TheRetroCritic

So the Oscars happened. And, barring a couple of slight surprises, it pretty much went down as you'd expect. On that note, let's take a look at the main winners of this year's ceremony as I share my thoughts about the Academy's decisions with y'all: BEST PICTURE 12 YEARS A SLAVE Not a huge surprise but it's good to see 12 Years A Slave win for Best Picture nonetheless. Gravity winning this one would have really been a kick in the pants for a superior film that was actually about something. Steve McQueen's film was one of the best of last year, for sure, and, although it was a tough watch, it was so well made and performed that it never got preachy or dull, instead keeping us captivated throughout, worried for Solomon Northup's (and Patsy's) well-being. Powerful, brilliantly acted, boldly directed, 12 Years A Slave contained some of the most powerful images in any film from last year and the raw cruelty depicted certainly got it

In this 21st episode, fellow film buff Jamie and I discuss movie news, anime, review a recent release ( Gravity , this time), and rewind back to more retro cinematic topics. Guess which anime series was being referenced in this week's Big Game  "I Shat Myself"  and get a shout-out in the next episode! You can email your answer here:  bigrewindpodcast@gmail.com Or simply comment below :) Oh and you can also find us on  iTunes  where you can subscribe to the podcast and download every episode thusfar! @TheRetroCritic #AnimeMonth retrocriticblog.blogspot.com thebigrewind.blogspot.com youtube.com/TheRetroCritic youtube.com/Cablogula

If there's one thing we've really learned, since the resurfacing of 3D, it's that cramming a movie with CGI, no matter how good, does not make a great film. Avatar got away with it at the box-office, so did Alice In Wonderland (though the critics panned it) and John Carter simply didn't. So here comes another over-hyped example. It's called Gravity . Now, critics love this movie: it's Oscar-bait at its purest. Gravity is a concept movie with two main leads: George Clooney, who is going for the quirky and loveable Best Supporting Actor nomination and Sandra Bullock, who is going for the big prize. No plot, no brains, no point but boy is it trying. I'll give the film that: it looks pretty good. You're clearly looking at buckets of CGI with tons of stuff flying at you to cater for the 3D aspect but the effects are solid enough to make you suspend your disbelief. Bullock's character is the rookie who somehow got a job in space despite her ner