Review: Richard Burton in The Robe

In writing about its 2009 Blu-ray release, The New York Times' Dave Kehr referred to The Robe as Richard Burton's "first important American film." That's fundamentally true: for this is a picture that symbolizes a call-to-action from an industry at a paradigm shift - as the first production ever released in CinemaScope, the film was a reminder to the public that the limits of television were finite, that entertainment of epic enormity could only be made possible via Hollywood filmmaking. The top-grossing film of 1953, The Robe is important solely due to the business virtues it represents. As a film, it's stodgy and forgettable at best.

1953: 26th Academy Awards

And the Nominees Were... 

• MARLON BRANDO, Julius Caesar
• RICHARD BURTON, The Robe
• MONTGOMERY CLIFT, From Here to Eternity
• WILLIAM HOLDEN, Stalag 17
• BURT LANCASTER, From Here to Eternity
• LESLIE CARON, Lili 
• AVA GARDNER, Mogambo
• AUDREY HEPBURN, Roman Holiday
• DEBORAH KERR, From Here to Eternity
• MAGGIE MCNAMARA, The Moon is Blue

Best Actor has a biopic problem

For months, Bradley Cooper had been pegged as a frontrunner for the Best Actor prize for his performance in A Star is Born. And why not?

Any of us who closely follow film awards — particularly those related to acting — know that they aren’t won simply on the basis of merit. For better or for worse, the annual rat race for these little gold statuettes can be equated to a cocktail with various ingredients, which include:

1. The amount of active campaigning one does throughout what is essentially a six month circuit, 
2. Whether or not the film and/or performance is any good, and
3. One's personal narrative: an overarching, supplementary account that may compel voters to think, "this person deserves it" 

Nominations 2018: Postmortem

It's a celebration! As is typically the case with Nominations Day, we were treated to some surprises this morning - some films lost momentum, some performances were snubbed, and some wishful thinking proved to be exactly that. In any case, you can find a few top-level thoughts on my end after the jump. And feel free to chime in with your own thoughts!

Final Predictions: 2018

The day is nearly upon us! The nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced bright and early tomorrow morning, and as per usual, I've thrown out my predictions for the top six categories after the jump.

Nomination day comes as the Academy tries to persevere through one of the more trying years in recent AMPAS history. In just six months, our boy Oscar has dealt with PR controversies ranging from the Best Popular Film debacle, the Kevin Hart hosting fiasco, in addition to SAG-AFTRA accusing the Academy of preventing actors from presenting on other award shows.

The road ahead almost certainly seems opportune for more criticism: will the ceremony's host-less format go swimmingly? Will this year's broadcast be the fifth consecutive year of declining ratings? Will they embrace Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody, thereby opening themselves up to the fury of Film Twitter?

We'll find out soon enough. I for one am always thrilled about nomination day, often times more so than the actual ceremony itself, as it typically presents a handful of big surprises in the major categories. So let's see what awaits us, and, as always, I'll be whipping up a post-mortem tomorrow.