Lupita Nyong’o

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review

RATING: (2 STARS) Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the fifth Star Wars film in as many years, arrived in theaters before Christmas more with a sense of exhausted obligation than breathless anticipation. It wasn’t just that we’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time in this world lately. The discourse around these films has […]

The Jungle Book (2016) Review

The Jungle Book (2016) Review

RATING: (3 STARS) The Jungle Book, as surprising as it probably seems, is one of the few Disney animated classics that eluded me in my childhood. A casual awareness of something called “The Bear Necessities” was all I knew about the 1967 version of Rudyard Kipling’s stories. Incidentally, Kipling’s books are foreign to me, as […]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

2014 Oscar Predictions: Resetting the Board

2014 Oscar Predictions: Resetting the Board

Click on over to my 2014 Oscar Predictions page to see everything I’m forecasting in the major categories. And check out my 2014 Oscar Predictions: Technical Categories page for projections in Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and more. I’d planned to dive a little deeper into Best Documentary Feature today, but I’ve got quite a […]

Venice and Telluride: What We’ve Learned So Far

Venice and Telluride: What We’ve Learned So Far

Click on over to my 2014 Oscar Predictions page to see everything I’m forecasting in the major categories. We’re mere days into the fall movie season, and already the Oscar landscape has changed significantly. I’ve updated my Oscar predictions today, and I will continue to on a weekly basis—every Wednesday—until the season ends. I will […]