WE MOVED!!

What? You're still here? I'm not! We've moved to adamsfinalcut.com! Now before you go, I want to let you know a couple of things.

The NEW Adam's Final Cut is the site I'm going to be updating and writing on, but perhaps you're wondering how to keep up to date with all the new reviews, news updates, and features. First, follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Then, once you visit Adam's Final Cut, make sure you subscribe through the yellow box at the bottom of the home page. This way you'll be sure to never miss an update. Also, share the site with your friends and family. That would be a kind gesture.

I don't want to keep you any longer! Please explore the site and send me feedback as we work out the kinks. It's been a pleasure writing for you here, but "another story must begin!" So get on down to the NEW Adam's Final Cut: a Greatest Showman review awaits you there!

The Second-to-Last Post

I'm quitting. Thanks for the ride. Thanks for the memories.

Of course, I'm only quitting Blogger. Beginning February 4, 2018, I will no longer post on pianomansblog.blogspot.com. Simply put...

It's Moving Day GIF from Friends GIFs

Truly, it's been a long time coming. I started on pianomansblog.blogspot.com (this very site!) with Adam J (aka Pianoman)'s Blog on May 28, 2007, as a wee lad. If we want to get all MCU up in here, this began Phase One. After a dedication to the then-bloggers in the family (one of them has since dropped that for the much nobler pursuit of theology and ESL education), the blog, essentially, was the imaginarium of a kid, as I would post whatever was on my mind, whether it was a vacation, a big event in my life, or terribly-written fanfiction. It was also a space where I would complain publicly that no one reads or leaves comments. You know, guilt-tripping my audience like a Sarah McLachlan commercial. And for three years, my loving family (who, let's be real, were the only ones who cared to read this) suffered through it. Even though you can go to the sidebar and find all of these remnants of the past - don't. Just don't. It's not worth the pain.

November 19, 2010 began Phase Two - or Part Deux, as I called it because that French word is cool (little did I know the sequel to Hot Shots had originally used it far more cheekily)! This phase, marked off with my 100th Blog Post, was largely the same as the first, since it only consisted of content I was interested in. However, almost entirely due to age and a bump in maturity, the writing was generally better. In essence, I was publicly transitioning . . . as a writer. Towards the end of this unofficial phase, similarly-themed posts foreshadowed Phrase Three . . . .

Adam's Final Cut. After I published my review of The Dark Knight in July 2012, the blog as you know it today began. As I focused more on movie reviews - inspired by Roger Ebert, Chris Stuckmann, Jeremy Jahns, and the Schmoes Know - I wanted to separate my new writerly identity from the old. Kind of. In 2013, I wrote a manifesto (themed to Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, truly the sign of a teenage film nerd - but at least it wasn't the typical Tarantino tirade!) detailing my plans to move Adam's Final Cut to a brand new website and leaving Blogger behind (for the most part) only a few months. As you can see that plan failed spectacularly because we're still here almost five years later.

BUT NOT ANYMORE!!

Friends, a new and sleek world awaits us just beyond the riverbend. I now have a domain name and a brand new website. In the next few months, I'll be reuploading all of my Phase Three content up there while adding new content. So if you've been wondering why I haven't reviewed The Greatest Showman, Darkest Hour, The Post, or Lady Bird even after raving about (most of) them on Twitter, this is why. Those reviews are gonna be over there! I'll share the link on Sunday with my final Blogger post when I'm ready to share the new site with the world.

Until then, here's the new logo!

See y'all real soon. After we change the reel, anyway.

Adam's Final Cut Awards Nominations Announcement

You may have noticed a tremendous lack of reviews coming from me, and if you follow me on Twitter (@adamj_film), you would know that I have been seeing quite a bit. The reason for this extended hiatus is that I am currently working on moving this blog over to Wix as a full-blown website. It is almost at the point I am ready to open it, but it's not quite there yet. However, I thought I would have it up sooner to publish my reviews for films like The Greatest Showman, Darkest Hour, The Post, and Lady Bird on that site first. I'm still debating whether to review them here or there, including my top twenty list of favorite films, but until then, I wanted to do something fun.

As you may know, the Oscar nominations come out today. While I will have my thoughts on them soon (since I'll hopefully have seen many of them), I figured I'd do my own awards contest since I feel that there were films that were overlooked by the Academy and maybe you, dear reader. While many of these categories will resemble a typical awards show roster (Best Picture, Actor, Director), I cannot and will not get into the nitty-gritty of sound design and visual effects: I'm not an expert in that field nor did I pay enough attention to them while watching the field. But there will be some original categories that make it fun. Keep in mind that there will be some differences between the lists you see here and my personal Top 20 list since in my Top 20, I'll include films that were 2016 limited releases that weren't made available to me until 2017. Here will only be films that were eligible for this awards season (although films I missed like Three Billboards, The Shape of Water, Kedi, and Molly's Game won't be featured on here).

Check out that new logo!

 And the nominees are.... 

BEST PICTURE

The Big Sick

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

The Greatest Showman

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

Lady Bird

Logan

BEST DIRECTOR

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird

Joe Wright, Darkest Hour

Jordan Peele, Get Out

Michael Gracey, The Greatest Showman

BEST ACTOR

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, IT

Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, Darkest Hour

Hugh Jackman as Logan, Logan, and P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman

James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb and The Horde, Split

BEST ACTRESS

Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, Split

Jennifer Lawrence as mother, mother!

Michelle Williams as Gail Harris, All the Money in the World

Octavia Spencer as Papa, The Shack

Saoirse Ronan as Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson, Lady Bird

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Dafne Keen as Laura, Logan

Holly Hunter as Beth Gardner, The Big Sick 

Laurie Metcalf as Marion McPherson, Lady Bird

Lily James as Elizabeth Layton, Darkest Hour

Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, IT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer as John Paul Getty, All the Money in the World

Elijah Wood as Tony, I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

Lucas Hedges as Danny O'Neill, Lady Bird

Sir Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Logan

Ray Romano as Terry Gardner, The Big Sick

BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED OR ORIGINAL

The Big Sick by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon

Dunkirk by Christopher Nolan

Get Out by Jordan Peele

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore by Macon Blair

Lady Bird by Greta Gerwig

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Blade Runner 2049, Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch

Darkest Hour, Dario Marianelli

Logan, Marco Beltrami

The Post, John Williams

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

"A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

"Evermore" from Beauty and the Beast (Alan Menken and Tim Rice)

"Remember Me" from Coco (Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)

"The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

"This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul)

Now come the Special Awards to honor genre fare, underrated films, artists with the brightest potential, and the studios that put it together.

BEST UP-AND-COMING ARTIST

Dafne Keen, Logan (Acting)

David F. Sandberg, Annabelle: Creation (Directing)

Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird (Directing)

Kelly Marie Tran, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Acting)

Sophia Lillis, IT (Acting)

BEST HORROR FILM (I saw too many this year that I had to honor them!)

Annabelle: Creation

Get Out

IT

It Comes at Night

Split

MOST UNEXPECTED DELIGHT

The Big Sick

The Greatest Showman

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

It Comes at Night

The Shack

And finally, along with the winners of these prestigious internet awards, I will announce the sole recipient of the STUDIO OF THE YEAR award in recognition of excellence in entertaining audiences, pursuing innovation, promoting new industry voices, and achieving financial successes.

What do you think of these nominations? What's missing? Who do you want to see win? Is it better than the Oscars (ha!)? Do you think all this is a bunch of hullabaloo? What should I do in the meantime? Whatever you have to say about me or the movies, comment below!