The speeches were breathy and tearful, the Best Actress winner tripped on the stairs, everyone knew who designed their outfit, shoes and jewellery, the host was mildly amusing, but not as offensive as he could have been, the show went on for ever, and the winners were worthy recipients – welcome to The Oscars!

 

Allen is Rialto Channel’s featured director in Sunday evening’s Director’s Series which features plenty of classic Allen films. And Midnight in Paris marks the beginning of Rialto Channel’s Oscar Collection, a series that plays throughout March celebrating Oscar winners and nominees from 2012. It’s a wonderful opportunity to catch all the must-see films of the last Oscar’s season.

 

The Oscars are almost here, so as we close in on the biggest showbiz party of the year here are some of my thoughts and predictions for the 85^th Academy Awards, which take place Monday 25^th February (NZ time).

2011 was an impressive year for Irish/German actor Michael Fassbender; he stared in five films, receiving a number of awards and nominations for his efforts, and proved that as long as you’re good enough there’s no such thing as being typecast.

Finally, some good news for all the fans who thought Skyfall, the latest James Bond film directed by Sam Mendes, should have been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar; it has won two BAFTA awards, benefiting from what must have been a significant home advantage.

Is it just me, but does Jessica Chastain seem to have appeared from nowhere to become one of the most talented and acclaimed actresses working today?

At the start of the year the film industry does what most of us do; it looks back over the past year and celebrates, and it begins looking forward the year ahead and thinking about what’s next.

We have a treat for you this week, a month or so after we’ve all enjoyed spending Christmas with family and friends Rialto offers a rather different perspective on Christmas, and its mythical characters.

Pedro Almodovar is arguable the greatest and most internationally respected director to emerge from Spain, since Buñuel, and during February we celebrate his work in our Director’s Series screening on Sunday evenings.

Top of the list this week is Pedro Almodovar’s melodramatic thriller The Skin I Live In. With a truck load of awards and accolades to its name, this sexy, twisted tale was one of the must see films of 2012, and screens this Saturday, 2^nd February, at 8.30pm.