It's been a rough one, you guys. With the financial woes and lack of work I've suffered over the last year-plus, I've had to be very judicious and tight with my funds, so my love of going to the movies has had to take a back seat. I only watched a handful of films during … Continue reading This Film Is Not Yet Watchable – September 2025
I like to think that, overall, 2022 was a better year than 2021. There were some down moments, to be sure - Billie Eilish won an Oscar before Lin-Manuel Miranda, I had to move my mother into hospice, Republicans retook the House, basically every celebrity we still cared about died, AMC charged us more money … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2022
There is one true master when it comes to stop-motion animation filled with delightfully macabre imagery, and that's Henry Selick. Beginning his directorial career with The Nightmare Before Christmas, he's never shied away from giving audiences a dark, funny, and sneakily emotional treat through his work. But it's been a long time since his most … Continue reading Death’s Rich Pageant – Wendell & Wild
There's a fine line between homage and ripoff, and through his first two films as a director, Jordan Peele has stayed squarely on the side of homage, with Get Out evoking Hitchcock and Us eliciting comparisons to John Carpenter and Philip Kaufman. The man truly does his homework on his productions, tipping his hat to … Continue reading OH HELL YES! – Nope
The Year of Our Ford 2019 is halfway complete, and so far the tally for me is 48 movies, one off the pace I had set by this point last year. Unlike last year, however, 2019 has been a decided step back in terms of cinema quality. There aren't too many great films, and most … Continue reading The 2nd Annual Oscs – Celebrating the Best (and Worst) of 2019 so far!
Nine years ago, Pixar brought its flagship franchise to an end in just about the most perfect way possible. Eventually earning a Best Picture nomination and lauds from even the likes of Quentin Tarantino as the best film of 2010, Toy Story 3 was a gut-wrenching masterpiece of animation, story, and emotional satisfaction, as Woody (Tom … Continue reading One More Adventure for Fork’s Sake – Toy Story 4
There's a saying that's been kicked around a lot over the last 60 years or so, that traces back to Ian Fleming's novel, "Goldfinger." It's a basic Rule-of-Threes that states, "Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is an an enemy action." The more modern paraphrasing is to say, "Once is chance, … Continue reading Lupita Nyong’o is Her Own Worst Enemy – Us
We've come to it at last, folks. The award to end all awards, the one win to rule them all. It's time to take all the laughs, tears, analysis, and petulant bitching and lump it all together to see which nominee should win Best Picture less than a mere 48 hours from now. And because … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2019 – Best Picture
I guess it's appropriate that I'm doing the Directing category today, especially after I spent the early part of yesterday's review of Annihilation calling B.S. on Natalie Portman's complaints about the category at the Golden Globes. This is a category long mired in controversy, and not just for gender bias, though the fact that it took … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Best Director
As a writer, this is my favorite award. As an overall fan of film, it can be the most infuriating. This is mostly because a) original ideas are hard to come by in Hollywood these days, and b) more often than not, the award becomes the consolation prize for a Best Picture also-ran. Since 2000, … Continue reading Oscar Gold 2018 – Original Screenplay
I Actually Paid To See This 