Matt's Musings

  We're past Easter and mostly through with Spring Break, so Spring has officially Sprung. The days are getting longer, the temperatures are getting warmer and the content for TV watchers is piling up. Networks didn't get a traditional Fall launch, but it appears they're making the most of it this Spring. So, too, are the streaming services. But what's worth your time to watch? Let these weekly posts be your guide as I look at the Pilot and Second Episode of new scripted series this Spring. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks. Thursdays: Made for Love, Thursdays on HBO Max (Premiered April 1) About: I've long thought Cristin Milioti deserved her own starring vehicle. She was the Mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother , delivering the best single episode of that season. And she's been a star in other projects, like the USS Callister episode of Black Mirror and last summer's comedy hit Palm Springs . Now she gets a lead ...

  The Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, April 25. The nominees were announced on Monday, March 15. Between now and the awards, I'll be previewing the different races. Today I'm looking at the Original Score, Original Song and Visual Effects races. Best Original Score: * Da Five Bloods * Mank * Soul * Minari * News of the World About: There are some good scores here from some memorable films, but also some films getting into the Academy Awards in only a few categories. Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor authored two of these scores, and both are good, but I think they will win for Soul . Best Original Song: * "Speak Now," One Night in Miami * "Husavik," Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga * "Io Si," The Life Ahead * "Fight for You," Judas and the Black Messiah * "Hear My Voice," The Trial of the Chicago 7 About: Some good and interesting songs in this group, and another set of films getting into the awards, as wel...

  As some of you know, I have been a frequent guest host on the Music City Drive In Movie podcast this summer. We've been looking at movies since 2000, re-nominating the Academy Awards. That got me thinking about the actual fields of the awards themselves. In a new weekly series, I'll be looking back at the last 40 years of Oscars and reviewing the choices at Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting categories. 2008: Best Picture: * Slumdog Millionaire * Milk * The Reader * Frost/Nixon * The Curious Case of Benjamin Button About: This was the year that really changed the Academy Awards. Slumdog Millionaire won Best Picture, but this year was more about who wasn't in the field, and that led to an expansion of the Best Picture category in subsequent years. Among those in the field, I liked Frost/Nixon, but I'm sticking with Slumdog . Best Director: * Danny Boyle * David Fincher * Ron Howard * Gus Van Sant * Stephen Daldry About: Boyle won here, and this one fe...

  2021 is the year I turn 40. As part of my celebration, I'm looking back at 40 years of movies, picking my favorite film from each year I've been around! To learn more about the criteria for this process, check this introduction. Each post will feature my pick, plus three runner's up. So check back over the next 40 weeks of this journey! 1987: Planes, Trains & Automobiles About: We have arrived at 1987 and, with the exception of one of the below, this was a year where I was drawn to the comedies. This is also a year where I don't have incredibly strong feelings separating the four films on this list, but in the end I went with Steve Martin, John Candy, and one of the worst road trips in the history of time. John Hughes does a great job with the story here, and Candy and Martin are great opposite each other. Traveling at the holidays isn't fun, I've done it, but this captures just how rough it and weather delays can be. It is wild and crazy, but in the end i...

  The Academy Awards are coming! Nominees were announced on Monday, March 15 and the awards will be held on Sunday, April 25. From now until then I'll be looking at all eight nominees for Best Picture and handicapping their chances. Judas and the Black Messiah Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Dominique Fishback, and Jesse Plemmons Director: Shaka King Total Nominations : 6 Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Kaluuya), Best Supporting Actor (Stanfield), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Song About: This film, which dropped in mid-February, was one of the films released on HBO Max and in theaters at the same time. While it was a little later to the party this Oscar season, it still ended up with six nominations and should be a lock to win at least one award. The film is a biopic focusing on Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton (Kaluuya) and Bill O'Neal (Stanfield), the small-time criminal recruited by an FBI Agent (Plemmon...

  The Academy Awards are coming! Nominees were announced on Monday, March 15 and the awards will be held on Sunday, April 25. From now until then I'll be looking at all eight nominees for Best Picture and handicapping their chances. The Father Starring : Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Coleman, and Mark Gatiss Director: Florian Zeller Total Nominations: 6 Nominated For : Best Picture, Best Actor (Hopkins), Best Supporting Actress (Coleman), Best Adapted Screenplay (Zeller and Christopher Hampton), Best Editing, Best Production Design About: The Father is a powerful film with some great performances that didn't get the kind of roll out that it deserved. It didn't even open wide and drop on VOD until the end of March, and I think that's hurt the campaign some. It might end up being the least widely seen film of the Best Picture group, which is a shame. Based on his play, Zeller does a nice job telling this story, and is blessed with great performances from Hopkins and Coleman...

  Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week. Bad Trip (Netflix) Starring: Eric Andre, Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, and Michaela Conlin Synopsis: This new comedy on Netflix is a bit like a Borat formula. Andre, Howery, Haddish and Conlin are characters in a story, but at the same time they're setting up a series of outlandish moments and pranks being played on real and largely unsuspecting people. That gives Bad Trip its comedy edge, and it's those pranks, and the reactions of the people involved that are the parts of the movie that work best. The buddy comedy story between Andre and Howery is just OK, but Andre is incredibly gifted at pulling off these pranks and selling what's happening. Haddish also gives a fun performance in a crazy role. This is a decent film with some fun moments but overall it's not incredible. Still, it's a somewhat different concept that works for what it is. Rating : R for crude sexual content, pervasive language, some gra...