This year, some expected that trend to continue, with the ultra-likable Neil Patrick Harris drawing the host gig for the 2015 Oscars show. However, moviegoers weren’t all that interested in seeing Barney Stinson celebrate the year in film, as the awards broadcast scored the lowest ratings in quite some t
The stage at the back of the audience was utilized for the geeky cool training actors to present the ten best pic nominees throughout the evening. They included Ryan Reynolds, Chris Pine, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Bridges, Charlize Theron and Keanu Ree
They run into an interesting cast of characters in town including the tough and beautiful pregnant woman who owns the hotel where they’re staying, a beautiful drug-dealing young woman who catches Ray’s eye, and a midget (sorry, dwarf) who has a taste for prostitu
As you may already be well aware of, the Academy made some very significant changes to the format of this year’s Oscars event. In addition to the usual attempts at cutting back on the “thank you” speeches and quickening up of the program, the ceremony this year completely removed the performances of the best song nominees. Yet it was curious (read: it didn’t belong) to see interpretive dance routines in the presentations for Best Original Sc
The scene in question did in fact make me queasy and was sickening, but that was due more to the event than to anything on screen that could be considered even remotely explicit in regards to what was shown of 12 year old Dakota on the screen. If memory serves it looked like it may have been shot in a way where the actor portraying the rapist may never even have been on top of her. I could be mistaken on that point, but that was my impression. There were shots of her feet, hands and of course her face, and the scene was very br
In 2014, however, the Academy seemed to slip back to their more obscure choices. Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper was the only Best Picture nominee to gross over $100 million by the night of the ceremony and had made more than its seven competitors combined. The average domestic total for a nominee this year was just $77.6 million: an average which is respectable, but a far cry from the averages of the past two years, where multiple blockbusters contended for Best Pict
She turns to Louis (Jason Patric), who she has exchanged hundreds of emails and instant messages with for comfort, or as close a thing to comfort as she is able to achieve. She self-mutilates with razor blades and she enjoys pain, all due to her uber-negative self im
When she gets back home to the run-down shack where she and her father live, he is hanging all over Robin Wright Penn (whose character name I don’t recall) and is apparently a new girlfriend. Lewellan is a huge Elvis fan and she loves to sing his hit song “Hounddog” in particular. What is unsettling about that is that when she sings and really gets into the song she tries to gyrate like Elvis in a very provacative manner, sometimes moving like a dancer from a strip club. Seeing an undeveloped 12 year old moving like that is just plain cre
The likeliest culprits most people will point to are the Best Picture nominees themselves. Ever since expanding their top category to include a maximum of 10 films back in 2009, the Academy has done a solid job at ensuring that commercially successful works are recognized. Over the past couple of years, big box office hits like Avatar , Inception , Django Unchained , and Gravity were putting together Oscar campaigns in addition to drawing in large cro
The other issue that some will raise is the bloated nature of the telecast. Beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST, Sean Penn didn’t announce that Birdman had won Best Picture until 11:48 p.m. In between all the awards being handed out, viewers were expected to slog their way through comedy bits that arguably fell flat, musical performances, and several commercial breaks. In this day and age, fans can find out who wins in real time via social media and see any speeches they’re interested in watching online shortly after the original telecast. The need to see the show live has decrea
All in all, the event was solid for an industry awards presentation but to the viewers at home, it wasn’t that exciting or up beat. There were a lot of good movies to choose from this year and I think we all would of liked to see Quentin Tarantino and his Inglourious Basterds get a little more cre
So you can gauge my answer, keep in mind that although this is a movie & TV website, for the most part I’ve come at stories from the point of view of a parent when it’s appropriate . I do not want every movie release to be Rated G, but on the other hand it drives me insane when bloodless yet intense violence or overt sexuality is aimed at k
Unlike the Golden Globes, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life was recognized, as was Gary Oldman for his much-praised lead turn in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy . Notable absences include praised indie titles (and Screen Rant favorites) Shame and Martha Marcy May Marlene in the acting categories, while Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive only managed to land one nod, in the technical categor



