For a movie that’s barely over an hour long, this took me a long time to get through. There’s not much there in a tale about a wannabe actress who is more certain of her skills than anyone around her. Katharine Hepburn had so many great roles in her career, it’s odd that this is the one that received her first Oscar win.
Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Leading Role
Paul Newman is a womanizing journalist; Joanne Woodward works in the fashion industry while sporting a masculine look (she repeatedly gets mistaken for a man). It’s probably not a spoiler to say that the story progresses pretty much how you’d expect from such a setup, including Joanne undergoing a makeover to be more feminine and ol’ Paul not even recognizing her as a woman he had met previously. Alas, the cuteness of Newman and Woodward together plus a semi-crush on Paul Newman means I couldn’t pass it up. Bonus points because for including Thelma Ritter who elevates movies even in the smallest of roles.
Oscar Nominations: Best Costume Design, Color; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment
This mess tries to be similar to any one of the Busby Berkeley choreographed musicals of the 30s such as 42nd Street or the Gold Diggers series. Those films try to string together weak stories with musical spectacles. This one tries to string together an even weaker story (including Adolphe Menjou as a movie producer creeping on a much younger Andrea Leeds whom he has hired to review all his film decisions) with random dancing or comedy acts in between. The stylings of the Ritz Brothers is baffling enough, but I can’t fathom the world that found Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy entertaining. This is also presented in glorious Technicolor which can only be imagined in the aforementioned Berkeley productions. 
Oscar nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Scoring
Essentially an earlier version of Aladdin, any Disney fan wouldn’t be surprised with the general storyline here. Filmed in Technicolor emphasizes the glorious sets and costumes, but also shines a spotlight on the loads of unfortunate brownfacing exhibited in the movie. Highlights are Sabu as the scamp thief Abu and Rex Ingram as the Djinn, plus special effects that are rather impressive for their time.
Oscar Wins: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction, Color; Best Effects, Special Effects
Oscar Nominations: Best Music, Original Score
I’ve already seen the 2014 version with Cicely Tyson, which I still prefer. Perhaps because of the 20 minute difference in runtime, this one felt a bit slower to get started. It also took me quite a bit of time to warm up to Geraldine Page’s take on the Mrs. Watts character. She seemed like a petulant child at the beginning, but halfway through her travels, I had warmed to her pilgrimage to return to her beloved Bountiful.
Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Leading Role
Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Ostensibly about the life and times of one Anthony J. Lawrence, played by Paul Newman, the supporting characters bolster a story of an entire generation of young Philadelphians and themes on history repeating itself and fighting against the expectations of others. Also featuring Robert Vaughn, an aged Brian Keith, and small roles by Billie Burke and Adam West, I really dig any film that ends with a trial featuring a wily defending lawyer.
Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White
I first started read about Fred Hampton while watching The Trial of the Chicago 7 and looked forward to see what more this film could add to his story. I think this film did a pretty good job showing the last few years of his life. Daniel Kaluuya managed to convey his power and charisma along with the humility of being part of a movement bigger than himself. I found the Last Supper scene particularly effective in presenting the tension in the room that I’ve never seen in Biblical films. I didn’t understand it earlier in the year and understand even less after watching the film how two title characters results in two supporting actor nominations. 
Oscar Wins: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year ; Best Original Screenplay; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Cinematography
In an Italy where pretty much everyone is a crook, a bunch of bungling crooks get together to pull off an easy heist. It’s all a lot of breezy fun watching the interactions and relationships of this gang while they’re trying to overcome the various obstacles that get in the way to the loot. Going to have to work through more of the Marcello Mastroianni films on The List.
Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film
Stylistically I just can’t get into later career Kubrick. I had tried watching this years ago, at that time ending during the home invasion scene, but my current commitment to watching Oscar films is relentless. I’m not turned off by the excessive violence, though I find no interest in Alex as a character, since it feels very cartoon-ish. Instead, it’s the mod-y but futuristic British vibe that runs through the film. I think I need to keep a list of films that give off that vibe; Tommy is another.
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Film Editing
As someone who is middle aged, I spend more time than I wish to admit assessing my own physical decline and fearing any level of dementia that the future may hold for me. I thought Still Alice was tough enough to experience. Told from the point of view of the person suffering the disease, this film is my nightmare. Though I would have given the Oscar to Chadwick Boseman, I could not fault Anthony Hopkins’s performance and how he deftly portrays the various emotions such a person would experience every day.
Oscar Wins: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Adapted Screenplay
Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Production Design