Category Archives: Academy Award Nominees

When Billie Beat Bobby (2001)

Posted on March 22, 2014 by tom

Just about any sports fan today has at least heard of the famous tennis match between women’s champion Billie Jean King and the 55-year-old hustler and former champion Bobby Riggs. Few know about the build up to the match: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Based on a True Story, Films, Films Watched in 2014, Sports, Television | Leave a comment

Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

Posted on January 22, 2014 by tom

  “Good night, and good luck.” That’s how legendary CBS News icon, Edward R. Murrow, ended each of his broadcasts. It started when he was in London when the Nazi’s were bombing the b’jeezus out of England. It was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Based on a True Story, Films, Films Watched in 2014 | 1 Comment

Reds (1981)

Posted on November 28, 2013 by tom

There’s something about the historical epic that allows movie fans to forgive them being incredibly long. “Gandhi” was three hours, eleven minutes long. “Lawrence of Arabia” clocked in at a bladder-busting three-and-a-half hours. “Gone With the Wind” is four years … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Winners, Based on a True Story, Films, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | 2 Comments

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Posted on October 9, 2013 by tom

Good Lord, what a movie. Honestly, I can’t think of the last time I watched a two-and-a-half hour movie and didn’t check the clock once. “There Will Be Blood” stars Daniel Day Lewis as miner turned oil prospector Daniel Day … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Winners, Films, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | 2 Comments

All The President’s Men (1976)

Posted on August 20, 2013 by tom

Two Washington Post reporters–Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein–brought down the President of the United States. This is their story. The Watergate scandal is old hat to most Americans today. Nearly everyone knows about the bungled burglary at the Watergate office … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Academy Award Winners, Based on a True Story, Classics, Films | 9 Comments

Downfall (2004) Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

Posted on May 9, 2013 by tom

So my doctor gave me some new meds, and whenever I sit up, I get dizzy. So how better to treat this than lying in bed with a double-feature of intense, German WW2 dramas. It turns out, while this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Films, Foreign, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | Leave a comment

The Nasty Girl (Das schreckliche Mädchen) (1990)

Posted on March 27, 2013 by tom

“The Nasty Girl” is kind of an unfortunate translation of “Das schreckliche Mädchen,” simply because it makes it sound like a porno, or something from the “Porky’s” ilk. “Schreckliche” usually translates as “terrible,” which would make more sense for this … Continue reading →

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Becket (1964)

Posted on February 25, 2013 by tom

Montgomery Clift once said, “Richard Burton doesn’t act. He just recites.” In the 1964 film “Becket”–a film based verrrry loosely on the relationship between King Henry II and Thomas a Becket–Burton was cast as Beckett, alongside Peter O’Toole as Henry. … Continue reading →

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Radio Bikini (1988)

Posted on February 19, 2013 by tom

“Radio Bikini” is aptly named. Much of the audio in this amazing 52-minute documentary  comes from the Mutual and NBC Radio Networks’ coverage of “Operation Crossroads,” where the U.S. Army and Navy conducted two atomic bomb tests. It’s galling to … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Documentaries, Films | Leave a comment

The Crying Game (1992)

Posted on September 23, 2012 by tom

Nothing bothers me more about films (or music, or whatever, honestly) than hype. That’s one reason I never owned a copy of “Thriller”: I couldn’t stand the hype. I should note that years later, I still think “Thriller” is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Films, Films 2012, LGBT Issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment