Today's the big day, folks! It seems like only yesterday Will Smith was committing assault and battery on live television because of a G.I. Jane joke, but it's already time to begin the 2023 Oscar Blitz! In a ceremony hosted by Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced … Continue reading A Surprise Blitz – 95th Academy Awards Nominees
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
As any reader is aware, there are two things going on with this blog right now. One, I'm in a near-constant state of clearing my backlog due to the absolute glut of films being released right now. Two, this is because it's Awards Season, and everyone is jockeying for position, attention, and prestige. Well, as … Continue reading Let’s Hear it For the Multiverse – 38th Independent Spirit Awards Nominees!
As I mentioned in this month's edition of "The Worst Trailer in the World" (currently hovering around 5,000 views; seriously, I love you all!), I really liked the original Despicable Me film. I enjoyed the idea of a villain learning to see the good in himself and apply that to other people once he became … Continue reading Despicable Pre – Minions: The Rise of Gru
I'd say it's kind of hard to believe that we're already halfway through the year, but I understand how calendars work, so it's not like it's a surprise or anything. That said, the last several weeks have been exceedingly busy, so it does feel like time has flowed a bit faster than normal, especially when … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – July 2022
Normally I try to put out a review within 24-48 hours of seeing a movie. Sometimes my schedule gets in the way, but more often than not, I want to critique something while it's still fresh in my mind. That was not possible in this case. It's not that Everything Everywhere All at Once didn't … Continue reading Embrace the Chaos – Everything Everywhere All at Once
The films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe tend to follow a fairly set formula at this point, especially for the origin stories. You get the standard hero's journey archetype of an otherwise mild-mannered person thrust into a supernatural situation beyond their control. There are a couple of good action scenes to make up for the … Continue reading Endure the Bad for the Really Good – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Something amazing happened the other day. Over the last three years that I've been doing this blog, I've been wowed and humbled when I've gotten positive feedback. I love it when I get comments on the posts to respond to, or when a production company retweets or likes the links I put out on Twitter. … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – July 2021
With the fall season in full swing, the jockeying for position for next year's Oscars kicks into high gear. We've already hit the deadlines and announcements for submissions in Animated Feature and International Feature. On November 21, we'll have the nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, and in early December we'll get the Oscar shortlists. … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – November 2019
If you've been to the movies at any point in the last two-plus weeks, odds are you were probably watching the new romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, as it's won the weekend box office twice in a row. The film is polished and ambitious, and has at 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this publish. … Continue reading A Run-Of-The-Mill Rom-Com Strikes a Blow for Representation – Crazy Rich Asians
I Actually Paid To See This 