One Category at a Time: Director

In the Academy's 88 years, only a couple of filmmakers have won back-to-back Best Director Oscars; John Ford in the 40s and Joseph L. Mankiewicz in the 50s. Since then... Not even close. But that all looks to change this year.

First Week of November Gives Award Watchers Some Breathing Room

The first week of November was like being in the eye of the awards movie hurricane. With no prestige courters daring to go wide on a weekend when they'd be competing with Halloween parties and horror movie marathons, awards watchers had a chance to catch up with any October mainstays they had missed, but this Oscar blogger struck out in search of a title that's still platforming.

After winning the coveted People's Choice Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, Lenny Abrahamson's Room instantly shot onto pundits' radar as a legit Best Picture contender. Now finally playing on a single commercial screen in Toronto (the city where it was shot in its entirety), I eagerly ventured downtown last weekend to see what all the fuss was about.