After the unforgivable slap seen and heard around the world at last year’s Oscars ceremony, a few major questions remain: whether the Academy did enough to punish Will Smith for the attack on Chris Rock, and, given the general decline in viewership, are awards ceremonies still relevant? Of course, the greatest slap in the face to Will Smith – pardon the pun-- would have been if Chris Rock had hosted this year’s Oscars, but Rock turned down the offer.

One can endlessly debate whether Rock went too far or if Smith’s actions seem like that of an unhinged lunatic or a protective husband. What I haven’t seen is much talk about how the conversation might differ if the demographics of those involved in the altercation were changed. I believe that discussion is fundamental in an era defined by the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements.

In a new video, Highbrow Magazine Chief Film Critic Forrest Hartman discusses the 2022 Oscars race, and which actor/actress and supporting actor/actress deserve to win the gold. It's a tight race this year, given a number of noteworthy performances: from Andrew Garfield in Tick, tick...Boom! to Jessica Chastain's riveting turn as Tammy Faye Baker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. The Academy Awards ceremony airs on March 27 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5p.m. PT.

In a new video, Highbrow Magazine Chief Film Critic Forrest Hartman discusses this year's Oscars contenders for Best Picture -- from Belfast to King Richard to Power of the Dog -- and selects his pick for the golden statue. Hartman will also feature another Oscars video next week, in which he will talk about the nominees for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and other categories.

Is Chinatown the best American film ever made? It certainly belongs in the top ranks, as many can attest. After its release in 1974, Chinatown garnered nearly a dozen Academy Award nominations, although the only winner was for Best Original Screenplay. Its Los Angeles-noir atmospherics—and its theme of deeply ingrained political corruption—seem as fresh and powerful today, over 40 years later.

In examining the daunting reality we face every day, we consider the journey of the monster who perpetuates it. And when we consider the journey of this monster from beginning to end, we see how the nightmare unfolds. It’s common for us to see someone like a psychopath (Jojo Rabbit) or a sociopath (The Irishman) and trace their history back to a point or a series of points of trauma. Without this confluence of events, they may not have turned out to be as destructive as they are. They experience hardship at an early, tender time, and thus their worldview is tainted from then on.

Just when you thought you would never be able to forget the total train wreck that was James Franco and Anne Hathaway at last year’s Oscars ceremony, here we go again: The Academy Awards are this Sunday. So whose names will be called as winners of the coveted gold statuette? Do they really deserve to win-- and who might spoil it for them? Let’s break down the major categories and find out.

This year's favorite for the Best Foreign Language Oscar depicts a couple battling an emotional separation and the theocracy that governs them. Set in Tehran, the film's warm reception in the United States says more about us -- and our unease with the wider world - than it does about Iran. Asghar Farhadi's “A Separation” vindicates our view of Iranians on some level, which is likely why it resonates with the Academy. But what about the films that don't? The past year saw a slew of movies that made waves with audiences in their home countries for reasons that have nothing to do with us.