Well, well, well, we're coming up on awards season again when movie lovers everywhere gather to witness the glitz, the glamour, and the occasional head-scratching decision that is the Academy Awards. Today we're talking about the coveted Best Picture category, where some films are crowned champions, and others are left to wonder what could have … Continue reading Celebrating Oscar’s Biggest Snubs
Oscars
Lights, Camera, Inequality…
Today, we're diving into the glitzy, glamorous world of Hollywood to examine a topic that's not quite as shiny: the intersection of race and gender in the Best Actress category. Buckle up; it's going to be a bumpy ride. For decades, the Academy Awards have been the gold standard for recognizing excellence in the film … Continue reading Lights, Camera, Inequality…
AFI #26 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Directed by Frank Capra Netflix says... When idealistic junior senator Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) arrives in Washington, D.C., he's full of plans and dazzled by his surroundings--qualities he retains despite widespread corruption among his cynical colleagues. Jean Arthur puts in a sharp performance as Smith's streetwise secretary, who helps … Continue reading AFI #26 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
AFI #28 – All About Eve
All About Eve 1950 Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz Netflix says... Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's sharp script anchors this story about New York City theater life, with Bette Davis playing an aging Broadway diva who employs a starstruck fan (Anne Baxter) as her assistant, only to learn the woman is a conniving upstart. The now-classic … Continue reading AFI #28 – All About Eve
AFI #33 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Directed by Milos Forman Netflix says... While serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital, rabble-rouser Randle Patrick McMurphy inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse Ratched. Milos Forman's masterpiece won all five major Oscars. This is one I've never seen … Continue reading AFI #33 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
And the Oscar Goes 2…
Last year, I did a blog post about the Oscars titled, "And the Oscar Goes to..." This is the sequel. As I did last year, I'll list the categories with my picks. I can promise I'll be staying up to watch the whole thing. Because I've got a wicked cold and this thing is kicking … Continue reading And the Oscar Goes 2…
AFI #40 – The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music 1965 Directed by Robert Wise Netflix says... In Rodgers and Hammerstein's greatest collaboration, a feisty postulant named Maria (Julie Andrews) is sent to care for the unruly, motherless Von Trapp children. She soon tames them--and finds herself falling for their stern father (Christopher Plummer). Oscar-winning director Robert Wise used stunning Austrian … Continue reading AFI #40 – The Sound of Music
AFI #46 – It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night 1934 Directed by Frank Capra Netflix says... Runaway socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) is en route to the Big Apple to elope with a fortune-hunting flyboy. Along the way she meets a crusty newspaperman (Clark Gable), who's just been sacked and--unbeknownst to Ellie--plans to sell her story to get his job … Continue reading AFI #46 – It Happened One Night
AFI #47 – A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 Directed by Elia Kazan Netflix says... After losing the family plantation to creditors, aging Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) travels to New Orleans seeking solace in her sister, Stella (Kim Hunger). Instead, she goes toe-to-toe with Stella's brute of a husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando). Leigh, Hunter and Karl Malden … Continue reading AFI #47 – A Streetcar Named Desire
AFI #65 – The African Queen
The African Queen 1951 Directed by John Huston Netflix says... Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart), the booze-guzzling, rough-hewn captain of a broken-down East African riverboat, teams with a straitlaced, iron-willed missionary (Katharine Hepburn) to take on a menacing German gunboat during World War I. A classic study in star charisma and pitch-perfect casting, The African Queen … Continue reading AFI #65 – The African Queen
The Confusing Middle 