Jonathan Lack's complete 86th Academy Awards Predictions

With the 86^th annual Academy Awards telecast upon us this Sunday night, it is time to take one final look-back at the year in film. I have made my position on the Oscars plenty clear in the past – they are almost always silly, often infuriating, and wholly reductive to celebrating the breadth and depth of a year’s cinematic accomplishments – and while I never write about awards season much, I do follow it with a sort of benign curiosity, and at least like to put out my official predictions when the time comes. This allows me to look smarter than I am, because even in a year as competitive as this, the Oscars are easy to predict, but more importantly, it allows me to talk about these films and these performances and this technical achievements of the previous year one last time.

That is what I have done here. Going through 21 of the 24 categories (I do not predict in the Short Film fields, because I simply don’t cover these films during the year), I have provided a list of the Nominees, my prediction to win, and my preference to win if I got to pick the victors, along with some commentary and analysis. Overall, this is the least-annoying Oscars field I’ve seen in my time as a film critic – the Academy is set to favor the best or near-best movies this year in a way they usually don’t – and I am happy to see that many of my predictions actually do line up with who I would like to see win. So who knows? I could win up being reasonably happy come Sunday night.

Without further ado, keep reading after the jump for my complete 2013 Academy Award Predictions...

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #78 - The Last of Us: Left Behind Review, Superhero Movie News, & More

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, video gaming, and television. Remember to subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link!

After taking the week off last Friday, we’re back with a fairly busy show, discussing the newly released trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, casting news for Josh Trank’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, the shutteing of Ken Levine’s Irrational Games studio, and lots more. For our main topic, though, we’ve recorded an in-depth review and discussion of the new story DLC for Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. Is Left Behind a worthy successor to the parent game’s legacy? What do we think of what it does or does not add to the universe of the story and characters? All this and more is discussed in another busy, fun episode of the podcast.

And if you haven’t seen it already, remember to check out the new Podcast Archive page, which is a complete collection of every episode we have ever recorded, including the original 75 episode of WGTC Radio.

Enjoy!

Stream ‘The Weekly Stuff’ #78 Here:

Download and Stream 'The Weekly Stuff' Episode #78 as an MP3

Subscribe for free to 'The Weekly Stuff' in iTunes!

Follow 'The Weekly Stuff' RSS Feed Online!

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about The Weekly Stuff, or would like to write in to the podcast to have your questions read on the show, please e-mail dinochow@jonathanlack.com.

The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

Review: “The Lego Movie” is commercialism at its most infectiously creative

In The Lego Movie, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have achieved a minor cinematic miracle, creating both a genuinely wonderful comedy adventure for people of all ages, and crafting what may well be the best and most effective commercial ever made. They take a clear and reasonable sales pitch – that all people have the potential for creativity, and that Legos are an awesome way to express one’s imagination – and realize it in a such a deliriously silly, wildly inventive, and profoundly entertaining package that one feels no guilt whatsoever while watching. The Lego Movie is an excellent film, first and foremost, with all commercial aspirations stemming organically from passionate storytelling and vivid characterization. That both children and adults alike are liable to exit the theatre wanting to purchase as many Lego products as they can get their hands on isn’t a fact that should be ignored, but neither is it one audiences need to feel disgusted about. Most blockbuster movies, especially those aimed at children, are trying to sell viewers something beyond the price of admission; few offer as many cinematic riches in return, or are as earnest and well-articulated in their salesmanship, and that makes The Lego Movie a piece of commercial art worth celebrating.

Continue reading after the jump...

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #77 - Sherlock Series 3, Philip Seymour Hoffman, & More!

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, video gaming, and television. Remember to subscribe for free in iTunes by following this link!

On this week’s show, Sean and I tackle an awful lot of movie and gaming news, from Super Bowl movie trailers to new Sonic the Hedgehog games, and also pay tribute to the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman (read my written tribute here). For our main topic, we offer an in-depth review and analysis of the third season of BBC’s Sherlock, which just finished its American run on PBS last week. There’s plenty to talk about, making this a packed and busy episode.

Also, if you haven’t seen it already, do check out the new Podcast Archive page, which is a complete collection of every episode we have ever recorded, including the original 75 episode of WGTC Radio.

Enjoy!

Stream ‘The Weekly Stuff’ #77 Here:

Download and Stream 'The Weekly Stuff' Episode #77 as an MP3

Subscribe for free to 'The Weekly Stuff' in iTunes!

Follow 'The Weekly Stuff' RSS Feed Online!

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about The Weekly Stuff, or would like to write in to the podcast to have your questions read on the show, please e-mail dinochow@jonathanlack.com.

The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe in iTunes, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. If you visit www.jonathanlack.com, we also have streaming and downloadable versions of new and archival episodes for your listening pleasure.

Remembering the late, impossibly great Philip Seymour Hoffman

I never saw a Philip Seymour Hoffman performance I didn’t love.

That is a rare thing to say about an actor, even a great one, because very few performers go through their careers without making a misstep or two, without taking on a role unworthy of their talent or being handed awful material and finding themselves unable to rise above it. Hoffman wasn’t a God – he occasionally took underwhelming parts or starred in bad films, but the difference between Hoffman and many other great modern performers was that he had the uncanny ability to do stupendous, finely observed, deeply lived-in work no matter the circumstances. In his great movies, like The Master or Doubt or Almost Famous, that meant he delivered some of the best and most memorable pieces of acting in all of contemporary cinema. In lesser films, like A Late Quartet or The Ides of March (both of which I know have their fans) or even something as woefully terrible as Along Came Polly, he was still terrific, not just stealing the show with his steady, magnetic presence, but breathing life into lifeless material whenever he was on screen. If a film had Philip Seymour Hoffman in it, it was lucky, for it automatically had at least one major and undeniable positive quality. And that’s not something you can say about most actors.

Now, it appears that Hoffman has left us, as the Wall Street Journal reports that he was found dead, in his New York Apartment, at the age of 46. Details are extremely sparse and sketchy at this time, with the original WSJ article disappearing and reappearing every few minutes, and I am still personally holding out hope that this is some sort of terrible hoax, or perhaps a major mistake. Mostly, I just don’t want to believe it – processing the news is difficult, because Philip Seymour Hoffman just seemed too big, too important, to die, especially so young. For the entirety of my film-going life, since the time I started actively reviewing movies, Hoffman was a major presence, and I always looked forward to seeing him act. The thought that we will never see him do so again is horrible. This is one of the biggest losses Hollywood has sustained in living memory.

More thoughts after the jump...