Oscar Nomination Predictions.

Hello Bear and Chaser friends, please report this scammer using my photos on Growlr. Definitely not me

I’m taking a very much needed sabbatical from social media. Not been in a good headspace recently and I need to quiet it all down. Between everything going on in my own life and the world, I need to unplug. Focus on me for awhile.

F1 (25): Familiar old man/young gun sports drama but made with style and panache that covers many slower moments. The photography and cutting are expert. Loved the enveloping soundscape too. Wish they’d re-release in IMAX again. Oh and the every member of the cast is a total smokeshow. B+

Gone Girl (14): Oafish, horny Midwestern goon marries East Coast ice queen who manipulates, lie, and even kill to seek revenge and maintain the status quo of a dead marriage. Yeah…too close this time. Fincher’s work is like a surgeon’s scalpel—precise, clean, and efficient. A-

Return of the Jedi (83): Even if everyone involved seems slightly over it, the goofier tone is a fun change. The art direction and score are still my favorite elements, but all that Ewok business makes it too light. Peaks with Jabba’s Palace. Love Vader/Luke duel. B

Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse (18): A dazzling, groundbreaking visual style, crackling dialogue, and most importantly—heart, the film reinvigorates the genre with ideas to burn. The movie is still an emotionally evangelizing experience. A-

Highest 2 Lowest (25): The first chunk is painfully off. I can see the juxtaposition Lee is trying, but you feel the lurch. But as it goes, especially after the central chase, the film gets thornier and settles into something proactive and unique. A$AP owns every moment. B+

Hedda (25): Da Costa enlivens this classic with nervy jazz, a dizzying, swirling camera, and Tessa playing acerbic, bitter and serving absolute cunt. Bringing in the queer element gives added layers of complexity and shows the BRILLIANT Nina Hoss as a gender flipped Lovborg. B

The Phoenician Scheme (25): Despite dipping back into familiar thematic territory (bad dads, generational trauma, and forgiveness) I was fell more into it’s wavelength as it went. Del Toro just keeps adding new moves as he goes, Cera is his equal. Sterling production, duh. B+

The Terminal (04): Eek. I gave myself over and wanted to see what Spielberg and Hanks were attempting and it just falls flat in mawkish sentimentality, bad bits, and weirdly off performances across the ensemble. John Williams didn’t have to try so hard on such schlock. C-

Oscar Best Original Score 1960 1. The Magnificent Seven 2. Spartacus 3. Exodus 4. Elmer Gantry 5. The Alamo A pretty stellar lineup top to bottom. Beyond its iconic instantly recognizable theme, Bernstein’s score is moody, eclectic, and BIG. The use of the classical guitar Is particularly special.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (09): Bolstered by some beautiful photography by Delbonnel, the film has a more even tone between the peppy teen comedy and the more mature drama than it should. Still feels slightly inconsequential outside of the big set pieces. B

First workout of 2026. Let’s take the Detritus of ‘25 and make the best year we can.

“Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.” - Muhammad Ali Gonna try that for a while. Happy New Year everyone!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (08): For every overly Gumpy moment, there’s five more that are imbued with rueful pathos or bittersweet romance. Fincher’s mordant humor and technical prowess shine in every frame. The production design and score are still leagues above. B+

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (10): Ha, I finally liked one of these! It’s beyond silly, and the performances are just harder not to make a drinking game out of, but I enjoyed it. Something of consequence actually happened, and the filmmaking is good enough to carry it off. C+

Keeper of the Flame (42): An odd use of Tracy/Hepburn from the noir genre to the actual plot twists. Looks beautiful, and Tracy is channeling his sad better than usual. The politics are prescient but feel oddly shoehorned. The ending doesn’t feel as earned. C+

White Christmas (54): So many individual scenes and songs I love even if the whole feels bluntly stapled together. Clooney is particularly lovely, and “Sisters” still slaps. Wish Crosby had any emotional depth in his performance, but the ending still plays. Love the costumes. B

Lady in the Lake (46): The objective POV is a fun trick, but that’s all it is. Montgomery misses the characterization of Marlowe hard for my taste, and the ladies are good enough. I’d love to see a different adaptation with Bogart or Montgomery too if he didn’t direct himself. C+

Sinners (25): Utterly remarkable flex of a movie that never stops flexing. The craft is impeccable particularly Beechler’s production design and Göransson’s electric score, but the script and multiple levels of meaning and theme hit me most on this watch. Mosaku still my MVP. A

The Muppet Christmas Carol (92): The film’s tuneful, hummable song score, color, and set design always pop. But it’s in the adaptation itself, with the darkness and humor still intact, that I find such a singular achievement. Caine is so locked in. Feels of Dickens and Muppets in equal fashion. A-

Oscar Best Director 1996 1. Joel (and Ethan) Coen “Fargo” 2. Anthony Minghella “The English Patient” 3. Mike Leigh “Secrets & Lies” 4. Milos Forman “The People vs. Larry Flynt” 5. Scott Hicks “Shine” The top three are some of my favorite nominees of the whole decade with wildly different

The People vs. Larry Flynt (96): Remember when films could be earnestly made by master directors, well performed by a game ensemble and actually written? Forman assembles a dramedy of empathy, social responsibility, and with memorable characters. Harrelson and Love are electric. B+

Hamnet (25): Loved how Zhao generated and expressed empathy throughout. Beautifully structured and realized on every level particularly sonically. Buckley tore me open with her equal parts poise and feral intensity. The final scenes are as good as advertised. Stupendous art direction too. A-

Man, it sucks life was falling apart when F1 was in IMAX. Really enjoyed that but it would have been even more glorious bigger and louder.

Avengers: Endgame (19): A sweeping summation of franchise storytelling punctuated by emotional catharsis and moments. Cameos particularly Swinton and Russo have my favorite moments, but that finale is pitch perfect. The best kind of fan service. Oh and America’s ass. A-

#NowWatching Hamnet

The Apprentice (24): Liked the filmmaking and performances far more than the script which felt one note by the end in its traditional fall into evil. Strong is good as Cohn but I was more impressed with Stan who acquits himself well with subtle gestures and voice not mimicry. B+

The Night of the Hunter (55): Utterly remarkable. A fever dream, a nightmare, and a fairy tale all in one. The technical mastery in every department then it’s acted that well! Mitchum is genius-level and Gish and Winters are equally fabulous. Shockingly modern for any era. A+

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (09): Sad that even with an increased budget, the movie is pure shite. The acting is worse (poor Lautner), and it expands the world, but to what end? Too many moments are unintentionally funny. Poor Bella just feels everything so hard. D

Nouvelle Vague (25): Linklater avoids slavish, idol worship in favor of light and fun. Style and performance certainly take center stage over the squishy, pretentious script, but that’s ok. Keeps a well-needed balance throughout. Good, but wish it felt more essential. B

The American President (95): Bridges Sorkin’s high-powered, mile-a-minute monologuing with Capraesque romantic dramedy with highly rewatchable, polished ease. Douglas makes it look easy, but Bening is simply on fire: gusty, romantic, and smarter than anyone in the room. A-

A Few Good Men (92): Chewy, bombastic Sorkin language delivered with verve and star power. Reiner may at times tip the scales too much with the lighting and the Shaiman score, but it’s a filling meal. There’s no one like Jack, and not even Cruise can handle him. B+

Wicked: For Good (25): The pacing early feels inchoate, but the highs are still astonishingly high, (“For Good,”) and the lows (“Wonderful”) still just lay there. Erivo is vocally in another stratosphere, and Grande is tremendous and deeper in song and performance. I enjoyed it. The door! B/B+

Avatar: The Way of Water (22): The effects are astonishing in scope and quality. But where its predecessor was a classic case of Cameron’s well structured screenplays filled set ups and pay offs—this is meandering and had too many threads. Watchable, but I wanted transcendent. B

The Dark Knight (08): The last 25 minutes are still overblown, but the maximalism of the set pieces, the sterling editing and photography, and topped by Ledger’s obsessive, meticulously mad performance, the film is still a zenith of the timing, director, and a moment. Pure pop. A

Materialists (25): It finished, and I wasn’t sure what the fuck I just watched, but it lingers. The pacing is hysterically weird, and once again Pascal is personality vacuum, but Johnson just has a way of turning a scene. Beautifully shot, and I kinda like it. Still, it’s odd. B

The Empire Strikes Back (80): Elegant storytelling that deepens mythology, darkens themes, but is buoyed by big pop filmmaking. The cinematography and sets are lush with color and design, Williams’s score is intricate and thrilling, and Ford and Fisher’s chemistry crackles. A+

The Great Work Continues Today we remember those who died so we could live our lives out loud. They number in the thousands for every red ribbon we wear to commemorate their lives.

Point Break (91): The oozing testosterone, the blue steel color palette, and the adrenaline fueled sights and fights, Bigelow gets inside the male ego and ethos of surfing cops and robbers with all the power she can muster. It’s melodramatic, silly, and a fucking great time. A-

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Sentimental Value (25): Love the warmth and reserve exhibited by each member of the family. You can see how underlying trauma pushed them each to realistically act how they do. Beautifully performed by all especially career-best from Stellan. The final few scenes sealed it. A-

True Grit (10): Ages better with each view. Classically Coens with sophisticated writing and beautiful framing, but it’s refreshingly unironic and optimistic in the telling. Elegaic while still rousing, the cast is uniformly good especially Steinfeld, and Burwell’s score is another-level genius. A

Jay Kelly (25): What a feathered fish. The final sequence covers a multitude of sins, but Noah Baumbach attempting All That Jazz and 8 1/2 in a glossy, sometimes poignant, melange of ideas and images just seems like an odd fit. Sandler is spectacular and. Clooney’s solid. Brittell blameless. C?

The Blue Gardenia (53): A melodramatic noir starring a campy as ever Baxter should be right up my alley. Felt like Lang hadn’t worked out fully how it would all shake out as he was making it. The ending is a cop out and the romance feels shoehorned in. Well made, but meh. C

Completely forgot I ordered these in September. Happy early Christmas to me!

Universal has confirmed the PVOD date for Yorgos Lanthimos' BUGONIA, which is set to arrive tomorrow, 11/25. Additionally the studio announced the 4K/Blu-ray/DVD release, which will hit retail on 12/23. Here are the details: whentostream.com/bugonia-digi...