academy.

One summer when I was a kid, my dad made my brothers and I do research reports to "keep our brains active" during those long July days.

I can remember being so upset. Who wants to do work during the summer?

Dad had a catch though - we could chose to do this report on whatever we wanted (this is something I would then hear my first year of university...I'm thinking this was all a prelude).

Out of everything, I chose to do a report about the Academy Awards.

It's always been a ritual for my mother and I - cooking dinner, drinking faux-cocktails (I was still underage!) and analyzing the dresses on the red carpet.

Mom would sometimes drift away for the actual awards ceremony though. I found that I watched a lot of these shows with my dad. My brothers would chime in and out, and sometimes pop in to see who the big winner for "Best Picture" was.

The next morning at breakfast, we would analyze and discuss who we thought was snubbed, robbed and applauded.

That summer that I dove into the Academy Awards data opened a whole new chapter in my obsession with old Hollywood and the cinema. I learned how to monitor a spreadsheet, kept track of genres, category predictions and winners and who was best dressed.

Dad taught me to analyze data. You guessed it, the "Best Picture" winner is usually a drama. Same with a female in a leading role. However, if a male or supporting actor/actress takes on a role that is completely out of the performer's current repertoire (comedy or drama) they were usually nominated, and more often than not, won.

Years later, I'm now trying to keep these traditions alive.

I see award shows and the dresses getting critiqued beyond belief, and ditzy journalists asking legendary performers air-y questions about their films.

I decided to take matters into my own hands while working as an editor at the Ryersonian, and assigned my peers to write reviews for the 2012 nominations for "Best Picture".

The result? Some of the best, and most interesting reviews (in my slightly biased opinion) I have read in awhile.

Check it out - I worked with some really talented people (thank you Lindsey and Sally!) to put them into an interactive graphic.

I still got a soft spot in me for old Hollywood glamour, both on the red carpet and in the theatre. I think we're going through a little resurgence of this, and I can't wait to see what's next.