THE 2005 NICKSFLICKPICKS HONOREES
(Written in January 2006)
Blame a blog, a dissertation, and a slew of reasonable but unelectrifying nominees for the fact that I short-changed the Oscars and my own Top Ten this year. But, the biggest and best feature is still here: my rationalized choices for the best of the year in all of Oscar's categories.

THE 2004 NICKSFLICKPICKS HONOREES
(Written in February 2005)
Oscar never gets it quite, don't you agree? Browse here for my own selections of the dreamiest, dazzliest, and best in a very good year for commercial filmmaking.

THE BEST FILMS OF 2004
(Written in January 2005, after screening 115 calendar-year releases from 2004)
Every year I mean to say a few words in explanation/praise/defense of my choices as the year's best. This year, with too many good films for a mere top 10—and too many shared ideas among these movies to let them pass without notice—I finally give the crème de la crème the royal treatment they deserve.

OSCAR NOMINATION PREDICTIONS FOR 2004
(Written and updated between November 2004 and January 2005)
Unlike my braver colleage at The Film Experience, I wait until mid-autumn to take a stab at predicting January's Oscar nominations. The link above is to my final round of guesses, two weeks before the announcements, though my earlier stabs at guessing in November and December are still accessible.

MIDYEAR REPORT 2004
(Written in August 2004, and expanded through September)
The end of August is a perfect moment to honor the best individual achievements of the preceding winter, spring, and summer. As a bonus, I also look forward to the ten films I most eagerly anticipate in the upcoming fall and holiday seasons and the artists to watch in those high-prestige months.

THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
(Written in April 2004, timed to the announcement of the Cannes competition lineup)
To balance out the heavy Oscar focus of recent features, I have provided a quick, at-a-glimpse history of the prizewinners, high-profile competitors, and jury presidents from the last 57 years of Cannes Film Festivals. As a bonus, I've added a ranking of Palme d'Or winners from best to worst, with linked reviews to several Cannes honorees.

THE 2003 POST-OSCAR RENTAL ADVENTURES
(Written in March 2004, following the Oscars which honored releases of 2003)
I'm not calling it a "Rental Guide" anymore, because some of the films I dig up don't work out all that well! But this is still your annual catalogue of buried treasures and interesting oddities in the prior portfolios of this year's Oscar nominees, as well as pictures to seek out if you liked this year's Picture and Director nominees.

THE 2003 ACADEMY AWARDS
(Written and maintained from January-February of 2004)
The annual banquet of features, including winner and nomination predictions, profiles of the nominees in the major categories, my own picks, and links to the other Oscar-related special features.

THE 2003 NICKSFLICKPICKS HONOREES
(Written in January 2004, with updates through February 2004)
My most extensive and best-illustrated salute yet to the best filmmaking achievements of the previous calendar year, in all the same categories as Oscar (but with precious few of the same nominees!).

MIDYEAR REPORT 2003: LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD
(Written in September 2003, and appended in October 2003)
Special multi-part feature reviewed the best achievements in the year's first half, provided early Oscar predix, and looked forward to then ten most tantalizing upcoming releases.

GAY PRIDE 2003: A LOOK BACK AT QUEER FOLKS IN CINEMA
(Written in June 2003, for national Gay Pride Week, and following Lawrence v. Texas)
After a landmark month in new rights legislation and popular-media visibility for American gay men and lesbians, NicksFlickPicks pays tribute to 20 films that have expanded or influenced cultural notions of sexuality.

CINEMARATI FEATURE #1: SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER RETROSPECTIVE
(Written in June 2003, in the midst of summer sequels and would-be event movies)
Six member critics, including myself, of the now-defunct web critics' organization Cinemarati posted our memories of all the major summer blockbusters, from Jaws in 1975 to last year's Spider-Man. Click here for my year-by-year reflections.

THE 2003 MOTHER'S DAY AND FATHER'S DAY RETROSPECTIVES
(Written in May and June of 2003, following the respective holidays)
These aren't necessarily my lists (or anyone else's, certainly!) of the cinema's "definitive" mother and father characters. But as national holidays arrived to celebrate my parents, I looked to then-recent releases and old favorites available on DVD/video for some stirring and memorable depictions of mamas and papas. Over 21 capsule reviews included!

2002 POST-OSCAR RENTAL GUIDE
(Written in March 2003, following the Oscars which honored releases of 2002)
Want to find interesting, overlooked performances by this year's acting nominees? Looking for good companions to this year's Best Picture candidates? Then click here for more than 30 memorable movies, all available in major rental stores.

THE 2002 ACADEMY AWARDS
(Written and maintained from January–March of 2003)
Once again, complete lists of winners and nominees in all the main categories; detailed nominee profiles and winner-predictions in the Picture, Director, Acting, Writing, and Cinematography categories; a complete list of the films that were eligible for nominations in 2002; a feature depicting whom I would have nominated in each category; and more!

OSCAR 2001: I SAW ALL THE NOMINEES...NOW WHAT?
(Written in April 2002, following the Oscars which honored releases of 2001)
A reprise of the annual post-Oscars feature designed to steer you to underappreciated and/or underseen films by the Academy's nominated actors. Check here for interesting films starring Halle Berry, Denzel Washington, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, and many more.

THE 2001 ACADEMY AWARDS
(Written and maintained from January–March of 2002)
Section includes complete lists of winners and nominees; detailed profiles and predictions of the nominees in the Picture, Director, Acting, Writing, and Cinematography categories; a complete list of the films that were eligible for nominations in 2001; a feature depicting whom I would have nominated in each category; and more!

NICK'S TOP 10 FILMS OF THE 1990s
(Written in May 2001)
We're in the thick of midsummer in the year 2000, and I've finally caught up with the fact that it's a new decade! To celebrate my late-dawning awareness, and to commemorate a decade of moviemaking that in every way exceeded the dismal one that preceded it, here is a profiled list of the ten best films that debuted between 1990 and 1999. In fact, enough films demanded recognition that I snuck in a few runners-up. Go ahead, call me a cheater.

RENTAL GUIDE: 2000 BEST ACTRESS & BEST ACTOR NOMINEES
(Written in April 2001, following the Oscars which honored releases of 2000)
Wondering where you've seen Oscar 2000's top acting nominees before? Looking to catch them in some of their least-known or underappreciated films? Click here to get the run down and who they are, where they've popped up, and what to hunt for in your video store!