By Alan Hurst I don’t like using the descriptor “muse” to describe the inspired partnerships between a film director (for the purposes of this article all men) and his female lead when they’ve enjoyed a series of films together. Each of the directors on this list have enjoyed spectacular success with other leading actresses and…
By John H. Foote My two favourite categories have always been the supporting actor and actress awards. One can quite literally watch a star be born within this category, often moving on to the Best Actress award. Among the actresses who have made this leap have been Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Cate Blanchett, and Renée…
By John H. Foote Now that two women have won Oscars for direction, expect more to come. Along with the ladies, expect more Black nominees, Asian, all ethnicities including foreign language film directors. Quite often a wildcard nominee like an out-of-the-blue foreign language director will burst into the party. Expect more of this as the…
By John H. Foote Could Frances McDormand make history and tie Katherine Hepburn with her fourth Academy Award for Best Actress this year? Yes, she could, but should she? For my money, the only actress deserving of four or more Oscars is Meryl Streep, and she sits stalled at two for Best Actress and a…
By John H. Foote Usually by this time of year the races for the major Academy Awards are shaping up and this year is no different. Best Actor is a crowded race already, while Best Actress, not so much, at least not yet. The race for the coveted little gold man is becoming a tight…
By John H. Foote Martin Scorsese is regarded by many as the greatest filmmaker in history, certainly the greatest living director. He just might be, though I would argue that Steven Spielberg gives him a powerful run for that title. Has Martin Scorsese ever made a truly terrible film? Choosing his 10 best films was…
By Alan Hurst Everyone has their favourite summer big screen movie, a movie that seems to define summer with just its very title – The Seven Year Itch (1955), Jaws (1975), Grease (1978), Dirty Dancing (1987), Independence Day (1996), Call Me by Your Name (2017). These are all movies where the season and time of…
By John H. Foote 1. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) My apologies it has taken so long to get to number one of my top movies of the 90s, but I found this decade more difficult to write about than any other. It certainly wasn’t because I was having difficulty choosing. There was never any doubt in…
By John H. Foote 2. GOODFELLAS (1990) Ten years after his dark masterpiece Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese unleashed the film that has come to be known as his absolute masterpiece, GoodFellas, a journey through the inner workings of organized crime. In the years between the two films, Scorsese focused on the kind of films he…
By Marie-Renee Goulet Movies and music were always a source of joy, adventure and escape. However, the world being what it was from 2016 to June of last year, I completely stopped watching movies, and even listen to music. I had news channels on in the background for every waking hour, as if life depended on it. A year ago this…