It’s the Pictures Podcast: Episode 2
The second episode of It’s the Pictures is available to stream! In it, Max and I discuss some of our most anticipated 2016 movies — among them The Nice Guys, La La Land, Silence, and Star Wars: Rogue One. We also talk about Magnolia Pictures’ decision to release Terence Davies’ English-language film Sunset Song with […]
2016 Oscar Predictions: Will Win/Should Win
It’s time. The 88th annual Academy Awards are upon us. To be honest, I’ve been a little checked out of the race for the last few weeks. For one, I was traveling when the race finally seemed to crystallize around my least favorite Best Picture nominee in years. And I spent a lot of time […]
It’s the Pictures Podcast: Episode 1
After several enjoyable stints on the John Likes Movies podcast, Max Covill and I have formally teamed up for a new podcast venture: It’s the Pictures. Our inaugural episode is a deep dive on the 2016 Oscar ceremony including predictions for all the major categories. We also briefly discussed the recent Criterion Collection flash sale, […]
How to Fix Hollywood’s Diversity Problem
This week, I had the pleasure of publishing an article for the magazine The Week. In it, I discussed the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and prescribed potential fixes for movie studios, executives, the Academy, and the press that could lead to a truly inclusive Hollywood. It was an honor to write this piece, and I’m extremely grateful […]
Room Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Director Lenny Abrahamson’s Room plays like a non-science-fiction version of The Matrix. Like the Wachowskis’ action landmark, we’re introduced to its characters in an “unreal” world before they’re able to escape and discover (or rediscover) what’s real. Obviously, the two films vary in big ways — particularly when it comes to the […]
When and How You Can Watch 2015’s Best Movies
John’s Top 20: The Hateful Eight “In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.” (In theaters) Carol “An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman.” (In theaters) The Big Short “Four denizens of the […]
The Best Films of 2015
Looking back at my list of the best films of 2014, I led with this statement: “It seems you’re supposed to open your end-of-year favorite films list with an assessment of the movie year as a whole, but I’ve never really been interested in that. Good, bad, or somewhere in between—I have no idea what […]
John Likes Movies Podcast, Episode 3: Oscar Predictions and Top 10s
Max Covill of ImpassionedCinema.com and I devote our latest discussion to making 2016 Oscar predictions and sharing our top 10 films of 2015. For more, you can check out Max’s top 10 list and Oscar predictions. My top 20 isn’t quite ready yet, but my Oscar predictions are available here. Listen to or download the […]
The Revenant Review
RATING: (1.5 STARS) Hardship is an easy thing to depict on film, but hardship in service of something meaningful to the butts in front of the screen is more of a challenge. 12 Years a Slave is a recent film that pulled it off with flying colors. How? It showed us who its lead character […]
Oscar Season: The Century’s Most Memorable Winners So Far
The following was written by Joseph Price. ***** It’s almost Oscar season, and with the Golden Globe recently taking place, fans and critics are already speculating as to which films could take home the top prizes at the Academy Awards. It’s always an exciting time of year for film lovers. But before delving into this […]
The Big Short Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Adam McKay is a tightrope walker. His latest film, The Big Short, is one of 2015’s funniest offerings. Its subject matter? The 2008 collapse of the American economy. McKay cut his teeth with Will Ferrell vehicles like Anchorman and Talladega Nights, which are both absurdist comedies with their own internal logics born […]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) “It’s good.†“I need more than that, buddy.†“It’s enjoyable.†“OK, that’s a start.†That was a conversation I had with my 12-year-old brother-in-law immediately following our viewing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He wanted to help me craft my review. They’re simple adjectives but also perfectly appropriate for the film […]
Listen to Me Marlon Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Listen to Me Marlon is a one-of-a-kind documentary. There have been plenty of non-fiction films — plenty even this year with Amy, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, and others — that chronicle the lives of famous people and their troubles with celebrity as a status. However, none are told with the emotional […]
2016 Oscar Predictions: Carol Comes on Strong
It’s been a month since I last visited by 2016 Oscar predictions page, but as I wait around to see the last of 2015’s major contenders in The Revenant and The Hateful Eight, as well as continue to cram in screeners to finish my best of 2015 list, I thought it was a good time […]
Trumbo Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Mistrust and fear overtook Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s when many major players in the movie industry were shunned, blacklisted, and even jailed over their beliefs. It’s not hard to see why such a time would be appealing to a filmmaker, and in fact, Jay Roach’s Trumbo is hardly the first […]
Phoenix Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Phoenix is such an evocative, playful title for German director Christian Petzold’s latest film. He introduces us — and his main character, Holocaust survivor Nelly — to a club called Phoenix early in the proceedings, but it’s nothing more than a red herring. The phoenix is this poor woman who’s life is […]
