Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

The biggest loser is An Education. This would seem like perfect Foreign Press fodder. Dramatic Picture, Supporting Actor, and Screenplay seemed like solid bets in the wake of that Mulligan juggernaut that we keep hearing about. Films like A Serious Man, Invictus, and The Lovely Bones suffered set-b...

/Adaptation./ (Spike Jonze) - 7.5/10 Flaws on more prominent display this time and with far fewer excuses for what I'm not digging. "Donald's" handiwork isn't wrong-headed but poorly fleshed out, and puts far too much into focus the irony of a second writer taking over. It doesn't really ...

Surprisingly little to get worked up about. I won't see a better performance this year than Tilda Swinton in Julia, and in a weak year for Best Actress Contenders (!), this is the perfect opportunity for them to throw their weight behind Swinton's brave work. I haven't seen Julie & Julia nor di...

SLANT MAGAZINE'S BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR Defying critics to once again trot out lazy "down-year" grousing, 2009 delivered a cinematic bounty for those intrepid enough to venture outside their staid megaplex comfort zones. A raft of daring indies and foreign imports brought the real thunder...

The Road (John Hillcoat) Yup. I failed. I didn't read the book. I'm an asshole. Lord knows, I've had enough time. Lord knows, my FUCKING ROOMMATE just finished it and it's sitting in his room right now. Lord knows, my only task in life is not spending money as I wait for work. I'm pretty sure readi...

I really don't know this year. It would be a lot easier if Entertainment Weekly had announced their picks by now. They've given it to five of Lisa Schwarzbaum's Best Film of the Year (WALL-E, There Will Be Blood, Letters from Iwo Jima, Sideways, and About Schmidt) and two of Gleebs (American Splend...

GROUP I Streetcar is great, but Ace in the Hole is better. Ace in the Hole replaces A Streetcar Named Desire in the category of Best Picture and locks it down. GROUP IIA In the category of Best Song, I preserve "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening". GROUP IIB In the category of Best Co...

I'm going to do my last pre-Globes predictions and my first predictions in full. BEST PICTURE (500) Days of Summer The Blind Side An Education The Hurt Locker Inglourious Basterds Invictus Precious A Serious Man Up Up in the Air BEST DIRECTOR Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker Joel & Ethan Coen, ...