New Reviews

After much toil and hard work, pushing myself to this end, I present my Top Ten of 2007 along with reviews for all films detailed in the list. You can also look at individual categories on the 2007 Annual Page. In the article, I discuss the year's best and worst films as well as the best performances and design work for the year. Below are links to all of this week's new reviews.

Reviews: Reviews by Year
Reviews: 2007 Year in Review
Reviews: Away from Her
Reviews: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Reviews: Eastern Promises
Reviews: The Golden Compass
Reviews: Gone Baby Gone
Reviews: Hairspray
Reviews: The Lookout
Reviews: Margot at the Wedding
Reviews: National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Reviews: Once
Reviews: The Orphanage
Reviews: Sweeney Todd
Reviews: Waitress
Reviews: Zodiac

-Wesley Lovell (February 2, 2008)

New Reviews

This week, we have three new reviews. I'm trying to get things updated so I can put up my Top Ten list of 2007. I'm hoping to have it done before the Academy Awards, but I have several films left to put on paper before I can post it. This week, we have There Will Be Blood, Juno and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Reviews: Reviews by Year
Reviews: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Reviews: Juno
Reviews: There Will Be Blood

-Wesley Lovell (January 26, 2008)

New Reviews

As I promised, we have more new reviews this week. Although I should have plenty to update two per week until Oscar, I will caution you that some weeks may be slow or non-existent still dependent on mood. However, for the time being, here are reviews of two of this year's best films (so far). Atonement is a surprisingly minimal period romance starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in what could easily be considered supporting roles. I'm also posting my thoughts on the latest Ang Lee picture Lust, Caution a beautiful story of a spy who must reconcile her feelings for the man she's destined to watch die. Both are flawed flms, but each feature wonderful performances, beautiful musical scores and vivid photography.

Reviews: Reviews by Year
Reviews: Atonement
Reviews: Lust, Caution

-Wesley Lovell (December 15, 2007)

New Reviews

I'm about to shock you all and post two, count 'em, TWO new reviews. I have over a dozen I've watched and am working my way through now to post reviews, so you should be expecting one or two new reviews each week through Oscar time...I have that many to catalog. Today, we look at two disappointments. Enchanted was poised to be a self-effacing movie for Disney, but turned out to be nothing more than the traditional reverential pulp. Reservation Road sank in its promise of an involving story and we were left with a ho-hum one instead.

Reviews: Reviews by Year
Reviews: Enchanted
Reviews: Reservation Road

-Wesley Lovell (December 8, 2007)

A Nightmare on Elm Street: My Halloween Review Special

The A Nightmare on Elm Street series has had its ups and downs, but one thing remains constant: it is one of the most consistently inventive and entertaining horror film series in history. For Halloween, I've decided to take a look back at the eight films that have featured the nightmre killer Freddy Krueger. From the 1984 original through the 1994 New Nightmare and including the psycho-killer slash-off Freddy vs. Jason.

Just click on the links below to go to the individual pages and read my thoughts on the best and worst of the franchise.

Reviews: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Reviews: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Reviews: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors
Reviews: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Reviews: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Reviews: Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
Reviews: Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Reviews: Freddy vs. Jason

-Wesley Lovell (October 31, 2007)

New Reviews

Although I would like to be posting two new reviews today, I just haven't had the time to work on another. I also haven't been to the theater in several weeks and the films I have been watching, I'm reserving for a special series I plan for late this year or early-to-mid 2008. The other thing that's been keeping me busy is the finalization work I've been doing on this site. This means that the Oscars section, which has been underpopulated since the new site went up, has seem some new additions today and should be fully functional in time for Oscar season in November/December.

Until then, enjoy this review for the mostly-forgettable, but sometimes engaging The Nanny Diaries.

Reviews: Reviews by Year
Reviews: The Nanny Diaries

-Wesley Lovell (September 15, 2007)

New Reviews

Today, you'll find two new film reviews posted. The Bourne Ultimatum starring Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Albert Finney and Julia Stiles. It's the third film in the series and Paul Green Grass returns to the helm for the second time.

Also posting is Stardust which features Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sienna Miller and Claire Danes in a fantasy adventure film.

Reviews: Reviews by Year
Reviews: The Bourne Ultimatum
Reviews: Stardust

-Wesley Lovell (September 8, 2007)

Upcoming Articles

2006 was an interesting year in motion pictures. My Top Ten list is updated now and you can find the article listed below

2006: Year in Review

-Wesley Lovell (January 7, 2007)

Best Picture History

I hinted at a surprise last week and here it is. One week ahead of anticipated schedule, I have finished all of the reviews. I am posting the final eight films with this update and turning the fifteenth week into the culminating retrospective.

These eight films are an unusually high quality bunch feating the best and the worst films ever selected for Best Picture. While I'm reserve the reveal of those two films for next week, you should have no problem figuring out which I feel is worst.

Starting out this update, we have the second longest best picture winner in history. Topping the charts by two minutes was Gone With the Wind. Dances with Wolves comes in at a whopping 236 minutes. While the film is intensely tedious at times, there are quite a few moving moments capturing the essence of the struggle of Native Americans to retain their land after the Civil War.

Following Dances into Best Picture history was one of the most surprising and laudable choices the Academy has ever made. Bucking the tradition of ignoring thrillers and horror films, Silence of the Lambs took the coveted trophy away form some very worth films. Though it wasn't the best of its year, you can't begrudge such a daring choice. Thankfully it wasn't a bad choice of films to recognize.

Finishing up the western renaissance at the Academy Awards, Clint Eastwood Unforgiven took the prize for Best Picture. Though I prefer The Crying Game, Unforgiven is still a quality and entertaining film.

Encapsulating the Academy's penchant for anything dealing with the Holocaust, the terrific film Schindler's List took the top prize after a universally acclaimed series of reviews and precursors. It is an absolutely wonderful motion picture even if its subject is one of the most depressing ever filmed.

When the Academy has a chance to recognize a highly popular and uplifting film, it grabs that opportunity. Forrest Gump benefited from an attempt by the Academy to halt the criticism of its four-year violent streak. Gump isn't a great film, it's entertaining but Best Picture it was not.

Then the Academy made the worst series of decisions it ever has. They started off by ignoring two of the year's best films, Leaving Las Vegas and Dead Man Walking and then ended everything with the terrible choice of Braveheart for Best Picture.

Finishing out the two years of this update are two romantic epics. The English Patient is a moving portrait of a love that endures torment and death. Layering multiple stories into a coherent narraive, Patient is the kind of romantic drama that Out of Africa could only wish it was.

And finally we have the biggest romantic epic of all time, topping even Gone With the Wind. Titanic takes a tragic part of oceanic history and blends in a convincing and moving love story. It's the highest grossing film of all time prior to ticket inflation adjustments. It also tied the record for most Academy Awards and nominations in one fell swoop.

This week's surprise turns into next week's finale. Marking my fifteenth and final week of updates in my Academy Awards Best Picture retrospective, I will be counting down the best and worst Best Picture winners in the history of the Academy. With a small introduction here, I'll lead you to entire page featuring all 78 films ranked. The list is complete but you'll have to wait one more week to find out.

Following that, I will recap 2006. I've been behind on reviews, but I will be posting reviews of the ten best films of the year.

Please note that the previous fourteen weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1990: Dances With Wolves
1991: The Silence of the Lambs
1992: Unforgiven
1993: Schindler's List
1994: Forrest Gump
1995: Braveheart
1996: The English Patient
1997: Titanic

-Wesley Lovell (January 10, 2006)

Best Picture History

No period of Oscar history is without its shameful choices. Today's update is no less marred. Although none of the movies being covered today are outright terrible as several movies of the 1990s and 2000s, there are still films that fail to live up to the quality of such esteemed Best Picture choices as It Happened One Night and Lawrence of Arabia.

The only film of this update that fits among those luminary pictures is Driving Miss Daisy. It's a powerful character study of two seemingly different people who share so many similarities that their relationship is one of mutual discovery and acceptance. The film holds a special place in my heart as it was the first film I remember loving and it is the first film I ever cheered on to Academy Awards victory.

The Last Emperor is an equally challenging character piece about China's last dynastic heir. Pu Yi must come to terms with life as a common man banished from his home in the Forbidden City but always searching for a way to recapture his youth. The film is stunning to look at and easily pulls the audience into its emotional grasp.

Failing to amount to much more than a mild piece of entertainment, Rain Man works hard to make the audience see the brilliant autistic man played by Dustin Hoffman as normal while being anything but. It's about the relationship between him and his selfish brother. However much I appreciate its sentiment, I can't help but feel slightly unimpressed with the film.

American Beauty served up a glossy helping of dysfunction featuring a family so twisted that they're almost comical. Although the film is immeasurably involving, a rather unnecessarily manic performance from Kevin Spacey threatens to bring the film down around his look-at-me style.

These first four films all feature somber finales that leave the audience emotionally drained but the fifth film this week does anything but. Shakespeare in Love is a romantic comedy that seems to revel in its own brilliance. Though it is flawed in many respects, it is no less entertaining and is a welcome diversion to the more serious subjects also presented herein.

Though we're not looking at the best grouping of five in this entire series of updates, it is nonetheless ineteresting to see them compared side by side. Each take place at a different place and time yet all share common themes of acceptance and love in the face of turmoil. They exemplify the style of picture Academy members tend to recognize time and time again. They honor great historical figures in epic motion pictures, small character dramas about love and friendship, and period films with gorgeous sets and costumes. This set is very close to the perfect embodiment of Oscar taste. If there were a film as mindnumbingly simple as The Greatest Show on Earth or as egotistical as Braveheart in the mix, it might just be that representational grouping.

The end is nigh! With only eight features left to review, stay tuned for next week...you might get a nice surprise!

Please note that the previous thirteen weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1987: The Last Empreror
1988: Rain Man
1989: Driving Miss Daisy
1999: American Beauty
1998: Shakespeare in Love

-Wesley Lovell (January 3, 2006)

Best Picture History

Looking at this update's films, it would be difficult not to see the more modern choices pale when propped up against such lofty and laudable films.

Starting off this period is the musical biopic Amadeus about the legendary composer. It features two outstanding performances and is undeniably enjoyable to watch. Even when morose, the film feels energetic and prescient.

The same cannot be said for Out of Africa. Meryl Streep's engaging performance aside, Africa is somewhat of a chore to sit through featuring several unimportant characters given too much screen time in this lush and gorgeous, though non-dynamic film.

The final film from the 1980s this week is a terrific war film called Platoon. Even though the Vietname War had been over for nearly a decade, the film still feels every bit as important as it might have had it been made in the early seventies. It helps prop up the 1980s as a surprisingly strong decade of Best Picture winners, soon to be bolstered by next week's films.

Even with Out of Africa's problems, the film is a significant improvement over the two that round out this update. Gladiator is the better of the two remaining films. Russell Crowe does a good job in the film, though the picture is too much a rehash of the Biblical epic Ben-Hur for my tastes.

A Beautiful Mind does not have the luxury of having mimicry as a defense. It is not only an original screenplay but a relatively bad one. As screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman delivers a portrayal of an interesting person. Unfortunately, it's up to the actors to add any measure of depth to their roles for Goldsman has neglected them significantly. The film would stand as a slight appendix to a broader, more interesting topic that is left significantly unexplored.

Only three weeks to go. Next week I'll be looking at the years 1987 through 1989, 1998 and 1999. They are an interesting group of pictures and should make for an interesting comparison.

Please note that the previous twelve weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1984: Amadeus
1985: Out of Africa
1986: Platoon
2001: A Beautiful Mind
2000: Gladiator

-Wesley Lovell (December 26, 2006)

Best Picture History

Another week completed and we have another three films from the 1980s plus two from recent years.

The five films updated this week share very little other than their Best Picture wins. Chariots of Fire is a film about the 1924 Olympics and isn't your typical inspiration sports pic.

Gandhi is a biopic of the famed Indian pacifist which yields a terrific performance from thesp Ben Kingsley. Terms of Endearment is a comedy about the bonds between mother and daughter and their separate lives featuring several wonderful performances including Debra Winger and Shirley MacLaine. Chicago is a grand movie musical in the tradition of Cabaret and West Side Story featuring great performances and largely wonderful music.

And last, though certainly not least, is the grandaddy fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Along with its two other Best Picture nominated prequels, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is film history's greatest of any genre.

Each film represents a wide cross section of the Academy's tastes over the years. If you exclude the Academy's choices of Cimarron and Unforgiven, every films in this update could easily be compared to one or more other Best Picture winners. This is a tremendous cross section of Academy tastes and, barring Gandhi and Chariots of Fire, a rather impressive group of pics.

Next week, we'll take a look at 1984-86 and 2000-01, continuing our previous pattern. We're getting down to the wire with only four more weeks to go.

Please note that the previous eleven weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1981: Chariots of Fire
1982: Gandhi
1983: Terms of Endearment
2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2002: Chicago

-Wesley Lovell (December 19, 2006)

Best Picture History

Though I love that I can get caught up with movies through Netflix, I am quite a bit disappointed in how they have delayed the distribution of films despite my prompt return. Suffice it to say, this week and subsequent weeks are about to see a major shift in presentation.

Starting this week, I am reviewing approximately two to three films following the previous trend plus taking a look back at the most recent Best Picture winners.

From 1978 through 1980, the three films that won the Best Picture prize explore different subjects, but two bear similarities. The Deer Hunter begins this line up with a war film that is uncomprising in its exploration of the traumas of war.

In 1979 and 1980, respectively, the films Kramer vs. Kramer and Ordinary People present more intimate portraits. Each is a more compact story and both are significantly more interesting. Ordinary People is intensely emotional and features terrific performances with Hutton topping the more experienced Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland.

Kramer vs. Kramer takes an interesting look at parental rights and responsibilities. It effectively displays how a father can be just as important in a child's life as his mother.

When looking at recent Oscar winners, I'm struck by how completely different the themes are. While the Academy has steered clear of controversial subject matters in the past, there were decidedly different feels to their choices of 25 years ago as compared to today. Crash is the kind of ensemble feature that has never previously won an Oscar. The film features more than a dozen characters, each with comparatively equal time on screen. There isn't an adequate comparison in all of Oscar history.

While Crash's win is an anomaly and still regarded as one of Oscar's recent disaster's, the film that preceded it doesn't have a lot of detractors. Million Dollar Baby is a well-acted touching drama about a boxer whose success through adversity is ultimately tragic. Oscar rarely recognizes films without a significant message of hope at the end. Million could thus be considered as antithetical to Oscar history as Crash is.

Next week's update will continue as the current fashion with two to three films in sequence (1981 forward) and the remaining of the five slots filled with films from recent periods (2003 and back). These updates will continue until all films converge in one final update.

Please note that the previous ten weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1978: The Deer Hunter
1979: Kramer vs. Kramer
1980: Ordinary People
2005: Crash
2004: Million Dollar Baby

-Wesley Lovell (December 12, 2006)

Best Picture History

When The Godfather won Best Picture in 1972, it lost a number of awards to musical Cabaret including Best Director. In 1974, the second part of the trilogy, The Godfather, Part IIearned Francis Ford Coppola his deserved Oscar for Best Director and also became the first sequel to take home the top prize.

The Godfather, Part II could almost be better than the original, but the race is most definitely tight. Another great film from this period if Woody Allen's comic masterpiece Annie Hall. The film takes a hilarious look at the tortured relationship between Allen's character and the titular Annie Hall played by Oscar winner Diane Keaton.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a funny, touching and disturbing look at life inside a mental institution. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher won companion acting Oscars for the film, helping it to become only the second film in Oscar history to take the top 5 prizes (Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay).

The fourth title from this five-year period is The Sting. While matching the style of many of the bank heist films of recent years, The Sting differs greatly in its Roaring Twenties period setting and design. The film is good but not to the level of quality of the films in between which it sits (the first two Godfather films).

The final picture in this update is the boxing drama Rocky. This film may have set in motion a series of successful sequels but it's not the kind of film the Academy has typically recognized. Its selection as Best Picture is somewhat confusing especially considering the film isn't up to the technical quality of many other pictures that took home the same prize.

Because I have been unable to obtain all of the Best Picture winners in a timely manner, next week's update may start a new trend for the remainder of the lists. In addition to two or three films from the next five year period, I will be supplementing the list with films from the last 10 years, for many of which I may already have written reviews. I will do my best to keep the trend alive and review films in order, but some things may not be able to be avoided. However, expect a number of emotionally-charged dramas to feature prominently in next week's update.

Please note that the previous nine weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1973: The Sting
1974: The Godfather, Part II
1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976: Rocky
1977: Annie Hall

-Wesley Lovell (December 8, 2006)

Best Picture History

As we look back at the 1960s and 1970s, we are reminded that the Academy had an amazing period of achievement recognition. No era of the Academy's history saw a more diverse and intriguing group of pictures taking home the top trophies.

In 1968, the end of the musical revolution was signaled. Though 1972 would see a concerted effort from Cabaret to continue the trend, it was clear the Academy had gotten tired of them genre. Oliver! would be the last musical to take Best Picture for 34 years. And what a final film it was.

Oliver! has earned a great deal of derision from Academy fans for being a light-weight choice for the top prize. However, the film is quite simply amazing. It's the kind of musical that doesn't get made anymore. Though the subject matter is dire, it still has a joy and spirit that has long been absent from the genre.

Another genre well represented during this five year period at which we're currently looking was the Crime genre. While The French Connection is a slightly flawed film, the film that followed it into the winners circle the following year was nearly perfect. The Godfather remains one of history's most beloved cinematic experiences. It regularly ranks in lists of the ten best films of all-time and certainly deserves the praise.

Also finding a place in this week's list is the war biopic Patton. The film features a fantastic performance from George C. Scott but drags on for much of its nearly-three hour length.

Midnight Cowboy rounds out this week's five films. Featuring two great performances from Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, Midnight Cowboy was one of the Academy's most brazen choices. It was a touchy subject matter that seemed more likely to impress at the box office and be ignored by the film industry's biggest prize-giver. However, Midnight Cowboy is an undeniably good movie and became the only X-rated picture to win Best Picture from the Academy (though, it and the only other X-rated nominee A Clockwork Orange, were later re-classified to R ratings).

Next week, we'll finish out the Academy violence-era and begin looking at the more common subjects that won the coveted Oscar.

Please note that the previous eight weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1968: Oliver!
1969: Midnight Cowboy
1970: Patton
1971: The French Connection
1972: The Godfather

-Wesley Lovell (November 28, 2006)

Best Picture History

Though we are examining the Academy Award Best Picture winners in five-year intervals, it is nonetheless important to set this period in perspective. The 1960s was a decade of musical achievements. West Side Story, My Fair Lady, the Sound of Music and Oliver! all captured the top prize from the Academy, more than any other genre of this decade

In this five year period, two of those four masterpieces make an appearance. This is the best period of musical motion pictures in the history of film. All four are four-star films and My Fair Lady, being the weaker of the four, is still an impressive picture about the artificiality of appearance.

The Sound of Music is an entertaining classic of the genre that still captures the hearts of millions of viewers. It features the brilliant Julie Andrews in one of her most cherished performances.

Also appearing this decade is the comic period piece Tom Jones. Though Albert Finney is effective in the role of a sex-crazed bastard child, the film is dreary, plodding and ineffective. On the other side of the coin, A Man for All Seasons takes the period genre in a different and more interesting direction. More than being about Henry VIII's rejection of the Catholic Church, it is about the power of one man to silently oppose the power of the crown despite every attempt to break his spirit.

In the Heat of the Night fills out this five-year cycle with the story of a northern black cop embroiled in a southern murder mystery where bigotry dominates all aspects of the case. The film's honest protrayal of prejudice in a small town is punctuated by Rod Steiger's terrific performance.

In one week, we'll finish out the 1960s and begin the grittiest period of Academy history.

Please note that the previous seven weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1963: Tom Jones
1964: My Fair Lady
1965: The Sound of Music
1966: A Man for All Seasons
1967: In the Heat of the Night

-Wesley Lovell (November 21, 2006)

Best Picture History

A host of box office sensations leads off this next five year period of Academy History. From 1958 to 1962, three of the Best Picture choices were wildly successful at the theater, taking in more money adjusted for inflation than all but a handful of films today.

Each generation typically has one or two films that defy expectations and become legends. This period, though featuring some sufficiently flawed pics, is nonetheless spectacular than any other five year period yet examined.

Lawrence of Arabia, the story of a man determined to unify the Arab tribes, is a classic of no small stature. At nearly four hours in length, it was an amazing success on the screen and was equally well rewarded at Oscar time, though it is a crime Peter O'Toole didn't win for his spirited performance.

Ben-Hur was a story that paralleled the life of Christ and managed to become the biggest box office champ to win the Best Picture Oscar since Gone With the Wind 30 years earlier. West Side Story didn't live up to Ben-Hur's ticket sales but it still managed to be a huge success and the first musical of its kind to take the big prize, heralding in an era of musical winners. In the 1960s, more musicals won Best Picture than in the history of the Academy Awards. West Side Story was the first. The remaining three we'll look at next week.

Although it would be considered a musical, Gigi doesn't have the singing and dancing flare that West Side Story had. Instead, it was an entertaining picture hurt only by its lack of emotional impact.

And finishing off this week's list is the Billy Wilder comedy The Apartment. While not his best work, it is made richly enjoyable by the fantastic performance of Jack Lemmon. Though it would be the last traditionally black-and-white film to win Best Picture, it wouldn't have mattered if it were in color as the film stands sufficiently well on its own.

Next week, we'll discuss a pair of musical classics, two period pictures and the first film with a black lead actor to win the Academy's top prize.

Please note that the previous six weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1958: Gigi
1959: Ben-Hur
1960: The Apartment
1961: West Side Story
1962: Lawrence of Arabia

-Wesley Lovell (November 14, 2006)

Best Picture History

The Academy's second quarter century begins with an unusual grouping of features. Two films feature disparate aspects of World War II, one targets racketeering on the docks of New York City, one focuses on simple romantic engagements and the fifth is a spectacle on the grandest scale.

On the Waterfront has the distinction of being the best of the lot. With terrific performances from Marlon Brando and Lee J. Cobb, Elia Kazan's dockside masterpiece yields an inspirational conclusion.

David Lean makes his first appearance in the Best Picture race with the terrific The Bridge on the River Kwai. Alec Guinness gives one of the screen's greatest male performances.

From Here to Eternity is a look at the lengths men will go to to be with the woman they love. Montgomery Clift leads a fantastic cast in a limitedly involving story. Marty is similarly involving and features a wonderful turn by Ernest Borgnine. Filling out the list is the mega-blockbuster Around the World in 80 Days.

David Niven turns in a notable performance in 80 Days making the weakest link in the string of great lead performances that unify this group of pictures. Brando and Guinness are among the screen's greatest talents and in these films give two of their best performances. Borgnine is also engaging as are Clift, Lancaster and Niven.

Next week, we'll see an interesting trend where the five films that won increase in quality from 1958 to 1962.

Please note that the previous five weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1953: From Here to Eternity
1954: On the Waterfront
1955: Marty
1956: Around the World in 80 Days
1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai

-Wesley Lovell (November 7, 2006)

Best Picture History

Settling down after World War II and slowly working their way out of the filmic depression, Hollywood began a period of big budget and big box office selections that mar its history almost as much as the early years.

They aren't bad films for the most part, but they aren't as great as the last ten years. All About Eve is one of their best selections and is the best of this period. Starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter, the film explores the struggle for superiority on the stage.

Ranking as the worst of this decade's selections, and likely one of the worst picks in the Academy's history, The Greatest Show on Earth is mostly a documentary of the Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was a huge box office success and Cecil B. DeMille's only competitive Oscar. There is little other reason why the film could have been chosen.

The remaining three films are all equally good, though varying in quality. Hamlet is a fantastic production but an often dull one, All the King's Men is entertaining from a political perspective and features the fantastic performance of Oscar winner Broderick Crawford, and An American in Paris is a fun and stylstic musical that lingers too long in too many places.

This isn't the week's only update. Check out the History page for more information.

We'll begin the next twenty-five years next week with a look at the 26th through 30th selections of Best Picture, and continue a period of decent to lackluster choices with a gem or two thrown in for good measure.

Please note that the previous four weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1948: Hamlet
1949: All the King's Men
1950: All About Eve
1951: An American in Paris
1952: The Greatest Show on Earth

-Wesley Lovell (October 31, 2006)

Best Picture History

As World War II trudged along, movies became more patriotic; However, the Academy became a little more selective in its choices. For their fourth five-year period, the Academy made three excellent choices, one acceptable pick and one reductive selection.

Casablanca is a phenomenal piece of screenwriting. Director Michael Curtiz put together an stunning picture that many people can still quote today. The Lost Weekend was a stark glimpse into the world of alcoholism. Dark and depressing, it was the first film to be selected best picture after the war was declared won in 1945.

The Best Years of Our Lives was both a return to the positive-spin of post-war reconstruction and a frank examination of the difficulties facing soldiers returning home from war. As the war was nearing its conclusion, the Academy avoided darkness and instead awarded a modestly entertaining escapist film called Going My Way. Everyone in the film is perfect or ends up such after spending a little time with Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby). It was a fine example of how the Academy liked to play it safe when times got rough.

And closing out this five year period, the 20th selection for Best Picture was an interesting look at anti-Semitism in America. The film does well at questioning the discrimination of the time period, making a showy selection for the Academy's top award and promoting a more accepting world. It was one of the few times the Academy's conscience got the better of it.

Next week, we'll add another five films bringing us to a total of tweny years of Academy Awards Best Pictures.

Please note that the previous three weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1943: Casablanca
1944: Going My Way
1945: The Lost Weekend
1946: The Best Years of Our Lives
1947: Gentleman's Agreement

-Wesley Lovell (October 24, 2006)

Best Picture History

I finally got a hold of a copy of the worst Best Picture of the first ten years of Academy history: Cavalcade and I include it this week to catch everything up.

The Academy's second ten years was filled with a wonderful array of features. You Can't Take It With You is Frank Capra's second Best Picture winner and a worthy admission to the circle. Gone With the Wind is the most successful film ever made and its themes still hold true today. Rebecca was Alfred Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner and remains one of the earliest examples of his talent. How Green Was My Valley, despite its triumph over the far superior Citizen Kane is still a warm and endearing tale of the struggles of the working class. Mrs. Miniver was the first film centered on World War II to win the Best Picture trophy and despite some obviously antiquated patriotism, it still remains an engaging film.

With three out of the five films carrying a four-star rating and the other two only slightly lower at three-and-a-half, this set of films, if I hadn't had to include Cavalcade, would have been a spectacular example of the Academy's right-thinking selections.

As World War II roars on and then finishes in the Academy's next five years, we'll see further examples of great filmmaking including classics like Casablanca and The Lost Weekend. Fifteen years down, 63 to go.

The best selections are yet to come and so are some of the worst. Next week, we'll add another five films.

Please note that the previous two weeks' update information is located on the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1932/33: Cavalcade
1938: You Can't Take It With You
1939: Gone With the Wind
1940: Rebecca
1941: How Green Was My Valley
1942: Mrs. Miniver

-Wesley Lovell (October 17, 2006)

Best Picture History

This week, the Best Picture History series continues with four films. You may wonder why I'm only tackling four of the five pictures from the 6th through 10th Academy Awards. Cavalcade remains a difficult pic for me to find. Because I was not able to review the film in time to print, I'm leaving that year blank to be added (hopefully) next week.

The second five-year block of pictures was decidedly better than the first. The sound era was in full swing and the capabilities of the sound departments were approaching perfection. The Academy's first decade finished with a bang rather than a whimper. Uncharacterisitic of its early years, the Frank Capra classic It Happened One Night, nautical tale Mutiny on the Bounty and historical drama The Life of Emile Zola were each stellar selections. While many have said Cavalcade was a dud, I can only comment on the lackluster stage production of The Great Ziegfeld.

As the Academy learned what it liked and didn't and Hollywood became a major player on the world stage, the first ten years remain one of its least impressive slates of choices despite some outstanding selections It Happened One Night and All Quiet on the Western Front being their best.

The next ten years would be filled with some great pictures and would highlight one of the best periods in Academy history. Next week, we'll look at one of the most talked about periods of film and indeed Academy history.

Please note that last week's update information was moved to the Reviews page to keep the front page less cluttered as Oscar season looms.

1934: It Happened One Night
1935: Mutiny on the Bounty
1936: The Great Ziegfeld
1937: The Life of Emile Zola

-Wesley Lovell (October 10, 2006)

Best Picture History

As I promised in earlier updates, it's time to begin my 16-week review of the past 78 years of Best Picture winners. Starting off this week is the first five years of Oscar history. Steeped with records, being the origin, the five films selected for Best Picture are a wide variety.

Wings is a war film about fighter pilots in World War I. The Broadway Melody was the first all-talking, all-singing picture to win Best Picture. It's a musical about a pair of sisters who try to swing it in the follies. All Quiet on the Western Front is an anti-war film, this one about German soldiers and the realities of war. Cimarron was the first western to win Best Picture and it features the story of the settlement of the Oklahoma territory. Grand Hotel was an ensemble drama set in the most luxurious hotel in all of Berlin.

These distinctly different films display the varying quality of pictures that have been selected for Best Picture. All Quiet on the Western Front is the only four-star film out of the lot and quite possibly the best war film I've seen so far. Hope springs eternal and there are many more great and awful films coming in the next 15 weeks. Next week, look for reviews of Cavalcade, It Happened One Night, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Great Ziegfeld and The Life of Emile Zola.

1927/28: Wings
1928/29: The Broadway Melody
1929/30: All Quiet on the Western Front
1930/31: Cimarron
1931/32: Grand Hotel

-Wesley Lovell (October 3, 2006)

Plenty of New Updates

As I am wont to do, I have updated still more of my website. I have added six new reviews to both 2005 and 2006. For the year 2005, I've added my review of Good Night, and Good Luck. For 2006, reviews for Hollywoodland, Hostel, Little Miss Sunshine, Over the Hedge and X-Men 3: The Last Stand have been added.

Also in need of updates are several of the annual pages (a task that fell by the wayside while I was updating my Site History section). Below is a brief summary of all pages that have seen an update of some kind.

Reviews: 2006 - Data updated, five new reviews.
Reviews: 2005 - Data updated, one new review.
Reviews: 1940 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1941 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1942 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1943 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1944 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1945 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1946 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1947 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1948 - Data updated, no new reviews.
Reviews: 1949 - Data updated, no new reviews.

-Wesley Lovell (September 26, 2006)

New Reviews Posted

It's been too long since I last updated my 2006 reviews. So, here's a batch of six films from 2006. Check on the 2006 page for new reviews of Cars, The Da Vinci Code, Doogal, The Lake House, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Superman Returns.

-Wesley Lovell (July 25, 2006)

2005: The Year Updated

2005 is now ready to go. All the reviews I had written already are posted as well as all the details of all the films that I've seen but for which I have not written reviews.

-Wesley Lovell (June 19, 2006)

Reviews Update

It's taken quite some time to get everything together to make the review areas look the way they should. I have successfully completed the transition of 2003 and 2004 review years. I'm currently working on 2005 , then 2006 and then everything else. Please continue to maintain patience. Enjoy a flashback to 2003 and 2004.

-Wesley Lovell (June 16, 2006)

Review Preview

The summer movie season is upon us. Hit movies like Mission: Impossible III , The Da Vinci Code and X-Men: The Last Stand are only the beginning.

I'll bring you the latest reviews of summer films as they arrive; however, it won't be the only feature you can expect. Later this year, as Oscar season approaches, I'll be posting reviews of all 78 Academy Award winners for Best Picture. I'll start at the beginning with Wings and follow it up with all of the greats, including Gone With the Wind , Lawrence of Arabia , The Godfather , Schindler's List and finish it all off with Crash. I'll be updating nearly every review I've posted for these films previously.

I also anticipate reviews of other Best Picture nominees as well as winners and nominees in many other categories. This will be one of my site's biggest expansions and hopefully everyone will find something interesting.

-Wesley Lovell (May 22, 2006)

Most Anticipated Films

In recent years, the films I've looked forward to (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events , The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ) have provided significant disappointment. This year, we'll hope for a turnaround.

Things started off badly with the unimpressive third installment of the Mission: Impossible series. The next chance for the season to lift my hopes is the final chapter in the X-Men trilogy. The Last Stand preview has me excited but that excitement could easily be deluded.

Other films that pose good prospects include A Prairie Home Companion , Superman Returns , The Lake House , Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest , Little Miss Sunshine , Casino Royale and Dreamgirls. If even half of these films hold up to promises, I'll be happy.

-Wesley Lovell (May 22, 2006)

The 10 Best Horror Films

I love horror films. I have since before I loved the Academy Awards. However, it's a rather daunting prospect for me as I have, sadly, missed a great number of the most recent horror films. That said, here's my list of the 10 best horror films that I've ever seen. Keep in mind that I'm not including films about terror (like The Birds or The Silence of the Lambs ). Those films fall into a completely different style and will be considered separately.

1. The Shining (1980)
2. The Exorcist (1973)
3. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
4. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
5. Misery (1990)
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
7. Scream (1996)
8. Poltergeist (1982)
9. Halloween (1978)
10. Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Honorable Mentions: Seven, Identity, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Scream 2 and Interview with the Vampire.

-Wesley Lovell (May 22, 2006)