The Nominees Are

side_oscarThe 96th Academy Awards are going down next Sunday night and that means it is time for another go-around of my woeful predictions.  I don’t know that I’ve heard of many of these movies let alone seen them, so, with less basis in fact than most years, here’s my uneducated predictions for the non-acting awards.

Best Original Screenplay

Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall
David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro
Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik, May December
Celine Song, Past Lives

I’ve seen a whopping two of these films, so I’m going to pick my favorite of the two, The Holdovers.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

I’m assuming this will be the start of a big night for Nolan and Oppenheimer.

Best Animated Feature

The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Once again, I’ll go with the one I’ve seen.

Best Cinematography

Edward Lachman, El Conde
Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon
Matthew Libatique, Maestro
Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer
Robbie Ryan, Poor Things

Seems like I’m going all in with the atomic bomb movie.

Best Costume Design

Jacqueline Durran, Barbie
Jacqueline West, Killers of the Flower Moon
Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Napoleon
Ellen Mirojnick, Oppenheimer
Holly Waddington, Poor Things

This seems like as good a place as any for Barbie to get on the board.

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2023: The Year In Movies Part 2

159 different people starred in the 88 movies I saw last year (starring in being the first two named stars, a tradition dating back to the old Chicago Tribune TV guide which populated the early days of my database), and a whopping twelve of them were in more than one film. Those twelve thespians are:

Films Per Actor Per Year

Actor Name Films
Margot Robbie 3
Sebastian Stan 3
Joanna Arnow 2
Kevin Bacon 2
Neve Campbell 2
Josh Duhamel 2
Gal Gadot 2
Madison Pettis 2
Saoirse Ronan 2
Paul Rudd 2
Lulu Wilson 2
Reese Witherspoon 2

Now let’s take a look at the remaining movies that I saw in 2023, following up on last week’s post.

They/Them (2022)
A killer is attacking people at a gay conversion therapy camp.

The Apparition (2012)
A couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.

You’re Killing Me (2023)
A high school girl finds herself in a fight for her life when she finds out her classmates killed someone and recorded it on their phones.

The Passenger (2023)
A man goes off, killing his co-workers and then takes the one remaining one on a trip down memory lane.

Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)
A man gets a new job guarding a closed down arcade/restaurant with animatronic entertainment.

The Final Wish (2018)
A man returns home after his father’s death and finds a mysterious artifact.

No Hard Feelings (2023)
Jennifer Lawrence stars as a woman who agrees to take a high school senior’s virginity in exchange for a car, but instead finds herself becoming his friend.

Fingernails (2023)
When a test is developed to determine if two people are truly in love, one of the administrators wonders if she should be with her husband or her co-worker.

Heart of Stone (2023)
A spy tries to stop a hacker from stealing a dangerous weapon.

Last Sentinel (2023)
A group of soldiers on an abandoned base wait for someone to relieve them. Continue reading →