I am not the type of person who remembers a film’s score long after I’ve left the theater. I kind of just let the score wash over me in the moment, and then it slowly escapes from my mind after I have written my review. Perhaps, then, I am no authority on the Best Original Score category. However, this year’s race has a pretty clear divide from which we can delineate frontrunners.
Continue reading 2020 Oscar Predictions — Best Original Score
There is something completely understandable and, to an extent, forgivable about the slapdash, lumpy, and largely hollow pieces that shape the narrative of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There is a distinct feeling, present from the opening scene of The Rise of Skywalker, that J.J. Abrams started this race a lap behind (Abrams was brought on late to the film after Disney parted ways with Colin Trevorrow).
It is a feeling that some higher power, whether it be Abrams or Kathleen Kennedy or whoever, decided to Continue reading Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Movie Review
Driving home from the theater last night, I saw something really quite lovely. Turning down a curved street, and entering my line of vision for no longer than a second, I saw two people in conversation sitting on a ledge outside of a hotel. The pair—one a man, his back to me, and the other a woman, a warm smile on her face and a soulful tenderness in her eyes—each sat with their legs pulled up to their chests, almost as if they were mirrors of each other.
They were experiencing a genuinely human moment, captured through the film of my windshield. It was a silent movie. It ran for 1.5 seconds or less. But that snippet had more life, energy, and emotion than every shot in Solo: A Star Wars Story put together.
Now, you may be thinking: what do two people sitting on a ledge in real life have to do with a multi-billion dollar franchise’s sequel/prequel? In execution: nothing.
But maybe these people are Continue reading Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Movie Review
Every year, I like playing a little game of Summer box office predictions. The rules are simple (and the game is played officially at Trivia Club and /Film, if you’re interested): Pick which 10 films, and three dark horse candidates, that you think will gross the most money domestically during the Summer movie season.
This year, the game’s outlets are shifting their definition of what the Summer movie season is in order to include Avengers: Infinity War. Avengers was initially slated for release on the first weekend of May, but Disney pushed its release up a week.
For the sake of this article, I’m just going to keep the traditional definition of Summer movie season, which is the first weekend of May to Labor Day weekend. It kind of makes the predicting harder, given that Avengers is almost certainly going to be the highest grossing movie of the year, and if the film were included in this competition it would be number one with a bullet.
All the same, this year’s crop of Summer movies is pretty strange from a box office standpoint.
The Top Ten: Continue reading 2018 Summer Box Office Predictions
Sound Design can be an overlooked aspect of filmmaking, just as the Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing Oscar categories can be overlooked awards. Nevertheless, sound design is important, and nabbing the right films in the sound categories can be a key part of winning an Oscar pool.
Before putting that cart before the horse, though, let’s focus on the films that could get nominated.
Continue reading 2018 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Sound Nominees
The Best Visual Effects category has been narrowed down by the Academy to 10 films. Makes my job easier, sure, but even without the shortlist I think these five films would be the ones with the nominations.
Continue reading 2018 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Visual Effects Nominees
In 1977, the groundbreaking science fiction film Star Wars was released, featuring an opening text crawl describing a period of civil war in which a Galactic Rebellion has won their first victory. “During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star.”
In 2016, Disney and director Gareth Edwards give us a visual representation of this event, the inception of the Galactic Civil War. Jyn Urso (Felicity Jones), the daughter of a reluctant Imperial engineer (Mads Mikkelsen) who is forced into the creation of the Death Star, is sprung from Imperial prison by the Rebellion. Jyn and an unlikely band of anti-Empire figures are tasked with finding Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), which leads them on the trail of the Death Star plans that jump-started the original Star Wars trilogy.
Rogue One is the first “non-saga” Star Wars film, and it does feel distinctly Continue reading Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Movie Review
I recently read an article through Moviepass (free promotion for Moviepass: they are a great service for the avid filmgoer) about the history of the Summer blockbuster. Near the end of the article, they address a shift in Summer movie box office trends. This and recent thoughts I’ve had about this Summer’s slate of new releases have spurred some personal speculation on the future of the Summer blockbuster. Moviepass looked into the past, let’s now look into the future.
The Summer movie season, in recent memory, has been littered with Continue reading The Future of the Summer Blockbuster
The two sound categories at the Oscars may appear synonymous. And, yes, the two categories often go to the same film. I think this year will end up going that route, as well. But, of course, anything is possible.
All five of the films in Best Sound Editing feature superior sound work. As a result, I feel that the award will go to Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Sound Editing
Note: I’ve tried to make this review as spoiler free as possible. That said, one person’s reaction is another person’s spoiler. I can’t make this 100% devoid of spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
Star Wars – The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams, and it is the first new Star Wars film in 10 years. Easily the most anticipated movie of the year, The Force Awakens could have been the biggest disappointment since, well, The Phantom Menace. Thankfully, this is not the case.
This part is unavoidable, but it must be mentioned. Continue reading Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) Movie Review
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