Spotlight

One of the biggest questions a director or a screenwriter asks him or herself before starting work on any kind of “true story” movie is: how much of the truth do I keep, how much do I toss, and how much do I tweak a little bit? Real life, as you may know, isn’t like the movies, …

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver rails often enough against the HBO series being mistaken for journalism; it was only a matter of time the series itself would put the Spotlight on actual press. And so, to cap off a piece highlighting the plight of print journalists, Oliver recruited Vinyl star Bob…

Don’t say the Oscars can’t surprise you.

The 2016 Screen Actors Guild (or SAG) Awards were held last night, honoring the best in last year’s movies and television. Unlike the Oscars, the SAG Awards were a bit more diverse this year, with Idris Elba winning acting prizes for his roles in Beasts of No Nation and Luther. Meanwhile, Spo…

The 2016 Academy Award nominations have just been announced, but Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight has been the frontrunner for months. It was anointed the film to beat for Best Picture way back in September, when it debuted to rapturous reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival. Sure enough,…

We’re in the middle of an Oscar season that’s more unpredictable than ever before, especially following Sunday’s particularly nutty Golden Globes. But in all the unknown, one possible indicator has appeared to (hopefully) make our Academy Awards forecasts a little easier.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts polished their monocles, twiddled the ends of their impeccably-groomed mustaches, cleared the straggling bits of crumpet from their throats, and announced the nominees for the BAFTA Film Awards late last night. Though the awards program does have a hig…

The National Society of Film Critics, a group made up of fifty-three of the most esteemed, elite American film critics, recently convened for their 50th annual meeting to determine the finest films, performances, as well as other assorted creative and technical achievements in 2015. Though eigh…

By this time of year we usually know who our Oscars frontrunners are. Last year it was Birdman v. Boyhood, and before that 12 Years a Slave and Gravity made the tops of award pundits’ ballots. This year’s race is turning out to be the most unpredictable in years. Earlier this fall Tom …

This is the most exciting time of the year for anyone who loves film, as critics and journalists no longer have to play the guessing game of what may or may not make it to the Oscars. The awards season frontrunners are already pretty clear, with the exception of a few titles yet to screen for press,…