Blue Jasmine

Final 2014 Oscar Predictions

Final 2014 Oscar Predictions

We’re almost there. And thank God, because I can’t anymore. This will likely be the last year I spend time writing and talking about the Oscars regularly. Too much noise. I’ve been defeated. Anyway, it’s a hell of a good year to go out with some pretty brilliant titles leading the charge for gold. I […]

The 5 Best Leading Female Performances of 2013

The 5 Best Leading Female Performances of 2013

Click here to check out my 5 favorite leading male performances of 2013. On to the leading ladies! One could plausibly argue 2013 was as strong a year at the top for leading women as it was for leading men, and one couldn’t plausibly argue that most other years. It was a great year for […]

Final 2014 Oscar Nominations Predictions

Final 2014 Oscar Nominations Predictions

No intro; this rundown is long enough. I’m really excited to see how things shake out tomorrow. Here are my best guesses. Best Picture American Hustle Captain Phillips Dallas Buyers Club Gravity Her Nebraska Saving Mr. Banks 12 Years a Slave The Wolf of Wall Street Hustle, Phillips, Gravity, Nebraska, 12 Years are your locks. […]

Predicting the 2014 Golden Globes Winners

Predicting the 2014 Golden Globes Winners

This Sunday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will carve for itself a unique place in the 2013/2014 awards season. How do I know? Because it must. There still isn’t much consensus among this year’s major categories. The critics groups like 12 Years a Slave and Her. American Hustle and Gravity have loads of support—some from […]

Blue Jasmine Review

Blue Jasmine Review

RATING: (3 STARS) In 1988, Pedro Almodóvar directed Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. In 2013, Woody Allen directed Blue Jasmine, a.k.a. “Woman on the Verge of Another Nervous Breakdown (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Stoli Martinis with a Twist of Lemon)”. Blue Jasmine is a far cry from […]

2014 Oscar Predictions: Screenplays Original and Adapted

2014 Oscar Predictions: Screenplays Original and Adapted

Click on over to my 2014 Oscar Predictions page to see everything I’m forecasting in the major categories. I’ve focused my 2014 Oscar predictions, until now, on Best Picture, Best Director, and the four acting categories. Today, I begin to unravel some of the secondary categories, starting with 2014 Best Adapted Screenplay and 2014 Best […]

Woody Allen Movies

Woody Allen Movies

Woody Allen movies, perhaps more so than those of any other director working today, are easily identifiable. And that isn’t to say Woody Allen movies repeat themselves. On the contrary, though there has been a Woody Allen movie almost every year since the early 1970s, he’s explored themes as wide-ranging as falling in love, falling […]

2013 Summer Movie Preview: Part 2

2013 Summer Movie Preview: Part 2

With my most-anticipated 2013 summer blockbusters countdown out of the way, it’s time to get to the good stuff. I can’t remember a year when my excitement for a crop of indie films has exceeded my excitement for Hollywood stuff by this much. Where I struggled to find ten big studio titles to list on […]

Projecting the Cannes 2013 Lineup

Projecting the Cannes 2013 Lineup

Now that the 66th annual Cannes International Film Festival (May 15-May 26, 2013) has its jury president (Lincoln director Steven Spielberg), speculation over what films will compete for the 2013 Palme d’Or has intensified. I’ve identified 30 titles that seem like plausible Cannes selections. It’s impossible to say whether any or all will be ready […]