Category: Columns

2026 Oscar Docs: A look at the nominees

Unlike last year where I was only able to catch three of the five nominated films for Best Documentary Feature, I have managed to watch the whole lineup, and then some. It was worth it, too, because this was one of the best group of nominees in the category in years.

The 2025 collection covers a wide range of topics, all with unique styles and effective approaches. Below, I share my thoughts on all five. Additionally, I’m including my take on two shortlisted pictures detailing significant topics.

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The End of the Beginning: My hometown theater, Cine 5, closes

For a film buff, living near a movie theater is a great bit of geographic luck.

That’s what I had growing up in International Falls, Minn. From when I was born until I moved away for college, I never lived more than a block or two away from the local theater, the Cine 5.

Sadly, like I’ve done twice already on this site, I’m having to write a farewell piece to a place where I spent countless hours and created numerous memories. The Cine 5 closed recently, marking the end of another theater that I regularly attended.

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2025 Summer Movie Awards

Another summer at the movies is in the books and this one was rather mixed.

Top tier films, both in terms of blockbusters and smaller releases, were not in high supply. Instead, most of the flicks out there over the last several months were just about average.

However, there were still some gems worth praising out there, and a few films had qualities warranting merit. As usual, I’m here to give those pictures their due.

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May 2015 featured one of the biggest weekends of entertainment ever

The most traditional ways movies and sports collide is in a sports movie. Often about underdogs overcoming tremendous odds.

However, other times, it just so happens that big movies are released around the same time major sporting events take place. That’s what occurred in the first weekend of May, 10 years ago, and there was definitely no underdog. These were heavyweights going at it across the world of entertainment, with screens of all sorts filled with events.

All of five of the major professional sports leagues were in play. The NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB all had events, on top of the “Avengers” sequel being released. Oh yeah, there was also the biggest horse race and boxing fight taking place. Here’s a breakdown of that legendary weekend.

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2025 Oscar Docs: A Look at the Nominees

Most award seasons I try to see all five of the Oscar nominated documentaries. However, February turned into a busy month, and one of the movies, “No Other Land,” was only playing at a single theater and it was difficult to find a showtime to see it. It was also unavailable to stream.

That was the same case with “Porcelain War,” which wasn’t streaming and also had zero theatrical showings in the great state of Minnesota. Fortunately, I was able to at least se three of the nominees and can give my thoughts on them ahead of the ceremony.

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Animation at the 97th Oscars: A Recap

The full length animation category in the Academy Awards line-up often features a mix of smaller releases and major productions.

That was the case this year, with two widely released pictures from Pixar and DreamWorks, along with three that were released directly via streaming and/or made by smaller studios. In the lead-up to this year’s ceremony, having seen “The Wild Robot” and “Inside Out 2,” I caught up on the other three.

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2024 Summer Movie Awards

I think it’s pretty safe to say Summer 2024 is in the rearview.

OK, maybe not technically, as the official date to start fall is closer to Sept. 21. However, Starbuck’s is out with Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Oktoberfest beer is on the shelves and football is on the TV. More importantly, all of Hollywood’s big releases for the summer have been rolled out, marking the end of the season.

It turned out to be a pretty good one too when it comes to the movies. No, this year didn’t have a total gem like “Past Lives,” but it had plenty of other good cinematic experiences. So, it’s time to hand out awards celebrating the best movies had to offer in Summer 2024.

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2024 just finished a throwback summer

For well over a decade, the summer movie season has been mostly held up by several film series.

It had a start in the 2000s with the rise of comic book movies, but really took off in the 2010s as the MCU became fully established. It hit overdrive in the last 10 years. Since 2014, there have been 41 movies released in the following movie series:

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Success of ‘Flower Moon,’ Gladstone should lead to more Native stories in film

“Poor Things” was one of my favorite films of 2023, and a major factor in its high quality was Emma Stone’s performance. In the film, she did work that is absolutely Oscar-caliber, and recognition from the Academy was certainly earned.

However, the same can easily be said about Lily Gladstone’s acting in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and I was rooting for her success during the award season campaign. Her Golden Globe acceptance speech, where she spoke in the Blackfeet language, was an inspiring moment. Continue reading “Success of ‘Flower Moon,’ Gladstone should lead to more Native stories in film”

2024 Oscar Docs: A Look at the Nominees

It’s an international line-up in the Best Documentary category at the Oscars this year, with all five films coming from across the globe.

As usual, the nominated documentaries cover a wide array of important topics and give audiences insight into issues they may not have known. Below, I give my full, honest thoughts on each documentary in the category.

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