Oscar Revisionism: 1965

Since I resurrected Oscar Revisionism last week, I'm going to try to keep it going.  So, for 1965, in the decade of the Hollywood musical, perhaps one of the most famous, The Sound of Music, took home the Oscar for Best Picture over Russian war opus Doctor Zhivago.  Its star Julie Christie won her Best Actress Oscar for another Best Picture nominee, Darling.  Also in the mix were the Jason Robards romantic comedy A Thousand Clowns...

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Not With My Daughters

Supposedly wounded, whip-its-loving Demi Moore's fugly daughters (you know, the ones with all the stupid names: Gossip, ThatMovieIDidWithDamonWayans, and LookWhatIJustFound) are all ganging up on her and insisting that she move on from her current marriage to Ashton Kutcher.  Truthfully, if I saw these three girls stomping down the street, I'd run the other direction.  They look like they mean business and I don't know if it means they'd...

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Rita Rizzoli: "She's No Lady ... This Is Whoopi"

I would feel a little safer living in L.A. if this were the late 1980s, because at least I know that Rita Rizzoli would be cleaning up the streets and keeping the criminals in check.  Instead, I have to carry mace with me while working walking Sunset Blvd at night and looking over my shoulder every couple seconds.  Back in 1987, Sophia Loren was unavailable to play the part of the Italian-American female officer and Armenian-American...

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LeRoy's Mama: “She’s tough, she’s dangerous, and she’s all woman.”

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Siesta: "The Time of Day When Mystery and Eroticism Become One"

Before Jodie Foster won her Oscars, but after she graduated from Yale, she made some crappy movies hardly anyone saw.  One of them starred Ellen Barkin in a sultry red dress looking hot like she never had before (she was in her early 30s).  Siesta was written and directed by women and Miles Davis (!) provided the score.  It was filmed in Spain and featured an eclectic international group of actors: Barkin's future ex-husband and baby...

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Uh-oh ... Best Picture 2012: Les Mis Vs. Lincoln

Perhaps Tom O'Neil was correct.  These Best Picture contenders keep topping each other.  First, it was Argo.  Then, it was Lincoln.  NOW (like mere hours ago), it's Les Misérables.  It makes me think of 2002.  Chicago was the first musical to win Best Picture in ages and it defeated two period epics in the process (one of which took the directing and screenplay awards).  Its production was a long time coming, having...

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Best Actress 2012: November Oscar/Golden Globe Predictions

Well, there's a new gal to add the Best Actress category: Helen Mirren.  And, she's not only a potential nominee, but the former Oscar winner could quite possibly go for a second.  Well, not really.  With a baity role she has hit out of the park, complete with a juicy Oscar clip for the ceremony ("the great Alfred Hitchcock"), Mirren will probably celebrate her fifth nomination this January for her role as the famous director's wife...

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Best Director 2012: Spielberg Vs. Affleck

Two years ago, Tom Hooper won Best Director for The King's Speech, thanks to Harvey Weinstein. It was a sour moment for many fans of The Social Network in what was possibly a 50/50 race. David Fincher, the motion picture veteran of the two, had logged in nearly two decades as a consistent, if less traditional, director of many hits and was gradually accumulating critical accolades. Hooper, who had one major minor feature underneath his belt, was...

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