Left to my own devices

I've been missing my parents recently. Of course they are never too far from my heart, though I don't consciously miss them all the time. That changed recently when I was putting together a playlist of my favorite film scores. Anyone who knows me knows I love movies. Anyone who knows me even better knows that I am also enamored with certain film scores: the Cocoon movies, scored by James Horner; the brash, clashing music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (also scored by James Horner); the Star Wars films, composed of course by the great John Williams; many of the Bernard Herrmann collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock; the score for Cloud Atlas , by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil; and, of course, nearly anything by my favorite film composer, Jerry Goldsmith. Another maestro of movie music I quite enjoy the work of is the late, great John Barry. He is probably best known (or at least most heard) for scoring eleven James Bond movies from 1963 - 1987. He also arran...

Now that the Oscars ceremony has come and again, and most folks have gotten their Monday morning quarterbacking regarding what they liked and didn't like about who won and lost out of their systems, it's now time for the main event!   Without further aideu, here are the winners of the 2026 Matt Awards...

Those of you who really like movies and follow awards season probably have your own ideas about what were the best (or at least your favorite) films of the past year.  Yours truly does, as well. Enter The 2026 Matt Awards! Like the Oscars, these nominations and awards are for movies from the year before (so the 2026 Matt Awards are honoring films from 2025). This all started in 1998. I was a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio at the time (still appreciate his work to this day).  Titanic  was released in December 1997, and I saw it 5 times at the theater. In early 1998, the Oscar nominations were announced, and Leo was nowhere to be found. Salty at the perceived snub of my  crush  favorite actor, I decided I could do better than the Oscars, and so the first Matt Awards were born. DiCaprio was nominated for  Titanic  and, of course, he won. Over the years, the Matt Awards have allowed me to recognize (if only for myself) the best in cinema of the preceding ye...

Longtime friends and followers of this blog know that every year I present what are known as The Matt Awards . These started in 1998 (for the 1997 year in film), and have continued on annually ever since. These are awards for the movies that I've watched and enjoyed. They're a sort of antidote to the often disappointing Academy Award nominees and outcomes. Typically, I would post a list of the nominees then, a few weeks later, post the winners. This year, since we're so late into awards season (and the Oscar are in just four days), I'm going to combine them into one post. I'll list the nominees, then list the winner of each category. So, without further adieu, here are the nominees and winners for the 2025 Matt Awards, honoring my favorite in cinema from 2024...

I'm a little late, but am finally getting around to announcing the winners of this year's Matt Awards , celebrating the best in cinema! No doubt you were all waiting with bated breath for the reveal. Without further aideu, here, then, are this year's winners...

Those of you who like cinema and follow awards season were probably pretty excited this week, because you knew that the most important movie nominations were about to drop. And, no, I'm not talking about the Oscars . Of course I'm referring to The Matt Awards! For the uninitiated: I've always enjoyed movies and, during the 1990s, I was a huge fan of Leonardo DiCaprio. Titanic was released in December 1997, and I saw it 5 times at the theater. In early 1998, the Oscar nominations were announced, and Leo was nowhere to be found. Salty at the perceived snub of my crush favorite actor, I decided I could do better than the Oscars, and so the first Matt Awards were born. DiCaprio was nominated for Titanic and, of course, he won. Over the years, the Matt Awards have allowed me to recognize (if only for myself) the best in cinema of the preceding year. Quite often -- though not always -- my nominations will bear some similarity to the Oscar nominees, though less seldom have my w...

Last month, I announced the nominees for the 26th annual  Matt Awards , where I highlight my favorites in film from the preceding year. And now, finally (we're pretty late with these this year), here are the winners for the 2022  Matt Awards ! They are... 

The first Matt Awards were dispensed in early 1998 (now a quarter-century ago). By me. On my trusty old Brother word processor. No one else really knew about them. I might have read them off to my mom, or my friend Terry, but they were really for me. They were born out of frustration for how the Oscars typically doled-out awards. Basically, I wanted to have my own opinions about movies - something I do regularly over on the Mashley at the Movies podcast . An annual occurrence since they began, I enjoy doing the Matt Awards each year. Sometimes, I do both nominations and then, a few weeks later, pick the winners. Some years, I just go straight to the winners circle. This year, I'm really late - later than I've probably ever been - on getting to these awards. Life's been a bit busy. So, here's what we're doing: This post will be the list of nominations for the 2023 Matt Awards . Then, in a few days, I'll make another blog post with the winners. Sound ok? Cool, ...

The rom-com Bros debuted in theaters over the weekend. It was projected to open with $8.8 million at the North American box office. Instead, it stumbled with $4.8 million. The movie's co-star and co-writer, Billy Eichner, has made headlines after tweeting about the film's lackluster opening. He seems to blame homophobia for the poor showing for the movie about two gay men who attempt to navigate their attraction toward one another. Maybe he's right? Maybe not? Full disclosure: I haven't seen Bros yet. Not sure if I will. I didn't find the trailer to be all that amusing. And, for the record, I've gone to see a lot of movies featuring gay characters over the years. This one just didn't grab me. Maybe it didn't entice others to go, either? Gay or straight. I'm not the only who thinks there may have been other reasons why folks didn't go see it.

Last month, I announced the nominees for the 25th annual Matt Awards , where I highlight my favorites in film from the preceding year. And now, just a couple days ahead of the BAFTAs, and a few weeks ahead of the Oscars, here are the winners for the 2022 Matt Awards ! Here we go... 

Having been a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan since the mid-1990s, I was disappointed when he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his role in  Titanic  (as in, I-was-about-to-riot disappointed). Thus, in early 1998, I began what was to become an annual tradition --   The Matt Awards . Perhaps one of the most egotistical things on God's green earth, every year I proceed to select the best in movie making, as a sort of consolation for the fact that very rarely do the Academy Awards align with my own yearly favorites. I used to do both nominations and then, a few weeks later, pick the winners. After awhile I just went straight to the winners circle. This year, however, with the Oscars being pushed back a bit, and having been able to see a lot of really good films, I wanted to at least acknowledge several films and filmmakers with nominations. In a few weeks (before the Oscars ceremony), I will make announce the winners of The Matt Awards . No doubt you will all be on tenterhooks wai...

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Wes Craven's Scream . It is often credited with rejuvenating horror movies. That is true, though I sometimes wince at the thought of how it was done (by basically laughing at the genre a bit too much). I like my horror movies somewhere in the middle of not-too-serious/not too campy. This is one reason I've never warmed to films such as the 2018 Halloween or, say, Dracula: Dead and Loving It . Anyhow -- because it's October, and we're but ten short days away from Halloween, I thought it would be a good time to revisit my memories of the original  Scream .

I was recently watching a video about queer baiting in cinema , and it got me to thinking about movies I watched while growing up -- specifically, as a teenager -- that I felt contained gay subtext, but could've been interpreted as heterosexual (and often were) by others. The video touches upon this, noting that it happened frequently in post-code Hollywood, and is known as queer coding. One such movie that stands out in memory is 1955's Rebel Without a Cause .

Beginning in 1998, I started my own movie awards show. I'd just turned 22, and was deep into my Leonardo DiCaprio phase. Disappointed that he wasn't even nominated for his star-level turn in Titanic , I decided to do my own alternative to the Oscars -- The Matt Awards. Initially used as a pressure valve (and kind of a joke), I've ended up doing the Matt Awards every year since. The latest edition is very, very late (I try and do it during the first half of the year), but, better late than never? Here, then, are my personal selections for the best in cinema for the preceding year:

It's been almost thirteen months since I last saw a movie at a theater. What was once a weekly ritual has, over the course a year, become an almost distant memory. The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on everyone's lives, to both a greater and lesser extent. I'm pretty fortunate to be able to wax nostalgic about the lack of movie-going and, to be fair, theaters have been opened for some time now. However, even as theaters re-opened, I didn't feel comfortable going back. I have some underlying health issues that could result in a potentially serious time of it, should I be infected with the coronavirus. But now, Ashley & I are fully-vaccinated. So are several of our friends. We're going to see a movie tonight, at a theater, for the first time in over a year. I'm a little overwhelmed at the thought.

     I f you live long enough, you see a lot of things change. This can include an evolving urban landscape, where businesses come and go with the times. Among them are movie theaters, part of my favorite trifecta of establishments, along with bookstores and restaurants. In my hometown of Champaign, Illinois, several movie theaters have come and gone during my lifetime -- the Co-Ed Theater that used to be in the heart of campus town. Market Place Cinemas that used to be out by, well, Market Place Mall. Country Fair Theater that used to be a part of the then-bustling Country Fair strip mall. And, of course, the lovely Art Theater, which closed in late 2019 after a century of showing films. The most recent casualty is the Savoy 16. Like most movie theaters, the Savoy closed for the pandemic back in March. This wasn't long after its parent company, Goodrich Quality Theaters (GQT) filed for bankruptcy. Well, GQT has navigated the pandemic waters and is re-opening most of its ...

"Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker  Wherever you're going, I'm going your way"                                ---- Moon River, Mancini/Mercer The scariest part of life is not knowing the future. I am convinced of this, and it's one of the reasons we tend to look back on things more fondly than is sometimes deserved. I'll remember the good aspects of a job, for instance, and then have to shake-off the rose-colored glasses for a moment and remind myself how miserable I was during that time. Of course, experiences aren't always straight-up good or bad -- there's things to appreciate amidst the parts we wish hadn't existed. But, not knowing what comes next can often preclude a sense of calm from certain situations. I've been thinking about the aforementioned line-of-thought during these precarious times of sheltering-in-place during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Life has altered to such a...

     H aving been a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan since the mid-1990s, I was disappointed when he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for his role in Titanic . Thus, in early 1998, began what was to become an annual tradition -- The Matt Awards. Perhaps one of the most egotistical things on God's green earth, every year I proceed to select the best in movie making, as a sort of consolation for the fact that very rarely do the Academy Awards align with my own yearly favorites. I used to do both nominations and then, a few weeks, pick the winners. After awhile I just went straight to the winners circle. This year, however, I feel like there were so many good movies from 2019 that I wanted to at least acknowledge their filmmakers with nominations. In a couple of weeks (before the Oscars ceremony), I will make announce the winners. No doubt you will all be on tenterhooks waiting for who will go home with coveted Matt Prize. Here, then, are the nominees:

We had some good times together, he and I. It was the nineties, when the world was young(er). I had come out of the closet only a couple of years previously, and had started going to the local gay bar/dance club about a-year-and-a-half after that. I was gradually becoming more comfortable in my own skin. Dad, and my beloved maternal grandmother, Gummy, were yet to become sick and die from cancer. I was going to the local community college. Life was, if not great, good.

I follow a lot of film aficionados on Twitter, and there's been a steady increase there of consternation regarding the streaming wars that are heating-up with the arrival of Disney+ and other rivals joining the fray. A few years ago, some folks would smugly proclaim, for all to hear, how they were "cutting the cord" from cable and going to save a lot of money by streaming. That was back when Netflix and Hulu were about the only games in town. Now, a plethora of streaming services await our hard-earned cash, and barely any are well-rounded enough to serve as someone's sole streaming platform. Coupled with the myriad of choices opening up faster than multiverses crashing into one another is the issue that certain film aficionados also like to mention, which is the reality that we are basically paying to continually rent movies and TV shows from streaming services. We never truly own them, as we're at the mercy of the streaming service to keep the content av...