2016 Oscars: Tom’s Best Picture Round-Up

By and large, I don’t put much personal stock in the Academy Awards.  They strike me as an excuse for Hollywood to pat itself on the back for all the good work it says it does.  If I watch the show at all, it’ll be the last few minutes to find out who won Best Picture, and that’ll be it.  The humor is rather lame, the musical numbers dull, and the low-burning outrage over what did and didn’t win can linger for decades.

Case in point:  Forrest Gump beat out both Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption for Best Picture.  I don’t care how much you like Gump, there’s no way anyone can justify it is a better movie than both of those other two.

But then this year, I actually saw most of the Best Picture nominees.  Thoughts after the cut.  No predictions, though.  If you want predictions, try Watson’s article.

Gabbing Geek 28: Clue, Death, And Taxes

It’s Gabbing Geek 28: Clue, Death, And Taxes! It’s real, and it’s fantastic!

The latest episode of your favorite weekly geek podcast is now live!  Go and listen without delay!

Gabbing Geek 27: Changing Minds

Episode 27. I’d make a joke about how this is episode 3 cubed but I don’t want to take the time to explain it to Jenny and Watson.

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Gabbing Geek Oscar Reax!

What a night last night.  Want to know who shined and who stunk?  Read on!

Why The Oscars Suck: Best Picture Nominations

This may have something to do with today’s column. Or it doesn’t. Only you can decide.

Dear Oscars,

You suck for so many reasons it’s hard to pick just one. You are a self-congratulatory, over-hyped, out-of-touch celebration of how you don’t understand your audience. You pile heaps of affection onto movies that most of your audience didn’t see and couldn’t care about. You are bland, boring, predictable, boring, elitist, and boring. But I’ve been told I can only focus on a single area of your suckitude so I picked why you suck on your biggest award: Best Picture.

Gabbing Geek 26: 21st Century Oscars

Episode 24. Or as Jenny likes to call it…the number after 16.

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Gabbing Geek 22: Box Office Bombshells

What happens when Jenny is on special assignment, leaving just Watson and Ryan to record Episode 22?  That’s right—WE’RE GEEKING OUT ON BOX OFFICE NUMBERS!  This episode, Box Office Bombshells, starts with our GNOW (Geekiest News of the Week) on the record-breaking performance of American Sniper.  We both review the movie and couldn’t be farther apart in terms of ratings.

The 2014 Razzies- Honoring Movies So Bad They’re Still Bad

Ah, Award season.  When great movies are recognized by the Academy, Screen Actors Guild, New York Film Critics, and even the Golden Globes (even though the Globes are kinda equivalent to your stoner cousin in Tuscon…)  Then… there are the Razzies….

Watson’s Top Ten Movies of 2014!

Ah.  Now we get to the cream of the crop!  The ten best films of 2014!  Hope you enjoyed your year of films as much as I did mine.  This was a strong year for movies; both blockbuster and arthouse.  While there wasn’t an all-time Hall of Fame entry (like Dark Knight or Godfather), we did have many 5 star worthy films.   Any of these ten films would have been a worthy choice for #1, in fact many of them even flirted with the top spot during the year, but when the dust settled here was the final list.

Expand the Best Acting Categories to Ten Nominations? No, Thank You!

You Get an Oscar! YOU Get an Oscar! YOU GET AN OSCAR! Sorry…. not you, Leonardo DiCaprio….

Peter Hammond of Deadline.com poses the question, “Should there be 10 slots for the acting categories?”  In all fairness to Mr. Hammond, who is quite astute in his assessment of the field, he does acknowledge that readers will come after him for his opinion.  It almost makes me want to avoid criticizing him, as I appreciate self-awareness.