My eyes were beginning to hurt reading my own blog, so I decided a change was in order. What do you think?

Not That Crap Again: June Oscar Predictions

By this time, many of you may be aware of the Academy's new rule for Best Picture: no more of this The Ten business. Instead, the number of films nominated will fluctuate between five and ten, according to how many films get 5% of the number one votes. That's the minimum required, apparently in reaction against the much smaller representation for some of last year's Best Picture honorees (Winter's Bone and 127 Hours, probably). What this means is that we won't know until Nomination Morning how many films will be up for Best Picture. It could be seven, it could be eight, it could be five, or maybe ten!

The possibilities...

I approve of and applaud this system, actually (and I know AMPAS was dying to know). It's hard, sometimes, to come up with a set number of great films for the year. I do a Top 25 and Bottom 10, and I'm thinking of retiring both -- first, I don't see enough movies in a year for those rankings to mean all that much; second, it's led to my "honoring" certain films just to fill the self-imposed quota (guys, The Proposal is a diverting, sometimes frustrating, but altogether harmless comedy that does not belong on a "worst of" list). I understand the frustration, so I can roll with the Academy deciding not to deal with it anymore. Of course, this means losing interesting titles in the Best Pic lineup, your District 9s and so forth, but it definitely makes the season more suspenseful, something that's been seriously lacking as of late.

So, this plus new buzz on some films leads me to believe that now is the time to adjust some of my predictions:

BEST PICTURE

The Big Five

The Descendants

Hugo Cabret

The Ides of March

J. Edgar

War Horse

In no particular order, these are the five that I think will make the cut no matter what. Hugo Cabret and The Descendants are my new additions, since I saw the trailer for the latter and read the former. With Cabret, I feel like you'd only be able to mess it up if you didn't have cinema coursing through your veins. If it was in the hands of a studio hire, maybe it wouldn't make the cut, but in the hands of a Movie Catholic (thank you, Jeff Wells) like Scorsese? Get outta here! It's guaranteed!

The Next Group

The Tree of Life

The Artist

The Dangerous Method

The Iron Lady

Midnight in Paris

And this, for me, is in order of likelihood. The Tree of Life is getting mixed reviews, but Malick's fanbase is a devoted one. Then there's The Artist, the Cannes hit acquired by Oscar whisperers (thanks, Sasha Stone!) The Weinstein Company. It may be mostly silent, but I hear it's got heart. If biopics A Dangerous Method and The Iron Lady impress enough, they shouldn't find it hard to elbow their way in. The warm and charming Midnight in Paris is my wild card pick, just in case they go to Ten.

Among the three I've switched out is My Week with Marilyn (I've been hearing mehs). And if Marilyn is gone here, I might as well shoo it off the Best Director list. I don't see it happening unless it falls within that tower of love which you see above.

BEST DIRECTOR

George Clooney, The Ides of March

David Cronenberg, A Dangerous Method

Clint Eastwood, J. Edgar

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Steven Spielberg, War Horse

Cronenberg gets the "sorry we've ignored you for so long" nomination, with Hazanavicius as the "oh holy shit this is artistic brilliance" nomination. I understand I have more confidence than most in The Dangerous Method's chances, but we can't all be pussies.

More predictions after the cut....

Quite A Polling!

I was quite thrilled about the feedback from my series on '74. Not just here, but on Twitter, from friends, family. Hell, the whole thing sparked a long conversation between my dad and myself on how amazing Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is, the merits of The Godfather films, Lee Strasberg, great disaster films, seeing Phantom of the Paradise in its initial release at a drive-in...that, I think, was the most rewarding thing of all. Also, seeing Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia for the first time. That movie is incredible.

So, it should come as no surprise that I want to do it again! Not with 1974, of course, but with something! Take a look to the right and you'll see a poll that'll run for the next two weeks begging the question: which cinematic year do you want to live through next? I've narrowed the many choices to these five:

1951

In which An American in Paris wins at the Oscars...but what about in my heart?

1957

In which Sayonara and The Bridge on the River Kwai, two movies I've always wanted to see but never have, must compete against guilty pleasure Peyton Place and my beloved Funny Face.

1964

In which I decide once and for all if Julie Andrews deserved her Oscar, and just how badly Audrey Hepburn was snubbed.

1980

In which the absence of Xanadu in the original song category forces me to watch Honeysuckle Rose. Also, I've never seen Raging Bull, Coal Miner's Daughter, Ordinary People, Private Benjamin....

1987

In which cult horror films (The Lost Boys, The Monster Squad), beloved epics (The Last Emperor, Empire of the Sun) and Cher (Suspect, Moonstruck) square off in a fight to the death.

Voting is open for the next two weeks! Let your feelings be heard, before they are hurt!

Greatness Never Ages

I'm greatly anticipating the final Harry Potter film, but I wouldn't say I'm foaming at the mouth. Still, this is pretty bad-ass, and I want this poster:

She's so fucking cool.

1974 Hollmann Awards: The Majors

The awards continue and conclude.

Hollmann Awards 1974: The Technicals

At long last...22 years of life...37 years of cinematic history....Ladies and gentlemen, the 1974 Hollmann Awards. No, there's no list of nominees to get acquainted with; it's all here, winners and runners-up, in one fowl swoop. First up, the technicals. Catch them after the jump:

UPDATE: Realized I hit publish before I made my final changes in Art Direction. The winner and runner-up have been switched so that the proper film is given its due.

The 1974 Finalists!

My research tells me that there were about 90 films released domestically in the United States in 1974. There were probably a lot more, but that's the number of titles I've been able to find. Well, folks, with a final tally of 47 (not quite 50, but oh well), I've officially seen 52 percent! That's a hell of a lot better than my usual stats! As per tradition, of course, I've got to provide my fifteen finalists in each category. Oscar didn't have categories for Makeup or Visual Effects back in '74, so I've omitted those, too, and as for my Ensemble award? Oh, it stays. That's my gift to the casting directors.