Well, another month has come to a close and that means that it’s time for another poll here at the Shattered Lens.
As always, please feel free to vote for up to four films and write-in votes are accepted!
Tag Archives: Movies
Let’s Second Guess The Academy: Best Picture 1985
Jonathan Pryce in Brazil
This week, let’s go back to the year of my birth, 1985. According to the Motion Picture Academy, the five best films of the year were:
1) Steven Spielberg’s controversial adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple,
2) Witness, a film about a tough cop (Harrison Ford) who hides out with the Amish,
3) Kiss of the Spider Woman, one of the first independent films to ever be nominated for best picture,
4) Prizzi’s Honor, a darker than dark Mafia comedy from John Huston that starred Jack Nicholson,
and finally,
5) Out of the Africa, the film that was eventually named best picture of 1985.
Despite its victory at the Oscars, Out of Africa hasn’t aged well. If any year seems to be worthy of a little second guessing, it would certainly be 1985. If you were a member of the Academy in 1985, which nominee would you have voted for? Personally, I would have voted for Witness. How about you?
Now, here comes the fun part. Let’s say that Out of Africa wasn’t released in 1985. Let’s say that Steven Spielberg never made The Color of Purple and that Jack Nicholson refused to star in Prizzi’s Honor. Let’s say that none of the five nominated film had been eligible in 1985. Which films would you have nominated in their place?
You can vote for five of the film listed below and yes, we do accept write-ins!
(Incidentally, I voted for Brazil, The Breakfast Club, To Live and Die In L.A., The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Insignificance.)
Blue Is The Warmest Colour and Bruce Dern Win At Cannes
Bruce Dern in Nebraksa
Here are the official winners at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:
Palme d’Or – Blue Is the Warmest Colour by Abdellatif Kechiche
Honorary Palme d’Or – Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux for Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Grand Prix – Inside Llewyn Davis by Joel & Ethan Coen
Best Director – Amat Escalante for Heli
Best Screenplay – Jia Zhangke for A Touch of Sin
Best Actress – Bérénice Bejo for The Past
Best Actor – Bruce Dern for Nebraska
Jury Prize – Like Father, Like Son by Hirokazu Koreeda
Both The Tree of Life and Amour were nominated for best picture after winning the Palme d’Or and, in fact, it could be argued that neither one of those films would have had the momentum necessary to score an Oscar nod if they hadn’t first won at Cannes. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend will continue with Blue Is The Warmest Colour.
As for Bruce Dern — a Hollywood veteran who has appeared in a lot of iconic films but who has never won an Oscar — I have a feeling that he’ll be winning a lot of other awards before the Oscar season has ended.
6 More Trailers From The Trailer Kitties
Hi! It’s the weekend and that mean that the trailer kitties have been out looking for more of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film trailers. Let’s see what they’ve found for us this week!
1) The Loch Ness Horror (1981)
2) The Glory Stompers (1968)
3) The Blood Beast Terror (1968)
4) The Angry Red Planet (1960)
5) First Spaceship on Venus (1960)
6) The Creation of the Humanoids (1962)
What do you think, Trailer Kitty?
Let’s Second Guess The Academy: Best Picture 2009
Back in 2011, I experimented with something that I like to call “Let’s second guess the Academy.” Basically, we take a look at past Oscar contestants and we ask ourselves if 1) the Academy made the right choice and 2) what else would we have nominated if we had all the power. It was always a lot of fun (and occasionally surprising) to see which films ended up getting the most love in hindsight.
So, I figured why not revive the tradition by considering the race for best picture of 2009. This was the first contest, since the 1943, to feature 10 nominees. At the time, most critics felt that the race was between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. Personally, as happy as I was to see a woman finally win best director, I thought The Hurt Locker was overrated and I hated Avatar. Which of the 10 nominated films would I have voted for? Well, as much as I loved both District 9 and A Serious Man, I would have voted for An Education. How about you?
Now, here comes the fun part. Let’s say that James Cameron never made Avatar. Let’s say that An Education never made it over from the UK. And maybe The Hurt Locker never got a distributor and just remained an independent film that occasionally popped up on the program at various film festivals. In other words, let’s say that none of the 10 best picture nominees for 2009 had been available to be nominated. Which ten films would have nominated in their place?
You can vote for up to 10 of the films listed below and yes, we do accept write-ins!
Personally, I voted for: Adventureland, The Girlfriend Experience, Moon, (500) Days of Summer, The Informant!, Bright Star, Where The Wild Things Are, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and Me And Orson Welles.
Happy voting!
6 EclecticTrailers for the 6th of May
Hi! I hope everyone had a good and safe Cinco de Mayo and that everyone’s ready for yet another edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers!
1) Body Shots (1999)
Even as I sit here typing away, this movie is playing on FXM. It’s an enjoyably bad film.
2) Cat Girl (1957)
Someday, I’ll star in a remake of this film.
3) Voodoo Woman (1957)
“A woman by day … a monster by night!”
4) Atlas (1961)
This may have been a prequel to Atlas Shrugged, I’m not sure.
5) Corvette Summer (1978)
This trailer is so 1970s that it should be in a museum.
6) Jocks (1986)
You never know where Christopher Lee is going to pop up.
What do you think, Trailer Kitty?
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing In June?
Last month’s results can be seen here.
As always, you can vote for up to 4 films and write-ins are allowed.
Happy voting!
I know that most people will probably be voting for either Man of Steel or World War Z but for me, June is all about The Bling Ring and This Is The End.
6 Trailers For The End of April
Hi! It’s time for another edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers!
1) Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal (2001)
Say what you will about this trailer and the idea of having a concert on an airplane, Slade Craven is a great name.
2) Harrad Summer (1974)
This film is a sequel to the Harrad Experiment, which I reviewed earlier this year. From what I can gather, this film is about the values of the future challenging the values of today…
3) Parasite (1982)
Speaking of the values of the future…
4) Score (1974)
“Amyl Nitrate? What’s this?” For some reason, that line made me laugh.
5) Screamtime (1983)
This trailer is actually scared me a little. It was the puppet.
6) In Love (1983)
In Love was apparently an attempt to make a “real film” that just happened to feature hardcore sex scenes. For that reason, the trailer’s been edited but you can probably guess what’s going on behind those “Scene Missing” cards. I just like the trailer because of the theme song.
What do you think, Trailer Possum?*
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*The Trailer Kitties have the week off.
6 Trailers From The Girl At Lake Texoma
Hi there!
Currently, my sister, the Dazzling Erin, and I are relaxing down at Lake Texoma. However, if you’ve been reading this site for a while, you know that I would never let a little thing like a vacation keep me from offering up another edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers!
Before I left for the lake, I sent out the Trailer Kitties and here’s what they brought back!
1) The Terminators (2009)
This film is from our friends at the Asylum so you know it has to be good!
2) Hogzilla (2007)
Believe it or not, this is not an Asylum film.
3) Black Fist (1975)
This film is also known as Bogard.
4) Black Shampoo (1976)
“This stud is no dud…”
5) Cannonball (1976)
“Anything goes in a race across America…”
6) Jackson County Jail (1976)
Tommy Lee Jones is … JACKSON COUNTY JAIL!
What do you think, Trailer Kitty?
6 Party Trailers
In many ways, I wish I had been born several decades earlier. I would have loved to have been a teenager during the early to mid-60s. From what I can tell from the films made during that period, people use to break out into dance at the slightest provocation.
Need proof?
Just check out this latest edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film trailers!
1) Beach Party (1963)
2) Muscle Beach Party (1964)
3) Bikini Beach (1964)
4) Pajama Party (1964)
5) How To Stuff A Wild Bikini (1965)
6) The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini (1966)
What do you think, Trailer Kitty?
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