Black Mass Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Black Mass feels perfunctory and uninspired. It appears to exist because the story of James “Whitey” Bulger is one that should be chronicled in a narrative film and unfortunately not because those involved have something unique to say about it. As such, it takes a paint-by-numbers approach to 20 years of Bulger’s […]
2015 Golden Globes Nominations Predictions
The ultra-prestigious and never ridiculous Hollywood Foreign Press Association is on the cusp of announcing its nominees for the 2015 Golden Globes. We should take these nominations very seriously, as the many, many dedicated and serious-minded members of this fine organization consider only the artistic merits of each film, performance, and craft achievement in a […]
2015 Oscar Predictions: First Guesses Before Fall Fests
It’s 2015 Oscar predictions time, so let’s dig the prognosticator’s hat out of the attic, dust it off, and take a look at the landscape of the 2015 Oscar race. If I’m being honest, though, I almost didn’t want to get involved with 2015 Oscar predictions at all. Last year’s Oscar season and the nonsense […]
2013 TIFF Movies to Watch: #10-#1
My TIFF preview concludes today with some of festival’s heaviest hitters. I hope you enjoyed this series. I’ll be covering the fall fests extensively, so stay tuned! More TIFF Movies to Watch: 2013 TIFF Preview: Part 1 2013 TIFF Preview: Part 2 2013 TIFF Preview: Part 3 2013 TIFF Preview: Part 4 10.) The Past […]
TIFF 2013: Top 10 Intriguing Performances
We’ve still got plenty of time to dissect the 2013 TIFF lineup and its films’s Oscar chances. Hell, we’ve still got plenty of 2013 TIFF films to be announced. In lieu of yet another list of the most promising 2013 TIFF films or the movies with the most Oscar buzz, I’m turning my eye toward […]
The Fifth Estate: Oscar Sleeper?
Click on over to my 2014 Oscar Predictions page to see everything I’m forecasting in the major categories. We got our first look at Bill Condon’s The Fifth Estate via a slick-looking trailer that’s among my favorites of the year. The film, too, is one I’m anticipating greatly, and since my first round of 2014 […]
Star Trek Into Darkness Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Overstuffed and overly serious, Star Trek Into Darkness fails to capture the magic J.J. Abrams brought to Star Trek, his 2009 reboot of the popular sci-fi series. It’s far from a horrible summer movie; On the contrary, its almost overwhelming imagination and brisk pace mean you’re in store for nearly two hours […]
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a superior thriller that accomplishes the unfathomable in condensing John le Carré’s masterful British espionage novel into an appropriately dense but followable two-hour film. And shockingly, not a ton of important detail is lost in the translation. Director Tomas Alfredson (following up the sensational Let the Right […]
War Horse Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Steven Spielberg’s films are often so recognizable that they could make up their own genre. They’re always impeccably crafted, and you can usually see him trying very hard—sometimes painfully so—to make you feel something. I tend to think part of the reason films like Munich and Minority Report were so admired was […]