Category Archives: Film

6
May

The Optimist’s Summer Movie Preview 2021

The pandemic robbed us of not just a summer movie season, but a year’s worth of theatrical experiences. But with more than 100 million vaccinated and many theaters reopening – even if not at full capacity – it’s time to … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews | Tagged black widow, candyman, conjuring, disney, green knight, hbo max, in the heights, night house, quiet place, reminiscence, shang-chi, sparks brothers, stillwater, suicide squad, those who wish me dead, wrath of man, zola | Leave a comment

1
May

Streaming Picks: May 2021

FILMSTop PicksRobot & Frank – Prime and Hulu 5/9 Those Who Wish Me Dead – HBO Max 5/14 The Woman in the Window – Netflix 5/14 Cruella – Disney+ 5/24 This month we’ve got a hidden gem and three originals … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged adventure time, al rawabi school for girls, amazon, amy tan, angelina ballerina, apple and onion, army of the dead, axios, bad batch, baggio, barney, big city dreams, black space, bluey, boy from medellin, breach, bryant gumbel, camp cretaceous, castlevania, cowboys, crime of the century, cruella, dance of the forty one, dirty john, disney, divine ponytail, dog gone trouble, donut king, eden, fbi, ferry, generation por que, girl from nowhere, good kisser, greenland, hacks, halston, haunted, hbo max, high on the hog, high school musical, hulu, i am all girls, in treatment, inside pixar, jujutsu kaisen, jungle beat, jupiter's legacy, jurassic world, kominsky method, la boda de rosa, legend of baron to'a, legendary, little fish, love death and robots, love sarah, lucifer, mad for each other, madagascar, manhunt, master of none, michael che, mickey mouse, milestone, mine, mixed up adventures, mlk, mlk fbi, modok, money explained, monster, move to heaven, mr inbetween, neighbor, netflix, oxygen, panic, para rosa, parisian agency, personal history of david copperfield, pikwik pack, pink, plan b, prime, racket boys, ragnarok, re zero, real sports, robot and frank, saint maud, sam smith, sardar ka grandson, selena, shadow in the cloud, shrill, solos, some kind of heaven, sons of sam, soy rada, special, special agent oso, star wars, strange house, supernova, sydney to the max, territorio, that damn michael che, those who wish me dead, trash truck, underground railroad, upshaws, uri and ella, vigil, wander darkly, wander over yonder, who killed sara, woman in the window, wonder woman, world to come | Leave a comment

25
Apr

My Dream Oscar Ballot 2021

Once again, I’m going off the Academy’s eligibility lists, so several movies I would have considered for some awards aren’t represented here. I’ve also seen too few foreign language films to fill out those categories, so I’m abstaining. So enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars | Tagged amazon, another round, apple, assistant, birds of prey, borat, boys state, da 5 bloods, dick johnson is dead, disney, emma, eurovision song contest, father, first cow, greyhound, hulu, i'm thinking of ending things, invisible man, judas and the black messiah, little things, ma rainey's black bottom, mank, midnight sky, minari, mulan, netflix, never rarely sometimes always, nomadland, one night in miami, onward, palm springs, possessor, prime, promising young woman, soul, sound of metal, tenet, time, trial of the chicago 7, vast of night, wolfwalkers | Leave a comment

24
Apr

Oscar Re-Do: 2010

You know the drill. Winners in bold, then we break it down. BEST PICTURE 127 HoursBlack SwanThe FighterInceptionThe Kids Are All RightThe King’s SpeechThe Social NetworkToy Story 3True GritWinter’s Bone Should have won: The Social Network Not even nominated: Shutter … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Best Of, Film, Oscars | Tagged black swan, dogtooth, fighter, social network, toy story 3 | Leave a comment

23
Apr

Oscar Guide 2021

While the extended season offered plenty of pros and cons, there are still a few races that don’t seem quite over. So here’s what should and will win, but remember that you shouldn’t be putting money based on my picks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Previews | Tagged amazon, another round, apple, better days, borat, collective, crip camp, da 5 bloods, disney, emma, eurovision song contest, farmageddon, father, greyhound, hillbilly elegy, hulu, judas and the black messiah, life ahead, love and monsters, ma rainey's black bottom, man who sold his skin, mank, midnight sky, minari, mole agent, mulan, my octopus teacher, netflix, news of the world, nomadland, one and only ivan, one night in miami, onward, over the moon, pieces of a woman, pinocchio, promising young woman, quo vadis aida, shaun the sheep movie, soul, sound of metal, tenet, time, trial of the chicago 7, united states vs billie holiday, white tiger, wolfwalkers | Leave a comment

8
Apr

20 After 20: 2000

While I plan on continuing this project for years, this pandemic didn’t exactly make this project easier. “Free time” really felt like a myth, so I ran out of time to revisit more of these titles, which might have resulted … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film | Tagged almost famous, american psycho, bamboozled, beau travail, best in show, crouching tiger hidden dragon, hamlet, high fidelity, love and basketball, o brother where art thou, quills, remember the titans, requiem for a dream, snatch, state and main, traffic, unbreakable, virgin suicides, wonder boys, you can count on me | Leave a comment

1
Apr

Streaming Picks: April 2021

FILMSTop PicksBringing Up Baby – HBO Max 4/1 My Cousin Vinny – Prime 4/1 Rush – Netflix 4/16 Baby’s Day Out – Disney+ 4/23 It seems like we could all use some laughs and some excitement. The first two films … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged 1 2 3 all eyes on me, aber bergen, adventures in wonderland, adventures of napkin man, ajeeb daastaans, amazon, anne, arlo the alligator boy, art of falling in love, assembled, assume the position, baby's day out, baker and the beauty, being the queen, beneath the beat, big day, big shot, black lady sketch show, bringing up baby, bryant gumbel, burden, circle, clone wars, coded bias, concrete cowboy, couples therapy, creepshow, dad stop embarrassing me, dark city, day i became a god, diana, disciple, disney, dolly parton, ducktales, ewoks, exterminate all the brutes, falcon and the winter soldier, family reunion, fast and furious, fatma, first ladies, fly like a girl, frank of ireland, future-worm, garfield and friends, genndy tartakovsky, girl, go go cory carson, great pottery throwdown, greta thunberg, handmaid's tale, happy endings, have you ever seen fireflies, hbo max, headspace, headspace guide to sleep, heist of the century, heroes, higglytown heroes, higurashi, hulu, infinity train, into the beat, izzy's koala world, jacqueline and jilly, junior puppy pals, just say yes, keeping faith, kick buttowski, kid who would be king, knuckledust, last kids on earth, law school, life in color, liv and maddie, looney tunes cartoons, loudermilk, love in harmony valley, luis miguel, madame claude, made for love, magical andes, mare of easttown, mighty express, mira, mitchells vs the machines, modern persuasion, mortal kombat, my cousin vinny, my love, my music story, nanny, netflix, nevers, new gods, new mutants, nicky ricky dicky and dawn, night in paradise, on the spectrum, one last crusade, other two, our towns, out in the open, pet stars, pj masks, place of no words, prank encounters, primal, prime, princess cut, real sports, rectify, restaurant, ride or die, rizo, robert wuhl, rush, sasquatch, searching for sheela, secret of the whales, secrets of great british castles, secrets of sulphur springs, serpent, sexify, shadow and bone, sky high, smiley face killers, snabba cash, songbird, soul, south side, spontaneous, spy racers, stand-in, standard, star wars, stars fell on alabama, stowaway, survivor's remorse, synchronic, tell me when, tersanjung, them, things seen and heard, this is a robbery, thunder force, tom clancy, unhinged, unikitty, unremarkable juanquini, walk the prank, wander, way of the house husband, wedding coach, wework, what lies below, why are you like this, why did you kill me, wild mountain thyme, without remorse, x-men, yasuke, year to change the world, zero | Leave a comment

15
Mar

Reactions to the 2021 Oscar Nominations

Biggest Snubs (in order from most to least egregious) 1. First Cow – Adapted Screenplay, Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Cinematography, Production Design For the first time ever, the New York Film Critics’ Circle pick for Best Film wasn’t nominated for … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Reviews | Tagged amazon, another round, apple, assistant, borat, boys state, da 5 bloods, first cow, greyhound, hbo max, hulu, i'm thinking of ending things, invisible man, judas and the black messiah, little things, netflix, never rarely sometimes always, one night in miami, palm springs, possessor, prime, sound of metal, tenet, time, vast of night, way back | Leave a comment

13
Mar

Final Oscar Picks 2021

BEST PICTUREJudas and the Black Messiah Ma Rainey’s Black BottomMankMinariNomadlandOne Night in Miami…Promising Young WomanThe Trial of the Chicago 7 Dark Horse: Da 5 BloodsLong Shot: Sound of Metal Total Shock: Never Rarely Sometimes Always The skinny: Proof that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Previews | Tagged all in, amazon, another round, apple, birds of prey, borat, collective, crip camp, croods, disney, emma, father, first cow, greyhound, hbo, hbo max, hillbilly elegy, hulu, judas and the black messiah, life ahead, little things, ma rainey's black bottom, mank, mauritanian, midnight sky, minari, mulan, my octopus teacher, netflix, never rarely sometimes always, news of the world, night of the kings, nomadland, one night in miami, onward, over the moon, pieces of a woman, pinocchio, prime, promising young woman, quo vadis aida, soul, sound of metal, tenet, time, trial of the chicago 7, two of us, united states vs billie holiday, welcome to chechnya, wolfwalkers | Leave a comment

1
Mar

Streaming Picks: March 2021

FILMSTop PicksEnemy of the State – Hulu 3/1 Coming 2 America – Prime 3/15 Zack Snyder’s Justice League – HBO MAX 3/18 Enemy of the State might be Tony Scott’s best movie. A quasi-sequel to The Conversation, it’s at once … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged 1 night in san diego, 100% wolf, 12 oz mouse, 7 yards, abla fahita, alien tv, amazon, ammonite, arashi's diary, aretha franklin, assembled, audrey, b, bad trip, bakugan, ballmastrz 9009, beginning succession, big hero 6, big time rush, biggie, block island sound, bombay begums, bombay rose, boss level, breaking the silence, breathless, bryant gumbel, buddy games, cabras de peste, captain marleau, caught by a wave, Charles and diana, chris norton, city of ghosts, collective, coming 2 america, country comfort, coven of sisters, covid diaries, cross the line, crystal fantasy, dc super hero girls, deadly illusions, dealer, dirty blonde, disney, doc mcstuffins, dogwashers, Dorothy and the wizard of oz, dota, dragon's blood, drive to survive, Ella the elphant, enemy of the state, falcon and the winter soldier, farewell amor, fifth ward, final space, fire force, food wars, formula 1, game changers, generation, genius, godzilla, godzilla vs kong, hard, haunted, here awhile, honest thief, hotel coppelia, houseboat, hulu, hunter x hunter, I got a story to tell, infomercials, inside pixar, intersect, into the dark, invincible, iron mask, irregulars, isabel, jiu jitsu, justice league, kid 90, King Kong, la templanza, last blockbuster, last chance u, last cruise, life with elizabeth, London kills, lost pirate kingdom, love alarm, loyiso gala, mae west, magic for humans, mago pop, making their mark, marriage or mortgage, marvel studios legends, messy goes to okido, mighty ducks, millennials, missing 411, moxie, murder among the mormons, my music story, nailed it, nate bargatze, naughty books, navillera, netflix, nevenka, notorious big, octonauts, one, operation varsity blues, our mothers, pacific rim, paper lives, paradise pd, Paris murders, persona, pickle and peanut, pink wall, pokemon, power rangers, prime, prodigal son, proxima, rainbow high, range rider, re zero, real sports, rebell comedy, returned, rhymes through times, seaspiracy, secret magic control agency, sentinelle, shadows, shipwrecked, sister aimee, sky rojo, skylines, solar opposites, south park, staged, stand, starbeam, superman, three busy debras, tig n seek, tigtone, tina, tina turner, tiny audience, tokyo rising, tracks, triggered, trolls, under suspicion, undocumented lawyer, vikings, waffles and mochi, week away, who killed sara, words on bathroom walls, world party, yes day, yin-yang master, yolo, zero chill | Leave a comment