When I was growing up, I loved to study history. I did focus most of my efforts on sports and United States Presidents; however, I did manage to explore other areas of history. Lost among the millions, maybe billions of stories out there of years gone by, is the story of Emile Zola. I mentioned … More The Life of Emile Zola
Grand Hotel was the Best Picture winner for 1932, the fifth movie in history to win such an honour. Given that the date of this review is 2021, we are close to celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first award ceremony, which means I still have time to learn how the Academy used to think. … More Grand Hotel (1932)
Every time I sit down to watch a new Best Picture winner, I say to myself that the worse has to be over, right? Well, much to my surprise, there are still a handful of duds left, and Cavalcade is one of them. This 1933 winner focuses on the lives of two families who suffer … More Cavalcade (1933)
West Side Story has to be one of the most popular and recognized Best Winners in history. What started on the stages of Broadway turned into a motion picture event that went on to capture 10 Acamedy Awards. This film is held in such high regard that many other musicals have been compared to this … More West Side Story (1961)
After the opening sequence of Gigi, I was terrified. I’ve watched my fair share of musicals lately and prayed this would not make me want to pull my hair out (again). Thankfully Gigi was not at all what I expected and turned out to be one of the better Best Picture winners I’ve seen from … More Gigi (1958)
I am going to cut right to the chase with my thoughts on Tom Jones. This film, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1963 and rated the 51st Greatest British film of the 20th Century, was terrible. Tom Jones was considered one of the greatest comedies of its time, yet I did … More Tom Jones (1963)
The Broadway Melody was released in 1929, the year my grandmother was born, and became the Academy’s second ever Best Picture winner. What was truly remarkable about this particular film was it became the first motion picture with sound to win the award. Sadly, despite all the pomp and circumstance, The Broadway Melody is the … More The Broadway Melody (1929)
A Man for All Seasons was originally a play that was turned into a motion picture that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 1966. The film also captured five other awards that night, including the Best Director and Best Actor. For those unfamiliar with the story, A Man for All Seasons … More A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Midnight Cowboy not only turned out to be the worse Best Picture film I have ever seen, but it is also definitely one of the worse movies I have ever seen in my lifetime. I have never seen a film that I didn’t like as much as this one, which starred two Hollywood legends, Dustin … More Midnight Cowboy (1969)
The very first time I watched Shakespeare in Love was in my 11th grade European History class. It appears I had an amazing teacher because I had totally forgotten all the nudity and sex depicted in this 1998 Best Picture winner. I have seen the film a few times since that day and vaguely remembered … More Shakespeare in Love (1998)
Ten Stars or Less 