All the Old Knives – Review
Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood – Review
“An engaging snapshot of not merely a time and place, but a mindset.”
Continue reading “Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood – Review”The Souvenir Part II – Review
“A reflexive art piece that deftly takes us into the emotions and motivations that comprise its own creation.”
Continue reading “The Souvenir Part II – Review”Frontrunners Win, But Surprises Abound: Thoughts on the 94th Academy Awards
by Ken Bakely
I know what you want me to talk about here, and sure, I’ll get to it, but first, let me say this:
It’s actually hard for me to write about this show in total. At first, I felt I just had nothing to say. I suppose this is in part because the decision to eliminate categories from the broadcast represented the strange economics that defined the entire evening. The Academy, producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan, and ABC held firm to the decision to cut eight categories from the broadcast, despite a chorus of Oscar fans and industry professionals virtually unanimous in their condemnation. They swore it was part of an initiative to keep the show focused, streamlined, and under three hours (and include more comedy bits and musical performances). So they did it, worked clips of the speeches from the affected awards into the broadcast, and what happened? The broadcast was the longest since 2018, and in every one of them in between, all categories got their moment in the sun.
Bottom line: category-cutting was a failed experiment that should be swiftly written off as the bad idea it was. I say this not as a value judgment, but as a simple statement of fact. It did not meet its intended objective. It should not happen again.
Continue reading “Frontrunners Win, But Surprises Abound: Thoughts on the 94th Academy Awards”Lucy and Desi – Review
“The sheer depth taken in exploring who these two legendary people were brings new insight and greater understanding to the foundations of their barrier-breaking legacy.”
Continue reading “Lucy and Desi – Review”After Yang – Review
Kimi – Review
“When it feels like Kimi doesn’t reach as far as it’s intriguing, albeit familiar, setup might suggest, it’s still evident that the movie that’s here has been carefully and intelligently assembled.”
Continue reading “Kimi – Review”Strawberry Mansion – Review
“Inquisitive and silly, exploring its fantastical realm with real insight and, what with its chaotic aesthetic, a surprising sense of command.”
Continue reading “Strawberry Mansion – Review”The Paper Tigers – Review
“A wry and observant character-driven comedy that has the fixtures of an action movie wrapped around it.”
Continue reading “The Paper Tigers – Review”BLOG: 2022 Oscar Nomination Predictions
by Ken Bakely
With days remaining until this year’s Academy Award nominations, I’m continuing a tradition for the site and offering my predictions for what might get nominated in some major categories. After the nominations are announced on February 8, I’ll return to this post and tally up my scores with some additional comments, which will be marked in blue text.
The following predictions will be ranked by how likely I think each prospective nominee is to get in. I will also include one possible alternate for each category – except for the ten-candidate Best Picture race, where I will list two.
UPDATE (February 8): My reactions and scores follow in blue.
Continue reading “BLOG: 2022 Oscar Nomination Predictions”
The Reviews 