Month: January 2018
Hostiles: Frontier philosophy
by Matt Ward
Westerns just aren’t as simple as they used to be. No longer can a filmmaker simply declare that “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us” and set in motion a lively, usually gregarious sequence of events that typically ends with a duel at high noon. Complexity is key to a strong Western nowadays. Director Scott Cooper’s fourth feature film makes major … Read More Hostiles: Frontier philosophy
Oscar nods take ‘Shape’: Recapping 90th Academy Award nominations
by Matt Ward
So it’s Oscar nomination morning and I have some thoughts….. Let’s get into these picks and do super early winner predictions. Best Picture: Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri I had seven of these nine nominees yesterday when I made my final picks heading into … Read More Oscar nods take ‘Shape’: Recapping 90th Academy Award nominations
Predicting the 2018 Academy Award nominations
by Matt Ward
Offered without commentary, here’s how tomorrow’s Academy Award nominations should go (in alphabetical order): Best Picture: 1. Call Me By Your Name 2. Dunkirk 3. Get Out 4. I, Tonya 5. Lady Bird 6. The Florida Project 7. The Post 8. The Shape of Water 9. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Actor: 1. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread 2. Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour 3. … Read More Predicting the 2018 Academy Award nominations
2017: A cinematic year in review
by Matt Ward
There’s little doubt that 2017 will go down in history books for far different reasons than its cinema. Films that changed the landscape of moviemaking as we know it were few and far between this year, but several – three to be exact – made game-changing impact on the possibilities big screen theatrical releases could become moving forward. Despite emerging sexual harassment and abuse … Read More 2017: A cinematic year in review
I, Tonya: Comedy in mild tragedy
by Matt Ward
Why make a shiny, glimmer-y sports redemption film about Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan when the source material is so much richer with the comedically tragic tale I’ve disgraced former figure skater Tonya Harding? Born from a pair of highly contradictory interviews, director Craig Gillespie’s outlandish tale from the wrong side of the tracks who just wants to figure skate has unsurprisingly become one … Read More I, Tonya: Comedy in mild tragedy
The Post: Defending a free press
by Matt Ward
Give the greatest filmmaker of our generation a pair of Oscar winners performing one of the year’s most topical scripts and you’ve got yourself a practically surefire recipe for success. For as much cavalcade and fanfare as Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” rightfully earns on paper, the end result is an above-average film that somehow doesn’t live up to all the promise. This is a … Read More The Post: Defending a free press
The Shape of Water: A fairytale love
by Matt Ward
It feels counterintuitive to suggest that a dark, melancholy monster movie could turn into a landmark piece of cinema. But in the hands of Mexican auteur Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water” elevates beyond genre expectations and transforms hearts and minds of cynical moviegoers with an unexpected, deeply personal adventure that will captivate any audience willing to give it a chance. This avant … Read More The Shape of Water: A fairytale love
Cinematic Considerations 