We're a third of the way through 2025, and I can safely say that we're on track to have a much better year than the last two as far as cinematic quality is concerned. There are still myriad problems like the continued push for AI-generated content despite two labor strikes that halted the entire industry, … Continue reading This Film Is Not Yet Watchable – May 2025
The actual Oscar Blitz is off for a few more days, but that doesn't mean my fingers get a night off. We're but a week from the Academy Awards, and in most years, we'd already have all the information needed to make an educated guess at the results. That's sort of the case this year, … Continue reading Projecting the Winners – 2024 Awards Season Undercard
Last year, the Best Actor category was one of the most exciting for the Oscars. You had a legitimate three-way race between Colin Farrell, Austin Butler, and eventual winner Brendan Fraser. You also got a bit of a reprieve from the coronation ceremony for Everything Everywhere All at Once - assuming you wanted one - … Continue reading Oscar Blitz 2024 – Best Actor
It's time! It's here! It's... (cue Monty Python's Flying Circus theme) THE OSCAR BLITZ! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everyone in between, this is the moment we've all been waiting for. This morning, Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced the nominees for the 96th Academy Awards. As the action unfolded, phones across the … Continue reading Atomic BLITZ! – 96th Academy Award Nominations Revealed!
We're but a few more days away from this year's Oscar nominations, and as such, it's time to continue our marathon through Netflix's "For Your Consideration" campaign (click here for Part One and Part Two of this mini-series). I have to admit this marketing strategy doesn't make all that much sense to me, as the … Continue reading DownStream – The Big Red N-velope, Part Three: The Undercard
I've talked before in this space about the difference between subtlety and nuance in screenwriting. By basic definition, one feeds into the other, but in the practicalities of scripting for film, the two are similar but distinct ideas. You can be nuanced without being subtle, and vice versa. It comes down to the approach of … Continue reading The Write-Offs – American Fiction
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
If you were to tell me in a vacuum that Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, and Paul Dano would be starring in a new movie directed by Matt Reeves, I would imagine that you'd be describing a cerebral, artsy exploration of the human condition through a distinctly animalistic lens. After all, ever since he … Continue reading The Knight is Still Young – The Batman
Every era of the James Bond franchise has its own unique qualities and characteristics, both for good and ill. The Sean Connery years framed the Cold War against the backdrop of a suave and sophisticated super spy. The Roger Moore era leaned heavily into camp value. Pierce Brosnan's run relied heavily on grandiose spectacle. George … Continue reading Junk Bond – No Time to Die
I've mentioned before that the films of Wes Anderson are fairly hit and miss for me. He is no doubt a great writer and spectacular visual artist, creating brilliantly whimsical set pieces that feel like living in a painting at times. But how that fanciful approach hits you is essentially a crap shoot. For me, … Continue reading As Fun As Having a Magazine Read to You – The French Dispatch
I Actually Paid To See This 