True Oscar Stories: Hey Nonny, Nonny

Emma Thompson was nominated for Best Actress in 1993 for Remains of the Day in which she is very good but it really should have been for Much Ado About Nothing, in which she is utterly radiant, the classiest and most consummate romantic comedy lead the 90s could have ever dreamt up.

The following year, the Oscars made the same mistake nominating Winona Ryder for period drama Little Women instead of the post-collegiate comedy Reality Bites, which I'd argue is her single greatest screen performance if less iconic than her star turns in Beetlejuice or Heathers. 

The moral of this story: Even when they're great, comedies have such a tough time being appreciated in their time. Soon you'll be able to add Frances Ha (2013) to that infinite list of under-rewarded laughers!

Monologue: "Sense and Sensibility"

Andrew here with your weekly monologue.

Of the half dozen, or so actresses, who ruled the awards’ races in the nineties Emma Thompson’s reign of the decade is my favourite, especially for how it subverts the notions of what kind of performances awards bodies like to honor. Usually, dissenters of award competitions cry out that they're intrinsically terrible always mistaking the Biggest for the Best but the love affair with Emma in the 90s is proof as good as any that quiet excellence can be appreciated, too. Emma’s exceptionally worthy Oscar win for Margaret Schlegel in Howards End (1992) is one of the most low-key turns to have earned the statue. Yet more muted is her Elinor Dashwood three years later in Sense and Sensibility (1995), the deliverer of this week's monologue. 

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Monologue: Judi Dench in “Shakespeare in Love” (and at the Oscars )

Andrew here. Jose was just talking about Romeo & Juliet so there's our blogging segueway to Shakespeare in Love! I love this movie, despite the less than stellar reputation it's built up since its release 15 years ago. I’d argue that it’s the most successfully executed romantic comedy in the past 20 years. Those that claime that Shakespeare in Love is little more than a bauble often forget that it was penned by one of the finest English language dramatists of the 20th century, Tom Stoppard. Films written by playwrights work well for this column because playwrights are innately aware that monologues are like great set-pieces to show off the acting craft. Shakespeare in Love is filled with monologues and sotto voce asides and it’s not just because of Stoppard’s playwright sensibilities. The very best trick Stoppard plays in Shakespeare in Love is delightfully imping Shakespeare’s technique in the film.

But the monologue. Today we focus on that slight, but effective Supporting turn which won the Oscar.

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Podcast: 12 Years A Slave To Horrors

Nick and Joe join Nathaniel to discuss the Chicago Film Festival where they're catching movies like August: Osage County during the day and falling asleep watching old Oscar broadcasts chez Nick (1991 and 2006 make vital cameo appearances in this 'cast). That's our kind of weekend!

We all share the love for Steve McQueen's amazingly powerful 12 Years a Slave which Nathaniel has just seen a second time. Then we're on to discussing some horror classics which we've been thinking about due to our recent Team Top Ten lists of the best of that genre. Horror films briefly discussed include: Carrie, Rosemary's Baby, The Night of the Living Dead, Carnival of Souls, Misery and Suspiria. 

You can listen at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes. Join in the conversation in the comments.

12 Years a Slave to Horror

Team Top Ten: Biggest Awards Season Flops

Amir here, to bring you our newest edition of Team Top Ten. Festival season is in full force. Telluride just wrapped. Venice is going strong. And in just two days, Toronto will set the awards season ablaze (Nathaniel and I will be there covering the flames). So we thought we’d vote on something that captures the spirit of the season.

Sort of.

Looking ahead at this point, there are a lot of films that look like surefire Oscar contenders. Inevitably, some of them will miss out on nomination morning, but at this very moment, everyone’s got their hopes high. Even in a year where unfortunate circumstances led to widespread discussion of racism in America, one can’t expect Mandela, 12 Years a Slave, Lee Daniels' The Butler AND Fruitvale Station to be nominated, but all four films are certainly gunning for it. So has been the story with many films in the past couple of decades, since the Oscars became the most glamorous political race on the planet and the Weinstein’s at Miramax supercharged awards campaigning.  

We’re looking back today at the films of the past 25 years – let’s call it the Campaigning Era – that looked like major Oscar players this far out in the year, or hell, even five minutes before nominations were announced in some cases, but failed to make a dent of any size. This is Team Experience’s Top Ten Awards Season Flops. Note that this is not a qualitative judgment - some stank, some were superb. But, for one reason or another, they fell short of what The Golden Man deems "Best". In simple terms – borrowed from Team Experience member, Nick Davis – these are the ten films that have the largest gap between their Oscar hopes and their Oscar outcomes. Without further ado… 

Bobby and 9 more dashed-hopefuls after the jump...

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