Apocalyptic Nighttime: Taxi Driver (1976)

One of the most beautiful title cards in the history of cinema, Scorsese's Taxi Driver links us not only to the seedy grindhouse,
with its fading yellow-orange font, but also to the grand moviehouses of Hollywood's golden age, with its iconic Bernard Hermann score.

Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
I can see the moment in Scorsese's career where he steps confidently into the role of a great director: the gun purchasing scene in Taxi Driver.  Seen through the singular point of view of Travis as he eyes each gun, with a particularly beautiful pan across the .44, the salesman talks and talks about the benefits of every gun and we stay on Travis as he feels the gun in his hand, following his sightline out the window, across the city, over the freeway and to a couple of pedestrians milling about on the sidewalk several stories below.  No click of an empty chamber.  No comment about the scum. We have no clue where this is going or how far, but we know everything in this world is wrong and it is frightening to imagine what Travis may end up doing.  When he points the gun out the window, the camera's lens is focused on the outside, not the gun.  We feel his mind, even though we do not know it through narration.  

Our hero, imagined: insulated with words, overlooking the city, violence brewing.  A prophet of rage seeks for his voice.

2013 Oscars: Predictions Recap

Now that they have made the official announcements for the 2013 Academy Award nominations, let's see how I did in my predictions. 

86th Academy Awards

BEST PICTURE 7/9

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Blue Jasmine  Nebraska

Captain Phillips

Dallas Buyers Club

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis  Philomena

Lee Daniels' The Butler

The Wolf of Wall Street

3 things: 
1) What gives with the 9 nominations?  I don't think I read a single prediction that claimed there would be less than 10 nominees.  Not sure what the criteria is but there must be some quota of votes that must be met after which a film is eligible for the nom.  
2) I was very surprised by the support for Nebraska.  An earlier iteration of my list included Philomena, though I've heard so little about the film besides Dench that I hesitated and took it out.  
3) I had assumed the unstoppable Weistein machine would force a nomination for The Butler but thankfully, for the sake of posterity, I was wrong.  I can still see all the nominees without having to watch Lee Daniels' The Butler, which I consider a win.

BEST DIRECTOR 4/5

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)  Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)

David O. Russell (American Hustle)

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

I figured Greengrass was the wildcard of my picks but also assumed if the Academy varied from the DGA, it would pick Llewyn Davis next.  As mentioned above, Nebraska's support was surprising to me, though Payne also got a Globe nod so its not completely out of left field. 

2013 Oscars: Nominee Predictions

I used to do this all the time when I was in high school.  I haven't done it since college.  These are the movies/performances I think will get Academy Award nominations when the announcements are made January 16, 2014.

86th Academy Awards
BEST PICTURE
12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lee Daniels' The Butler
The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

BEST ACTOR
Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)
Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Robert Redford (All is Lost)

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Judi Dench (Philomena)
Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)