Reviews / 28.03.2016

With a movie as grandiose (and that's putting it lightly) as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I always think it's best to wait a few days to let it all sink in before sharing my thoughts and feelings. Too often people share their initial reaction, be it positive or negative. I'm not saying that's wrong. Sometimes your gut reaction is spot on. But with so much crammed into one film (more on that later), it's impossible to really know how one felt without proper time for reflection. Now I've seen...

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Awards Season / 02.03.2016

The madness is all over for another year. Am I the only one a little glad for that? I cannot remember a previous Oscar race that genuinely exhausted me as much as this year. It was fun. It was surprising. But with so many twists and turns, I started to miss the days where one film sweeps the entire season. I say that now, but the next time it happens, I know I'll moan about how boring an unpredictable race is. Ah, being an Oscar watcher is a...

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Awards Season, Reviews / 29.02.2016

The most exhaustive and confusing Oscar season finally comes to an end today. We've had frontrunners come and go (remember when it was finally going to be Johnny Depp's year?). We've had the precursor awards be even more unreliable than usual. We've had shocks, snubs and surprises. We've had the Academy facing the worst (and deserved) press it's ever received. And going into the ceremony, we still have no solid prediction as to what will walk away with Best Picture and a handful of other categories. You may...

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Awards Season / 28.02.2016

It sucks to be the early frontrunner. Just ask Boyhood, Lincoln or The Social Network. Taking the lead early in awards season often means that film will ultimately lose. So does that mean it's all over for Spotlight? Hold your horses. There's still light at the end of the tunnel. Let's take a look at why it still may win and why it's destined to lose. For: The actor vote. If nothing else, Spotlight is a true ensemble film and a true actor's piece. Even though Ruffalo and McAdams have been singled out, it...

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Awards Season / 27.02.2016

With his follow-up to last year's Best Picture winner, Birdman, Alejandro Inarritu has done it again. What was at first assumed to just be a vehicle for Leo to finally win an Oscar (and put an end to all those fucking memes) has quickly turned into a serious contender to sweep the whole damn ceremony. But The Revenant still has some obstacles to overcome, if it wants to follow the path of Birdman. Let's take a closer look. For: The last frontrunner takes it. It's an almost irrefutable fact the film with the most buzz...

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Awards Season / 26.02.2016

A few months before awards season began, The Big Short wasn't even on anyone's radar. But due to Paramount's shrewd decision to surprise us all and give the film a December release, it has come from nowhere to be a serious awards contender. Does it have the power to continue to surprise and take the big prize of Best Picture? Let's take a look at the case for and against The Big Short. For: That "surprise" PGA win. I put surprise in inverted commas because it wasn't a surprise to yours...

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Awards Season / 14.01.2016

The craziest awards season we've seen in years is potentially about to get even crazier, with the Oscar nominations due to be announced just after midnight tonight (Australian time). With only a month to go, we still genuinely have no idea who will win most categories which is fun in a way. Usually at least we have a fair lock on what will be nominated, but not this year. As I always say, take these predictions with a grain of salt. I'm just going with my gut here, but this year,...

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Awards Season / 08.01.2016

A new tradition was born last year, and it's time to keep it going. You should know by now I love a good awards show. Last year I created my own awards show with my own categories, nominees and winners. It's my way of having a little control over an industry I have literally zero control over. Bazinga. All in all, it was a fabulous year in film, so choosing this year's lucky nominees and winners was another exhaustive process. But there were some stinkers, and they get their...

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Opinion / 12.08.2015

It's been a year since we lost one of the greatest talents the world has ever known. Even after twelve months, it still doesn't quite seem real. Just remembering learning the news and being forced to hold in the grief over a full day of work (it was announced at 9am Sydney time) still seems like some horrible dream we're all going to wake up from. We know he's gone, but it's not a notion one can easily accept. I started writing this piece a few days after he died,...

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