I caught up tonight with “Shithouse,” which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW this year. To begin, the plot of this film, which follows a college freshman who is having a hard time adjusting and making friends, was something that very much reflected my experience during the first few months of college, so I really…[Read more]

I’ve seen some vague online chatter that leads me to indicate people are starting to see “Judas and the Black Messiah,” including Clayton Davis at Variety who has switched Kaluuya into supporting and Stanfield into lead (and has Dominique Fishback making the supporting actress lineup but that’s a matter for a different thread).

Damn near finished this in a single night, and in retrospect, I think that’s because this plays more like a film than a TV show. It is pretty bold to start out with the first episode not featuring any of the main cast, but it sets the story that takes off in episode two. I imagine any other show would try to weave that story in via flashbacks, but…[Read more]

I thought it was merely fine at best. Bill Murray is the highlight of the film, but even he is only just good, but as I’ve laid out in posts in the Supporting Actor thread, I am still keeping an eye on him as a threat for a nomination and win. I now have him slotted at every major show. With vote splitting among “Chicago 7” and “One Night in Miam…[Read more]

To be clear, I also think he’s just fine. He’s the best part of a mediocre film, in my opinion, but I think the narrative can build around him regardless of quality of performance.

I’m kind of fascinated by the dark turn the show took in Episode 7 and how that was not so coincidentally timed with happening on the night of the 2016 presidential election. The show has always favored atmosphere and tone over plot, and there is a lot going on but I’m emotionally connected across the board so I think that is a success. This epi…[Read more]

Reading reactions online to this news seems to clarify to me that it will still be hard to come to a consensus pick on who should be nominated, and if there is more than one nominee from “Chicago 7,” who would win. There are supporters for Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance and Frank Langella in equal measure I would say. Any…[Read more]

I’d say my having seen the film is “legitimate indication,” but Colman is definitely supporting. This is first and foremost Hopkins’ film, and while she does have some scenes without him, the purpose of those scenes is to drive his story forward. Frankly, given the competition this year, it wouldn’t even make sense for Sony Pictures Classics…[Read more]

The full “Chicago 7” cast going Supporting probably helps Delroy Lindo, who I’ve slotted back into my predictions across the board, though that still necessitates that Netflix gets three nominations and I’m not certain it’ll happen. They had a shot last year and it didn’t happen, but this year is different so who knows. I feel confident i…[Read more]

Lol, it is still possible given what I said about “Chicago 7” performances splitting voters, but I can’t deny that Sacha Baron Cohen has buzz right now that could really bubble up into something serious. I had him in my lead predictions but will be moving him to supporting, probably replacing Langella. I don’t see the movie getting more than tw…[Read more]

After watching “On the Rocks” this weekend, I think maybe we should be seriously discussing Bill Murray as not only a potential nominee, but a frontrunner in this category. With Boseman in Lead, this race is kind of wide open and while we kind of wait to see which performances from “Chicago 7” and “One Night in Miami” end up populating this race,…[Read more]

I’ve watched a few 2020 films in the past week that don’t have individual threads and don’t specifically fall into any of the Oscar category-specific threads, so I’m putting my thoughts down here. In the past few days, I’ve watched “Nine Days,” “Black Bear” and “Minari.”

I was absolutely blown away by “Nine Days,” from concept to vision. The…[Read more]

I have Boseman replacing Lindo at Globes and Baron Cohen at SAG, but it is a toss up at Oscars for me. I still think Baron Cohen could (and should) go Supporting, which would clear things up. I think Netflix will put their weight behind Boseman over Lindo and Baron Cohen and since SBC’s movie is likely stronger overall, I’m sticking with him…[Read more]

Boseman is going lead.

Boseman is going lead.

Is Cristin Millioti not being campaigned for Comedy/Musical Actress? I think “Palm Springs” and Andy Samberg are pretty good bets at getting into Picture and Actor, and Millioti could easily be along for the ride.

I’ve also put Murray in my Comedy/Musical Actor AND Supporting Actor predictions because I think he’s getting nominated, but they’ll…[Read more]

There is virtually no buzz around this show, but I have been really enjoying it and think it is definitely HBO’s best scripted offering in this back half of 2020 so far. Once the show settled into its tone, it bought the character development to the forefront and the directorial choices and overwhelming tone of the show became second nature. I k…[Read more]

Let me start by saying that the general negativity on this board isn’t shocking, but continues to be dismaying. Every year, more voices are added to this forum that drown out positive, constructive criticism and conversation about the awards race and the contenders in favor of troll language, popularizing hating something based only on reputation,…[Read more]

I’ll post more thoughts in my review of the film on its specific thread, but yeah… it kind of felt like Eddie Redmayne was the lead, if you had to pick one and though the film felt like more of an ensemble effort. If they’re going to push one person to Lead, it should be him. Sacha Baron Cohen has a much stronger chance at getting nominated in…[Read more]

As a huge “West Wing” fan, I really enjoyed this fantastic special. To see that cast, including some of those bit players, come back and be just as sharp some twenty years later is a testament to Sorkin’s writing. What I came away from most astounded by was Thomas Schlamme’s direction. The special ends up being somewhere between a table read an…[Read more]