Why...why..why....?

So let's begin at...well...the beginning?

My goal is to watch and review every film that's been nominated for Best Picture from 1970 until now.  Currently, this list has an even total of two-hundred movies, but every January, that list will obviously grow as the Academy nominates ten more.  I realize that's a crap-load of movies for me to watch, let alone review, but I'm up for the challenge.  I should be able to keep a pace of one review a week, but I'm aiming for two a week.

Here's the list of films.

At first glance, watching these movies sounds pretty damn easy, but when I really delve deep into the films that comprise this list, I'm not so confident.  It seems as though for every film like The Godfather (1972) and Pulp Fiction (1994) there are twice as many like All That Jazz (1979) and Juno (2007).

To put it simply...there are some real shit-fests on this list.  Want some examples?


Breaking Away (1979):  Isn't that about bike riding?  Ugh.

The Crying Game (1992):  I believe this has something to do with chicks with dicks.

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985):  I have a feeling that no actual Spider-Women will show up here.

The Emigrants (1972):  A three-hour long Swedish film.  Fuck my life.


I feel out-classed looking at this list.  I'm like a homeless man looking at a fancy menu.  I'll eat the La Terrine de Foie Gras, but I'll probably mispronounce it and wish it were a cheeseburger the whole time.  To be clear, by no means am I an uncultured nitwit.  I just prefer junk food cinema.  Give me a triple feature of Black Dynamite, The Thing and Die Hard, and I'll be a happy boy.  Although, I guess that's what this whole thing is about.  I need to break out of my comfort zone.  I can't continue calling myself a "Film Geek", but have never seen Schindler's List (1993) or Chinatown (1974).  So let's do this!

As for the reviews themselves, I'm going to try to keep things brief.  If you're really dying to read an in-depth breakdown of Forrest Gump (1994), then there are genuinely thousands of "legitimate" movie review sites for you, but that's not what this is about.  I'm a mailman, not a college educated film critic.   

DON'T: Expect long-winded expositions about symbolism. 

DO: Expect short, but witty opinions about plot, character and overall entertainment value, written at slightly  above a 4th grade level.

Speaking of 4th grade, I think I'm going to go with a letter system for my reviews.  A through F, just like school.  Personally I hate star ratings.  Allowing me only FIVE options to grade a movie is just not enough!  I think saying C- is a much better way to gauge how good a film rather than saying three stars.  I hate when I stare for way too long at my NetFlix page trying to decide how many stars to give movies.  So this is how it's gonna be on Man vs. Film.  No stars, no thumbs and no bullshit.

One last thing...the rules.  I only have two, so this will go quick.

1)  I need do this in some semblance of an order.  So I'm starting with 1970 and ending with 2000-whenever-this-project-is-over.  I'm no scientist, but I think if I do one review a week, I'll finish around 2045.  Someone should probably check my math on that though, I think I forgot to carry the remainder.

2)  Even if a film is horrible, boring and a total waste of my time, I WILL finish it.  I can already tell that this rule is going to hurt me, but if I don't finish all these films then what's point of doing the project?


Let's begin.  First up MASH (1970).