BestPicture Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is going to pull a Sir Mix-A-Lot and "Uh! Double up, uh uh!" the Best Picture category next year with ten nominees instead of the usual five. That's twice as many nominations as before, although it seems to only be limited to the Best Picture category, which is a shame because opening up at least the major categories could make things a lot more interesting.

The announcement on Variety today was extremely short, but the Academy has a press release up already stating that they're hearkening back to Oscars roots when the Best Picture category sometimes contained ten films (or more -- 12 in 1934 and 1935), although that hasn't been the case since 1943. Despite the doubling, Academy president Sid Ganis wants to remind you, "The final outcome, of course, will be the same -– one Best Picture winner."

Gee, thanks Sid. For a minute there we thought you'd really just decided to shoot for the moon and feature three Best Picture winners in a publicity stunt. Now how about you guys get to work on the show for next year and get Stephen Colbert to host? That's worth doubling up for.

Which films do you think will now make the cut? Pixar's Up is a definite contender ... what else?

When I first saw the Chicago Tribune headline "'Crash' remains top DVD rental,' I was really hoping it was referring to Cronenberg's 1996 film about car crash fetishists. Sadly, it was referring to the Oscar-winning film from 2005 about interconnected Los Angelinos and their issues with class, race, and general navel-gazing.

Even Crash's director Paul Haggis isn't sure why his movie is still top of the pops at Netflix. He told the Chicago Tribune, "I just assumed it was some sort of anomaly... I have no idea why anyone went to the movie in the first place, let alone rent it. It was a little independent film, and when people started to see it, I was amazed."

Haggis, along with many viewers, was also surprised his movie won the Oscar for best picture in 2005, beating out Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, and Munich. "It's certainly not a perfect movie," Haggis said. "I love the Oscars; I just think they are the best thing in the world, but if you asked me if it was the best film of the year, I'd say, 'Of course not.'" (So would a lot of people.)

It might have something to do with the Netflix recommending algorithm, which is great but definitely fallible -- it seems to think I want to see 27 Dresses and Henry Poole is Here. Or maybe people are really committed to watching all 81 best picture winners now that they're unemployed. What's your guess?

So long as there are movies, they will have endings, and so long as there are endings, we will have spoilers, and so long as there are spoilers, the Fine Brothers will be sure to cover the lot of 'em in a remarkably condensed span of time.

Yes, from the makers of "100 Movie Spoilers in 4 Minutes" comes all Best Picture winners (and this year's nominees) spoiled in 5! That's right, five glorious minutes of all the action, intrigue, romance, Crash-bashing and Milk-mocking one could possibly ask for -- and yet again, clothing is optional. (Even Meg Ryan's back in the mix!) And if you think Hitchcock didn't want late moviegoers to know the ending of his films, it's a good thing he didn't see these videos.

I admittedly went with some selective muting when watching the earlier portion (sorry if we haven't all seen How Green Was My Valley), but the provided trivia up top and take-offs later on were welcome still. Kudos, you brothers from an entirely different mother I don't hardly know myself, for keeping even the spoiler-wary entertained.

If you don't already have plans for Saturday, February 24, I have the best option for what to do -- provided you live near a participating AMC theater, that is. The cinema chain is offering an amazing deal to moviegoers on the eve of the Oscars: for the price of $30, you can see all five films nominated for best picture. Of course, you have to watch them in a row, from 11am to 11:30pm (or whatever time the 9:45 showing of Little Miss Sunshine lets out). In addition to the movies, though, you also get a large popcorn, a large drink -- with unlimited refills all day long -- and a "collectible pass."

Now, I can see if this is a little too much movie for most people to handle, but I can't express enough how good a deal it is. Plus, you could always leave before Sunshine (I would; I hate it), if you fear a numb butt (try to imagine 24 hours!). Considering I still need to see two of the nominees, it would be worth it for me to attend the whole marathon since at the participating megaplex in Manhattan two movies and concessions would run me about $30 anyway (unless I theater-hopped).

On the night of September 11, 2001, I got online and shared a few conversations with pals from around the world. I'm sure those discussions were a lot like the ones you had with your friends and family: The shock, the fury, the overwhelming helplessness, the heart-wrenching sympathy for the victims and their families. But since I'll often use humor as a defense mechanism (yes, even in the very bleakest moments), I remember asking a few of my film critic colleagues: "Hey, how long do you think it'll be before Hollywood decides to make a few biopics about what happened today?"

And now here we are, just over five years later, and 2006 has yielded not one but two rather distinctive takes on what went down during the blackest day in our nation's history. Universal's United 93 was the first one out of the gate, focusing on the final hours of some stunningly heroic "average Joes" who chose to fight back -- even as they knew it was probably the last thing they'd ever do. Fortunately, it was every bit the sobering and respectful film we all hoped it would be. A few months later came Paramount's World Trade Center, which told the tale from the perspective of two NYC Port Authority police officers who became trapped under tons of concrete rubble. Again, the filmmakers took a heartfelt and admirably sincere approach to the story, giving us a look at a massive tragedy through the eyes of two normal American families.

Aside from the events that inspired their creation, the two films couldn't possibly be more different -- and now that Oscar season has rolled around yet again, the experts are extra-busy handicapping which movie should win what and which movie doesn't deserve squat. So I thought it might be interesting to do a little "compare & contrast" on the films, focusing mainly on which sections might be considered most Oscar-worthy ...

You know how, once upon a time, you were mad and wanted to write a letter? And someone who liked you said you should, like, not mail it for 24 hours? Well, it seems nobody ever told that to Annie Proulx. In a piece for The Guardian, Proulx -- the author of the short story "Brokeback Mountain" -- shares her recollections of Oscar night in a piece that's scathing, coarse and wrathful, not the usual 'honor to be nominated' platitudes.

Proulx's honesty is refreshing, and a little scary -- and at the same time, it's worth noting that the piece didn't run in a U.S. paper. Already stirring up discussion over at The Hot Button, Proulx's rant may -- just may -- be the worst case of sour grapes captured in ink (and she admits as such). I can't think of the last time a person associated with a film lashed out like this -- but, with academic and financial acclaim, I also can't think of what, if anything, Proulx has to lose. (And read The Rocchi Report for more on the Crash-vs-Brokeback fight ... and how it's bad news for everyone involved.)

For the second Super Bowl weekend in a row, Sony/Screen Gems scored big with an anonymous horror remake. When a Stranger Calls was only "courtesy screened" for online critics – meaning most of us couldn't get a review up early enough to get any kind of negative meme going – and most print pundits were unimpressed; Frank Scheck at the Hollywood Reporter speaks for many when he says the film "[is] designed to capitalize on the title and premise of the original but offers little to those who fondly remember it." But take a look at the competition: shrugworthy holdovers from earlier weeks dominated the top five, with Big Momma's House 2 and Nanny McPhee landing at number two and three. The biggest box office news of the weekend comes, once again, from Brokeback Mountain. Focus took the Best Picture frontrunner up to 2,000 screens, allowing the cowboy romance to ride its eight Oscar nominations all the way up to fourth place. The film has made (and this is not a typo) almost $60 million thus far. Full top ten after the jump.

Okay, that's it. We're going to bed. Take a look at our collected drivel from tonight's Golden Globes live blog below, and we'll be back to recap the highlights in the morning. In the meantime, the best caption on this picture by tomorrow at noon EST earns a Cinematical T-shirt. And if anyone caught a screencap of Drew Barrymore in that green dress ... um, holla.

Golden Globes: Best Actress - Drama
Golden Globes: Best Actor - Drama
Golden Globes: Best Picture - Musical or Comedy
Golden Globes: Best Actor Musical or Comedy
Golden Globes: Lifetime Achievement
Golden Globes: Best Director
Golden Globes: Best screenplay shocker!
Golden Globes: Foreign film stuff
Golden Globes: Tim Robbins looks like crap
Golden Globes: Mary-Louise Parker wants to make out
Golden Globes: Karina's less kick-ass picks
Golden Globes: Reese Witherspoon wins Best Actress - Comedy
Golden Globes: Patrick Dempsey, not pretty enough
Golden Globes: Put a bra on Drew!
Golden Globes: Sandra Oh, goddess
Golden Globes: Superman is looking a little post-goth
Erik's kick ass Golden Globe picks
Golden Globes: Best Supporting Actor & Actress