After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Academy Awards

Racial attitudes inspected in a tough documentary, in a bit of history and a biting satire

Also two animated Oscar contenders and a new slant from Britain on zombies

The German hit Toni Erdmann, Gold, the Bre-X clone, and the animal rights target, A Dog’s Purpose

Also a celebration of an iconic Canadian artist, a gritty film from trailer park England and a couple of lurid ones from France

New action with Tom Cruise, our Academy Awards hopeful and the return of a classic

And much more: two glimpses inside North Korea, a cool Canadian film, a cameraperson’s scrapbook and Ewan McGregor’s shaky debut as a director

45 Years, a gem about seniors; big-sea action in The Finest Hours, and short Oscar hopefuls

Also Al Purdy, a Canadian poet you should know more about, and a young boy’s angst in The Demons

A stunning Holocaust drama, young adults battling invaders and Robert De Niro in a stinker

Also Noam Chomsky on the seeds of inequality and Canada’s first 3-D movie rediscovered

My Oscars picks: Boyhood, Grand Budapest Hotel, Still Alice and CitizenFour

Boyhood vs Birdman. It looks like a dead heat right now.

Oscar noms surprises: where’s The Lego Movie and David Oyelowo?

Too little Lego and Selma but Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead the Academy Award nominations

Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and more films I expect will win at the Academy Awards

Chiwetel Ejifor, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael Fassbender are all nominated for 12 Years a Slave but I think only the film will win.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of the 2013 Oscars

Seth MacFarlane was a superb host, but the overall ceremony was lacking.

Argo vs. Lincoln, Wreck-It Ralph vs. Brave and Amour vs Rebelle: My Oscar guesses

Argo’s version of the Canadian caper has stepped up over Lincoln as the favorite for best picture, say most of the Oscar pundits