A huge comet will hit the earth and destroy all life within months. The good news: It's a movie, and a metaphor for the climate crisis. Rather than months, in real life we have a few years to fix the problem. This year's Sloan Science in Cinema Prize goes to Adam McKay, the writer and … Continue reading Sloan Science & Don’t Look Up
Category: Awards
My best moviegoing experiences of 2021
I don't write a list of the year's best ten movies. Instead, I list the best ten moviegoing experiences (sometimes I list more than ten). I couldn't do that last year, but this time I could. What do I mean by moviegoing experiences? The movies can be old or new. The experience must happen in … Continue reading My best moviegoing experiences of 2021
The Pandemic Oscar Ceremony
Last year, I attended the Academy Awards at the Roxie and I had a great time. I didn't know that within a few weeks, the Roxie and every other movie theater in the Bay Area would go dark. That would be the last time I would be in a movie theater in more than a … Continue reading The Pandemic Oscar Ceremony
The Oscar Nominees, and my opinion
The Motion Picture Academy usually announces the Oscar nominees in January. But everything was weird last year, and the weirdness has not yet worn off, so they waited until yesterday to announce them. I'm not going to list the nominees. You can find that list all over the web. So, I'll just offer a few … Continue reading The Oscar Nominees, and my opinion
And the Golden Globe nominees are…
Last week, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the Golden Globe nominees. Filmmakers vote for the Oscars, international critics vote for the Globes. What makes the Globe more interesting than the Oscars? They happen first. So, let's look at some of the nominees: Best Motion Picture - Drama I've seen and liked four of … Continue reading And the Golden Globe nominees are…
My best top 10 films of 2020
I usually start the year with a survey of my best movie-going experiences - considering projection, sound, audience enthusiasm, and, of course, the quality of the movie. But I had very few chances to go to the movies in 2020. So, this year I'm offering the best new movies I've seen while sitting in front … Continue reading My best top 10 films of 2020
Watching the Oscars at the Roxie Theater
I think I enjoyed the Oscars last night more than any other time in my life. And that's not only because of the big surprise happy ending. I was part of an enthusiastic crowd at the Roxie, cheering, groaning, and applauding. And we were very well entertained during the commercial breaks. This wasn't the first … Continue reading Watching the Oscars at the Roxie Theater
Independent Spirit: The other, hipper Oscars
The Independent Spirit Awards positions itself as the hipper, cooler Oscars. It's not on a major TV network, so the people on stage can say words generally bleeped out. What these awards shun is big-budget movies. Nothing from Marvel, here. More importantly, it celebrates diversity. For instance, The top prize, Best Feature, went to The … Continue reading Independent Spirit: The other, hipper Oscars
Quick thoughts on the Oscars
Green Book? That's the official best film of 2018? It's not bad. I gave it a B+, which means it's a very good film, but not an exceptional one. But I gave a solid A to three of the Best Picture candidates: BlacKkKlandman, A Star is Born, and Roma…especially Roma, easily the best film of … Continue reading Quick thoughts on the Oscars
That lousy movie won?! A little bit of Oscar trivia…and some opinions
In a few days, Roma will (hopefully) win the Best Picture Oscar. So, I thought it would be fun to look at the history of the most coveted award in cinema history - even if it really doesn't mean much. Not too long ago, I realized that I'd seen all but five of the current 90 … Continue reading That lousy movie won?! A little bit of Oscar trivia…and some opinions
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