Split Decision: "The Banshees of Inisherin"

Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of each of the big awards season movies this year. Here’s Abe Friedtanzer & Eric Blume on one of the Oscar frontrunners...

ERIC:  Abe, here we are again with another split decision.  But unlike our discussion about The Whale, which you loved and I didn't, we're swapping sides for The Banshees of Inisherin.  I absolutely loved this film.  I'd go as far as to say it's close to a masterpiece.  It's a piercing and painful meditation on loneliness, a heartbreaking and lyrical stare in the face at death.  Martin McDonagh is tackling The Big Themes with ferocity and honesty, and I was deeply moved.  But let's start with why you didn't care for the film...

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DGA Nominees: Field, Kosinski, McDonagh, Spielberg, and The Daniels

by Nathaniel R

Todd Field and Cate Blanchett for "Tar". Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP

The Directors Guild of America released their nominations yesterday. In their main Oscar-correlative prize they hewed very close to what is seen as the "top five" for Oscar's Best Picture race. Historically speaking, in a counter-intuitive twist, the DGA nominations each year have a closer correlation to eventual Best Picture nominations than the Best Director shortlist. That was of course easier to notice before the new world of the "Expanded Best Picture" lineup of the past 14 years. The exception to this general principle of 'if it's up for the DGA it'll be up for Best Picture' certainty is the nomination for Todd Field for TÁR. While the film has a great shot at making the 10 wide Best Picture list, it's not generally considered one of the top five contenders and could theoretically be snubbed still, given that more than 10 films still seem plausible as contenders. As a result Field is looking very strong in Best Director as the Academy votes on their nominations this week...

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Team Experience Predictions Chart - Round 4 - Post Holidays, Pre Awards Shows

We're polling the Team Film Experience on where the Oscar race stands. This week Best Picture, Director, and the Acting and Writing categories.

It has been over a month since we’ve checked in on the directing, acting and writing categories. Since then, Avatar has soared at the box office, Babylon has flopped and both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards have announced their nominations. Some categories look completely different than they did at the end of November. Others, funny enough, remain the same. One category has a contender who is unanimously on the top of everyone’s predictions… and it’s not the one you think. 

Check out our predictions after the jump…

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Through Her Lens (Season Finale): The 83rd Oscars + 2010s RECAP

A series by Juan Carlos Ojano. Introduction / Explanation

After Kathryn Bigelow’s historic Director win at the previous Oscars for The Hurt Locker, the 2010 roster of nominees returned to the usual all-male lineup. The eventual five were pretty much unquestioned. David Fincher was the early frontrunner for Facebook drama The Social Network. Darren Aronofsky and David O. Russell received their first nominations in this category for the psychological horror Black Swan and the sports drama The Fighter, respectively. The inclusion of the Coen Brothers was considered a semi-surprise for the late-breaking Western True Grit. Ultimately, the winner was Tom Hooper for the Best Picture-winning historical drama The King’s Speech. 

Given that context, it is still a bit discouraging to see the return to normal especially with two female-directed films also up for Best Picture: Lisa Cholodenko’s dramedy The Kids are All Right and Debra Granik’s mystery drama Winter’s Bone. Both films received four nominations, though neither secured any wins. Women were also largely absent from the Best Director conversation. Out of the 248 films included in the Reminder List of Eligible Films in 2010 (83rd Academy Awards), only 24 (9.7%) were directed/co-directed by women...

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Oscar Volley: Which five will be named "Best Director"?

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Eric Blume and Glenn Dunks...  

THE FABELMANS

ERIC:  Glenn, before we get to this year's nominees, I just want to celebrate the Academy's relative great taste in this category compared to most others.  It's phenomenal that only once in the last 14 years has this award gone to a straight white American man (Damien Chazelle, deservedly in my opinion).  In those years, we've had three women, two Asian men, two Brits, and a French guy who have won, plus three great Latin filmmakers (including double wins for Iñárritu and Cuarón).  It's the category where they now have diversity and true talent.  I might have chosen differently in any given year, but none of the filmmakers are bad or untalented.  Tom Hooper beating David Fincher didn't land back then and certainly hasn't aged well, but regardless it's a great category filled with remarkable work.

This year, it seems our one lock is Steven Spielberg?  He wouldn't be in my top five, but he's received the reviews and the industry is in his back pocket...

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