get that coveted fifth slot, though I would be one happy boy if Delroy Lindo was able to sneak in as the Trump-trumpeting treasure hunter Paul in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods . Reactions to Mank have ranged from new classic to drag, but I was delighted by Oldman's sassy lush.  Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Anthony Hopkins, The Father Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Gary Oldman, Mank Steven Yeun, Minari BEST ACTR...
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