Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• ‘The Artist’ takes five Oscars

  February 26, 2012 in Features Octavia Spencer of “The Help” is the winner of the Academy Award for best supporting actress. 2

• Blanchette: Not the version of ‘Moneyball’ we would pick

  February 26, 2012 in Sports on Page C1 So finally the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gets a clue and puts a baseball movie up for Best Picture. Except they make it “Moneyball.”

• TV Notes: Crystal returns to host Academy Awards

  February 26, 2012 in Features on Page D4 Don’t miss “The 84th Annual Academy Awards” – It’s Billy Crystal to the rescue. The genial comedian returns to host the Oscar telecast, stepping in for Eddie Murphy, who flaked …

• Academy Awards may come down to age vs. youth

    February 26, 2012 in Features on Page D1 Experience is supposed to give us an edge in life. But when it comes to predicting who is going to win an Academy Award, experience usually just confuses me. Example: …

• Critics weigh in on rest of Oscar ballot

  February 26, 2012 in Features on Page D7 Our dueling film critics cast their eyes to some of the other categories on this year’s Oscar ballot. Best Cinematography

• Spotlight: SpIFFys are in, topped by Wang’s ‘In the Family’

  February 12, 2012 in Features on Page D5 The results are in. The recently concluded Spokane International Film Festival has announced its juried awards, the SpIFFys. In the feature film category, “In the Family,” from writer-director-star Patrick Wang …

• Blanchette: Academy overlooks fine sports films

  February 28, 2011 in Sports on Page B1 Watched the Oscars last night and was terribly disappointed that no awards were given to my favorite movie of the past year, “Carrie II – The Ballet.” Then someone told …

• “The King’s Speech” crowned best picture

    February 27, 2011 in News The King’s Speech was named best picture of the year. Colin Firth is official Hollywood royalty: He has won the best-actor Academy Award as stammering monarch George VI in “The …

• Oscars: Likable bunch; so who do you like best?

  February 27, 2011 in Features on Page D1 A king, a cowboy, a criminal, a mountain climber and a ladder climber – those are the five roles that earned this year’s best actor Oscar nominees their honors. Audiences …

• ‘King’s Speech,’ ‘Social Network’ top contenders for Best Picture

    February 27, 2011 in Features on Page D1 It’s easy to see why audiences have fallen in love with “The King’s Speech,” a period drama starring Colin Firth as a British monarch who overcomes a debilitating stammer. The …

• Spotlight: CdA’s Owens achieves visual success in Hollywood

  February 13, 2011 in Features on Page D6 Michael Owens, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, is an Oscar nominee for Best Achievement in Visual Effects for his work on the movie “Hereafter.” Owens is the real deal: He …

• ‘The King’s Speech,’ ‘True Grit’ top Oscar nominations

    January 25, 2011 in Features “The King’s Speech” dominated the Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning, earning 12 nods including best picture and best lead actor for Colin Firth as King George VI, who battles to … 4

• Oscar races feeling throes of 3-D’s rise

  December 31, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Imagine if Oscar voters in 1939 saw “The Wizard of Oz” only in black and white. Would they have nominated the film for best picture and best visual effects if …

• Will ‘Harry’ finally conjure an Oscar?

  December 10, 2010 in Features on Page D3 There is something touching about the fact that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1” opened in mid-November. It’s the unofficial beginning of Oscar season, after all. Whether …

• ‘The Hurt Locker’ captures six Oscars

    March 8, 2010 in Nation/World on Page A1 LOS ANGELES – The Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” won best picture and five other prizes Sunday at the Academy Awards, its haul including best director for Kathryn Bigelow. … 1

• Booth Gardner film nominated for Academy Award

  March 5, 2010 in City Booth Gardner says he no longer dwells on death. He’s got a lot going on in his life. 1

• ‘Avatar,’ ‘The Hurt Locker’ lead Oscar nominations

  February 2, 2010 in Features The science-fiction sensation “Avatar” and the war-on-terror thriller “The Hurt Locker” lead the Academy Awards with nine nominations each, including best picture and director for former spouses James Cameron and …

• ‘Slumdog’ rules the Oscars with 8 prizes

  February 23, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A1 LOS ANGELES – “Slumdog Millionaire” took the best-picture Academy Award and seven other Oscars on Sunday, including director for Danny Boyle, whose ghetto-to-glory story paralleled the film’s unlikely rise to … 1

• ‘Curious,’ ‘Slumdog’ lead Oscar nominations

  January 23, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A4 HOLLYWOOD – They are now the leading contenders for the top Academy Award – and while “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” could hardly be more different …

• ‘Benjamin Button’ leads Oscars with 13 nominations

  January 22, 2009 in Features, Nation/World, Seven BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The romantic fantasy “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” led Academy Awards contenders Thursday with 13 nominations, among them best picture and acting honors for Brad … 1