Tag Archives: Academy Awards

The Reel Deal Presents: The Oscars 2014 Drinking Game

Oscars-Drinking-Game-Rules

What I found when I Googled “Oscars Drinking.”

Now that I am 21, I am officially old enough to condone drinking. It’s about time.

Nothing improves an American past time quiet like alcohol. Since tonight’s Oscars could go on for over four hours, drinking would definitely help make the show go by faster. Given the predictable nature of awards shows and Hollywood celebrities in general, a fun drinking game isn’t hard to come up with.

Here is The Reel Deal’s official drinking game for the 2014 Academy Awards. For even more alcoholic fun, check out the last one I put together back in 2012. In order to win The Reel Deal Oscars 2014 Drinking Game, you must drink every time:

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Oscars 2014: Who Will Win

Oscars-Heroes

Bow down to the almighty golden bald man!

If cinema is a religion, then the Oscars are its biggest holiday.

I mean this in the same way that sports are also like a religion, and the Super Bowl is its Christmas. If sports are the biggest religion, then cinema is a much smaller one, and one that you might have to be crazy to follow. Fittingly, movies are like Scientology. And it is ironic that the ceremony focuses on bowing down to a golden idol, given that the main participators are typically Jewish and idol worship is a no-no if you’re up to date with your Torah studies. I understand some of you are waiting to binge read it later.

Anyway, the Oscars do what any good holiday should do: distract us from the cold, dark world. Without the Oscars and all of the other precursors leading up to it, all we would have is “I, Frankenstein” and “Endless Love.”

This year, the Oscars seem to have gone somewhat under the radar. Maybe it is because they are in March this year, or maybe it is because “The Lego Movie” distracted us all with its awesomeness. Either way, the Oscars are still happening this year, and I still have thoughts on them.

This actually happens to be a very exciting year for the Oscars. The ceremony will cap off a fantastic year of film and this year, there is an edge of unpredictability to it. Could there be a tie? Could Leo finally win his first Oscar this year? Is Judi Dench the British version of Meryl Streep? Will I make more dumb religious analogies? I will try and answer some of these questions today.

Here is who I think will win this year at the Academy Awards:

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Five Other Great Movies from this Year’s Oscar Nominated Directors

Flirting with Disaster (1996)

Patricia Arquette in overalls. Filed Under: 1990s

Ever since I first started to learn about film, I have always been fascinated by directorial style. Bad directors are bad because they have no distinct style. They are fine with being derivative of their time. Good directors think ahead, follow patterns, and ultimately evolve.

This year’s crop of directors nominated for Oscars are as talented as they are diverse. Some are old pros, and some are just breaking out. Some are deeply funny, and others are deeply serious. Looking at their past works is the best way to understand what they are doing in the present.

I (with the help of a friend, more on that after the jump) have gone through the careers of all five of this year’s Oscar nominated directors. I didn’t necessarily chose their best works, but rather I chose the ones you might not have seen (because honestly, you don’t need me to know that “Raging Bull” is great), or the one’s that exemplify each director in an interesting way. Without further adieu, here is my list of five other great movies from this year’s Oscar Nominated directors:

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Oscars 2014: The Snubs

Still from Frances HaHere comes the most fun part of Oscar season: declaring how you would have voted if you had earned Academy credentials. In just one post, any blogger can immediately feel superior. So please, just let me have this.

Now, it is fairly reasonable to expect that the Academy cannot reward anything. In the future, most people don’t even remember all of the nominees, and a lot of films that get overlooked by the Oscars do fine in the future. For instance, “The Searchers,” one of the most influential films of all time, was completely ignored by the Academy when it came out in 1956. It seems like history has not been as kind to “Around the World in 80 Days.”

None of us know what the future will hold. So instead, let’s live in the moment and ponder where the Academy got it completely wrong. If I was a voter, here are the actors, writers, directors, and films that I would have included on the ballot:

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Oscars 2014: The Silver Linings

jonah-hill-wolf-of-wall-street

Image via Film School Rejects

Note: I wish I thought of this headline last year when “Silver Linings Playbook” was nominated. Better late than never?

On the morning that the Oscar nominations are announced, Hollywood must look a lot like the opening of “The Lion King.” The sun rises, and every animal out there (or in this case, actors, agents, managers, etc.) put aside their differences and march down to Pride Rock (or in this case, a stage) to hear who will could be crowned as the next rulers of Hollywood.

The circle of life is naturally repetitive, and every year consists of equal parts happiness and outrage over the nominations. For every nomination that voters get right, there’s about three they get wrong. For instance, I could write an entire article about the egregious snubbing of “Inside Llewyn Davis.” But I’ll save that for later, as it is worth staying positive and acknowledging when the establishment honors the right people and films. Credit where credit is due, here is where the Academy got it right this year:

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