Category Archives: Academy Awards

Where’s the Oscar bait?

Friday is Halloween. It makes sense a crappy—in most reviewers' opinions, anyway—horror movie is in cinemas, Ouija. But since the Toronto International Film Festival in September, the traditional start of the season where Hollywood studios release their best stuff, we haven't seen much that's award-worthy. I'm talking about prestige pictures. Where are they? It's as if it's…Read More

My Problem with Forrest Gump

I hated this movie. When Forrest Gump came out 20 years ago this weekend, I was really annoyed by it. I saw it in Ottawa, and I remember exiting the cinema just cheesed off. I wasn't even sure what it was that bothered me so much, just the distinct feeling I'd been proselytized to. Next…Read More

2014 Academy Award Predictions

For those of you watching the big show this evening and looking for tips on how to fill your Oscar ballot, here's the way I think the awards will play out. My guesses are based on a fair amount of reading I did over the past few weeks (and hasn't this taken awhile to get…Read More

The Oscars 2013 postmortem

Question One: Why do the Golden Globes work while the Academy Awards so frequently don't?I really enjoyed the Golden Globes this year. You know why? Because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association really knows how to do it. They don't try and reinvent the wheel. They put on a party where celebrities drink and eat and…Read More

2012 Oscar reaction

Well, what can you say about The Oscars? When they go with a new idea for hosting like Franco and Hathaway last year, they get shit on. When they go with the safe choice of Crystal, they get shit on. John Doyle in the Globe & Mail said this was the worst Oscars ever. I…Read More