Oscar Deficiencies: The Genre Gap

On Sunday, March 2, the 97th Academy Awards will honor the most notable films of 2024. Among the numerous movies nominated and competing for the chance to grab one of the golden trophies, ten individual films have been decreed the greatest of 2024. The following were nominated in the category of Best Picture: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and Wicked. From a biopic about Bob Dylan to a musical taking audiences back to Oz, the nominations represent the astounding breadth of cinema this year. Most notably, the lineup features one science-fiction movie (Dune: Part Two), one horror movie (The Substance) and one fantasy movie (Wicked).

Annihilation is a New Sci-Fi Classic

Last September, a trailer popped up on YouTube that immediately captured my attention. Right from the get-go, Annihilation had me hooked with its enigmatic teaser. It seemed to ooze all kinds of clever science-fiction goodness. The film is directed and written by Alex Garland, the mind behind Ex Machina, and the story comes from an acclaimed series of  novels by Jeff VanderMeer. As time went on, I began counting down the days to Annihilation’s release.

GUEST ROOM | Oscar for an Ape

As much as I love foisting my movie opinions on others, I don’t envy the jobs of Academy voters. Every year they put forth their best guesses as to what films and actors they feel stood out over the last 365 days and every year somebody somewhere will always feel their favorite piece or person has been snubbed. Unfortunately, those opinions are consistently more boisterous than the silent consent of the masses. That said, I think they’ve done a good job this year… for the most part. Best Actress has Frances McDormand (Three Billboards)?

Honor Among Rogues

When Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in December 2015, to say that it had to live up to high expectations would be a tremendous understatement. A decade had passed since the last live-action Star Wars movie was released, and the trailers had promoted the film as an exciting new take on the galaxy far, far away while also promising plenty of nostalgic moments, evidenced by the inclusion of John William’s iconic soundtrack and appearances from Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2. Although The Force Awakens was by no means a bad film, time and nostalgia made audiences and critics willing to forgive its more egregious flaws: mainly that it was a recapitulation of the Star Wars: A New Hope’s storyline albeit with superior special effects. However, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story does not benefit from the same circumstances that surrounded The Force Awakens. The familiar glow of a lightsaber or an incredulous rendition of “I’ve got bad feeling about this” are not enough to satisfy fans anymore.

Passengers: A Wasted Chris Pratt Oscar Nomination

There is no reason that Passengers had to be a mediocre film, and it is just that — mediocre. Though I certainly enjoyed parts of the film, there’s no chance I remember this movie next holiday season. That’s a shame because director Morten Tyldum’s film had a 110 million dollar budget and a star-studded cast. Passengers is the tale of Jim Preston, played by Chris Pratt, a traveler on the Starship Avalon, which is voyaging from an overpopulated Earth to a budding colony world. When a collision with a large asteroid causes Jim’s hibernation pod to malfunction, he finds himself alone aboard a ship nearly 90 years from its destination — doomed to never see the Avalon’s destination.