I make no secret that I am not a fan of what I refer to as "Best Actor/Actress Showcase" films, movies that only exist to spotlight a particular performer, usually one who has been celebrated but never given any hardware during their career, and use it as a vehicle to get an Oscar nomination or … Continue reading Back Row Thoughts – Please Give Me an Oscar I Don’t Deserve
Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is a film that, by its very existence, leaves your average cinephile in something of a catch-22. On the one hand, Coppola has given the world some of the greatest achievements of the artform, to the point that he can easily be given the odd mulligan if he puts out a … Continue reading All That Glitters – Megalopolis
I must begin this unprecedented continuation of this month's column, as I often do, with an apology. At the end of the previous installment, I promised that I would conclude this week with the remaining trailers that have created a record-breaking 21 entries into this monthly project, as well as the "Redemption Reel" and the … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – August 2024, Part Two
If you're wondering why I haven't posted anything in the last week, there's a very good reason. I just spent five days at this year's AFI Fest in Hollywood. Over the course of the festival, I took in an insane 15 movies, including 10 that have been submitted for the Oscar for International Feature. Needless … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – November 2023
Back in 2006, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan released what is arguably his worst movie, Lady in the Water. Derided for being incredibly self-indulgent, the project was rightly lambasted for Shyamalan's sanctimonious take on art, writing, and criticism, in which he essentially staged a cinematic hissy fit due to negative reactions to his previous work. He … Continue reading The Play’s the Thing – Asteroid City
For anyone who has been shivering with anticipation over this review, I do apologize for its lateness. The long-awaited follow-up to the Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse was certainly one of the most anticipated releases for the year, and its critical and box office reception shows that it did not disappoint. However, it did take me … Continue reading The Tangled Web – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Apologies one and all for the lack of content over the past two weeks. It's an unfortunate side effect of Summer Blockbuster season sometimes. There are the odd weeks where the major studios will essentially get out of each others' way and let one film dominate the box office for a cycle. Two weeks ago … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – June 2023
The Screen Actors Guild had their say a couple weeks ago when they announced their slate of nominees. Next week our friends across the Pond will get their turn when the BAFTA Award nominees come out. Today, we have the meat of this Awards Season undercard sandwich, as the other three major American production unions … Continue reading An Invitation from THE GUILD! – DGA, PGA, WGA Nominees
It's basically been a year since I've gotten to do this. In June 2020 I fell behind by two weeks, with the intent of doing a column in July, because that's when theatre chains were initially planning to open back up. But then everything went even further into the shit, reopening schedules were completely scrapped, … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – May 2021
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
I Actually Paid To See This 