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And the Nominees Aren’t – The 10 Worst Oscar Nomination Total Snubs of All Time

Yesterday’s Academy Award nominations generated the annual debate over who was nominated and who was snubbed. But when it comes to Oscar snubs, a surprisingly large number of classic films were ignored by Academy voters.

In my humid opinion – yes, humid, because I don’t do humble – here are my picks for the 10 films that were shockingly denied access to Academy Award nominations. Mercifully, none of these films suffered in reputation for lacking acknowledgement for Oscar consideration.
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) [Blu-Ray/Digital HD]

Now Available from Warner Home Entertainment.

After two whole months “Godzilla x Kong” is now available on physical media. Two whole months. Sixty days. 1,460 hours. I’m old enough to remember when it usually took eleven months for movies to be put on home video, but I digress. If you missed “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” after its theatrical run, it’s still a humdinger of a monster movie that is sadly Adam Wingard’s last outing in this monsterverse. It’s a fun note to exit on as I’m sure Warner and co. are planning to take the inevitable next chapter and use it as a chance for a soft reboot with Godzilla or Kong finding new challenges. Until then, there’s “The New Empire.”

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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Now In Theaters Nationwide.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” in a nutshell:
Kong: Man, I just got my ass kicked. Help a Titan out?
Godzilla: Say less, bruv. We on this bitch.
Mothra: Allow it.

The best thing to remember about “The New Empire” going in to it is that Adam Wingard’s movie is for the monsters this time. There’s a lot less stuff about bureaucracy, and shady governments, and Armageddon. Now that we’ve hit on all those notes, Wingard gives us what can plainly be described as a fun, classic Saturday matinee. It’s a tribute to the classic monster mashes from Godzilla’s heyday where King Kong is the hero who calls upon a few of his friends, one of whom being Godzilla, to take down a new potential threat to mankind. A challenger to the throne, if you will.

So much of it works as I was hooked on the journey we’re taken on with King Kong.

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Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital]

It’s surprising that in a film climate where extended universes fail from the starting gate, that the Kong/Godzilla modern film universe has been a quiet success. The crown jewel so far is “Godzilla vs. Kong,” a pretty great monster clash that pits monkey against lizard, and delivers some great rumbles between the pair. Director Adam Wingard is more than up to the challenge of giving fans the long awaited movie clash, and as expected, “Godzilla vs. Kong” met every expectation that I had.

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King Kong (1976): Collector’s Edition [2 Blu-Ray]

Now seems around the perfect time and climate to remind movie geeks that in 1976 there was a large scale remake of “King Kong.” And it’s definitely a remake. That is the best thing I can say about it at the end of the day. It’s not great like the original, but it’s not bloated like the 2005 remake, so the mileage varies with director John Guillermin’s treatment of the 1933 classic. After many years without much of a release for the fans, Scream Factory finally offers up a pretty stellar Blu-Ray bound to compliment any fan’s collection, and might even serve as a great chaser for “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

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The Unlikely Adventures of King Kong

The 1933 classic “King Kong” inspired a number of strange projects, including two Japanese Kong films that are considered lost and a wealth of ideas ranging from a three-camera Cinerama remake to “King Kong vs. Frankenstein” by Willis O’Brien, the genius behind the original’s special effects. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” we look at these remarkable Kong projects with John LeMay, author of “Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island.”

The episode can be heard here.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

What I love about “Kong: Skull Island” is that while it’s essentially a good old fashioned matinee monster movie at heart, it’s also a pretty clever take on the Vietnam war. “Kong: Skull Island” implements the classic trope from the classic giant monster movies taking a group of armed men and women in to the wilderness, and uses that as an allegory for the Vietnam war. Like the aforementioned war, US soldiers storm in to a wilderness they were unprepared to do battle with, except they face an unparalleled force of nature. Also very effectively setting up a cinematic universe, Jordan Vogt-Roberts aspires for a lot, and succeeds as a simple and harrowing adventure with big monsters, and menacing creatures far and wide.

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