Good for a chilly day at the beach but little else, The Independent Spirit Awards may have a positive effect on the careers of the winners but in the broader scheme of things they are meaningless and forgettable. A major reason for this is their lack of consistency in the nominating process and a lack of respect toward the very people they are nominating. There are way too many categories, because they don’t trust themselves, and the nominating comittee has questionable taste. Here are some examples: The biggest joke of the Awards is the Robert Altman Award (poor Bob!) given to a director, ca ..read more

Warner Brothers with "Dune" and "King Richard", Netflix with "Don't Look Up" and "The Power of the Dog" and Disney with "West Side Story" (20th Century Studious) and "Nightmare Alley" (Searchlight Pictures) and Universal for "Belfast" and "Licorice Pizza" (through it's division Focus Features) will each contribute two. The remaining two spots will go to A24 for "The Tragedy of Macbeth", Amazon Pictures for "Being the Ricardos". Then there are an addition six features banging on the door; Neon's "Spencer" and no less then five Foreign Language (International) Films with two by Neon - having a V ..read more

AND THE NOMINEES FOR BEST DIRECTOR OF A MOTION PICTURE ARE: PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON (Licorice Pizza) I thought that the movie was too low-key and shaggy dog to get him a Best Director nod this time, with the movie’s chances lying in Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Film. However, with Best Director and Best Film nods form the National Board of review and Best Screenplay from the NYFCC, I have changed my mind. He most definitely will be getting his third Best Director nomination following "There Will Be Blood" (2007) and "Phantom Thread" in 2017. KENNETH BRANAGH (BELFAST ..read more

The Original Screennplay category is the most liberal of all of the Oscar categories with foreign language nominations going back to the Forties and "Un Homme et Une Femme" winning in 1966. AND THE NOMINEES FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY ARE: BEING THE RICARDOS (Aaron Sorkin) A Sorkin triumph, he stuns the nonbelievers with his week in the life of Lucy and Desi. Depending on whether he gets a nod from the Directors Branch, this would be his fifth or sixth nomination following his Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "The Social Network" in 2010, and three Adapted Screenplay nomination ..read more

I LOVED it! And I hated the original movie! This is Spielberg at his most relaxed and entertaining. His most purely enjoyable movie since “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” No fuss. Just one great scene flowing into another. And what a stunning cast, out-performing the originals in every way. Rachel Zegler’s Maria is a goddess sent from cinema heaven. The scene where Tony and Maria first see each other in the dance hall is magic, cinematic gold. Yes, Ansel (Elgort) is a bit bland but he sings beautifully and in no way takes from the movie. Of course, it is Anita that is the film’s real star and Arian ..read more

Warner Brothers with "Dune" and "King Richard", Netflix with "Don't Look Up" and "The Power of the Dog" and Disney with "West Side Story" (20th Century Studious) and "Nightmare Alley" (Searchlight Pictures) and Universal for "Belfast" and "Licorice Pizza" (through it's division Focus Features) will each contribute two. The remaining two spots will go to A24 for "The Tragedy of Macbeth", Amazon Pictures for "Being the Ricardos". Then there are an addition six features banging on the door; Neon's "Spencer" and no less then five Foreign Language (International) Films with two by Neon - having a V ..read more

It's been an incredible year for Johnny Greenwood and he will place twice in the final five. ..AND THE NOMIEES FOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE ARE: AARON AND BRYCE DESSNER (Cyrano) Beautiful romantic score by the Dessner brothers (from the Cincinnati band The National) is a major factor in the success of director Joe Wright's film. Their first nomination. HANS ZIMMER (Dune) A major player in Denis Villeneuve's movie's success, Zimmer's masterful choral score will land him his twelfth nomination and almost certainly his second Oscar following "The Lion King" in 1994. JOHNNY GREENWOOD (The Power of t ..read more

The Best Cinematography category has already been put to bed. Nothing is likely to change before Oscar night. As always, in this category, it's a very international bunch. It's also a good year to be Australian. And yet…… ..AND THE NOMINEES FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY ARE: HARIS ZAMBARLOUKUS (Belfast) First Oscar nomination for the Greek Cypriot cinematographer's lovely back and white lensing on "Kenneth Branagh's "Belfast" GREG FRASER (Dune) Second Oscar nomination (following "Lion" in 2016) for the Australian cinematogrpher's stunning work in capturing Dennis Villeneuve's vision on "Dune". He ..read more

Always Oscar's most competitive category and this year is definitely no exception. Balfe, Dunst and Ellis have their spots locked. With the arrival of West Side Story, DeBose and Moreno are in and it looks like a great lineup. ..AND THE NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ARE: CATRIONA BALFE (Belfast) Like her costar Ciaran Hinds, another sure bet. Her first nomination. ARIANA DeBOSE (Westside Story) Taking over the Anita role from Rita Moreno, she's the heart and soul of Spielberg's triumph. A certain first nomination and now the favorite to win. KIRSTIN DUNST ..read more

Moderately competitive category, the final five are easily chosen. However, there are an additional five actors who could potentially pull an upset. ..AND THE NOMINEES FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE ARE: BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH (The Power of the Dog) For his powerful lead performance in Jane Campion’s film he will receive his second best Actor nomination following "The Imitation Game" in 2014. PETER DINKLAGE (Cyrano) Highly regarded actor should finally win his first Best Actor nomination following in the footsteps of Jose Ferrer and Gerard Depardieu. ANDREW GARFIELD (tick ..read more