The year 2000 was my first living full-time in Los Angeles, having arrived from Atlanta on December 30, 1999, Y2K hysteria be damned. I got a job working as a projectionist at a theatre while also working as a reader for a small production company, and I immediately noticed something about a large number of people in Hollywood: they hate movies.

I have varied tastes, having argued the merits of gross-out comedy vs. Oscar bait type of movies. Everyone I met in the movie business claimed “Election” was their favorite movie of 1999, and the only person I met who had actually seen “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” was Rob Schneider’s agent. And he was lukewarm about it.

Total worldwide box office take for “Election” = $16M ($14.8M Domestic).

Total worldwide box office take for “Deuce Bigalow” = $92M ($65M Domestic).

Not bashing either movie; I love them both. But you can see a discrepancy.

Anyway, the nominees for Best Picture:

“Gladiator” – Saw this at the pre-ArcLight Cinerama Dome and was blown away. Still have to watch it on TNT at least one of the thirty-eight times a month they play it.

“Erin Brockovich” – One of my favorite genres: Movies that suck on paper but are actually really good. I never expected the movie to be as funny as it is. Albert Finney wuz robbed. (more…)

Kregg Janke makes a very compelling case that the Showtime series “Homeland” is anti-American propaganda. After thoughtful consideration, I disagree. Not vehemently. But I disagree.

Janke could turn out to be right, and I will look like a sucker. Which is fine. Maybe I am a sucker, but there are worst things that being a plain old sucker…or are there? My overall point is that we’re one season in on a series that is an unfolding drama. Things that seem anti-American now might not be in the grand scheme of things.

Even with that qualifier, I don’t think Season One of the show is anti-American.

Spoilers Aplenty Ahead

As the series opens, CIA field agent Carrie Mathison (a seriously, ridiculously superb Claire Danes), learns from an imprisoned CIA asset in Iraq that an American P.O.W. has been turned by Al-Qaeda. She thinks nothing of it because there was no reason at the time to believe that Al-Qaeda had American POWs, much less that one had been brainwashed.

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For movie geeks, 1998 is still remembered as the year that Harvey Weinstein’s lobbying and schmoozing led to the underdog “Shakespeare in Love” beating “Saving Private Ryan.” In writing this series, I’ve realized how much Oscar snubs, wins, and losses affect the consensus perception of certain movies.

In other words, had Weinstein’s movie been snubbed altogether, I think people would remember it more fondly than they do. If I recall correctly, no one was complaining much that the movie was nominated, but the win immediately changed the perception of the movie.

I loved a lot of movies released in 1998, but only one of them was nominated for Best Picture. It’s a very tough year for me to pick a favorite. The nominees:

“Shakespeare in Love” – Only saw it once, and I liked it. Costume dramas really ain’t my thing, but costume comedies? Well, that’s…wait, I don’t like them much either. But I guess this one’s alright.

“Elizabeth” – See above. Never seen it.

“Life is Beautiful” – Roberto Benigni winning Best Actor for this remains one of the great whiffs in Academy history.

“Saving Private Ryan” - The invasion sequence alone remains worth the price of admission.

“The Thin Red Line” – For my money, this is a pretentious mess. I’ve got a buddy who says it’s his favorite movie. I say he’ s trying to seem smart. But what do I know? I’m the guy who would have nominated…

“There’s Something About Mary” - Stalker? Big time.

“The Big Lebowski” - Am I wrong? Am I wrong? No, you’re not wrong, Walter, you’re just an assh*le.

“Out of Sight” - You don’t have an extra clip I can use, do you?

“Rushmore” - Never in my wildest imagination did I ever dream I would have sons like this.

“Saving Private Ryan” - The Statue of Liberty is kaput. That’s disconcerting.

This is really an absolute squeaker. Why? Partially, it’s because I love all of these movies so much. But mostly, it’s because I’m stupid. (more…)

The year letdowns flowered and scenes were planted for future letdowns. 1999 Letdowns:

The Biggest Letdown Ever!

A Reclusive Genius Returns … for a Letdown!

The Internet Helps a Micro-Budget Movie Score Big and Unless You Saw It Early…It Was a Letdown!

They Finally Made “Friday Night Lights” Into a Movie — Oh, Wait, No They Didn’t – What a Letdown!

Seeds for Future Letdowns:

Brothers Reinvent Sci-Fi!

What a Great Twist!

The nominees:

“American Beauty” – As pretentious at it is at times, I like the movie. I remember an argument with a conservative friend who hated the Chris Cooper storyline — abusive military type who’s secretly gay. Thing is, I had a guy a lot like the Chris Cooper character in my neighborhood growing up. Only his kid wasn’t the brooding poet Wes Bentley was in the movie. I also remember a liberal feminist friend of mine arguing that the movie was misogynist. Personally, I’m inclined to like a movie that gets people from all sides of the socio-political spectrum in a tizzy.

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Lots of good movies were released in 1997, and hardly any great ones. On the other hand, Will Shortz celebrates 1997 for “Ulee’s Gold.”

The Nominees:

“Titanic” – This may mark the only time that I’ve ever completely agreed with that hopeless douche Peter Travers. If memory serves, he called it the best and worst movie of the year. I thought I would hate it and was only half right. Despite the cringe inducing dialogue and laughable, supposedly subtle social commentary, the movie mostly works.

“The Full Monty” – Cute movie, total fluff. Of course, if it hadn’t been nominated, I would probably think more of it. That’s what the Oscars do, they change our perceptions in often crazy ways. On a side note, the phrase “This year’s ‘Pulp Fiction’” was last-used in 1997, only to be replaced in 1998 with “This year’s ‘The Full Monty.’”

“Good Will Hunting” – Man, did this movie experience a backlash! But then its initial groundswell of support was partially generated by the Weinstein hype machine, which put forth the Horatio Alger-esqe lie that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had come out of nowhere to write and star in this little movie — Weinstein practically begged people to go see it — if you don’t see it, Damon and Affleck will starve! Okay, Harvey never said that. And on the eve of the Oscars, another swirling lie: pssst! Did you hear? William Goldman really wrote it. I still like the movie, if for no other reason than it ushered in a new genre of Boston-set movies with white trash characters. It’s still refreshing to this very day to see white trash characters that aren’t from the South. (more…)

I’ve said before that liberals love to lose — be it elections or Oscars –because it “proves” they are enlightened victims living among the great unwashed.

They never come right out and say they love to lose. Instead, when their movie of choice loses the Oscar to “Crash,” they say things like, “Hollywood’s homophobia could be on par with Pat Robertson’s.” The case of “Crash” versus “Brokeback Mountain” turned into an absolutely hilarious pissing match that saw liberals clamoring to stake their claim to being at least as liberal as the next whiny liberal.

About the only thing liberals love more than losing is claiming they’ve been victims of — gasp! — censorship! If I seem like I’m making light of — gasp! — censorship! it’s because, well, I am.

In the vast majority of cases of — gasp! — censorship! there has in fact been no censorship.

Take Harvey Weinstein’s latest claim.  The Hollywood Reporter reports that ABC asked for three cuts to the trailer for “Our Idiot Brother,” on the basis that three shots violated its “long established ad-guidelines.” Where you and I might see an entity exercising its right to purchase and air WHATEVER THE HELL THEY CHOOSE TO PURCHASE AND AIR, Harvey sees an opportunity to reassert himself as the undisputed champion of hemming and hawing about so called censorship. The Weinstein Company quickly cut together a new red band trailer, which Harvey knew would be useless without a press release that made him look like a victim. Putting on a happy face, Harvey proclaimed, ““We’d like to dedicate our new red band trailer for Our Idiot Brother to censorship everywhere. Enjoy!”

Is this censorship? No really. I’m asking: Is. This. Censorship?

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Ah, 1996. A year that movie stars were made. Will Smith in “ID4.” Billy Bob Thornton in “Sling Blade.” Matthew McConaughey in “A Time To Kill.” Edward Norton in “Primal Fear.” Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in “Swingers.” And, of course, Billy Zane in “The Phantom.”

The big hullabaloo at the Oscars was that all of the best picture nominees but one were indy movies. Big deal, sniffed Cam.

“The English Patient” – I’m with Elaine Benes on this one.

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“Jerry Maguire” - I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I still love just about everything about “Jerry Maguire,” despite its clunky moments.

“Secrets & Lies” – Other than “Naked,” which I saw under the influence of…something…I never have cared for Mike Leigh’s movies. Nor do I hate any of his movies, or find him to be a hack. But his movies don’t illicit anything more than a “that didn’t suck” outta me.

“Shine” - Really never got all the fuss over this one, either. I kinda hate it, in fact.

“Fargo” - From the lie that it’s based on true events to every aspect of the execution — everything about “Fargo” screamed instant classic. (more…)

The Nominees:

“Braveheart” – Mel Gibson’s stirring epic would take home a slew of Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, perhaps deservedly. I know I’ll get crushed, but I don’t love it. Just my $.02; these types of historical epic action dramas aren’t my thing. I appreciate the movie more than I enjoy it. I never got the whole controversy, which painted the movie and Mel Gibson as homophobic. The supposed outrage felt completely inorganic, manufactured, and just plain phony.

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“Sense & Sensibility” – Never seen it. Look, there are people who don’t go see “Fast Five” one time, much less three times, and there are people like me who do. The people in the latter camp typically don’t watch movies like “Sense & Sensibility.”

“Apollo 13″ – Good movie that spawned the lamest catchphrase of the decade and made “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” a wee bit less challenging.

“Il Postino: The Postman” – I seem to recall it was the dark horse favorite to win Best Picture and the odds on favorite to make me throw up in my mouth. It didn’t win. And, whoa, I kinda liked it.

“Babe” – Seriously. No, really, seriously? A talking pig movie?

What should have been nominated: (more…)

Okay, maybe not the best year ever, but easily my favorite of the years I’ve covered so far.  They should change the award to: The Academy’s Favorite Movie of the Year. Either that, or they could give out the award years later when a movie has either stood the test of time or has not.

But even then, some dumbass would do this.

The nominees:

“Forrest Gump” – The part that always confused me was he said, “She tastes like cigarettes,” like it was a bad thing.

“Four Weddings and a Funeral” – For my money, the oddball nominee at the time. I like it more now, but back then I was convinced it was only nominated because it’s British.

“Quiz Show” – I love the part when Herb Stempel cranes his neck to see what’s going on in the other soundproof booth, CLONKS his head on the glass, then checks-real-quick to make sure no one in the studio audience saw him. We saw ya, ya sponge-memoried freak.

“The Shawshank Redemption” – Great movie, saved by the studio’s rejection of the alternate ending, in which Red goes to Buxton, but can’t distinguish one hayfield from another because he’s never read a Robert Frost poem, screams in agony; meanwhile, the grocery store owner calls his P.O., who calls the fuzz, who come to Buxton, and gun him down. As life flickers from his eyes, he realizes he’s laying on a piece of volcanic glass that has no business being in a hayfield in the middle of Maine. He laughs to FADE OUT. (more…)

I’m too lazy to research it, so instead I’ll make an audacious unfounded proclamation: there has never been a one-two punch comeback like Steven Spielberg had in 1993.

After the misfire of “Always” and the colossal misfire of “Hook,” he returned to the director’s chair for “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List,” two vastly different movies that demonstrate the different ways that a movie can inspire awe.

Even aside from Spielberg’s contributions, 1993 was a pretty solid year.

The Nominees:

“The Fugitive” – Easily the benchmark for big-screen adaptations of TV shows, featuring an Oscar winning supporting turn from Tommy Lee Jones.

“Schindler’s List” – This was not the sure-fire home-run it seems to be in retrospect. Spielberg turns artsy, but wisely remains high concept in doing so.

“The Piano” – As contrived a movie as you’re ever likely to see. Feel free to tell me where I’m wrong. I can’t be swayed.

“Remains of the Day” – Anthony Hopkins. A shotgun. Awesomeness ensues. Not really, but don’t tell me you wouldn’t go see that movie. Merchant-Ivory. Like Simpson-Bruckheimer. Only…boring.

“In the Name of the Father” – I feel like I should remember this movie more than I do. It’s about…jail, or something. Right?

What should have been nominated: (more…)

I’m realizing how odd it is to complain about the Oscars or to pigeonhole the Academy’s tastes. They can get it astoundingly right (i.e., I can agree wholeheartedly) and wildly wrong (i.e., I disagree) all in the same year in the same categories. Case in point…

1992:

“Unforgiven” – Yes, yes, yes. This is a great movie. Spot on. Finally, some recognition for Clint, who by this point had been awesome for, oh, twenty some odd years — but welcome to the party, Academy.

“The Crying Game” – Oh. Okay. It’s a good movie, kind of defined by the twist. I liked the movie, but the marketing campaign — in which Miramax told us there was a big twist — was egregious and perhaps evil.

“Howard’s End” – Oh, dear Lord I hate Merchant-Ivory movies. Not my cup of tea, but right up the Academy’s collective alley. Wikipedia says it was the first film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics, so named because Sony Important and Destined to Be Remembered Forever Films sounded too presumptuous.

“A Few Good Men” – Really loved this back then, the dialogue, the speech, and Tom Cruise’s performance. And while I still enjoy it, it’s not as good as I thought it was.

“Scent of a Woman” – Ugh, are you serious, Academy? Obviously I’m not the first to point this out, but this was the turning point for Pacino, when he decided to start sentences in his normal, gravelly voice and then to SHOUT THE REST OF THE SENTENCE LIKE THIS. It’s really annoying but he was RE-WARDED! WITH AN OSCAR! (more…)

Something happened in 1991 that my daddy never believed possible: Tommy Lee Jones played a gay man.

And the shrill and very vocal faction of the homosexual community cried foul at not only his portrayal, but of the portrayal of homosexuals in “The Silence of the Lambs.” GLAAD led a protest of “Basic Instinct” before the movie had even wrapped principal photography, and the controversy continued when Tri-Star released the picture during so-called Awards Season in 1992.

The nominees:

“J.F.K.” – Great filmmaking and mythmaking.

“The Silence of the Lambs” – The winner, released all the way back in February of 1991, and a genuine crowd pleaser.

“Beauty and the Beast” – I’m not saying it’s a bad movie, but it’s inclusion smacks of tokenism, as in, “There. We nominated an animated movie. Now leaves us alone.”

“Bugsy” – Another good movie, but I remember thinking, “If this gangster movie wins after ‘Goodfellas’ lost, I’ll threaten a boycott like my gay friends did.”

“The Prince of Tides” – The stink here was that Babs wasn’t nominated for best director. It had to have stung that Ridley Scott was nominated instead for directing “Thelma & Louise,” a wrongly politicized road movie about two women on the run from the law. Babs also missed out on scoring one for women when John Singleton was nominated for “Boyz N The Hood.” The irony, I guess, is that all these years later, both “The Prince of Tides” and “Boyz N The Hood” feel like TV movies.

What should have been nominated:

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A pretty good year with a few movies that I would classify as great. The most popular movies were “Home Alone” and “Ghost,” the first of which inspired three sequels and the latter of which inspired what I still contend is the funniest movie trailer of all time.  The Oscars were particularly competitive and geeks are still mad about the outcome.

The nominees:

Dances With Wolves: I love it, but then my Indian name is Struggles with White Guilt.

Ghost: I distinctly remember thinking, really? Ghost? Really?! I don’t dislike it, but it wasn’t exactly Oscar bait. Maybe that’s a good thing.

Awakenings: Mmmmmm, L Dopa. Yummy, delicious L Dopa.

Goodfellas: Scorsese’s career seemed to build to this and plateau with this. I love some early Scorsese, and I love some later Scorsese. But this is the centerpiece of his career, in my opinion.

The Godfather Part III: Okay. Really? Really?!!! There were about a hundred gangster movies released in 1990, so it was practically unavoidable that two of them would wind up Best Picture Nominees, but seriously?

WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED

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1989 remains a notable year for movies, one in which we learned that you couldn’t cure Mel Gibson’s case of the crazies, and that Kim Basinger weighed a little more than 108 pounds. The world was introduced to at least two filmmakers who would become unlikely mainstream mainstays: a jolly fat man whose wildly imaginative comedic fantasies would redefine a genre, and a sensitive geek who went and made a damn movie about a guy who videotapes women talking about sex.  Finally, it was the year that our angriest black filmmaker achieved mainstream success with a slice of life drama whose climax would have everyone talking and Roger Ebert crying.

None of these movies sniffed the Oscar. The nominees for Best Picture, please…

“Driving Miss Daisy”: Morgan Freeman’s performance approaches greatness, and I’d love to go to bat for a movie filmed and set in Atlanta, but like “Batman,” the movie may have won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1989 but it feels like a relic.

“Dead Poets Society”: Some really great performances, but the ending seems more manipulative the older I get.

“Born on the Fourth of July”: Stunning, great film.  Nolte nails it here.

“My Left Foot”: I know that I really loved this movie when it came out, especially Daniel Day Lewis’ Oscar-winning performance, but I have never felt the desire or need to see it again since.

“Field of Dreams”: A tricky one. The premise is goofy, the movie is corny, but…(continued below)

What Should’ve Been Nominated

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I went to every movie in 1988. I swear. Bloodsport, check. Bad Dreams, check. Hero and the Terror, check, check, and check. I even braved the picket line and saw The Last Temptation of Christ. (Disappoint mom, checkity-check). Wasn’t the uproar over The Passion of the Christ the bizarro version of the protest over Scorsese’s weird Jesus movie?

Anyway,  the nominees for Best Picture of 1988 were…

The Accidental Tourist: Okay. So, I lied. Up top, there. Oops.

Dangerous Liaisons: Liked this way more than I thought I would, but just seeing the title reminds me of one of the best jokes ever on the funniest episode of Friends.

Mississippi Burning: Rest of the world don’t mean jack-shit, you in Miss’ssippi now, boy. I don’t care if I’ve misquoted it, that is the best line ever in a movie.

Rain Man: An under-quoted line from this movie, in my humble opinion, is “HOT WATER BURN, BABY!” It’s really effective. Tom Cruise is the most hated out of all of those who say they get hated on, but I thought he was great in this. Dustin Hoffman’s performance continues to amaze me, but the movie feels like it should be more emotionally affecting than it is. Had Spielberg directed it, there wouldn’t have been a dry eye in the house and it would not have won Best Picture. (more…)

Most of the movies I’ve seen from 1987 are not what I would call decent. It was feast or famine. I loved several. I hated many. The Academy’s nominees for best picture…

The Last Emperor: Bertolucci’s beautiful portrait of China’s last emperor. Beautiful is, of course, code for boring. Anytime someone says a movie is beautiful, chances are it’s a long, glacially paced affair. In this case, they took an interesting story and decided to make it…beautiful. Shocker, this would take home the prize.

Broadcast News: Great characters, witty dialogue, a love triangle that ends on the melancholy side…I love every single second of it. Smart, not smug, mainstream, but not cloying or cute.

Fatal Attraction: The movie everyone was talking about. A genuine crowd pleaser that served as a template for many thrillers to come. Adrian Lyne’s second cry for help. Dude has issues with women. Big time. Issues.

Hope and Glory: One of two WWII Oscar-bait movies that year, both featuring children in the lead role. The other was Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun,” starring the already-intense Christian Bale.

Moonstruck: Norman Jewison’s comedy that forever altered any trailer advertising a movie starring Cher.

What should have been nominated? If I may be so bold: (more…)

1986 might be one of the most underrated years for movies. Or it might not. Maybe I’m just nuts, but, a year in which “Top Gun,” “Back to School,” “Ruthless People,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Rad,” and “Sid and Nancy” were released is pret-ty sweet.

It was the year that Oliver Stone became a household name. For better…and for…nah, for worse.

The Academy’s best picture nominees of 1986:

Platoon: The eventual winner. I’ve seen it a few times, and it’s a very ambiguous movie. Buried somewhere in this morality tale, is, I’m sure, a message. It’s real subtle, though

Hannah and Her Sisters: Woody Allen in fine form. Great ensemble cast. Best Supporting Actor winner Michael Caine called the Academy and said, “I’m going to miss the ceremony mates. I’m in Jamaica making the BEST MOVIE EVER.” He was wrong.

Children of a Lesser God: I think, I think…this might have been a play before it was a movie.

The Mission: There is nothing particularly wrong with this movie, but would it have killed them to make it a teensy bit fun?

What should have been nominated? Easy.

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The 1985 Oscar race for Best Picture was relatively suspense-free. “Out of Africa” was the shoo-in, and, yawn, it won. Speaking of yawn, I check my watch when I look at the one-sheet for “Out of Africa.”

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The other nominees:

The Color Purple: Eleven total nominations. Spielberg not nominated for Best Director. Zero wins. Not a bad movie, as I recall. It proved Spielberg had some versatility. I think that hurt the movie come Oscar time. The guy tries not to make a crowd-pleaser and makes one anyway.

Kiss of the Spider Woman: Not nearly as cool as it sounds. But it’s neat to remember a time when Hollywood made movies that portrayed other governments as oppressive.

Witness: Harrison Ford proves he can go through an entire movie without smiling. Re-proves it over and over again a hundred times over the subsequent twenty some odd years. But it felt fresh in 1985.

Prizzi’s Honor: Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner in a pretty funny comedy about married mobsters. Doesn’t quite hold up, in my opinion.

What SHOULD HAVE been nominated?

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Well, I’m four chapters into this series and I’m ready to cheat. Why? The 1984 Nominees for Best Picture:

Places in the Heart
A Soldier’s Story
A Passage to India
The Killing Fields
Amadeus

At the risk of sounding like a Philistine, those…are not movies. They’re films.

Places in the Heart, well, I like it, I really really like it – or wait, do I? Or was that The River that I liked? Or Country? Seriously, a tri-fecta of depressing farm movies? A Soldier’s Story is noteworthy for unleashing Denzel on the world, but the movie is fairly burdened with self-importance. I cannot recall one instance, one single moment, in my life, when I have ever had even a hint of desire to see A Passage to India. On the other hand, I remember wanting to seem smart and making my dad take me to see The Killing Fields. I get it, it’s important, but daaaaaaaamn, they might as well have had a warning, “You will neither need nor want popcorn while watching this movie.” Amadeus is more accessible and more fun than I, at 13, ever imagined it would be, but still, it ain’t no movie.

So, here’s the cheat. I’m not picking my favorite among these movies, er, films.

No, the Best Original Screenplay category, while itself lacking the awesomeness of Ghostbusters, Blood Simple, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8the Dimension, and/or Revenge of the Nerds, is nonetheless a much more fun category. Behold: (more…)

Looking back at the Best Picture race year by year, it dawns on me that I became more cynical towards the awards year by year. Return of the Jedi, WarGames, Sudden Impact (which I had to sneak into) – how were these not nominated? Nothing about any of the actual five nominees appealed to me as a kid. But, my love of a good doo-doo joke aside, I’ve now grown to like and in some cases love them:

Tender Mercies: I remember Siskel & Ebert reviewing this and nearly falling asleep when they showed a two-minute clip. My dad thought it looked great, but was discouraged by the two thumbs up. Saw it when I got to be a grown-ass man, and damn it ‘bout made me weep. Great, great movie, stunning performance by Robert Duvall. Maybe the best examination of the seemingly inexplicable nature of God’s grace I’ve ever seen.

The Right Stuff: Never had I felt more suckered by a movie in my life. Argued with a former boss about it right after college. He lent it to me, guaranteed I’d change my mind about it. He was right. I’ve watched it dozens of times since, and I don’t care about the historical accuracy or lack thereof, this is a great movie. Unexpectedly funny, too; I love the scene when some of the pilots mock the astronauts for only doing something a monkey has done before them, and Chuck Yeager (Best Supporting Actor Nominee Sam Shepard) counters, “You think a monkey knows he’s sitting on top of a rocket that might explode?” (more…)