... AND THE AWARD FOR "BEST PICTURE" GOES TO..." 1930    ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT   (Lewis Milestone / Universal-RKO Pictures) A blend of stark reality and questionable casting! An American cast of actors playing the roles of German soldiers?? The battle scenes are well shot and directed although some of the footage looks a bit primitive. The acting leaves a lot to be desired but there are some stand-out scenes, such as the battle in the trenches, which includes a graphic shot of a soldier being blown up as he clings to a string of barbed wire, leaving only his severed hands attached. Very good directing and cinematography add to the atmosphere and reality of the whole thing. It's an important film from an important era and deserves its place in cinematic history. Rated: 6/10 1933    CAVALCADE   (Frank Lloyd / Fox Film Corporation) A very 'British' film which is barely memorable for any one scene even after you have just finished watching it! Somebody was surely having a laugh at the Academy when they nominated Diana Wynyard for the Best Actress award for her performance in the film. She was positively awful to watch. Herbert Mundin was a joy, as was a young and almost sexy Una O'Connor but the rest of the cast are instantly forgettable. Interestingly there is a use of the word "damn" - six whole years before the Gone With The Wind controversy. A scene on board the ill-fated Titanic was quite the surprise and there is no shortage of pre-code cleavage either. Lacklustre. Rated: 3/10 1935    MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY   (Frank Lloyd / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Charles Laughton is in full bastard mode here with a frighteningly brilliant performance as Captain Bligh, the commander of the HMS Bounty whose ship is on a journey to the South Pacific when the crew rebel against his torturous methods and create a mutiny. Clark Gable co-stars as Master's Mate Fletcher Christian who rallies the men to otherthrow Bligh. The on-board scenes are very entertaining but the long sequence on the island is the point in the film where you are likely to get distracted. Necessary to tell the full story, but really slows the pace down considerably. However, it soons picks up again and you have to wait until around 85 minutes before the shit hits the fan! Rated: 7/10 1937    THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA   (William Dieterle / Warner Bros.) Paul Muni stars as Emile Zola, a 19th century French author who gets dragged a into a scandal which saw an innocent Captain Alfred Dreyfuss imprisoned for treason. When evidence comes to light regarding the real culprit, the higher-ups bury it for fear of their error being exposed and the reputation of the French army being tarnished. The film takes an age to get going but picks up after about the hour mark when we enter the courtroom drama part. The scene where Dreyfuss is finally released from his jail cell and he walks out looking bewildered was a particular scene I found rather moving. Slow start but a strong finish to the film. Rated: 6/10 1938    YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU   (Frank Capra / Columbia) A banker's son (JAMES STEWART) falls in love with the daughter of an eccentric family. Unfortunately for him, his snobbish parents take an instant disapprovement of the girl and her family. A stellar performance from Lionel Barrymore, who has a memorable scene where he receives a visit from an income tax collector who asks him why he has never paid any tax. To which, Barrymore replies "I don't believe in it!" The second half of the film explodes with a fantastic courtroom scene which provides some excellent dialogue which ultimately leads to a feel-good ending. The comedy elements are bizarre at times but keep the pace of the film on track despite the occassional slow sections. Third Oscar win for director Frank Capra too. Rated: 6/10 1939    GONE WITH THE WIND   (Victor Fleming / David O. Selznick-Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Quite frankly... one the greatest films of all time and one which boasts such quality that it will never be beaten. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, this beautifully crafted masterpiece tells the story of the struggles, the marriage and family life of Scarlett O'Hara (the beautiful Vivien Leigh) as she forms an uneasy relationship with the handsome stranger Rhett Butler (the on-form Clark Gable). The Max Steiner score, the brilliant cinematography, the nearly 4-hours running time, and a production which is still talked about today. Based on the huge novel from Margaret Mitchell. It's an incredible film and one which deserved every one of its eight Academy Awards. Mind you, it's not a film you would want to watch on a repeat basis! Rated: 10/10 1952    THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH   (Cecile B. DeMille / Paramount) Wait just a minute there!! James Stewart as a CLOWN? I just can't get past that. Anyway, what we have here is a grand spectacle of circus life offered in glorious Technicolor and with a little bit of plot thrown in for good measure. Charlton Heston stars as the circus manager who has to keep order between two competing trapeze artists who each want to perform on the centre stage. Seems for the most part that the showcase is more on the inner workings of the circus and its performers and that what little storyline there is simply gets in the way. It's also 2 and a half hours long! For its time I suppose it's an okay film but certainly not one of the better Best Picture winners I have seen although to be fair the last half hour is probably the best section. Rated: 5/10 1955    MARTY   (Delbert Mann / Hecht-Lancaster) "I'm just a fat little man, a fat ugly man" - Ernest Borgnine in one of his finest performances as the unmarried American-Italian butcher who still lives at home with his mother. When he does finally meet a girl he likes, his friends and his mother tell him they don't like her. But Marty makes up his own mind and chooses the girl despite their grievances. A decent film with a powerful screen presence from its leading star (Borgnine, who also nabbed the Best Actor Oscar). However, there are some flat spots along the way. The sub-plot of the mother, her sister and the in-laws distracts from the main plot and there is nothing at all likeable about Karen Steele's character. I didn't like the ending either. Too abrupt. Rated: 7/10 1956    AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS   (Michael Anderson, John Farrow / United Artists) Now I'm not going to lie here, I was a bit apprehensive going into this one because it just goes on and on and on. But nobody (not even me) can have any call to complain about that cinematography. Cameos galore in this one with a spot-the-face challenge in every scene. Another 'showcase' film moves along slowly and deliberately as the story of Englishman David Niven accepting a bet for him to circumnagivate the world in (you guessed it...) 80 days plays out across several different continents. The bullfight scene was incredibly boring to sit through but surprisingly for a film of its length (167 minutes, for God's sake) it was surprisingly enjoyable for the most part. Rated: 6/10 1958    GIGI   (Vincente Minnelli / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) Set in Paris, 1900, this is the story of a young French girl (with a British accent.... fancy that?) who resists the advances of a distinguished French gentleman who seeks her hand in marriage. Gigi's grandmother and snobby aunt lend their respective helping hands in guiding her accordingly. Beautiful, vivid Technicolor and eye-pleasing set designs set the tone on-screen whilst the soundtrack treats us to many songs along the way, the best being "I Remember It Well". The film won an astonishing 9 Oscars! Incidentally, the title of the film refers to the young lady in question and is pronounced "she-she". Sort of. Gigi is played by the 27 year-old Leslie Caron. It's an okay film. If you like French things. It's one of those films that can be hard to chew on for the near-2 hours of it but from an artistic perspective it does look glorious. Rated: 5/10 1967    IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT   (Norman Jewison / The Mirisch Corporation) Sidney Poitier is made to feel about as welcome as a fart in a crowded elevator as he stars as the black detective who is wrongly accused of murder in a racially hostile town. He is reluctantly pursuaded by the police department to co-operate with the white racist cops of the town in order to find the real culprit and solve the case. There is a decent chase sequence which takes us across the Mississippi river and a stand-out performance from Rod Steiger who begrudgingly works with Poitier on the case. It's an okay film with above average performances but not one of those kind of movies you would get addicted to watching. Average. Rated: 5/10 1975    ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST   (Milos Forman / United Artists) Jack Nicholson won his first Academy Award for Best Actor in this brilliant film about convicted felon Randal P. McMurphy who acts insane to avoid being sent to prison. Believing that he will have an easy ride in a mental institution instead he hams it up and plays mad, trying to convince staff and patients that he has lost the plot. Unfortunately for him he meets his match with Nurse Ratched (LOUISE FLETCHER) who isn't as easily fooled. A terrific cast, which includes a young Danny De Vito and Christopher Lloyd, and a screenplay which is practically perfect in every way. A film that is impossible not to love. Massively recommended. Rated: 10/10 1976    ROCKY   (John G. Avildsen / United Artists) It's an 'okay' film but another one of those movies that gets probably more attention than it deserves. The ugly-as-f*ck Stallone looks awkward throughout but give the then-unknown guy some credit for writing the screenplay which earned him an Oscar win (can you imagine that?) An aging Burgess Meredith, rising star Carl Weathers, Talia Shire and Burt Young round off the cast. The story about an amateur boxer who is afforded the chance of a life time to challenge for the world title against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). Against all the odds, Rocky goes the distance. But for me, the main story is the shy Rocky falling in love with pet shop girl Adrian. The boxing bout is so-so if I'm honest, and I had forgotten about Joe Frazier's surprise cameo too. Best Picture material though? No. Rated: 6½/10 1978    THE DEER HUNTER   (Michael Cimino / Universal) After we get done with the most excruciatingly long wedding ceremony we finally get down to business. The 3-hour film doesn't even start getting warmed up until around 1 hour in. Winner of 5 Academy Awards (including Best Picture and a slightly generous award for Christopher Walken for Best Supporting Actor), this film does deliver. For a film of this length it was surprisingly quite easy to sit through without distractions. It does give us both the greatest actor AND actress of all time together in the same film: DENIRO and STREEP. What more can you ask for? A solid film, better than I remembered. Rated: 7/10 1979    KRAMER VS. KRAMER   (Robert Benton / Columbia) onight's film was the winner of the 1979 Best Picture Academy Award, and was a first-time viewing for Emily.... KRAMER vs. KRAMER (1979) As powerful dramas go, this one is top of the pile. It's absolutely compelling and brilliantly acted (Hoffman knocks it out of the park and beyond, with Meryl Streep - the greatest actress ever in my opinion - winning her first Oscar too). The breakfast scene with Dusty making French toast for his son and then losing his temper; the scene where Billy falls from the apparatus in the park; Dusty smashing the wine glass in the restaurant and Meryl Streep's genuine surprised reaction... I could go on and on. But the simple fact of the matter is, this movie is brilliant with one powerful scene following the last, and that's to say nothing about the dramatic twist ending too! Emotional, powerful and just 100% deserving of every one of the 5 Academy Awards it bagged. Rated: 10/10 1987    THE LAST EMPEROR   (Bernardo Bertolucci / Yanco Films/TAO/RPC) A slow film which gets better as it progresses, but you really need some stamina to endure it. At times it seems more tedious than OPPENHEIMER (and that takes some doing!) but there is a serious storyline underneath it all. I have read elsewhere that the film is highly regarded, and let's face it, it won 9 Academy Awards... but no, this is definitely not my kind of movie. Peter O'Toole does make a positive difference to the dynamic of the film, however. There is a 3.5 hours version of the film labeled as the 'Director's Cut' (this was the version I watched for review), but the director later claimed this was NOT his cut, but rather an erroneous title given to that version. If you are going to watch this without the aid of sleeping pills then my advice is to get a ton of snacks for the duration. Rated: 4/10 2007    NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN   (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen / Miramax) A slightly confusing story which is helped along by an outstanding Oscar-winning performance by Javier Bardem, who plays a real nasty villain on a violent rampage hunting Josh Brolin after a drugs-deal that has gone wrong in a desert near the Mexcican border. Some memorable scenes include Brolin's character hiding a suitcase full of money in a hotel room air vent and Brolin's attempts to sweet-talk a border guard so that he can enter the USA from a road-bridge. The final 10 minutes are intriguing and frustrating because, well.... I don't want to give anything away. The first time I watched it I liked it; the second time I watched it, not so much. A tough movie to call in terms of rating it out of 10. I settled for a weak 6 simply because of Bardem's performance. Rated: 6/10 2010    THE KING'S SPEECH   (Tom Hooper / The Weinstein Company, UK Film Council, Momentum Pictures) Colin Firth won the Best Actor Oscar but for me it's Geoffrey Rush who has the standout performance here. His "Knighthood?" retort to the King made me burst out laughing, I must admit! Okay so this was a true story I didn't know much about (for two reasons: one I am not a 'fan' of the British monarchy, nor do I care much for history itself!) It was an okay film, with a mixture of charm, emotional drama and just a scattering of humour mixed with factual historical events, it was a pleasant enough 2 hours to sit through. Rated: 6/10 2016    MOONLIGHT   (Barry Jenkins / A24-Plan B Entertainment-PASTEL) First impressions: Wow! What a great solid drama, which massively exceeded my expectations. It tells the story of a shy young boy named Chiron who suffers years of abuse from his drug-addicted single mother, as well as from school bullies he has to endure. As he grows up and explores his sexuality, drugs and violence. Towards the end of the film Chiron is given opportunities to forgive those who tormented him as a child. Some incredibly powerful scenes, shot was sensitivity and allowing for brilliant performances from an all-black cast. Once you have seen the film, you will understand the image on the front of the movie poster. Winner of 3 Oscars, including Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor (who also won again a couple of years later for GREEN BOOK). Did the film deserve the Best Picture Oscar over LA-LA LAND? Yes. Rated: 7/10 2017    THE SHAPE OF WATER   (Guillermo del Toro / Fox Serachlight) Set in 1962, a mute cleaner (SALLY HAWKINS) falls in love with a half-man, half-fish.... thing who is being kept at a top secret research facility. She then kidnaps it, takes it back to her home and gets jiggy with it. Full frontal nudity within 5 minutes of the film, no big named stars and led by Guillermo del Toro who somehow managed to win Best Director for this!?!?!?! One critic called this, and I quote, "a masterpiece"? It bloody ain't, mate. It bloody well ain't! A really odd film. Must have been a very slow 2017 because surely this couldn't have been the best film of the year? Rated: 5/10 2018    GREEN BOOK   (Peter Farrelly / Participant-DreamWorks) The story of a white American-Italian bouncer (VIGGO MORTENSEN) who finds himself working temporarily as a chauffeur for a black classical pianist (MAHERSHALA ALI), who hires him for a two month tour of the deep South as he fulfills a series of gigs in the early 1960s. Racial issues and hostilities become an everyday issue as the two men slowly turn their business relationship into a friendship. An outstanding performance from Mahershala Ali, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and rightly so. This isn't a film I would have wanted to watch ordinarily and did so only for my desire to see every Best Picture winner, but I'm so glad I did. One of the best films I have seen in years. Great story. Incidentally, the title refers to a motorists' handbook for negroes. Rated: 8/10 2023    OPPENHEIMER   (Christopher Nolan / Universal) Seriously? If you made it through the entire film in one sitting then you did better than me. An absolute convoluted mess of a movie. Boring doesn't quite cover it. One of the worst, most overrated films I have ever seen. Rated: 3/10