Review: "Arrival"

One of these years, Amy Adams, you will (at last!) take home an Oscar.

Adams, who during her career has stolen scenes from the typically commanding likes of Leonardo DiCaprio (in Catch Me If You Can), Meryl Streep (Doubt) and Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), plus delivered a number of terrific leading turns (Enchanted, in particular), is in exquisite form in the latest film from director Denis Villenueve, Arrival. It might well be her finest work to date, though I've yet to see her comparably acclaimed work in the upcoming Nocturnal Animals.

In the film, Adams portrays Louise Banks, a brilliant linguistics professor recruited by the U.S. military to lead its team of investigators in what has become a global race to successfully communicate with one of a dozen extraterrestrial spacecrafts that have touched down across Earth.

Banks, supported, among others, by a theoretical physicist (Jeremy Renner) and U.S. Army colonel (Forest Whitaker), comes face-to-face with the aliens - dubbed Heptapods - that have landed in the U.S. and works tirelessly to decode the creatures' complicated language. What, Banks hopes to discover, is exactly their purpose for being here? All the while, much of the rest of the world sinks into turmoil and war over these visits and Banks is incessantly haunted - and yet, quite often, helped - by memories of her deceased daughter.

The opening half hour of Arrival comes close to capturing that same awe-inspiring feeling we all had during the finale of Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, when Richard Dreyfuss' character, following an arduous journey, finally witnessed, in breathtaking fashion, the arrival of extraterrestrial beings. This picture is also awfully convincing in portraying just what the chaotic global reaction would probably be to such an event.

With that said, after the movie magic that is the first encounter with the extraterrestrials, Arrival has few additional goods to deliver. It stagnates. The picture, as a whole, does not prove as compelling or exciting as Villeneuve's exhilarating Sicario from last year and I found the constant back-and-forth with moments involving her late daughter both overly manipulative and a case of overediting.

Adams is spectacular throughout and ultimately keeps Arrival plenty afloat but, beyond her work, the first quarter of the movie and Bradford Young's stunning cinematography, I don't think the picture works nearly as incredibly as it should have. I suppose the most apt comparison to the film would be Robert Zemeckis' Contact, which also sported one hell of a leading performance (from Jodie Foster) and some intriguing ideas but otherwise looked and felt curiously sterile.

B+

2016 Contenders in Best Animated Feature

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced 27 motion pictures have been submitted for consideration in the category of Best Animated Feature. They are:

The Angry Birds Movie
April and the Extraordinary World
Bilal
Finding Dory
Ice Age: Collision Course
Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV
Kubo and the Two Strings
Kung Fu Panda 3
The Little Prince
Long Way North
Miss Hokusai
Moana
Monkey King: Hero Is Back
Mune
Mustafa & the Magician
My Life as a Zucchini
Phantom Boy
The Red Turtle
Sausage Party
The Secret Life of Pets
Sing
Snowtime!
Storks
Trolls
25 April
Your Name
Zootopia

Review: "Moonlight"

When, early next year, I sit down and reflect on all of the cinema I viewed over the course of 2016, there is scant doubt in my mind that some of the most beautiful, moving moments I witnessed all year will have come from director Barry Jenkins' Moonlight.

For that matter, when I hang up my hat as a moviegoer a century (hopefully longer!) from now, I anticipate this exquisite film will rank sky-high on my list of all-time greatest coming-of-age stories.

The picture, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, traces the life of young Chiron through three chapters, in his childhood, teen years and adulthood.

Nicknamed "Little" as a child, the timid, withdrawn Chiron is bullied by classmates and finds minimal comfort at home with his controlling, drug-abusing mother (Naomie Harris). His only solace comes in moments spent alongside his kind, empathetic best friend Kevin and a crack dealer named Juan (the brilliant Mahershala Ali) he befriends and slowly opens up to.

As a teenager, Chiron continues to face harassment at school, often violent, and his mother declines into full-out addiction. All the while, he still has Kevin to turn to, and their relationship blossoms into something so much more substantial and special. It also, however, is complicated by the peer pressures Kevin faces by classmates who despise and wish to inflict pain on Chiron.

The third chapter finds a far tougher and more tenacious Chiron in his adulthood. Now going by the name "Black" (given to him by Kevin back in high school), he emulates a key past figure from his life and maintains a shaky, long-distance relationship with his mother, who has at last sought to keep herself out of trouble. Chiron has not seen or spoken with Kevin in years but that changes one evening when he receives a phone call from his old best friend.

From start to finish, Moonlight is full of immensely powerful, often startling moments. Jenkins captures nuanced feelings of childhood in a way I haven't seen so vividly drawn since scenes from Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. The picture is often a heartbreaker for sure but never manipulative and just about everything here rings true. While certain images from the first chapter have most stayed with me since seeing the film, I think Moonlight's dialogue especially comes to life in the final half hour, as Chiron sits down with the man who perhaps knows him best.

Ali and Harris have garnered the bulk of chatter in terms of awards season speculation and both are fantastic, no doubt. But it's a real shame if we neglect to just as loudly rave about the rest of Moonlight's incredible cast. Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes are devastatingly good as the child, teen and adult Chirons, respectively. Andre Holland is excellent as adult Kevin and Jaden Piner and Jharrel Jerome are strong too portraying him as a child and teenager. A real standout for me here was also Janelle Monae, warm and engaging in her scenes as Juan's wife and another of the few figures Chiron can count on - she has a bright screen presence that all but ensures a great film career to come.

I have came across some wariness to Moonlight from moviegoers who either view the film has a guaranteed downer or loathe cinema concerning drugs and won't check it out on that basis alone. To folks in either of those two groups - this thing is a real must-see, gorgeously filmed, stuffed with one extraordinary performance after another and featuring some of the sharpest writing I've encountered in the 2010s. Go!

A

2016 Oscar Nomination Predictions (November)

Howdy, fellow Oscar junkies!

Since October and my last set of Oscar predictions, the following events have gone down in this wild and awesome ride of an awards season:

• Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk garnered mixed-to-negative notices from attendees of its New York Film Festival premiere.
   
• Paramount Pictures announced Viola Davis will receive a Best Supporting Actress campaign for her turn in Denzel Washington's Fences.
   
• New trailers dropped for Annette Bening pics 20th Century Women and Rules Don't Apply.
   
• The Academy announced 85 foreign language films and 145 documentary features will compete for consideration in their respective categories.

Please check out below my latest Oscar predix, for the month of November. In parentheses you will find how many slots a contender has moved up or down since my October rankings. In a number of cases (I'm looking at you, Billy Lynn), I have booted a film or performer entirely.

Enjoy and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts as well!

Best Picture

1. La La Land (-)
2. Jackie (-)
3. Arrival (+3)
4. Manchester by the Sea (-1)
5. Silence (+2)
6. Moonlight (+4)
7. Fences (-3)
8. Loving (-)
9. Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
10. Rules Don't Apply (+5)
11. 20th Century Women (+1)
12. Lion (-1)
13. Sully (NEW)
14. Nocturnal Animals (-1)
15. Allied (-1)

DROPPED
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-10)

Best Director

1. Damien Chazelle, La La Land (-)
2. Denis Villanueve, Arrival (-)
3. Martin Scorsese, Silence (+1)
4. Pablo Larrain, Jackie (+2)
5. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (+2)
   ---
6. Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (+4)
7. Denzel Washington, Fences (-2)
8. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (+1)
9. Clint Eastwood, Sully (NEW)
10. Jeff Nichols, Loving (-2)

DROPPED
Ang Lee, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-7)

Best Lead Actor

1. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Denzel Washington, Fences (-)
3. Ryan Gosling, La La Land (-)
4. Joel Edgerton, Loving (-)
5. Andrew Garfield, Silence (+1)
   ---
6. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (NEW)
7. Tom Hanks, Sully (-)
8. Michael Keaton, The Founder (+1)
9. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals (-1)
10. Robert De Niro, The Comedian (NEW)

DROPPED:
Joe Alwyn, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-5)
Dev Patel, Lion (-1)

Best Lead Actress

1. Emma Stone, La La Land (-)
2. Natalie Portman, Jackie (-)
3. Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (+1)
4. Amy Adams, Arrival (+3)
5. Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins (-)
   ---
6. Ruth Negga, Loving (-)
7. Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures (+1)
8. Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane (+1)
9. Isabelle Huppert, Elle (+1)
10. Kate Beckinsale, Love & Friendship (NEW)

DROPPED
Viola Davis, Fences (-7)

Best Supporting Actor

1. Liam Neeson, Silence (-)
2. Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea (+2)
3. Peter Sarsgaard, Jackie (-)
4. Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals (-2)
5. Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (+1)
   ---
6. Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water (-1)
7. Adam Driver, Silence (-)
8. Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins (NEW)
9. Dev Patel, Lion (NEW)
10. Stephen Henderson, Fences (-1)

DROPPED
Steve Martin, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-3)
Mykelti Williamson, Fences (-1)

Best Supporting Actress

1. Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Naomie Harris, Moonlight (-)
3. Viola Davis, Fences (NEW)
4. Greta Gerwig, 20th Century Women (-1)
5. Nicole Kidman, Lion (-)
   ---
6. Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures (-)
7. Lupita Nyong'o, Queen of Katwe (-)
8. Annette Bening, Rules Don't Apply (-)
9. Felicity Jones, A Monster Calls (-)
10. Molly Shannon, Other People (-)

DROPPED
Kristen Stewart, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-6)

Best Original Screenplay

1. Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (-)
2. Noah Oppenheim, Jackie (-)
3. Barry Jenkins and Tarell McCraney, Moonlight (+1)
4. Jeff Nichols, Loving (-1)
5. Damien Chazelle, La La Land (-)
   ---
6. Warren Beatty, Rules Don't Apply (+3)
7. Mike Mills, 20th Century Women (-1)
8. Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee, Rich Moore, Jim Reardon and Josie Trinidad, Zootopia (-1)
9. Ron Clements and John Musker, Moana (-1)
10. Asghar Farhadi, The Salesman (-)

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. August Wilson, Fences (-)
2. Eric Heisserer, Arrival (+5)
3. Jay Cocks, Silence (-)
4. Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals (-)
5. Allison Schroeder, Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
6. Luke Davies, Lion (-)
7. Ben Affleck, Live by Night (+1)
8. Whit Stillman, Love & Friendship (+1)
9. David Birke, Elle (+1)
10. Todd Komarnicki, Sully (NEW)

DROPPED
Jean-Christophe Castelli, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-9)

Best Animated Feature

1. Zootopia (-)
2. Moana (-)
3. Sing (-)
4. The Red Turtle (-)
5. Finding Dory (-)
   ---
6. Kubo and the Two Strings (-)
7. April and the Extraordinary World (-)
8. Miss Hokusai (-)
9. Sausage Party (-)
10. The Secret Life of Pets (-)

Best Cinematography

1. Linus Sandgren, La La Land (-)
2. Bradford Young, Arrival (+1)
3. Stephanie Fontaine, Jackie (+1)
4. Rodrigo Prieto, Silence (+1)
5. Seamus McGarvey, Nocturnal Animals (+1)
   ---
6. Bill Pope, The Jungle Book (+1)
7. Robert Richardson, Live by Night (+1)
8. James Laxton, Moonlight (+1)
9. Caleb Deschanel, Rules Don't Apply (NEW)
10. Charlotte Bruus Christiansen, Fences (-)

DROPPED
John Toll, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-9)

Best Costume Design

1. Mary Zophres, La La Land (-)
2. Madeline Fontaine, Jackie (-)
3. Sandy Powell, Silence (-)
4. Albert Wolsky, Rules Don't Apply (-)
5. Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, Love & Friendship (-)
   ---
6. Consolata Boyle, Florence Foster Jenkins (-)
7. Colleen Atwood, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
8. Sharen Davis, Fences (-)
9. Jacqueline West, Live by Night (+1)
10. Joanna Johnston, Allied (-3)

Best Film Editing

1. Tom Cross, La La Land (-)
2. Thelma Schoonmaker, Silence (+1)
3. Joe Walker, Arrival (+3)
4. Sebastián Sepúlveda, Jackie (-2)
5. Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Moonlight (+3)
   ---
6. Joan Sobel, Nocturnal Animals (+1)
7. Jennifer Lame, Manchester by the Sea (+2)
8. Hughes Winborne, Fences (-2)
9. Blu Murray, Sully (NEW)
10. Alexandre de Francheschi, Lion (NEW)

DROPPED
Tim Squyre, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-7)
Jeremiah O’Driscoll, Allied (-1)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (-)
2. Florence Foster Jenkins (-)
3. Rules Don't Apply (-)
   ---
4. Jackie (+1)
5. Hail, Caesar! (+1)
6. Silence (NEW)
7. Love & Friendship (-3)
8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-1)
9. Star Trek: Beyond (+1)
10. Live by Night (-2)

DROPPED
Hidden Figures (-2)

Best Original Score

1. Johann Johansson, Arrival (+1)
2. Howard Shore, Silence (+1)
3. Mica Levi, Jackie (+1)
4. Opetaia Foa’i, Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana (-3)
5. Michael Giacchino, Zootopia (+1)
   ---
6. Justin Hurwitz, La La Land (+1)
7. Michael Giacchino, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+1)
8. Alexandre Desplat, Florence Foster Jenkins (+2)
9. John Williams, The BFG (NEW)
10. Thomas Newman, Finding Dory (-1)

DROPPED
Jeff and Mychael Danna, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-6)

Best Original Song

1. "City of Stars," La La Land (-)
2. "Audition," La La Land (+1)
3. "We Know the Way," Moana (-1)
4. "How Far I'll Go," Moana (-)
5. "Victory," Hidden Figures (-)
   ---
6. "Go Now," Sing Street (-)
7. "A Letter to the Free," 13th (-)
8. "The Great Beyond, Sausage Party (-)
9. "Can't Stop the Feeling," Trolls (-)
10. "Rules Don't Apply," Rules Don't Apply (NEW)

DROPPED
"Dancing in the Shadows," Po (-1)

Best Production Design

1. David Wasco, La La Land (-)
2. Dante Ferretti, Silence (-)
3. Jean Rabasse, Jackie (-)
4. Jeannine Oppewall, Rules Don't Apply (-)
5. Stuart Craig, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (-)
   ---
6. Anna Rackard, Love & Friendship (+2)
7. Jess Gonchor, Live by Night (+2)
8. Patrice Vermette, Arrival (NEW)
9. Gary Freeman, Allied (-3)
10. David Gropman, Fences (-3)

DROPPED
Mark Friedberg, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (-2)

Best Sound Editing

1. La La Land (-)
2. Arrival (-)
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-)
4. Silence (+1)
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
   ---
6. Captain America: Civil War (+4)
7. Passengers (+2)
8. Sully (NEW)
9. Hacksaw Ridge (NEW)
10. Moana (-4)

DROPPED
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-7)
Allied (-3)

Best Sound Mixing

1. La La Land (-)
2. Arrival (-)
3. Silence (+1)
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (+2)
5. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
   ---
6. Moana (-1)
7. Zootopia (+3)
8. Sully (NEW)
9. Captain America: Civil War (NEW)
10. Passengers (-1)

DROPPED
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-8)
Allied (-3)

Best Visual Effects

1. Arrival (-)
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (-)
3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (+2)
4. Passengers (-1)
5. The Jungle Book (+1)
   ---
6. Captain America: Civil War (+1)
7. Doctor Strange (NEW)
8. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (-3)
9. A Monster Calls (-1)
10. Star Trek: Beyond (-1)

DROPPED
Deadpool (-1)

Best Documentary Feature

1. 13th (-)
2. Gleason (-)
3. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (+7)
4. Equal Means Equal (-)
5. The Eagle Huntress (NEW)
   ---
6. Fire at Sea (+1)
7. Miss Sharon Jones (+1)
8. By Sidney Lumet (+1)
9. The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (NEW)
10. Newtown (-5)

DROPPED
The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger (-8)
Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks (-5)

Best Foreign Language Film

1. The Salesman (Iran) (-)
2. Toni Erdmann (Germany) (NEW)
3. Death in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (-1)
4. Elle (France) (-1)
5. Sand Storm (Israel) (-1)
   ---
6. Ma'Rosa (Phillippines) (-1)
7. Julieta (Spain) (-1)
8. From Afar (Venezuela) (-1)
9. The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Finland) (-1)
10. Barakah Meets Barakah (Saudi Arabia) (-1)

DROPPED
Train Driver's Diary (Serbia) (-1)

HORROR at the Oscars! Chapter IV (1999-present)

Nearly a decade following The Silence of the Lambs' victory in Best Picture, another horror film at last surfaced in the top category.

M. Night Shyamalan may be a polarizing filmmaker now - and deservedly so, given some of the junk he's inflicted upon the masses in recent years - but in 1999, he really did take Hollywood by storm with The Sixth Sense, an unlikely juggernaut that hit theaters that August and stayed atop the box office for five consecutive weeks. By the end of its run, it garnered nearly $300 million in domestic receipts alone, with only Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace reaping in more dough that year.

The Bruce Willis starrer, which made overnight sensations out of both Shyamalan and child actor Haley Joel Osment, was not thought to be a significant awards player that season, beyond for Osment and perhaps Shyamalan's twisty, clever screenplay and indeed, those were the two nominations it garnered at the Golden Globes. Shyamalan was recognized by both the Writers Guild and Directors Guild but the film missed at the Producers Guild Awards.

Nonetheless, come Oscar morning, The Sixth Sense exceeded even the greatest expectations of Oscar pundits, scoring six nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and even a jaw-dropping nod for the marvelous Toni Collette in Best Supporting Actress. The film capitalized on the lukewarm reception for Oscar bait The End of the Affair and The Hurricane and, let's face it, Being John Malkovich was probably a tad too quirky to grab a Best Picture nod.

On Oscar night, I'm afraid, the picture did not score any wins. American Beauty nearly swept the evening, with Michael Caine (for The Cider House Rules) and Angelina Jolie (for Girl, Interrupted) defeating Osment and Collette, as expected. There was, however, a smidge of good news for the genre that evening - Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow scored victory in Best Art Direction, and had been nominated in Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. The bombastic retooling of The Mummy (1999, Sommers) also mustered a nod, in Best Sound.

The Blair Witch Project (1999, Sanchez/Myrick) was, no surprise, nowhere to be found at the Oscars.

At the start of the new millennium, in 2000, the Academy did not embrace Christian Bale's tour-de-force turn in American Psycho (2000, Harron). They did, however, on the heels of pictures like Ed Wood and Gods and Monsters, shower some love on another film about the men who made horror cinema.

Willem Dafoe's scenery-chewing portrayal of Nosferatu's Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000, Merhige) scored him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000, Merhige) is not quite as satisfying or memorable a picture as the aforementioned two. It does, however, sport a bravura turn from Willem Dafoe, here portraying the elusive Max Schreck, who gave life to Graf Orlok in F.W. Murnau's legendary Nosferatu. Carrying the film on his shoulders, alongside John Malkovich as Murnau, Dafoe's eerie and amusing turn proved a hit that awards season - Dafoe was nominated just about everywhere and scored a few critics' awards wins too, most notably from the Los Angels Film Critics Association. As expected, Dafoe was defeated on Oscar night by Benicio del Toro in Traffic. The picture garnered a second nomination, in Best Makeup, which went to the truly horrific How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Also amusingly up for a nomination this year - Paul Verhoeven's raunchy Invisible Man clone Hollow Man, which picked up a nod for its memorable visual effects.

The rest of the decade to come and frankly, even beyond that, would not prove the best of times for horror at the Oscars.

There was hardly a shortage of terrific cinema. The Others (2001, Amenabar), for instance, garnered fabulous reviews and strong box office, and fared well at the precursor awards that season, but ultimately did not muster a single Oscar nod. Neither did Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, a true triumph in film editing, the following year.

The Academy did, despite underwhelming reviews, throw a few nominations to the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera musical (2004, Schumacher) but I consider it a real stretch to label that one a true horror film. Its nods came in Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Song and yes, you can read my full review on that year's Original Song line-up here. The picture, thankfully, did not go home with any prizes.

The endearing Monster House (2007, Kenan) was one of several horror-comedies to recently grace the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars.

The gruesome, truly terrifying The Descent (2006, Marshall) was sadly not recognized by the Academy for its suffocating production design or superb cinematography. At least the genre was kinda-sorta represented this year, by Tim Burton's visually impressive, albeit not terribly memorable The Corpse Bride. It mustered a nod in Best Animated Feature, as did the cute Monster House (2007, Kenan) the following year. The films were no match for winners Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Happy Feet, respectively.

Speaking of 2007, this was a year that could have marked a real comeback for horror at the Oscars but, ultimately, only left a modest dent.

Stephen Sondheim's marvelous Sweeney Todd: The Demon of Barber of Fleet Street was at last receiving a film treatment, and from none other than Tim Burton, who, while hardly an Oscar favorite, at least had a pretty solid track record of delivering the goods on the big screen. With Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter headlining, the picture garnered solid critical notices but fared only modestly at the box office. After flying out of the starting gates at the beginning of the awards season, winning Best Director from the National Board of Review and Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, the film slowly petered out, just as it did among audiences. Ultimately, it garnered three Oscar nods - in Best Lead Actor, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction, the last of which it won. What looked like a Best Picture contender in December was suddenly a complete also-ran by February.

A significant snub that year - no Best Foreign Language Film nod for Juan Antonio Bayona's exquisite The Orphanage, which garnered ample notices from overseas film awards. Tomas Alfredson's critically acclaimed Let the Right One In was also overlooked in this category, the following year, despite plenty of precursor attention.

At last, at the start of the new decade, another horror film - the fifth to date - graced the Best Picture category.

Following lukewarm reception to his Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky at last won over the Academy with his horrifying Black Swan.

Up until 2010, visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky had not been whole-heartedly embraced by the Academy. Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler were among the finest films of 2000 and 2008, respectively, but failed to leave a dent at the Oscars, beyond a few acting nominations.

The Academy could not, however, resist 2010's Black Swan, a truly terrifying, exquisitely staged vehicle for Natalie Portman that would mark the most incredible work of her career (to date, at least) and finally nab her an Oscar. An enormous critical and box office hit, ultimately amassing more than $100 million in domestic receipts, the picture mustered five nominations in total, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actress, Best Film Editing and Best Cinematography. With The King's Speech and The Social Network in a tight dual for overall Oscar glory, Black Swan itself was somewhat overshadowed that season in terms of wins. That did not, thankfully, keep Portman from prevailing.

One more horror item from 2010 - Joe Johnston's silly, overstuffed The Wolfman showed up in Best Makeup and managed to score the win, securing Oscar #7 for the legendary Rick Baker. Universal's original (and, unlike the remake, awesome) The Wolf Man was of course the recipient of zero Oscar nominations.

Ever since Black Swan and The Wolfman claimed Oscar victory, the genre's presence has, unfortunately, dimmed quite a bit at the awards. Only two horror films have garnered recognition, both in 2012, in the Best Animated Feature category - Tim Burton's Frankenweenie and Chris Butler and Sam Fell's ParaNorman. Pitted against the latest from Disney-Pixar, Brave, the two flicks hardly stood a real prayer.

Critically acclaimed and financially successful horror films like The Cabin in the Woods (2012, Goddard), The Conjuring (2013, Wan) and The Babadook (2014, Kent) failed to make inroads in their respective awards seasons. This year's The Witch (2016, Eggers) appears exceedingly likely to also miss out.

Could The Witch (2016, Eggers) emerge a player this awards season?

Regardless of this ho-hum showing in recent years, it is of course inevitable this fantastic genre will again surface in a big way at the Oscars, and not just in Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup. One of these days, we will again be greeted by a critic-adored box office mammoth, in the mold of The Exorcist and Jaws, or perhaps another horror flick that rides the strength of a performance (ala Bette Davis and Natalie Portman) to a boatload of nominations. The Witch very much proved there's still plenty of juice and creativity - and genuine frights - in horror.