Ranking Every Pixar Film
A ranked countdown of the Pixar film catalog is the most basic of lists for a critic—something he or she could break out every year or so when the world’s foremost animation studio shares with us, the world, its next stroke of creative genius. And it’s that fawning fanboy attitude that’s prevented me from sharing […]
What Are the Best Movies of the Decade So Far?
It’s hard to imagine we’re five years removed from the myriad “Best Movies of the Decade” posts of 2009. That was fun, and each intervening year since has produced more than enough titles worthy of appearing on such lists. Of course, most of those titles won’t eventually make it when we get to the end […]
Top 10 Movies of the “Filmspotting Era”
Webster’s Dictionary defines Filmspotting as “a force of good in the universe.” Or maybe that was Rian Johnson. Whatever the case, my favorite film podcast turned 500 this past week, and to celebrate the occasion it held a live event where hosts Adam and Josh counted down their top five favorite films of the “Filmspotting […]
The Fearlessness of Pixar’s Ratatouille
I recently contributed to Sound on Sight’s 28 Days of Disney Animation series by discussing the theme of fearlessness in Pixar’s Ratatouille. It’s one of my very favorite Pixar films alongside WALL-E and Toy Story 3, and I talked about how the ballsiness inherent in the film’s premise opened the floodgates for a half decade […]
Ranking the 2011 Oscar Nominees
I’m totally stealing this idea from In Contention, but I thought it would be fun to look at the Oscar field as a whole this year. I’ve seen 29 of the nominated features. I’m missing: Another Year, The Wolfman, Barney’s Version, The Way Back, The Tempest, In a Better World, Incendies, Outside the Law, Dogtooth, […]
2011 OSCAR PREDICTIONS: Final Forecast
Nothing like waiting to the last minute, right? It’s finally here, and frankly, I can’t wait until it’s over. I’m very ready to move on to what will hopefully be a great crop of films in 2011. But here’s what I think will be taking home the prizes this year, as well as what could […]
The Ten Best Films of 2010
10.) The Kids Are All Right Lisa Cholodenko’s dramedy resonates so strongly because she manages to make this “non-traditional†family incredibly relatable. I found myself taken aback with just how insightful it is, how clever the writing is, and how strong the performances are. 9.) Biutiful Only a fool would expect an Iñárritu film to […]
The Ten Best Films of 2010 So Far
Most people compiled lists of their favorite films from January through June—a first-half of the year top 10. I decided to wait. I hadn’t seen enough films through the end of June to make such a list worthwhile. But with the end of summer upon us, I thought it was appropriate to do such a […]
Toy Story 3 Review
RATING: (4 STARS) Rarely does a film come out at the absolute perfect time, but “Toy Story 3†is such a film. I’d argue this film isn’t made for kids—it’s made for those of us, like me, who grew up with the “Toy Story†characters. We watched as kids and went home wishing we could […]
2010 Summer Movie Preview
As weather heats up, so does anticipation for summer blockbuster season. For many (myself included), this season can be great fun, but it’s also kind of like a minefield—one week you get Star Trek, the next you get Angels and Demons. So consider this your guide to navigate the minefield—my preview and expectations for the […]
2011 Oscar Predictions: Forecasting the Year Ahead
The 2011 Oscars are far off (thank goodness), but it’s always fun to look at the year and guess what might be the best of the year. Of course, many of the films have yet to been seen (hell, some of them might not even be coming out this year), but that’s part of the […]
