"MAD MEN" Observations: (3.09) "Wee Small Hours"

 

After a recent re-watch of the Season Three "MAD MEN" episode called (3.09) "Wee Small Hours", I came up with the following observations: 




"MAD MEN" OBSERVATIONS: (3.09) "Wee Small Hours"

*I think that from the moment tobacco heir Lee Garner Jr. tried and failed to seduce Sterling Cooper's art director, Sal Romano; the latter was simply screwed. Even if media buyer Harry Crane had immediately informed co-owner Roger Sterling or creative director Don Draper about Garner’s demand; or if Sal had acted professionally and told not only Don, but Roger on what happened, he was screwed. The client came first. Especially clients like Lee Garner and Conrad Hilton, who were too powerful to ignore. As I recall that back in Season One, even Don had to apologize to one of the agency's clients, Rachel Menken, for his outburst. Despite the fact that she had yet to become an official client.

*Following the original airing of the episode, I had read a few posts on Betty Draper’s aborted affair with political advisor Henry Francis. I find it interesting that so many viewers and critics were disappointed that she did not go ahead with the affair. In fact, they had harshly criticized Betty for not going through with the affair . . . which I found rather odd. Even more interesting was that some of the fans had demanded to know what she really wanted. Henry had also seemed to wonder. Judging from her disappointment with her marriage to Don at the time and the realization that Henry may have simply wanted an affair, I eventually suspected that Betty had wanted a meaningful relationship with someone. That had explained the letters she exchanged with Henry, her anger at Don for keeping her in the dark about his contract problems, and her tears following the dinner with Jimmy and Bobbie Barrett in (2.03) "The Benefactor". And when she had visited Henry’s office, Betty had wrongly suspected that she would never receive one from Henry, anymore than she had received one from Don.

*Despite Betty’s remark about civil rights, Carla was one lucky woman . . . at the time. After eavesdropping on Betty's telephone call with Henry, she could have easily found herself in the same situation as Sal ended up by the episode’s end. All Betty had to do was fire her and lie to Don about her reasons behind the discharge. Unless she had feared Carla would retaliate by telling Don about Betty’s meeting with Henry. That is the only reason I could find why Carla remained employed by the episode's end.

*I still find it interesting that many had lobbied criticisms at Betty for her remark about the Civil Rights Movement. I found it interesting and a little hypocritical. One, of course Betty would make such a remark. She was a white female from a privileged background. And she was also a conservative, although a moderate one. She had called Carla "girl"when referring to the latter during a phone call with Henry. What had many fans expect? Yet, many of these same fans had made excuse after excuse for Joan’s unnecessary and racist remarks to Sheila White back in Season Two. And had conveniently forgotten that Don had been in the habit of calling Carla or other black female servants, "girl", as well.

*How many times had Don assumed an aggressive stand when a client failed to be impressed by his work? Why did he do this? Was this Don’s way of intimidating a client into accepting his work? I can still recall him pulling this stunt with Rachel Menken, which angered her in the process. He had also pulled this stunt with the client from Belle Jolie account and succeeded. Then he tried it with Conrad Hilton and failed. Ironically, many of the series' fans had reacted angrily over this incident at Hilton. I found myself feeling slightly sympathetic toward him. After all, he is the client. If he did not like Don’s presentation, he did not like it. Don’s slight temper tantrum seemed a bit uncalled for.

*Is it just me or did Peggy look slightly smug after Connie Hilton made it clear that he disapproved of Don’s presentation? Mind you, I had not been impressed by it, either. The presentation had struck me as a bit too simple and infantile. And it failed to invoke the glamour of travel, while maintaining the message of American values. At least to me.

*Pete hacking up a storm after taking a puff on a Lucky Strikes cigarette still strikes me as hysterical after ten years. So does the scene in which a frustrated Betty threw the money box at Henry.

*Don's affair with Suzanne Farrell. Even after ten years, I still fail to see the chemistry between actors Jon Hamm and Abigail Spencer. In fact, Sally Draper's teacher, Miss Farrell, seemed like a second-rate version of Rachel Mencken, but with a less stable personality. I realize that Don had wanted a meaningful relationship in his life . . . but with Suzanne Farrell? I think he could have done better than her. Especially better than someone who had recently been his daughter’s teacher. Now that I think about it, she could have done better than Don. What made their affair even more troubling was that Don was using Suzanne as some kind of drug. He had suffered rejection from Conrad Hilton, a man he was beginning to view as a parent figure, and he turned to Suzanne for comfort. Unfortunately, I suspect that Suzanne may have viewed him as something more and in the end, their relationship had ended on a surprisingly quick and unsatisfactory note . . . at least for her.

*Was Roger still a force at Sterling Cooper during the time of this episode? Judging from how British bosses had regarded him by the season's end, I rather doubt it.

Top Five Favorite "MAD MEN" Season Two (2008) Episodes

Below is a list of my top five favorite Season Two episodes of AMC's "MAD MEN":


TOP FIVE FAVORITE "MAD MEN" SEASON TWO (2008) Episodes



1. (2.08) "A Night to Remember" - During this game-changing episode, copywriter Peggy Olson agrees to help a friendly priest named Father Gill create a promotion for a Church-sponsored dance. Office manager Joan Holloway helps Television Advertiser Harry Crane read new television scripts and discovers that she likes the job. Still reeling from comedian Jimmy Barrett's revelation of Don Draper's infidelity, Betty Draper helps her husband with an important business dinner, before she later confronts him about his affair with Bobbie Barrett.





2. (2.05) "The New Girl" - Don and Bobbie heads out of the city for a night together, before getting into a traffic accident. Don recruits Peggy to help him cover up the incident. Meanwhile, a new Sterling-Cooper secretary named Jane Siegel begins working for Don.





3. (2.04) "Three Sundays" - Over the Easter holidays, Don and Betty clash over the discipline of their son Bobby. Peggy meets the new family priest, Father Gill. And Head of Advertising Duck Phillips recruits the agency in an effort to win over American Airlines as a new client.





4. (2.07) "The Gold Violin" - Art director Sal Romano develops a case of unrequited attraction for Accounts man Ken Cosgrove. Joan and Jane clash over an incident regarding a new painting in owner Bert Cooper's office. And Betty learns about Don's affair with Bobbie Barrett at a media party, thanks to her husband Jimmy.





5. (2.09) "Six Month Leave" - Owner Roger Sterling leaves his wife for Jane Siegel. Senior copy Freddie Rumsen's alcoholism spirals out of control. And the death of Marilyn Monroe has an impact upon the firm's female employees.

"MAD MEN" Season Two (2008) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Season Two of AMC's "MAD MEN". Created by Matthew Weiner, the series stars Jon Hamm:



"MAD MEN" SEASON TWO (2008) Photo Gallery

"Nick Fury and the Fall of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"NICK FURY AND THE FALL OF S.H.I.E.L.D."

I feel that characters like Phil Coulson and Steve Rogers should kneel down and kiss Nicholas J. Fury’s ass for his actions in "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER". Why? Because his actions before, during and after the 2014 movie prevented terrorist groups like HYDRA and an Inhumanity community called Afterlife to create more major catastrophes following the fall of the intelligence agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). 

In the past three years, I have noticed that a lot of MCU fans like to blame Fury for HYDRA’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. Why, I do not know. HYDRA's infiltration of the agency and other organizations had begun a few years before Fury's birth in 1951. In fact, a scene in "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER" made it perfectly clear how HYDRA managed to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. The newly formed agency had recruited HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola and a few other to form a think tank under the program known as Operation Paperclip. As many know, this program allowed S.H.I.E.L.D. and other intelligence services to recruit Nazi (or HYDRA) scientists for the benefit of their countries around the start of the Cold War. The 2014 movie also made it clear who had founded S.H.I.E.L.D. around this time - U.S. Army Colonel Chester Phillips, Peggy Carter and Howard Stark. 

Not only were Phillips, Carter and Stark responsible for Operation Paperclip; which allowed Arnim Zola to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and kick start HYDRA’s infiltration of the agency; they allowed this infiltration to grow for . . . how many decades? And even following Chester Phillips' death, Howard and Peggy allowed HYDRA mole Mitchell Carson to become the Head of Defense of S.H.I.E.L.D. Another HYDRA mole who eventually became part of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a former State Department diplomat named Alexander Pierce. Following Howard’s death and Peggy’s retirement, Pierce became Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and later, the World Security Council’s Secretary. As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce made one major mistake. He promoted Fury, whom he had first met while serving the State Department in Bogota, to the position of the agency’s new director after he joined the World Security Council.

Project Oversight was a S.H.I.E.L.D. program that involved three heavily armed, satellite-linked Helicarriers designed to proactively strike out against potential threats - usually humans- before they actually happened. I do not know who was originally responsible for the creation of this program - Pierce or Fury. Pierce wanted to use the helicarriers and Arnim Zola's algorithm to root out individuals that would oppose or threaten HYDRA's goals. Fury had supported Project Oversight, as a means to defend Earth from any future non-Human threat. He had even revealed the project to a disapproving Steve Rogers aka Captain America. But in the end, Fury had misgivings about it. By setting in motion the hijacking of a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship called the Lemurian Star, Fury had an excuse to order one of his top agents, Natasha Romanoff, to accompany Rogers and a STRIKE team to free the ship’s hostages. Natasha’s mission was to download information that proved to be very . . . very important. Moviegoers eventually learned that the files that Natasha had downloaded from the Lemurian Star revealed the history of HYDRA’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., Zola’s part in it and the real plans for Project Oversight. 

Think about it. If Fury had not developed misgivings about Project Oversight, no one would have learned the truth about it. And no one would have learned about HYDRA’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and other organizations like the KGB, the World Security Council and the U.S. Senate. Worse, Alexander Pierce would have gone ahead with Project Oversight, which would have led to the deaths of many people. And even though S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen, Fury once again stepped up to the bat and re-created the agency, with Phil Coulson as the new Director. Coulson and his team stood between the world and disaster on several occasions.

Ironically, instead of realizing that Fury's actions in "THE WINTER SOLDIER" had outed HYDRA and stopped both Project Oversight and the Centipede Project; both Steve Rogers in the 2014 movie and Phil Coulson in the current television series had went into rants by criticizing . . . or blaming Fury for failing to learn about HYDRA’s infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the past. Steve was angry over his discovery that his childhood friend, James "Bucky" Barnes, was still alive (after being declared dead during the last year of World War II) and a brainwashed HYDRA assassin. In his anger, he lashed out at Fury and used the latter as a scapegoat. Coulson was angry over Fury using the dangerous Project T.A.H.I.T.I. to resurrect him. His anger was more justified. Unfortunately, in the midst of his anger, Coulson also blamed Fury for HYDRA's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson knew nothing of Howard Stark, Peggy Carter and Chester Phillips’ roles in the disastrous Operation Paperclip. But Steve did. He and Natasha had learned everything when they first downloaded the Lemurian Star’s file at an old S.H.I.E.L.D. base. He should have known better. 

But what I found astounding about all of this is that a good number of Marvel fans still continued to blame Nick Fury for HYDRA's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the latter's downfall. If any of them had viewed that scene between Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Arnim Zola's computer image in "CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER", they should also know better than to blame Fury.

"MAD MEN" Observations: (3.07) "Seven Twenty-Three"

After a recent re-watch of the "MAD MEN" Season Three episode, (3.07) "Seven Twenty-Three", I found myself compelled to post several observations about it: 



"MAD MEN" OBSERVATIONS: (3.07) "Seven Twenty-Three"



*Don Draper

In "Seven Twenty-Three", famous hotelier Conrad Hilton, whom advertisement executive Don Draper had first met in (3.03) "My Old Kentucky Home", paid a visit to the latter's office and revealed his intent to hire Sterling Cooper to handle the promotion of his New York hotels. This piece of good news turned sour when Lane Pryce, Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper revealed that Hilton’s attorneys refused to go ahead with the deal unless Don sign an official contract with his employers. Naturally, Don was reluctant to sign one. He had been living under an assumed name for the past thirteen years, when he switched identities with his Army commanding officer (the real Don Draper). Nor did he want to be bound or obliged to anyone without having the power and opportunity to walk away whenever the opportunity might arise. After Don had a confrontation with wife Betty over his refusal to sign a contract, he left the house to go joyriding in the countryside. There, he picked up a young couple, who claimed they were on their way to get married at Niagara Falls. As it turned out, they were a pair of scam artists who fed Don some pills, took him to a cheap motel, knocked him out and stole his money.

I never understood this need of the series' fans to divide the main character into two personas. There was only one Dick Whitman, after all. He was both the rural-born offspring of a dead prostitute and a crude farmer . . . and the brilliant creative advertising executive. The reason why Dick (or should I say Don) could emotionally connect with some people and barely at all with others may have been due to the fact that he had assumed another man’s name by fraudulent means. It is not surprising that he has only been willing to reveal some of his true nature to those he believe he may never see again - or in the case of Rachel Mencken and schoolteacher Suzanne Farrell - someone with whom he thought he could connect. It also seemed natural to me that Don had never bothered to sign an official contract with Sterling Cooper. No contract had allowed him to be a free agent even though he has decided to remain at Sterling Cooper. It also meant that Don would be able to bolt without any legal redress, if needed. Well, Don’s years as a free agent at Sterling Cooper ended in ”Seven Twenty-Three”. Especially since by the end of the season, he became one of the owners of a new firm - Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP).

Oddly enough, Don’s encounter with another self-made man - Conrad Hilton - had led him to being finally bound to a contract. This led to a temporary breach with his boss and future partner, Roger Sterling. It also temporarily damaged his close relationship with copywriter and protégée Peggy Olson. The new contract made Don realize - and not for the last time - that wife Betty might be a lot more formidable than he had probably imagined. Don’s argument with Betty led him to commit one of his more destructive maneuvers when things got rough . . . he took off. Unlike his trip to California in Season Two, Don did not go very far. Instead, he picked up a hitchhiking couple claiming to be on their way to Niagara Falls in order to elope. But instead of eloping, they fed Don some pills and later clocked and robbed him inside a cheap motel. As his dad, Archie Whitman, had indicated in his hallucination, Don had become slightly soft. This seemed even more apparent when senior partner Bert Cooper blackmailed him into finally signing a contract. 

When Cooper had dismissed Pete Campbell’s exposure of Don as a fraud and identity thief back in Season One’s (1.12) "Nixon vs. Kennedy", I bet Don never thought the old man would eventually use those allegations against him. And yet . . . while signing that contract, Don demanded that Roger Sterling stay away from him. How interesting. Roger tried to use Betty to coerce him into signing the contract. Cooper sunk even lower and used Don’s secrets to blackmail him and succeed. Perhaps Don realized that Roger (given his questionable standing in the firm with the British owners) made an easier target for his wrath than two powerful men like Conrad Hilton and Bert Cooper. If so, it did not say very much about Don.

Some fans had believed that Don’s new contract was a sign of his eventual downfall. I cannot say that I agree with this. In fact, this downfall never really materialized. Every time Don faced a personal crisis in the past – Pete Campbell and Bert Cooper’s discovery of his secret in Season One, his late Season Two estrangement from Betty, and Duck’s takeover plans – he managed to survive or come on top, as the formation of SCDP proved.





*Betty Draper

The episode also featured a subplot for Betty Draper. After joining the Tarrytown, New York chapter of Junior League, she received a request to find someone with political ties to prevent the construction of a giant water tank that they feared would ruin the scenic view. Betty contacted Henry Francis, one of Governor Nelson Rockefeller’s aides that she had first met in "My Old Kentucky Home". The two met at a local bakery in Ossing for drinks and pastries. And although Francis hinted that he might not be able to help the Junior League prevent the water tank’s construction, he made it obvious that he was just as attracted to Betty, as she was to him. Francis had also pointed out a chaise lounge that Betty later purchased for her living room. A chaise lounge that her decorator obviously disliked.

Betty’s story arc did not provide any jaw dropping moments for me. But I did notice a few things. One, she must have been seriously attracted to Henry Francis. I never realized it when Season Three first aired. I found it interesting that not only did she remember Henry from Roger’s Kentucky Derby garden party, she also seemed to be in a slight state of heat whenever she around him. This especially seemed obvious when Henry shielded her eyes from the sun during an eclipse. But more importantly, she went ahead and purchased the Victorian chaise lounge that Henry had earlier pointed out to her when they passed an antique store. Many saw the chaise lounge as an example of Betty’s desire to be some "helpless damsel in distress" that occasionally fainted. I found that image hard to accept. Despite the ladylike persona that Betty tended to project, she never struck me as that kind of woman. However, I had noticed how she caressed her body in a suggestive manner – especially in the very spot where Henry had touched her, when she was still pregnant with Eugene. So . . . yeah, she was very attracted to him. In fact, Henry ended up becoming her second husband. I should have known. 

I also noticed that by Season Three, Betty had become more assertive in her attitude toward Don. After all, audiences first received a whiff of this trait back in Season Two's (2.04) "Three Sundays", when she ordered Don to take Sally to work with him during their son Bobby’s small medical emergency. Yet, Betty’s assertiveness became increasingly obvious in Season Three. This was certainly apparent in her refusal to cave in to Don’s disapproval over their new son’s name in (3.06) "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency"; and in their confrontation over Don’s refusal to sign a contract with Sterling Cooper. I had always suspected that underneath the girlish and shallow exterior lurked a formidable woman. This was verified when Betty finally learned about Don's true identity later in the season.





*Peggy Olson

Peggy Olson’s storyline in this episode began in (3.05) "The Fog", in which she was contacted by former Sterling Cooper employee, Duck Phillips. In that episode, he had tried to recruit both Peggy and accounts executive Pete Campbell to the agency he now works for - Gray. Peggy had contemplated his offer, but refused. When Peggy asked Don for a raise in the same episode, the latter refused her request. In "Seven Twenty-Three", Duck continued his wooing of Peggy and Pete with gifts. When Pete pointed out that Duck’s wooing might be an attempt for the older man to get back at Don for snowballing him in the Season Two finale, (2.13) "Mediations in an Emergency", Peggy became determined to return the gift. Which she did after leaving work. However, her visit to Duck’s hotel suite also led to an evening of some very enjoyable sex for them both.

I found it interesting that Peggy thought she knew a lot about Don. She knew that he was an adulterer, thanks to her rescue of both him and Bobbie Barrett in Season Two’s (2.05) "The New Girl". In "Seven Twenty-Three", she first discovered that he could be incredibly cruel. And it would not be the last time. Season Three had not been particularly kind to Peggy. Following her revelation to Peter Campbell about their illegitimate child, he became hostile toward her. And despite being the first copywriter to acquire a private office following Freddie Rumsen’s departure, the respect that she deserved continued to evade her. Don had ignored her misgivings about the Patio commercial in (3.02) "Love Among the Ruins". In (3.05) "The Fog", Peggy asked for a raise after discovering that she was the firm’s lowest paid copywriter and Don rejected her request. And when she asked to work on the Hilton account, Don (who was already in a foul mood after learning that Sterling Cooper wants him to sign a contract) rejected her request in the cruelest manner possible. He accused Peggy of using his coattails to rise in Sterling Cooper’s Creative ranks. His accusation and manner left Peggy shocked and speechless.

When Peggy appeared at Duck’s hotel room to return his gift, I doubt that she had any intention of having sex with him. Did Duck plan to sexually seduce Peggy? I do not know. And since I have no idea of Duck’s intention, I am not going to pretend that I do or speculate. I do have to wonder if the prevalent negative attitude toward Duck has led many fans to believe that he had intended to seduce her. I do recall Peggy complimenting Duck’s turtleneck sweater when they first met in "The Fog". I also noticed something else. Once Peggy and Duck were in bed together, they seemed turned on by each other.

A good number of viewers had expressed disgust at Peggy’s sexual tryst with Duck, using their 20-something age difference as an excuse. But Joan Harris and Roger Sterling were (and still are) roughly fifteen years apart in age during their affair. Even back then, Joan was slightly older and more experienced during her affair with Roger. But Peggy is not some blushing virgin. She was already sexually experienced and had given birth to Pete’s son in (1.13) "The Wheel". She even managed to seduce some college kid in "Love Among the Ruins" as a test of her sexuality. Yet, many fans expressed disgust at her tryst with Duck. Even worse, they labeled her as some sexually naïve woman who found herself seduced and manipulated by an older man. I must be honest. I found that perception of Peggy rather offensive. At age 24, Peggy was young and probably upset over Don’s outburst. But as I had stated earlier, she was not naïve by this time in the series. I suspect that Peggy had simply used Duck’s offer of great sex to derive some kind of pleasure following her disastrous meeting with Don. Many fans had also predicted disastrous consequences from Peggy and Duck’s tryst. Not really. Peggy had quietly distanced herself from Duck by Season Four, despite his drunken reaction at the time. But I do believe that she paid an emotional and professional price for rejecting Duck's offer at Gray's. At least for a few years.

Top Five Favorite "MAD MEN" Season One (2007) Episodes

Below is a list of my top five favorite Season One episodes of AMC's "MAD MEN": 



TOP FIVE FAVORITE "MAD MEN" SEASON ONE (2007) Episodes



1. (1.12) "Nixon vs. Kennedy" - In this superb episode, Sterling-Cooper's employees have an all-night party to watch the results of the 1960 Presidential Election. Also, Pete Campbell discovers that Don Draper's real name is Dick Whitman, who had been officially declared dead during the Korean War.





2. (1.10) "The Long Weekend" - During the Labor Day weekend, Roger Sterling decides to cheer up Don over the loss of a client by arranging a double date with twins. During the date, he suffers a heart attack. Meanwhile, Joan Holloway has a double date with her roommate and two out-of-town businessmen.





3. (1.05) "5G" - In this poignant episode, Don receives an unwelcome visitor in the form of his half-brother, Adam Whitman, whom he had not seen since the Korean War. And when Ken Cosgrove gets his short story published in a magazine, a jealous Pete asks wife Trudy to convince an old boyfriend to publish his story.





4. (1.01) "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - The series' pilot episode introduces Manhattan advertisement executive Don Draper and his co-workers at the Sterling-Cooper agency, as he struggles to maintain Lucky Strike as a client for the agency.






5. (1.09) "Shoot" - A larger ad agency tries to lure Don from Sterling-Cooper by hiring wife Betty Draper for a modeling job. Meanwhile, Pete devises a strategy to help the Nixon campaign.

"SPOTLIGHT" (2015) Review

"SPOTLIGHT" (2015) Review

Have you ever watched a movie on DVD or cable that you regret not seeing in the movie theaters? I have. In fact, I have seen at least three films nominated for Best Picture . . . after they had been released on DVD. One of those films was the actual Best Picture winner, "SPOTLIGHT". 

Directed by Oscar nominee Thomas McCarthy, "SPOTLIGHT" told the story of The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team, the oldest continuously operating newspaper investigative journalist unit in the United States and its investigation into cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. The story began in 2001 when a new editor named Marty Baron is hired by The Globe. During a staff meeting, Baron brought up the subject of a Boston priest named John Geoghan, who was sexually abusing children and nothing was done - by the Church or the city's law enforcement - to stop him. Baron urged the "Spotlight" team to investigate. Initially believing that they are following the story of one priest who was moved around several times, the "Spotlight" team eventually uncovered a pattern of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests throughout Massachusetts and an ongoing cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law.

After watching "SPOTLIGHT", I easily understood why it had received a good deal of acclaim and award nominations. It really is a first rate movie. Due to the fact that the movie focused on a newspaper investigation team, it allowed moviegoers to enjoy the team's step-by-step investigation into the priests and their victims in the Boston area. I might as well say it. The movie reminded me of the 1975 Oscar nominee, "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN" . . . and in a good way. I have not seen a really good movie about investigative journalism in a long time. I also have to commend director Thomas McCarthy and his co-writer Josh Singer for conveying the "Spotlight" team's discoveries via interviews and records in a well-paced manner. McCarthy did not rush the"Spotlight" team's investigation, but he did not drag it as well. In the end, the investigation itself struck me as a fascinating mystery that developed into a horror story that left me feeling appalled.

"SPOTLIGHT" not only received nominations for McCarthy's direction and the screenplay that he wrote with Singer, it also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Mark Ruffalo and Best Supporting Actress nomination for Rachel McAdams. The pair portrayed two members of the "Spotlight" team - Michael Rezendes and Sacha Pfeiffer. I will admit that both gave first-rate performances. The movie also featured excellent performances from Liev Schreiber as Marty Baron, who started the whole thing in motion; John Slattery as Assistant Managing Editor Ben Bradlee Jr.; Brian d'Arcy James as reporter Matt Carroll; Jamey Sheridan as Catholic Church attorney Jim Sullivan; and Billy Crudup as attorney Eric MacLeish. 

Ironically, my two favorite performances in the movie did not receive any Academy Award or Golden Globe nominations. One came from Stanley Tucci, who portrayed Mitchell Garabedian, a sharp-tongued attorney who represented many sexual abuse victim. I enjoyed Tucci's sardonic, yet understated performance and how his character pointed out how many Boston officials cooperated with the Catholic Church to cover up the abuses. I also enjoyed Michael Keaton's ambiguous portrayal of editor and the team's leader, Walter "Robby" Robinson. Keaton did a great job in not only conveying his character's leadership, but also his knowledge that The Globe had learned about the abuses years earlier, but had covered it up. It seemed a shame that he did not receive an Academy or Golden Globe nomination.

As much as I enjoyed "SPOTLIGHT" and was impressed by it, a part of me feels that it should not have won the Best Picture award. I think the Academy had awarded the film its top honor simply based upon its topic. The problem for me is that "SPOTLIGHT" simply lacked any real artistry. One might accuse me of being shallow. Perhaps I am. But I would prefer to choose a movie that not only provided a great topic, but also first-rate writing . . . and artistry. I can think of two other films that were also nominated the same year as "SPOTLIGHT" that provided all of those features. Someone once pointed out that if you take away the movie's topic of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, "SPOTLIGHT" would come off as a solid, paint-by-the numbers film by a first-time director. And you know what? That person was right. There were times when McCarthy's direction for "SPOTLIGHT" seemed a bit amateurish.

Even though I feel that "SPOTLIGHT" should not have won the Best Picture Oscar for 2015, I cannot deny that it is a basically an first-rate film. I believe that this is due to its fascinating subject, the film's approach to the topic as a mystery and the excellent cast led by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams.