Thoughts I Had... Rewatching "The Dark Knight"

by Nathaniel R

Why so serious? Yes, you're 10 years older on this anniversary of The Dark Knight's release and probably watching the world burn with significantly less glee than The Joker would but still. Lighten up! At least we have the movies! I was commissioned to write a piece about The Dark Knight's Oscar history elsewhere but I jotted down more film-centric notes during a recent rewatch and will now share them here.

This a chronological skip through the movie. It made such a cultural impact you surely remember its release and maybe even the circumstances in which you saw it. If so, do share in the comments. Ready? Let's press play...

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What will Israel submit to the Oscars?

by Nathaniel

Flawless, which is called "The Prom" at home stars Stav Strashko (the one behind the wheel) who is a trans actress

The Ophir nominations were recently announced in Israel and we thought we'd share their Best Picture nominees. The winner of the Ophir -- which will be announced September 6th -- is almost always submitted for the Oscar's Foreign Language Film category. There are two LGBTQ films in the mix this year. Thanks to our loyal Israeli reader Yonatan for alerting us to the nominees. They're after the jump along with some stats about Israel's history with the Oscars and in US arthouse movie theaters...

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Burning Question: Most egregious Weinstein-backed Oscar Nods?

Upon seeing Harvey Weinstein in handcuffs yesterday our friend Rob asked a very timely question on Twitter which we though we'd share here for rabid discussion purposes. 

In the spirit of the day: Which ridiculous Oscar nomination that Harvey Weinstein facilitated was the most infuriatingly egregious?

My personal vote goes to Chocolat's 5 nominations (including Best Picture!!!) in 2000. The fluffy disposable film was nominated over obviously well-liked films like Billy Elliott, Wonder Boys, and Almost Famous... and great but divisive films like Dancer in the Dark and. 

And though Juliette Binoche is one of the all time great screen actors, there was simply no excuse for that Best Actress nod when Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and Björk (Dancer in the Dark) were both RIGHT THERE, totally inspired, and more than worthy of nominations. Even further outside the race there were still other leading ladies who were running circles around one of Binoche's least impressive performances including Michelle Pfeiffer's genre transcending in What Lies Beneath, Renée Zellweger's comic skill in Nurse Betty, and Gillian Anderson, all tragic and ravishing in The House of Mirth! 

But what's your answer to the question? And if you are 2000 focused, please let us know you're ideal Best Picture/Best Actress lineup that year.

Blueprints: "Juno"

This week Juno celebrated its tenth anniversary, so Jorge takes a look at how Diablo Cody’s iconic dialogue was inflicted with meaning by the cast.

Juno first hit theaters ten years ago as a low budget indie hopeful. It ended its run as a major box office hit and Oscar favorite. It was the movie that put Ellen Page on the map, boosted Jason Reitman’s career, and gave us arguably the definitive Jennifer Garner performance. 

Screenwriter Diablo Cody won the Oscar for her debut screenplay, and she instantly became a recognizable name, the way many directors but few writers are. And not without merit. One of Juno’s biggest legacy is its quick-witted, snarky dialogue that, many times since then, has tried to be replicated...

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110 days 'til Oscar. More Lord of the Rings?

It's only eleventy days until Hollywood's High Holy Night. If you aren't familiar with "eleventy" think back to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

That whole Oscar winning trilogy kicks off with the celebration of Bilbo Baggins eleventy-firth birthday or 111th birthday in human years. Eleventy can refer to 110 or numbers much larger; one stops counting after awhile...

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