Category Archives: Angela Bassett

Black Panther (2018)

2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded on a tradition that had existed since 1927. It increased the number of potential Best Picture nominations from the usual five to a potential maximum of 10. It was a move to inject more blockbusters into the Oscar mix and to give movies like Avatar, Inception, and Toy Story 3 the recognition of Best Picture that they deserved. But in essence, this was The Dark Knight rule. This 2008 film, the most incredible superhero movie ever made, was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two (Best Supporting Actor – Heath Ledger, Best Achievement in Sound Editing).

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Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Mission Impossible: Fallout could be a template for creating action movies. This is everything you want in a pure action movie, offering the same suspense, mystery, and comedic tones you expect from this top-of-the-line franchise. Tom Cruise (Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men) reprises his most recognizable character (Top Gun came out over 30 years ago. Maverick is great, Ethan Hunt is the identifiable Cruise character, at least for anyone younger than 35). I’ve spent a good part of the last two decades knocking Tom Cruise for his choice of roles, wishing he would return to the types of roles that earned him three Academy Award nominations between 1990-2000. And honestly, at the time, I thought he was phoning it in for box office dollars. I understand an action flick here and there.

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