Category Archives: Award Ceremonies

My thoughts and predictions, or results and other news on various Award shows.

2017 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Documentary Short Film

Ah, the plight of the documentary short subject! One theater in my state decided to air these five nominees, and they only chose one showtime: 11:15 am on Saturday and Sunday.

Let’s just say I couldn’t make it.

Luckily a few of these films are available on online platforms. Extremis and The White Helmets are available on Netflix. Joe’s Violin is available through the New Yorker here. With a handful of the five under my belt, let’s try and figure this category out.

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Best Documentary Short Film:

Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Documentary Short Film →

2017 Academy Awards, All Movie Reviews, Love It, Short Films

Extremis (2016) Short Film Review

Extremis, a documentary short film from Netflix, is the story of a hospital ICU. As much as the film paces and moves like a medical drama, it is distinctly and heart-wrenchingly real.

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The film opens on a patient, breathing tube affixed, trying desperately just to communicate. The patient can’t write, nor make discernible letters in the air, and can barely point at letters on a sheet of paper. All the while the doctor is trying Continue reading Extremis (2016) Short Film Review →

2017 Academy Awards, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Short Films

Joe’s Violin (2016) Short Film Review

“How long can you live with memories?”

This is one of the first lines of Joe’s Violin, coming from the eponymous Joseph Feingold. It is an expression of his carefree attitude about donating one of his most prized possessions: a violin. What Joe’s Violin aims to do, however, is supplant that throwaway notion with the creation of new memories.

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Joe’s story is one of Holocaust tragedy. At the age of 17, in eastern Poland, Feingold was taken by the Russians and put into a Siberian labor camp. Of the few things he had after his time in the camp his violin becomes, in retrospect, a Continue reading Joe’s Violin (2016) Short Film Review →

2017 Academy Awards, All Movie Reviews, Short Films

2017 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Breakdown Review

The Academy Awards are this Sunday, and as such it is fitting to take a look at one of the more overlooked categories: Best Animated Short Film. While the favorite to win is clearly Piper, although the short film categories always have a chance to hold an upset, it still is warranted to put a spotlight on all five films.

 

Borrowed Time

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Borrowed Time is perhaps the Continue reading 2017 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts Breakdown Review →

2017 Academy Awards, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Short Films

Ennemis Interieurs (2016) Short Film Review

An Algerian-born man (Hassam Ghancy) applies for French citizenship. At least, that’s what he thinks he’s there for. Instead, he becomes party to prejudiced politics and interrogation.

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Ennemis Interieurs is a series of elongated conversation scenes between the man and the government official (Najib Oudghiri). They are scenes largely told in Continue reading Ennemis Interieurs (2016) Short Film Review →

2017 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

Can Lion Win the Oscar for Best Cinematography?

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) had their annual awards ceremony was held this past Sunday, and Garth Davis’ Lion surprised by winning the feature film award. The film beat out awards season heavy-hitter La La Land, as well as the other fantastically shot films Arrival, Silence, and Moonlight.

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In an awards season made boring by La La Land sweeping up wins wherever and whenever possible, this might be the first Continue reading Can Lion Win the Oscar for Best Cinematography? →

Award Ceremonies, Movie News

What to Expect From the Directors Guild Awards 2017

The Directors Guild Awards (DGAs) are this Saturday, February 4. Ignoring television, as I do not watch it, there are three film categories that could act as precursors to the Academy Awards.

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Surprisingly, Ava DuVernay did not receive a nomination in the documentary category for 13th. Without this competition, there is no feasible scenario where Continue reading What to Expect From the Directors Guild Awards 2017 →

2017 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Live Action Short Film

Alas, the Academy-nominated short films have not made their way to screens in my area yet. I have had the privilege of seeing and reviewing two of these Oscar short films, but of course this is not enough to give a full-fledged summary of the field as a whole.

Keep this in my mind as I do my best to traverse this category half-blind.

Update: I saw them…let’s do this.

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Best Live Action Short Film:

Continue reading Academy Awards Predictions 2017 – Best Live Action Short Film →

Award Ceremonies, Movie News

The Screen Actors Guild Awards: What to Expect

Sunday 29, 2017 will mark the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards. The ceremony is one of the many guild precursors to the Academy Awards. Many film pundits look at the SAGs to determine which actors and actresses will likely win the Oscars in the acting categories. The award show also features the closest thing to an Oscar for Best Acting Ensemble.

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Speaking of this, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture is the biggest award of the night at the SAGs, the closest thing the guild has to Continue reading The Screen Actors Guild Awards: What to Expect →

2017 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

Why O.J.: Made in America Will Win the Oscar for Best Documentary

After watching the nearly eight hour ESPN documentary O.J.: Made in America, I decided not to give it a review. Perhaps it was due to the shear exhaustion. Now that the Oscar nominations are out and O.J. is in there, I feel this analysis can act as a de facto review.

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It may seem jarring that a television documentary miniseries is being considered for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards. The series qualified for these awards season film categories by having Continue reading Why O.J.: Made in America Will Win the Oscar for Best Documentary →