The Oscar Nominees You Haven't Seen
Even the most devoted cinephiles rarely tune in to the nominees for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Most film buffs, myself included, don’t make it to the short film programs or indie showcases where these films typically screen, and many of them quickly disappear into obscurity after their premieres. Perhaps because of this invisibility, documentary shorts have the potential to carry some of the sharpest political messages in today’s cinema. This year’s nominees certainly exemplify this potential, covering urgent topics like gun violence, war, protest, reproductive rights, and, um, wandering donkeys. Despite their small audiences, these films deserve a closer look. They are brimming with provocative voices, even if this year’s particular batch sometimes fails to stick the landing.
Why Luca Guadagnino Got Snubbed at the 2025 Oscars
Luca Guadagnino is no stranger to critical acclaim - or Oscar snubs. In 2024, the Italian director delivered two strikingly different but equally lauded films: Challengers, a steamy, slow-burn tennis romance, and Queer, a moody adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novella. Both films were praised by critics, yet neither received a single Oscar nomination.
The Moviegoer’s 2024 Oscar Picks
The Academy Awards Ceremony, which passed on March 10, 2024, provoked the usual discourse surrounding snubs and disagreements over who should have won. With that in mind, here is the Moviegoer’s review of the 2024 Oscars.
My One & Only Love: Leaving Las Vegas
Every time I go to Las Vegas, usually for work to spend time in a light-locked, soulless conference room listening to the obvious masquerading as professional advice, I think the same thing. That there’s a deep, longing melancholy to the place. A sadness behind the bright neon lights of the strip, the omnipresent din of the casinos, and the faces of those who’ve come to Sin City seemingly to let loose and get away from it all. Far from the oasis in the desert in promises, the city aches with loss. An unfulfilled hope of gambled pleasure, and drawn like moths to the flame by the flashing billboards, and where darkness never truly descends, we wander around in the half-light neon glow of the desperate attempts to separate us from our time and money.
Nomadland: A Study of Grief and Freedom
Nomadland, directed, written, and edited by newcomer Chloé Zhao, is a quiet study of grief, solitude, and the unspoken promises we make to ourselves and others. The film follows Fern (Frances McDormand), a recently unemployed widow, as she embarks on a solo expedition through the American west. She has no set destination, simply wandering from campsite to campsite, job to job, meeting eclectic yet oddly familiar characters; untethered nomads seeking temporary comfort in endless desert expanses, vast seaside cliffs, and each other.
