This was a busy year for me and the Academy Awards! First, I started prognosticating for Movie City News’ Gurus o’ Gold series and then was interviewed by BBC radio this past Friday about my predictions for the telecast. (Check out my segment at 52:18.) I think race relations will be this year’s overarching political message. Also, expect some cringeworthy Jussie Smollett jokes. Anyway, here are my picks for the 91st Academy Awards: Best Picture Will win: Roma  Might upset: B

Tomorrow morning is my version of Christmas. I get up early, bubbling over with anticipation, and wait nervously for the inevitable joy and pain. (The excitement of surprises and favorites, the anger of snubs or bad choices.) Arguably, Oscar nomination day is better than the awards show itself. By that time, the front-runners have already been identified; watching the same folks win over and over again is pretty boring. But tomorrow – tomorrow tells you everything you need to

You were lied to. Toni Erdmann is not a comedy. Sure, German director Maren Ade’s Oscar-nominated ode to fatherhood (and daughterhood) is hilarious. I laughed my heart out at its quotidian absurdity. The log line primes us for funny: “Goofy older music teacher plays pranks on his upright, workaholic kid to spark a little life in her.” But this isn’t a retread of a heartwarming family comedy that might have bowed in the 90s. It’s a heart-crushing exploration of parental disapp

I’ll be honest – 2016 was not my favorite year for film. While movies like American Honey, The Edge of Seventeen, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea astonished me (and Lion made me cry uncontrollably from the first five minutes until the end of the credits), I find myself less impressed with most of this year’s Oscar hopefuls. La La Land, which my fiance and I have nicknamed “Blah Blah Bland,” is just another example of Hollywood autoanilingus. (Does anyone even remember Th