Good news, everyone! I was planning on this column being the conclusion of my pre-nomination coverage of the Animated Feature category. I did four movies last time, and the plan was for five tonight. However, we ain't done yet! Thanks to a surprise release and rentals on YouTube, I'll be able to do a third … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts: Toontown, Part 2
Today is another important day in the calendar, and not just because it's my sister's birthday. December 4 marks the deadlines for submissions to the Golden Globe Awards, as well as many of the industry guild awards ceremonies. But most importantly for our purposes, we have yet another list of contenders for one of the … Continue reading Where Do We Go From the Moon? – Visual Effects Contenders Announced!
Hooray, this shitty year is almost in the books! We've endured four god awful Disney remakes plus a sequel to a previous one! We've survived Jennifer Lopez in her natural state as a stripper! Somehow we've even made it past Donald Trump's head photoshopped onto Rocky Balboa and HIS CAMPAIGN TRYING TO SAY IT'S A … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – December 2019
It's a curious thing to see the world unfold around you. No matter how unimportant or irrelevant something might be to the grand scheme of life, it's amazing how we all can compartmentalize what we see and hear, and contextualize it within our own life experience, and with our own biases. I say this because … Continue reading I’m Still Not Crying! Continue Shutting Up! – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Joe and Anthony Russo have earned themselves quite a lot of clout over the last few years, thanks to successful TV work (Arrested Development and Community) and their blockbuster work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where they helmed two Captain America movies and the conclusion of Phase 3 via the Infinity War. Given the amount of … Continue reading Just As Every Cop, No Seriously EVERY Cop, is a Criminal – 21 Bridges
Long ago, in far distant past of 2013, I had a random day off and I was bored. So I decided to schlep down to the nearest theatre and see Disney's latest animated feature, Frozen. I had no hopes at all for a quality picture. Disney had basically ceded its position as the forefront of animation … Continue reading I Still Melt For Elsa and Anna – Frozen II
There are times when the success of a film is more about what it doesn't do than what it does. While just about everything in cinema has high and low points, more often than not a film is as good as or better than the sum of its parts. But in the case of Ford v. … Continue reading Shut Up and Drive! – Ford v. Ferrari
The "unofficial" phase is finally over. We are now firmly and officially into Awards Season! The next three months of hardware, hand-wringing, and haranguing kicked off this morning with the announcement of the nominees for the 35th Annual Independent Spirit Awards, which were presented by Zazie Beetz and Natasha Lyonne. There's a lot of love … Continue reading We’ve Got Spirit (Awards), Yes We Do! – 35th Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced!
When two legendary actors come together, it usually makes for cinematic magic. When it happens during awards season, you can normally bet that it will be top notch prestige fare. So imagine my depression in watching The Good Liar, which winds up being one of the most disappointing movies I've seen all year. In fairness, Sir … Continue reading The Real Con is Pretending This is Quality – The Good Liar
Ever since the submissions for the Oscar for Animated Feature were announced last month, the scramble has been on to see as many of these films as possible. The more commercial fare is easy, but there are a good deal of independent and foreign films in the mix as well, very few of which will … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts: Toontown, Part 1
I Actually Paid To See This 