Our 10 favorite Oscar nominations: 8. Paul Schrader – Best Screenplay

8.  Paul Schrader – Best Screenplay for “First Reformed” – Writer/director Paul Schrader wrote “Taxi Driver” (1976), “American Gigolo” (1980), “Raging Bull” (1980), “The Mosquito Coast” (1986), and “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988), so a screenplay Oscar nomination for the man is way overdue.  The Academy finally recognized Schrader for his written work  about a reverend (Ethan Hawke) preaching sermons to a small congregation in rows of white pews, while black outlooks fill his soul in “First Reformed”. The film asks big questions within a small Upstate New York…

Our 10 favorite Oscar nominations: 9. (tie) Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen

Hollywood’s biggest night arrives on Sunday, Feb. 24.  The Academy Awards!  AHFW is excited to see who wins the coveted statues, but rather than focus on who was not nominated, we wanted to proudly proclaim our Top 10 favorite Oscar nominations.   Now, come the 24th, and they don’t win, well, then we’ll have problems.  Haha. 9. (tie) Best Supporting Actor Mahershala Ali and Best Actor Viggo Mortensen – Mortensen has never been funnier, and Mahershala Ali delivers a nuanced performance and is out of this world on the piano in…

‘Never Look Away’ compels us to keep watching

“Never Look Away” – “Hardly anyone likes photos of themselves, but everyone’s supposed to like a painting.” – Kurt Barnert (Tom Schilling) “Everything is connected.” – Elisabeth May (Saskia Rosendahl) Writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s feature film “The Lives of Others” (2006) weaves such an absorbing, layered conflict into 1980s East Germany’s acknowledged intrusive culture so well, it topped Guillermo del Toro’s best film “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) that year and won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2007.  Yes, “The Lives of Others” is that good! After Donnersmarck’s Johnny…