Paired perfectly as a double-feature follow-up to this summer’s spacefaring Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok is a raucously rad roller coaster that shoots rainbows out of every digitally-rendered pore. Blasting with energetic pace in the complete opposite direction from the dreary and grayish Game of Thrones Lite tone of Thor: The Dark World, this new chapter is a cinematic box of Crayola crayons laced with dynamite.
Read MoreThe title of "Knight of Cups" from polarizing filmmaker Terrance Malick refers to the tarot card of the same name, a symbol that represents someone "constantly bored, in constant need of stimulation, but also artistic and refined." You don't say? That label may just apply to anyone in the audience watching this film. Your copacetic taste is better than this film and you will be spiritless and dispassionate, matching the assigned astrology.
Read MoreThe 88th Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, January 14, 2016, hot off of the weekend's 73rd Golden Globe awards. I've been following the full awards season over on my Awards Tracker page. Using that data as the tea leaves and a truckload of hunches, I'm going to attempt to closely predict the Oscar nominations for the "Big 8" categories for the third year in a row.
Read MoreMore and more each year, the Golden Globes have become more an a popularity contest than a true precursor to the Academy Awards. What you're watching on TV is a party thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and hosted by Ricky Gervais in an effort to be loved and share some love. To its credit, the awards show still garners legitimate attention and ratings. The winners do get a pretty positive rub and the marketers gain a few more "Winner of..." graphics to put in the newspapers next to their films.
Read More51st Chicago International Film Festival OUT-Look Special Presentation
"Carol," among many other superlatives, is a film completely driven by the weight of reason and accountability within its female lead characters. Played by Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Oscar nominee Rooney Mara, we witness two women formulating the capacity to reason with the undeniable truths they find in their hearts while understanding the ramifications and accountability acting on those feelings would result in as women of the pre-feminist 1950s. "Carol" is a fascinating and empowering love story, no matter what label you associate for your identity or disposition.
Read MoreAs busy I get from time to time, I find that I can't see every movie under the sun, leaving my friends and colleagues to fill in the blanks for me. As poetically as I think I wax about movies on this website as a wannabe critic, sometimes a simple sentence or two from a friend says it all. Sometimes, it inspires me to see the movie too and get back to being my circle's go-to movie guy. Sometimes, they save me $9 and you 800+ words of blathering. In a new review series, I'm opening my site to friend submissions for quick-hit movie reviews. Here's Natalie's take on "Cinderella."
Read MoreWith the arrival of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," we have made it to the payoff. This big story gets its ending, its tidy bow, and its cherry-on-top. Even if you think the movie studio was milking you for three movie tickets over three years out of a book that probably could have fit into a single film, you now get to see your patience rewarded and your virtue justified. You will realize it was worth it. You will feel like you stuck around to see "Superman" save the world, you survived the walk down those basement stairs in "Psycho," and you partied with the Ewoks and spirit Jedis in "Star Wars."
Read MoreAlright, folks! I've done all of the research I can with my 2014 Awards Tracker. I've read all of the tea leaves and broken down every race. I've made my picks and here's the master list.
Read MoreIt's time to make my formal predictions. In this sixth post, we are deep into the major award categories. Here are my picks for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool. Let's go!
Read MoreIt's time to make my formal predictions. In this fifth post, we are deep into the major award categories. Here are my picks for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool. Let's go!
Read More"The Monuments Men" may be the rare enigma and case of identity crisis where a movie doesn't know what it's trying to be. If "The Monuments Men" had went straight serious to really honor this war effort story, those involved all have the chops to deliver an affecting epic. If it had went the lighthearted route, this same cast and crew could nail that crowd-pleaser too with equal room for success. Either route needed more dedication and more time to succeed.
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