OscarWatch Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Cimarron (1931) May 03, 2018

Show notes

The duo hitches up the wagon and heads west for greener pastures with a look back at the 1931 Best Picture winner, Cimarron. A movie very much of its time, the film straddles the line between progress and "the way things were" both in terms of story, and in how famed silent actor Richard Dix handles a speaking role. Hint: there is no line that cannot be belted out of the park for a homerun. But how have the values of Cimarron and its supporting characters fared in the last 80 years? Do listen in. Another hint: if you were mad at Three Billboards, have I got a movie for you! Thanks for listening. Write us in with your thoughts to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to follow us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, we're gonna steal some bikes.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Apr 26, 2018

Show notes

In honor of the passing of legendary director Milos Forman, Amy and Steve are looking back at one of his most iconic films, the 1975 Best Picture winner, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Starring the one and only Jack Nicholson, the hosts debate if Jack ever actually acts; whether Louise Fletcher deserved that Best Lead Actress Oscar she so famously won; the positive side of ECT and how books and movies can be very different things. Plus, what is the deal with Chief, anyway? So grab your Juicy Fruit and be sure to demand your cigarettes. Thanks for listening in. Write us with your thoughts to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week: the hell kind of name is Yancey, anyways?

For Your ReConsideration: Black Swan (2010) Apr 19, 2018

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We finish our stay in 2010 with our last ReConsideration, Darren Aronofsky's descent into madness: Black Swan, wherein Natalie Portman slowly goes insane trying to be perfect. What does Aronofsky think of art and artists? We think something rather untenable, but who better to look at obsession than the most obsessive director currently working? Of course, we talk Portman - she won Best Actress. Kunis, Cassel and another in our long list of difficult mothers, Barbara Hershey. The dancing is superb, the effects sublime and subtle and the horrors very, very intimate. And you thought the ballet was boring. Thanks for listening. Drop us a line at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, we pay tribute to the late Milos Forman with a look back at Cuckoo's Nest.

For Your ReConsideration: The Social Network (2010) Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

We continue our descent into 2010 with a look at David Fincher's The Social Network, a movie that makes us go 'Oh yeah, all this stuff involving Zuckerberg totally makes sense!' Though a Fincher film, Amy and Steve talk at length about the film's writer, the legendary Aaron Sorkin and the good - and bad - that often comes with him. Is it so hard to write women, dammit?! Plus, Steve confesses that simple A to B storytelling is boring and that more films should play with time like this. And while the film is about our age, the themes of friendship and betrayal, of pride and jealousy have been around since stories first began. Did it deserve Best Picture? Well, you'll have to stick around and listen. Thanks for tuning in. Write us with your thoughts at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, our final stop in the 2010 train sees us soaring high in the sky, like a swan.

In A Better World (2010) Apr 05, 2018

Show notes

This week, we look at the harsh morality tale, In A Better World which went home with the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film over some considerable competition. Parents beware, there are children in danger in this one. A prescient film about the nature of violence in society in general and young men in particular, Amy and Steve discuss whole and half measures, and the pulling of punches. Can you have a film like this end on the note it does? Plus, why do non-Hollywood actors look so real? Thanks for listening. Drop us a line with your thoughts at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, for your reconsideration...another surprisingly prescient and relevant film, The Social Network.

Toy Story 3 (2010) Mar 29, 2018

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We've got a friend! Original co-host Alex Riviello returns to discuss the ins and outs of 2010's Best Animated Film winner, Toy Story 3. Haven't we seen this one before? Doesn't it bear an awful resemblance to its predecessor? But as Steve notes, what can you expect from the guy who just copy and pasted Episode IV? Plus, we discuss the utter darkness in this supposed "kid's" movie, why Woody is actually a sociopath, the religious overtones of the storyline, debate exactly who is the God here (is it kids? is it toys) and why, when you think about it, the idea of Toy Story is utterly TERRIFYING. All that and more as we continue our stay in 2010. Thanks for listening. Be sure to drop us a line with your thoughts to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to follow us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, we tackle the 2010 Foreign Language winner In A Better World

The King's Speech (2010) Mar 22, 2018

Show notes

Our first stop in 2010 takes us to the royal drama of a man searching for not only his voice, but the courage to take on the approaching storm. The King's Speech brought everyone's favorite Mr. Darcy his Oscar glory and who knew listening to him curse a blue streak could be so much fun? Amy and Steve discuss the ins and outs of this acting tour de force, the ins and outs of what a director does (it's more than just yelling 'cut!') and what, exactly, makes a film "Oscarbait". All this and more. Did the film deserve to win? Tune in to find out. Thank you for listening. Write us an email with your opinion to oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, we continue our 2010 retrospective and would like to remind you that you got a friend in me...

For(eign) Your ReConsideration: Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

A new segment where Amy and Steve look back at notable Foreign Language films that came up short at the Oscars. For the debut, we could think of none better than (recently en-goldened) Guillermo del Toro's dark fantasy drama, Pan's Labyrinth. Considered GdT's Spanish masterpiece, the film uses the 'young child escapes reality into a fantasy land' trope common to fairy tales and adds that del Toro darkness to the proceedings. Horrific violence, death and despair mix alongside the beautiful - and terrifying - creatures of fantasy. Amy and Steve debate the reality of the reality of the situation, figure out that maybe the bad guy is just a bit too much, find some striking parallels to recent BP winner, The Shape of Water and finally decide whether this should have won out over The Lives of Others. All this and a declaration that Blade II is the best Blade movie, this week on the podcast. Write us with your thoughts at oscarwatchpod@gmail.com, and find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Thanks for listening.

For Your ReConsideration: Sunset Boulevard (1950) Mar 09, 2018

Show notes

We would like to remind everyone that we are big, it's the podcasts that got small. Continuing our look at the year 1950, we set our sights on Billy Wilder's timeless time of obsession and faded glory, the one and only, Sunset Boulevard. A Hollywood film about Hollywood unlike any other. Amy and Steve discuss - at length - the beauty of the acting, from both Holden and Swanson, to how delicious the scripting can be (are there two better lines spoken in film history? We think not!) and just why this may endure better than its conqueror, All About Eve. Plus, that music, Eric von Stroheim and so much more. Join us. We're ready for our close-up. Thanks for listening. Write us an email at oscarwatchpodcast@gmail.com and be sure to find us on social media @oscarwatchpod Next week, Guillermo! But for what?

The 90th Academy Awards Recap Mar 05, 2018

Show notes

We add three more films to the roster here at OscarWatch: The Shape of Water, A Fantastic Woman and Coco. In this special, no muss, no fuss edition of the podcast, Amy and Steve recap the 90th Annual Academy Awards, a show that was long in time and had many things a long time coming. The big winner was del Toro, but there were so many things to be happy for; and even better, so few things to be mad about! So, be sure to Get Out and read it all in The Post, and don't forget to Call Me By Your Name (hint, it is I, Tonya) and this may seem like the Darkest Hour, but i assure you that the Shape of Water is not, in fact, a Phantom Thread. All that, montages, Kimmel, the best speeches, the most memorable moments. Hollywood knows how to party and there is no bigger or brighter hootenanny than the one, the only... The Oscars. Listen in, and we return to our regularly scheduled program soon.

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