We had no films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.
Resurfaced: Mildred Pierce (1945)
In this series of articles, I’ll be posting reviews that have recently resurfaced. A number of the reviews I wrote in the past I thought had been lost to time, but after coming to a realization that they might still exist on the Wayback Machine, I was able to relocate many of them. I believe there are still some that are lost and they may be lost in perpetuity, but I will periodically search for that data or re-write those reviews that I have never found or which I never wrote to begin with.
For now, this series will be extensive with over 300 regular (400+ words), short (400- words), and quickie (1 to 2 paragraphs) reviews. I will attempt to combine them as best as I can. Reviews written in early 1998 or earlier, no date of creation exists. I will post the original writing date where known, otherwise the date will be listed as “unknown.” These reviews were written between the date of my site’s founding in 1996 through much of 2002. It was only after this period that I settled on the standard format and length of reviews as well as posting each one to its own individual page, which is why the old data was ultimately lost.
All but the review content has been replaced to match my current formatting guidelines, which are a bit more thorough than they might have been in those early days. Please note that I am attempting to retain as much of the original editing integrity as possible, so spelling and/or grammar errors may still be present. This may also mean that some factual data is not there as IMDb was not as ubiquitous as it is now. So, let’s get on to today’s review.
Mildred Pierce
Rating
Director
Michael Curtiz
Screenplay
Ranald MacDougall (Novel: James M. Cain)
Length
1h 51m
Starring
Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe
MPAA Rating
This Day in Oscar History: August 15 (2022)
Here’s what happened today in Oscar History.
Born
Died
Released
Click here to continue reading this article
Poll: Best of Aug. 2021, Limited
Loading ...Film Preview: Maneater (2022)
Page Revisions:
(August 7, 2022) Original
Release Date:
August 26, 2022
Synopsis:
From IMDb: “After an accident during their vacations on a paradisiac island, a group of friends is stalked by a large shark.”
Poster Rating: C
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Review: Predictable. Cheap. Unappealing. Three descriptive words that capture the essence of the design.
Trailer Rating: C-
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Review: Does this genre have anything new to say? If you go by this trailer, you might think that it doesn’t. There’s little rooting interest in the narrative and the scenes of shark attacks feel overly familiar. The score used even tries to surreptitiously connect itself to the Jaws theme and that might be the most telling element of the trailer that few will actually pick up on.
Oscar Prospects:
None.
Trailer #1
Weekend Preview: Aug. 19-21, 2022
Below are eight previews for films opening next weekend.
Beast (Wide)
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (Wide)
Delia’s Gone (Limited)
The Immaculate Room (Limited)
The Legend of Molly Johnson (Limited)
Orphan: First Kill (Limited)
Spin Me Round (Limited)
Vesper (Limited)
Film Preview: Spin Me Round (2022)
Page Revisions:
(August 14, 2022) Original
Release Date:
August 19, 2022
Synopsis:
From IMDb: “A woman wins an all-expenses trip to a company’s gorgeous “institute” outside of Florence, and also the chance to meet the restaurant chain’s wealthy and charismatic owner. She finds a different adventure than the one she imagined.”
Poster Rating: B
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Review: It’s a clever choice to make this look like a romance novel cover and that might be just enough to compel a few disinterested individuals into seeing the film, but might turn off quite a few others.
Trailer Rating: B-
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Review: The trailer does a fair job of conveying the film’s premise. It digs perhaps too deeply into it, giving away some of the originality, but the cast is appealing and there’s just enough of a light touch of comedy to hook some potential viewers.
Oscar Prospects:
None.
Trailer #1
Film Preview: Delia’s Gone (2022)
Page Revisions:
(August 14, 2022) Original
Release Date:
August 19, 2022
Synopsis:
From IMDb: “A convicted man embarks on a journey of violence and redemption to find out the truth about his sister’s death.”
Poster Rating: C
SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: Nothing new or inventive to see here with a shade too much obvious Photoshopping.
Trailer Rating: B-
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Review: It’s key to a film’s success to put forth a mystery the audience is interested in solving. This trailer tries desperately to provide that suspense, but the generic tediousness of the trailer undoes any good work they might have thought they were doing.
Oscar Prospects:
None.
Trailer #1
Resurfaced: National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation (1997)
In this series of articles, I’ll be posting reviews that have recently resurfaced. A number of the reviews I wrote in the past I thought had been lost to time, but after coming to a realization that they might still exist on the Wayback Machine, I was able to relocate many of them. I believe there are still some that are lost and they may be lost in perpetuity, but I will periodically search for that data or re-write those reviews that I have never found or which I never wrote to begin with.
For now, this series will be extensive with over 300 regular (400+ words), short (400- words), and quickie (1 to 2 paragraphs) reviews. I will attempt to combine them as best as I can. Reviews written in early 1998 or earlier, no date of creation exists. I will post the original writing date where known, otherwise the date will be listed as “unknown.” These reviews were written between the date of my site’s founding in 1996 through much of 2002. It was only after this period that I settled on the standard format and length of reviews as well as posting each one to its own individual page, which is why the old data was ultimately lost.
All but the review content has been replaced to match my current formatting guidelines, which are a bit more thorough than they might have been in those early days. Please note that I am attempting to retain as much of the original editing integrity as possible, so spelling and/or grammar errors may still be present. This may also mean that some factual data is not there as IMDb was not as ubiquitous as it is now. So, let’s get on to today’s review.
Vegas Vacation
Rating
Director
Stephen Kessler
Screenplay
Elisa Bell, Bob Ducsay
Length
1h 33m
Starring
Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols, Miriam Flynn, Shae D’lyn, Wallace Shawn, Sid Caesar
MPAA Rating
This Day in Oscar History: August 14 (2022)
Here’s what happened today in Oscar History.
Born
Died
Released
Click here to continue reading this article
Film Preview: Out of the Blue (2022)
Page Revisions:
(August 7, 2022) Original
Release Date:
August 26, 2022
Synopsis:
From IMDb: “Connor, a man whose dull life is transformed into a thrilling fantasy world thanks to the seductive Marilyn.”
Poster Rating: C
SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: There’s a small amount of sultriness here and the tilt of the figures adds a measure of imbalance, but it’s generally just an overly simplistic effort.
Trailer Rating: C
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Review: As much as the concept feels overly familiar, the trailer manages to avoid a lot of pitfalls that might make it feel too identifiable. That said, the trailer does an utterly poor job getting the audience engaged about the narrative. The tension is hampered by rapid cuts and dull backstory recitation. Sometimes, it’s nice to get information about the core of the film, but when you want to over-highlight the presence of Hank Azaria, you have to get him in often even if his presence feels tacked on.
Oscar Prospects:
None.
Trailer #1
Resurfaced: Star Trek – The Motion Picture (1979)
In this series of articles, I’ll be posting reviews that have recently resurfaced. A number of the reviews I wrote in the past I thought had been lost to time, but after coming to a realization that they might still exist on the Wayback Machine, I was able to relocate many of them. I believe there are still some that are lost and they may be lost in perpetuity, but I will periodically search for that data or re-write those reviews that I have never found or which I never wrote to begin with.
For now, this series will be extensive with over 300 regular (400+ words), short (400- words), and quickie (1 to 2 paragraphs) reviews. I will attempt to combine them as best as I can. Reviews written in early 1998 or earlier, no date of creation exists. I will post the original writing date where known, otherwise the date will be listed as “unknown.” These reviews were written between the date of my site’s founding in 1996 through much of 2002. It was only after this period that I settled on the standard format and length of reviews as well as posting each one to its own individual page, which is why the old data was ultimately lost.
All but the review content has been replaced to match my current formatting guidelines, which are a bit more thorough than they might have been in those early days. Please note that I am attempting to retain as much of the original editing integrity as possible, so spelling and/or grammar errors may still be present. This may also mean that some factual data is not there as IMDb was not as ubiquitous as it is now. So, let’s get on to today’s review.
Star Trek – The Motion Picture
Rating
Director
Robert Wise
Screenplay
Harold Livingston, Alan Dean Foster
Length
2h 12m
Starring
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Persis Khabatta, Stephen Collins, Grace Lee Whitney, Mark Lenard
MPAA Rating
This Day in Oscar History: August 13 (2022)
Here’s what happened today in Oscar History.
Born
Died
Released
Click here to continue reading this article
Film Preview: House of Darkness (2022)
Page Revisions:
(August 7, 2022) Original
Release Date:
September 9, 2022
Synopsis:
From IMDb: “Justin Long and Kate Bosworth star in this seductive thriller from director Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man). Driving home to her secluded estate after meeting at a local bar, a player out to score thinks his beautiful, mysterious date will be another casual hook-up. While getting acquainted, their flirtation turns playful, sexy and sinister. Hoping to get lucky, his luck may have just run out.”
Poster Rating: C
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Review: Too much red with too much black and a disappointing amount of 2-dimensionality.
Trailer Rating: C
SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: The reference to Bram Stoker’s Dracula comes far too late in the trailer to be any good and the strangeness of the material outweighs any intrigue in the concept that might generate from that twist on Stoker’s tale.
Oscar Prospects:
None.
Trailer #1
Oscar in Box Office History (Week 32, 2022)
Every week, we’ll take a look back in 5-year intervals at the box office past to explore how Oscar’s nominees were doing at the box office each weekend historically. The first section under each year is the positioning of all Oscar nominees during that weekend at the box office (as well as a section looking at the inflation-adjusted numbers). The third section is an alphabetical list of those films and the categories in which they were nominated. And to start each week off, we’ll be looking at the films releasing over the weekend that have the best chance of getting Oscar nominations and specifying the categories where we think they have the best shots at this stage of the game. If you have any suggestions for more data you’d like to see, please let us know.
This Year: Potential Oscar Nominees Releasing This Weekend
None