Blind Spot: Detective Story (1951)

Directed by William Wyler
Produced by William Wyler

Written by Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler (script); Sidney Kingsley (play)

Starring Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parkor, William Bendix, Lee Grant and Joseph Wiseman

Mini-Reviews: The Heat, The Lone Ranger & Pacific Rim (2013)

Top 10 Oddities of the CinSpec Awards

A big actor won for producing a Martin Scorsese film.

Similar to my Oscar Oddity feature, here's a look at some interesting stats from my personal awards. Not all of them are particularly odd, but some of them surprised me. Note: These cover the period from 1930 to 2012, and they are in no particular order.

1937 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). Films I need to see include: Stage Door, Pépé le Moko, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Shall We Dance, Camille, Way Out West, Fire Over England, Conquest, Lady Killer, Dark Journey, Young and Innocent, A Damsel in Distress, The Prisoner of Zenda, You Only Live Once, and A Day at the Races.

July Oscar Predictions

12 Years a Slave looks like a serious contender.

Since my last predictions, I've gone back to predicting 12 Years a Slave for several awards. I'm not sold on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom getting nominated, but I'm warming up to Captain Phillips and Rush as possible Best Picture nominees. Also, I see The Counselor slipping, but I've kept it in for the time being. Other than that, most of these remain the same.

Review: Only God Forgives (2013)

Gosling is another enigmatic lead in Refn's latest.

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Produced by Lene Børglum, Sidonie Dumas and Vincent Maraval
Written by Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Gordon Brown, Tom Burke, Vithaya Pansringarm, Byron Gibson and Sahajak Boonthanakit

2008 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). I still need to see films like Everlasting Moments, Chop Shop, Encounters at the End of the World, Still Walking, My Winnipeg, Choke, W., Turn the River, Silent Light, Medicine for Melancholy, Brideshead Revisited, Redbelt, Miracle at St. Anna, Stop-Loss, Flash of Genius, Towelhead, The Beautiful Person, and Cadillac Records.

Review: What Richard Did (2013)

Jack Reynor gives a stunning performance.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson
Produced by Ed Guiney
Written by Malcolm Campbell (screenplay); Kevin Power (novel)

Starring Jack Reynor, Roisin Murphy, Lars Mikkelsen, Lorraine Pilkington, Sam Keeley and Michelle Doherty

Oscar Bombs of the 2010s

Oscar had no love for Shutter Island.

Every year Oscar prognosticators throw out their guesses at what will be nominated months later by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As the year progresses, some frontrunners stay strong, some new ones emerge, and others disappear entirely. Here's a look at some recent films that were predicted for Best Picture and other top prizes early on in their respective Oscar races. In the end, all of them failed to get nominated. It just proves that Oscar prognosticating isn't an exact science.

Review: Wild Girl Waltz (2012)

Tara, Brian and Angie on their day out.

Directed by Mark Lewis
Produced by Mark Lewis
Written by Mark Lewis
Starring Christina Shipp, Samantha Steinmetz and Jared Stern

Oscar Oddity #13: One Film with Multiple Acting Wins Streak

Network was part of a special acting winners streak in the late 1970s.

Acting Oscar wins are interesting to analyze, as they often go to four different films. However, some films have managed to win two or three acting awards. Not only have they won, but certain films have been part of a streak of consecutive years. For instance, Mystic River (2003) won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, and Million Dollar Baby (2004) won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor the next year.

1998 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). Films I still need to see include: The Butcher Boy, Reach the Rock, The Flowers of Shanghai, My Name Is Joe, Hurlyburly, The Idiots, Show Me Love, The Horse Whisperer, A Civil Action, Enemy of the State, The Red Violin, One True Thing, Children of Heaven, Buffalo '66, The Opposite of Sex, Lolita, Bulworth, The Spanish Prisoner, Waking Ned Devine, Living Out Loud, Wilde, Your Friends & Neighbors, Beloved, Still Crazy, The Theory of Flight, Very Bad Things, Without Limits, and Star Trek: Insurrection.

Consider: The Blue Umbrella for Best Animated Short Film

Review: Somers Town (2008)

Tomo and Marek.

Directed by Shane Meadows
Produced by Barnaby Spurrier
Written by Paul Fraser (screenplay); Mother Vision (idea)

Starring Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello, Ireneusz Czop, Perry Benson, Elisa Lasowski and Kate Dickie

Five Films in Five Words #7

Here's another batch of newer films.

1988 CinSpec Awards

Winners indicated (*). I still need to see films like The Thin Blue Line, High Hopes, Damnation, School Daze, Talk Radio, Torch Song Trilogy, Bird, Salaam Bombay!, Clean and Sober, Hairspray, Punchline, Little Dorrit, Dominick and Eugene, The Big Blue, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, A World Apart, Distant Voices, Still Lives, Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, The Milagro Beanfield War, Things Change, Heart of Midnight, Tequila Sunrise, Beaches, Story of Women, Married to the Mob, Willow, and Young Guns.

Review: Midnight Run (1988)

Jack and "The Duke".

Directed by Martin Brest
Produced by Martin Brest
Written by George Gallo

Starring Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, John Ashton, Yaphet Kotto, Joe Pantoliano, Dennis Farina and Philip Baker Hall

Films I Saw in June

Before Midnight

The Best:

1. Before Midnight - ****
2. The Hidden Fortress - ****
3. Faces - ****
4. This is England - ****
5. Another Woman - ****
6. Straight Time - ****
7. Primer - ****
8. The Vanishing (1988) - ****
9. Red River - ****
10. The Blue Umbrella - ****

2013 CinSpec Awards (So Far)

Before Midnight

In lieu of doing a winners post, I decided to reveal my entire ballot for the first half of 2013. Again, I haven't seen everything, but I've seen most of the highlights. Winners indicated (*) and pictured below.