OSCARS 2026 - LIVE ACTION

2/23/26 - Live Action Shorts

Two People Exchanging Saliva - 8/10 

Back and white surrealist idiosyncratic. A well framed sadomasochistic Lynchian sapphic yarn.

Liken Equilibrium for kissing. Like Gilliam danced with Dogtooth while heroine cooled Jeunet hopped around with some fancy free Ostlund. Elegant and lovely.

The Singers - 7/8/10

Damn fun. Fills the emotion to the gills with this truly slice of love

A Friend of Dorothy - 7/10

Touching and charming. Perhaps a bit sappy but it felt alive in its intention and genuine in its passionate heart.

Butcher’s Stain - 6/7/10

Racist views towards Palestinians highlighted. A solid drama.

Jane Austen’s Period Drama 5/10

Absurdist period comedy that’s a literal comedy about periods. Quaint and cute.

OSCARS 2026 - DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

3/1/26 - Documentary Shorts

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud - 8/10 [SHOULD WIN]

This felt like the most complete documentary piece of those nominated. Touching, historical, politically relavent, and strongly told - it holds little back and you feel it all.

All the Empty Rooms - 7/10 [WILL WIN]

Another “choke up” feature, examining the empty room impacts of school shooting. It packs the emotion and poitical heft, but more impressions than tight tale.

The Devil is Busy - 7/10

More heaviness as we walk through a day in the life of an abortion clinic in Atlanta. A tidy look at the issue and those on the front line dealing with this tense and traumatic daily negotiation with life & death. A rock solid doc.

Children No More: Were and Are Gone - 6

Empathetic impact saturates this look at Tel Aviv activist who hold signs of murdered children in Gaza due to Israeli attacks, but other than some heartfelt tugging on the strings of the tapestry of this war & its impacts, it lacks a dialogue. Good but lacks great.

Perfectly a Strangeness - 6/10

Our one non sad doc! Simple tale of donkeys walking up a mountain to see an old observatory. Juxtaposes the astral magnificence with the mechanical whirrings of the observatory - all vividly impressed by the gaze of these cute donkeys. Wordless whimsy with high artsy content - absolutely enchanting visuals.

OSCARS 2026 - ANIMATED SHORTS

3/3/26 - Animated Shorts

Papillon - 8/10 [SHOULD & WILL WIN]

Amazing painted animation display (or at least appears that way), with a powerfully poignant story paired with an inventive and deftly executed technique. Strong work, though may not be as slickly beautiful as some might demand.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls - 710

A fascinating stop motion puppetry yarn that allows the magic of the idiosyncratic to enhance the Dickensian tale. Fun, feeling, and unique.

Retirement Plan - 7/10

Like Radiohead lyrics made witty manifest. Deeply meant but lightly portrayed. Solid.

Forevergreen - 5/10

Sappy children’s faire that while delicately animated in nigh-Robloxian fashion, is for little kids and sacchrine adults. I applaud the effort and skill but the product did nothing for me.

The Three Sisters - 5/10

Light but adult feature about 3 sisters on an island that want to bang the sailor that has come to rent a room. It’s fun but there isn’t much there, despite an intriguing behind the scenes story about the filmmaker and citizenship judgments.