Matt's Musings

  The Oscar Nominations will officially be announced on Tuesday, February 8. But before we get the official nominations, I figured I'd jump in and give my picks for if I decided the Oscars. I'll be giving my picks for Best Picture, Best International Feature, Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay below. These are purely my picks based on the work I think has been the best and strongest. Best Picture: * CODA * Mass * Belfast * The Tragedy of Macbeth * Nine Days * Licorice Pizza * West Side Story * Nightmare Alley * The Eyes of Tammy Faye * Spider-Man: No Way Home Best International Feature: * Drive My Car * Parallel Mothers * Flee * A Hero * Compartment No. 6 Best Animated Feature: * Sing 2 * Encanto * Raya and the Last Dragon * Luca * The Mitchells vs. The Machines Best Documentary Feature: * The Rescue * 9/11: Inside the President's...

  The first ever slate of awards will be handed out by the North American Film Critics Association tonight. Please join us live at 8 p.m. EST as we all vote on the winners. Below are the nominees for our first slate along with the votes I'll be giving tonight. I'm honored to be a part of this group and the work we've done to get here over the last year. I'm excited to share my picks and see who ends up coming out on top! Best Picture   Mass  Spider-Man: No Way Home Dune  The Power of the Dog Belfast My Pick :  Three of my Top 5 films of the year are on this list. It's a strong and diverse group, but I have to go with Mass . It's such a powerful story.       Best Director Kenneth Branagh, Belfast      Denis Villenueve, Dune          Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog Joel Coen, The Tragedy of Macbeth Ridley Scott, The Last Duel My Pick : An interesting group of nominees, but it's an easy choice for ...

   Welcome to this year's exploration of TV, the Best of the Small Screen. Throughout the year I'll be looking at my favorite shows in four categories: Network Sitcoms, Network Dramas, Cable Series and Streaming Series. We'll cap the exploration with my Top 10 shows of all time regardless of format. Check back each Saturday for another installment in the countdown! George Costanza:   It became very clear to me sitting out there today that every decision I've made in my entire life has been wrong. My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have, in every aspect of life, be it something to wear, something to eat - it's all been wrong. Seinfeld (1989-1998) Starring : Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards Favorite Episodes : "The Chinese Restaurant," Episode 2.11, "The Parking Garage," Episode 3.06, "The Limo," Episode 3.18, "The Contest," Episode 4.11, ...

  In 2022 I'm revisiting my favorite films of all time, doing a countdown of the Top 50 throughout the year. Check back each Friday for the latest installment in the countdown of films, which include releases through 2019. Agree? Disagree? Have a thought on the choice? Be sure to share in the comments below! Bruce Banner : [on Loki] I was just talking to him just a couple minutes ago and he was totally ready to kill any of us. Valkyrie : He did try to kill me. Thor : Yes, me too. On many, many occasions. There was one time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So, I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and he was like, "Blergh, it's me!". And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, and Cate Blanchett Director : Taika Waititi About : I am a huge Marvel f...

  The GOAT has hung up his cleats. After 22 remarkable years, Tom Brady is calling it a career. What a wild few days it took to get there. On Friday, rumors broke that Brady was going to retire. He's 44-years-old, has a lot of family interests and certainly has nothing left to prove. It made some sense, but could it be true? On Saturday, Adam Schefter, among others, seemed to confirm that Brady was, indeed, calling it a career. Brady seemed to refute that all the way through his weekly radio appearance on Monday night, saying he was taking it day-by-day. Then, first thing on Tuesday, he dropped an Instagram post saying goodbye. So, it seems like he is actually retiring, leaving us to consider what that means. As a lifelong Denver Broncos fan, I've had a grudging respect for Brady and all he accomplished with the Patriots. He played there for 20 years, going 219-64 during that time. He then moved down to Tampa, going 24-9 in two years and winning his Seventh Super Bowl. Now, hi...

  We’ve made it to February, and we’ll soon know what films are competing for the Academy Awards. That always brings people out to see what they might have missed. This week I saw a number of films, including three more films from Sundance! Here’s a look at all the movies I saw this week. If you’d like to see more of my scores for films and thoughts, feel free to follow me on Letterboxd here . 892 (Sundance) Starring : John Boyega, Michael K. Williams, Nicole Beharie, and             Selenis Leyva Synopsis: Another film premier from Sundance, this one is based on a true story and features a powerful lead performance from Boyega as well as the final on-screen credit for the late Williams. Brian Brown-Easley (Boyega) was a veteran who was let down by the Veteran’s Administration. Not seeing any other way to be seen and heard, and facing homelessness, he walked into a Wells Fargo and said he had a bomb. This film follows Brow...

  February is here, literally today. And if you’re like me, it’s a cold one. We’re beginning days of snow and cold in Colorado, something that much of the East Coast had this past weekend. That kind of weather lends itself to staying indoors with a blanket and watching some TV. But what of the new series is worth your time? That’s what this weekly post is all about as I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Winter. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks. Mondays: The Gilded Age, Mondays at 9 p.m. on HBO (Premiered January 24) About: The latest from Julian Fellowes will likely hold great appeal for Downton Abbey fans, bringing that look at the upstairs and downstairs world to New York in the 1880s. The first episode, which ran about an hour and 20 minutes, laid out the world and characters. This is a beautifully crafted series with some great production values. It also boasts a strong cast. The second episode, which settled in around...