Category: Special Features

Opinion Pieces that aren’t necessarily reviews or ‘Marvelous Monday,’ ‘Dagobah Day,’ or Awards posts.

Best of the 2010s: Top Ten Sci-Fi Films

Mad Max: Fury Road — Warner Bros.

As has been announced previously, now that the 2010s have come to an end, I want to highlight, recognize, and, in a sense, reward the best films not just of a year but also of the last decade. Previously, I’ve written Best of the 2010s-lists on Comedy, Directorial Debuts, Biopics, and Horror films. The next genre-specific top ten list for the 2010s is all about one of my very favorite genres: Science-Fiction. However, before I list the best science-fiction films of the decade, let me describe my criteria for putting the list together. Continue reading “Best of the 2010s: Top Ten Sci-Fi Films” →

93rd Oscars: New Eligibility Requirements and a ‘New’ Category – Special Features #69

The coronavirus pandemic has had a serious impact on the film industry. Universal has pulled several films from their theatrical release schedule and made them available on-demand, and, allegedly, they have found a lot of success with the VOD release of Trolls World Tour. Meanwhile, we still don’t know when theaters all over the world will reopen. It could take several weeks, but it could also take several months. Your guess could be as good as mine. As a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ (AMPAS) Board of Governors has approved several noteworthy rule changes that, among other things, change which films are eligible for the 93rd Academy Awards. Continue reading “93rd Oscars: New Eligibility Requirements and a ‘New’ Category – Special Features #69” →

What To Watch During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part II – Special Features #68

A couple of weeks ago, I presented my readers with a list of films or shows to binge-watch during your self-isolation due to the current coronavirus pandemic. I decided to focus on shows that I had not previously reviewed, or had no intention of reviewing. Since the pandemic has not come to an end, I thought it would be a good idea to recommend some extra options. So, today, I present you with another small handful of binge-watching options, none of which I have previously reviewed on this site. Continue reading “What To Watch During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Part II – Special Features #68” →

What To Watch (Or Not Watch) During the Coronavirus Pandemic – Special Features #67

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of your time during your Coronavirus pandemic self-isolation by watching a truckload of films and shows. In this edition of Special Features, I have listed several films and television shows that I have watched recently. Also, I obviously recommend that my readers watch both Westworld and Better Call Saul, but since I am reviewing — or plan to review — these shows, I won’t be discussing them in this article. In fact, I don’t currently plan to write lengthy reviews of most of the shows or films that I am specifically writing about in this article. However, that does not mean that I don’t have plenty of shows or films that I want to recommend. Let’s dive in. Continue reading “What To Watch (Or Not Watch) During the Coronavirus Pandemic – Special Features #67” →

Coronavirus Update: Stay Home – Special Features #66

Contagion (2011), Warner Bros. Pictures

On March 5th, I wrote an article about the announcement that the 25th Eon-produced James Bond film, NO TIME TO DIE, was postponed to November 2020 to minimize the risk of infection at movie theaters all over the world and to ensure commercial success. Since then, as I predicted, the theatrical releases of several films including, but not limited to, A Quiet Place: Part II, Mulan, The New Mutants, and Fast and Furious 9 have been postponed. Continue reading “Coronavirus Update: Stay Home – Special Features #66” →

Casting the HBO adaptation of THE LAST OF US – Special Features #65

HBO and PlayStation recently announced that Chernobyl-creator Craig Mazin will develop a series adaptation of the hit PlayStation game THE LAST OF US with Neil Druckmann, who was the writer and co-creative director on the original game. Druckmann is also one of the chief creatives working on the game’s highly anticipated sequel, THE LAST OF US: PART II. As I’ve definitely written before, THE LAST OF US is my favorite game ever made. It is a masterpiece. So, today, I want to give my updated opinions about who should play the game’s main characters in the upcoming HBO adaptation. Continue reading “Casting the HBO adaptation of THE LAST OF US – Special Features #65” →

‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Theatrical Release Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak – Special Features #64

‘NO TIME TO DIE,’ Universal Pictures

The twenty-fifth James Bond film produced by Eon Productions, Cary Joji Fukunaga’s NO TIME TO DIE, was scheduled to be released just next month on April 2nd in most of the world and on April 10th in the United States. The coronavirus outbreak has now affected most of the world, and major events all over the world are now likely to be either canceled or postponed. Now MGM, Universal Pictures, and Eon Productions have announced that the publicity tour and the global release of the film have been postponed to November 2020 to minimize the risk of infection at movie theaters all over the world and to ensure commercial success. Continue reading “‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Theatrical Release Postponed Due to Coronavirus Outbreak – Special Features #64” →

Early 93rd Academy Awards Predictions – Special Features #63

I really enjoyed doing this for the last two years, so it’s happening again! It has become a tradition of mine. The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony was only just held a few days ago, and I’ve only seen, like, a handful of films from 2020 at this point. I think I have a pretty good idea of what is coming out this year, though. So, without further ado, let’s get to it. Continue reading “Early 93rd Academy Awards Predictions – Special Features #63” →

Parasite Won Best Picture and Made History – Special Features #62

What happened at the 92nd Academy Awards was incredible. Just ask most Oscar experts and they will agree. This was, based on statistics and precursor awards results, supposed to be Sam Mendes’ and 1917‘s night. Though I desperately wanted Parasite to win all of the night’s biggest awards, my head was telling me no. Therefore, in my final predictions, I went with the safe bet and said 1917 would win Best Director and Best Picture. I’ve never been so happy to be wrong about an Oscar-prediction. In the end, the latest South Korean masterpiece — Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite — won the night’s two biggest awards (as well as two other prestigious golden statuettes). The Academy made the right choice. This time, in my opinion, the Best Picture winner is actually the best film of the year. The Academy finally got it right, as they say. Continue reading “Parasite Won Best Picture and Made History – Special Features #62” →

Final 92nd Academy Awards Predictions: Winners – Special Features #61

It’s time. This awards season has been rather short. This has been both been a good and a bad thing, though Film Twitter seems convinced that it’s only been a bad thing. Sure, AMPAS’ predictions were somewhat disappointing, and, frustratingly, many of the upcoming winners seem obvious at this point. It almost feels like only a little bit more than a handful of categories are competitive going into the big night. Today, I’m giving my final predictions for the big Oscar night — the Super Bowl for the film community.
Continue reading “Final 92nd Academy Awards Predictions: Winners – Special Features #61” →