Last month I’d seen a total of 78 eligible films and now I’m up to 101, and so far 34 of them (up from 30 last month) have made my dream nominations list. Bugonia, Nuremberg, Wicked: For Good, Frankenstein, and Wake Up Dead Man have added a lot of nominees, while Sally did not qualify…
Been a while since I wrote here, but I’m back and preparing for the 98th Academy Awards, including the new “Best Casting” Category. I’ve seen a total of 78 eligible films so far this year, and so far 30 of them have made my dream nominations list–I don’t feel like my “Best Picture” field is…
1920-40, directed by Oscar Micheaux Collection Rating: 10/10 Average Film Rating: 7/10 It’s been a long time since I posted, so I’m here with a 14-film pack instead of a single movie. When I first realized this Complete Oscar Micheaux pack was released by Kino Lorber in February, I immediately bought it as I had…
Have not posted all February as I try to get over a very stubborn cough, but I have also been preparing for the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, so now that I’ve had time to grieve my non-nominated favorites, I am able to look at what I think deserves to win from the Academy’s…
Richard Jewell 2019, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 9/10 Richard Jewell is definitely one of the Clint Eastwood films that I liked a lot better than many critics seem to (see also Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Changeling). The directing is solid as always, the acting is top notch, and overall it just really works…
The 15:17 to Paris 2018, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 1/10 The 15:17 to Paris is not my least favorite Clint Eastwood film, but it is definitely near the bottom. The subject matter was ridiculously recent when this film was made, and he chose to use the real people involved instead of casting actors (even wanting…
The Bridges of Madison County 1995, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 9/10 Five years after directing himself as a director in White Hunter, Black Heart, Clint Eastwood directed himself as another man behind a camera, but this time as a photographer taking pictures of bridges which he is doing when he meets Meryl Streep. I had…
Oscar nominations come out tomorrow, and I’ve seen 103 eligible films (and have dream-nominated 44 of them). I had hoped to see a couple more, but due to sickness and snow storms, I was unable to see The Brutalist or Sing Sing. As with December’s dream nominee update, I’ll be doing my pick for winner…
White Hunter, Black Heart 1990, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 9/10 I love The African Queen directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. I also read (and highly recommend!) The Making of The African Queen or How I Went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind by Katharine Hepburn. So when listening…
Letters from Iwo Jima 2006, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 10/10 Released only two months after Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima tells the story of the battle of Iwo Jima but from the Japanese perspective. Instead of jumping back and forth through time like that other film, this one is much more straightforward and plays…
Flags of Our Fathers 2006, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 7/10 In 2006, Clint Eastwood released two movies—both of which revolve around the battle of Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers tells the story of the American soldiers, though it focuses less on the battle and more on the aftermath of their heroism as they return to…
Million Dollar Baby 2004, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 10/10 Twelve years after Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood directed another Academy Award for Best Picture winning film, and again it starred him and Morgan Freeman, and again it is a rumination on aging. However, while that previous film was a Western, Million Dollar Baby is a sports story about a…
Unforgiven 1992, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 10/10 Unforgiven is the first of two movies directed by Clint Eastwood to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and it is also on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 best American films. It is a Western about how the West is a dying dream told from…
Play Misty for Me 1971, directed by Clint Eastwood Rating: 8/10 Clint Eastwood became famous starring in Western films, but the first movie he directed is set in modern day Carmel-by-the-Sea, California where Clint is a DJ. This movie feels like a proto-Fatal Attraction as one of the women Clint starts a relationship with becomes obsessed…
This month I’m going to be looking back at one of my favorite directors—Clint Eastwood. Between Play Misty for Me (1971) and Juror #2 (2024), he has directed a total of 40 films—19 of which I own. I may not always agree with his politics, but his directorial style always has me looking for more even in his worst…
Between a busy time with work, being sick, and the holidays, I didn’t get to add a bunch of new movies this month, so my total for 2024 has only gone from 83 to 88 (Babygirl, Juror #2, Maria, Queer, and Sugarcane). The only one of those that didn’t make a dent in my list…
Ocean’s 11 1960, directed by Lewis Milestone Rating: 6/10 I love a good heist movie, including the Ocean’s movies. I grew up watching and rewatching (and rewatching and rewatching) the George Clooney and Brad Pitt trilogy, and when Ocean’s 8 came out I was very into it and get excited whenever I’m in a hotel and see…
The Phantom Carriage 1921, directed by Victor Sjöström Rating: 9/10 Another silent film in the Criterion Collection that is in my collection, Victor Sjöström’s The Phantom Carriage is centered around an old myth that the last person to die each year has to spend the next year collecting the souls of the dead until his or her…
Last month I’d seen a total of 78 eligible films and now I’m up to 101, and so far 34 of them (up from 30 last month) have made my dream nominations list. Bugonia, Nuremberg, Wicked: For Good, Frankenstein, and Wake Up Dead Man have added a lot of nominees, while Sally did not qualify…
Been a while since I wrote here, but I’m back and preparing for the 98th Academy Awards, including the new “Best Casting” Category. I’ve seen a total of 78 eligible films so far this year, and so far 30 of them have made my dream nominations list–I don’t feel like my “Best Picture” field is…
1920-40, directed by Oscar Micheaux Collection Rating: 10/10 Average Film Rating: 7/10 It’s been a long time since I posted, so I’m here with a 14-film pack instead of a single movie. When I first realized this Complete Oscar Micheaux pack was released by Kino Lorber in February, I immediately bought it as I had…
The Movie Room 