The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 9, 2015

Introduction Film is an ever-changing artform, so it stands to reason that the awards that Hollywood created to help celebrate the industry should evolve. It’s more apparent when you realize that the Oscars began when the industry was in flux as sound was in its infancy. Film has twice adapted...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 6, 2015

I wanted to start this series back in January. Basically, there are a lot of good movies out there that you can watch free and clear. Meaning you don’t have to pay for them and by streaming it free you’re not stealing it because they are in the public domain....   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 4, 2015

Introduction Whatever I do manage to see this year during 31 Days of Oscar will be covered in a wrap-up post. In the meantime, those films that previously got buried in conglomerated posts will get their own due here. In the wrap-up I will continue the tradition of attempting to...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 3, 2015

Introduction Whatever I do manage to see this year during 31 Days of Oscar will be covered in a wrap-up post. In the meantime, those films that previously got buried in conglomerated posts will get their own due here. In the wrap-up I will continue the tradition of attempting to...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 2, 2015

If you followed this link I know what you’re likely thinking: How many actors have been awarded Oscars that both not in a competitive category (meaning there were no nominations announced), and also not honored in a Lifetime fashion. It’s true there aren’t too many, but they are wo   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on February 2, 2015

I am very excited to announce that I’m in the early editing stages for my first film-related eBook. The series of Artificial Intelligence: A.I. articles entitled Intelligence Report that once graced this site, was originally written as a final paper for a Spielberg class. Owing to the fact that it...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 25, 2015

Introduction One thing I must fully acknowledge before beginning was that prior to signing up for this Blogathon Miriam Hopkins was not a name I could connect to a face. When I checked her filmography on the IMDb I saw that i had seen her in a few things but...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 18, 2015

Is This Really Contrary to Popular Opinion, or Why Choose Song of the South In the course of this brief examination of Song of the South I hope that the only mea culpa I have to write is about the fact that my enjoying this film is not a minority...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 17, 2015

It’s rare that I post a short here and play the essential card. Surrealism works differently on different people. Not everyone will react identically to all films, much less this one. However, the first, boldest attempt to have film function as a dream is worth making note of and studying....   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 15, 2015

bernardovillela: Yes, another blogathon I am adding to my slate. However, this reblog/announcement comes well in advance of the late March-Early April window. It fits in well leading into Poverty Row April as well, as usually I have many pre-code titles in there as well. I am covering Blonde Venus   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 14, 2015

bernardovillela: Seeing as how I typically partake in writing about and seeing many TCM selections for 31 Days of Oscar, I’m thrilled to also join a 31 Days of Oscar blogathon discussing four unusual topics: Non-competitive, non-lifetime wins (e.g. Charles Chaplin “The Circus), Defunct Catego   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 12, 2015

bernardovillela: One of the events I will be prepping for is this one, so please excuse missed days between now and then. Originally posted on Silver Screenings: We are so excited, we can hardly contain ourselves – and for Two Big Reasons! Firstly, you’re invited to help us celebrate one...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 10, 2015

OK, two things are needed as lead-ins: first, yes, I did feature an earlier version of this film on New Year’s, and Disney’s version. Second, I will be finishing the best of 2014 list (25-21, 20-16, 15-11 can be seen here) and start my 2014 Film Discoveries after that, but...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 9, 2015

This award is named after Bergman because when I was set to establish an award of its type his last film blew me away and was nominated for many awards. The idea then is that it’s not a parting shot but rather recognition of someone still very much at the...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 9, 2015

OK, so what is the Neutron Star Award? As I watched older selections through the year, I was frequently compelled to pick a film based on the fact that Vincent Price was in it. When I was younger I was very actor-oriented, more so than with directors. The fact that...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 9, 2015

This award is one I will present annually to the actor, writer, director or any combination thereof who has in my estimation the best year. The only real criteria is that they have multiple credits. The credits can be two responsibilities on the same film or more than one film....   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on January 3, 2015

The Avant Garde was a movement in all artforms and cinema was especially included in this. Man Ray may have been best known as a photographer but he made his presence known cinematically also. This is a quick short introduction to his work. For bit more about it here is...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on December 31, 2014

I typically only feature short films on the weekend, and they are not always silent. However, with New Year’s Eve arriving I figured it’d make sense to mark the occasion with a short film. Stay tuned for a lot of great stuff in 2015 including the BAM Awards and much...   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on December 27, 2014

I love Chuck Jones. It was really in shorts such as these where he made his presence known and stood out from the other animation giants of his era. This one is short, simple and brilliant.   read more

The Movie Rat Posted by Bernardo Villela on December 25, 2014

If you’re not already aware of Open Culture you should bookmark or follow them for they are great resource. One post on their site notified me to the fact that the films of Andrei Tarkovsky are online legitimately. In the case of his last student film: the great The Steamroller...   read more