I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved that Oscar season is over. All the hype and excitement and almost 24 hours after the ceremony it disintegrates into “time for a break.” That’s why you won’t see my early 2012 Oscar predictions this week. I have some, but seriously, enough already. This year was [...]

Well, fans of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” can boast that their favorite film of 2010 tied for the most Oscars at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, but the more meaningful hardware went to “The King’s Speech,” which won where it counts: Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor and of course, Best Picture. It wasn’t the [...]

Well, the moment some of you have been waiting for, my Best Picture prediction. But rather than give it to you plain and simple, I will explain to you how you can impress your present company during the ceremony. There should be a few telltale signs of how the big categories will turn out. I [...]

One of the fiercest duels at the Academy Awards on Sunday night will be for Best Director. The category probably has the most prestige of any Oscar presented and usually serves as an indicator of Best Picture. The tale behind last year’s battle, two filmmakers (Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron) at one point married to [...]

And this is where the Oscars officially become a popularity contest. They should really rename these categories “Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role Who Deserves an Award.” No, the “deserves a reward part” doesn’t necessarily mean for that performance, but for their career. That’s especially the case for Best Actor, because there [...]

In years such as this one, we’re reminded that “supporting actor” and “supporting actress” are mere distinguishing titles, because quite often we find that the supporting actors overshadow the leads or have a stronger voice in the film. A couple heavy contenders in these categories fit that bill, but rather than complain about not having [...]

Currently, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes two specific kinds of films as worthy of their own category: Foreign language film and animated film. Perhaps one day we’ll see a Comedy/Musical category or Independent category to give some recognition to films who never have a chance with the big boys/heavy-hitters, but that’s [...]

If you thought I had no clue in the race for animated and live-action short films, let us move on to the documentary films, where my uncertainty trumps all. Many of these films are available on Netflix Instant Play, but I have yet to dive in — for shame. That certainly does not do how [...]

In order to complete my predictions, I have to dive into these categories of live and animated shorts, and more often than not I cannot access them online. So, these are all researched guesses at best. If the 2011 Oscar Shorts are playing near you, I suggest you check it out if you’re more curious. [...]

It all starts with the word on the page, and this year’s screenplays in both the original and adapted categories are more impressive than usual. We have an other-worldly imaginative script in “Inception” and a gritty real-life portrayal of rural Missouri in “Winter’s Bone.” The coolest part is that without the original/adapted distinction, you might [...]

On to the musical categories of the 2011 Oscars. 2010 turned out to be a great year for music in film. The Best Score categories has names both familiar and new and even new/familiar in the fact that Trent Reznor represents the growing trend to bring in musicians known best outside of the film community [...]

I conclude the “technical portion” of my Oscar predictions with these two categories, perhaps the most important of all the behind-the-scenes work done on a film. Both the editor and cinematographer have a direct impact on the final product, no matter what the director says or does. As you might expect, directors don’t like trusting [...]

How easily we can forget the importance of these three categories. While some sets, costumes and makeup design stand out to us as breathtakingly impressive — especially in the genres of fantasy and science fiction — in the case of most films, it’s about creating the illusion of a specific place and time. Science fiction [...]

Well, it’s Groundhog Day, and while Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow and spring will come early, Movie Muse will do nothing to cut short  you four more weeks of Oscar. The site enjoyed a golden age during Oscar month last year in terms of traffic, so I figured despite all the work involved [...]

And they’re up! I’ve got your list of Oscar nominees this morning along with how my predictions checked out. “The King’s Speech” blew away the pack with 12 nominations. Best Picture favorite “The Social Network” had eight by comparison, but there’s no question “Speech” has begun to turn the tide a little bit. We’ll see [...]