Category Archives: Film

22
Apr

The Optimist’s Summer Movie Preview 2019

In a shocking turn of events, there are actually a ton of movies I’m excited for this summer. In years past, I’ve struggled to round out to an even 10. This year, however, I’m expanding to 15 titles that have … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews | Tagged avengers, blinded by the light, dark phoenix, fast and furious, godzilla, hobbs and shaw, john wick, kitchen, long shot, men in black, midsommar, once upon a time in hollywood, spider-man, spiderman, toy story 4, where'd you go bernadette, x-men, yesterday | Comments Off

3
Apr

Streaming Picks: April 2019

Sorry for the delay. March was a crazy month that involved a lot of travel. The Criterion Channel launches on my birthday (April 8) and I’m hoping that’s one of my gifts. Might eventually add that to the list of … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged addams family, addams family values, amazon, anthony jeselnik, arcadia, attack on titan, baki, beast of the water, black summer, bob hope, bonding, bonnie and clyde, book club, border, bosch, brene brown, bug diaries, buried alive, burning, carol burnett, chambers, chilling adventures of sabrina, chio's school road, cuckoo, diablo guardian, don't go, fairy tail, fortunate man, grass is greener, hateful eight, how not to summon a demon lord, huge in france, hulu, humans, i am the night, i daniel blake, i think you should leave, ingress, into the dark, kevin hart, land imagined, last ship, legacies, luis miguel, mid90s, mighty little bheem, murder she wrote, music teacher, my first first love, netflix, new girl, one punch man, our planet, overboard, perfect date, persona, pinky malinky, pledge, prime, protector, quake, quiet place, ramy, red skelton, remastered, rick steves, rilakkuma and kaoru, roman empire, samantha, selection day, señora acero, she-ra, silence, sisters brothers, someone great, special, spirit, stargate universe, street food, super monsters, suzzanna, tick, tijuana, tim robinson, trolls, tyrel, ultraman, unicorn store, vikings, we are columbine, who would you take to a deserted island, yankee, you vs wild | Comments Off

1
Mar

Streaming Picks: March 2019

FILMS Top Picks Tapeheads – Prime and Hulu 3/1 This mostly forgotten ’80s comedy has a very strong but very tiny cult, of which I am a part. It’s a delightful, goofy and clever buddy picture with John Cusack and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged 15 august, acrimony, act, after life, ainori love wagon, amy schumer, antoine griezmann, arrested development, assassination nation, bangkok love stories, bayoneta, boston legal, boy who harnessed the wind, budapest, burn out, cam life, cardinal, carlo and malik, catastrophe, charlie's colorforms city, chef flynn, christopher robin, cold war, colette, costume quest, cricket fever, delhi crime, dirt, divide and conquer, domestics, drifters, dry martina, el sabor de las margaritas, fear the walking dead, formula 1, free solo, girl, green door, hanna, hasan minhaj, highwaymen, historia de un crimen, how to get away with murder, hulu, hunter x hunter, i can only imagine, if i hadn't met you, immortals, into the dark, jimmy carr, juanita, juda, lady j, las munecas de la mafia, last race, legend of cocaine island, little house on the prairie, lives of others, love death and robots, made in heaven, mirage, monsters and men, most beautiful thing, nate bargatze, netflix, no way out, on my block, order, osmosis, ouija house, outlaws, party's just beginning, paskal, patriot act, practice, prime, queer eye, remastered, rick steves, river's edge, robozuna, romance is a bonus book, royals, santa clarita diet, secret city, selling sunset, separation, shadow, shoplifters, shrill, speed kills, stinky and dinky, tapeheads, tea with the dames, terrace house, tin star, trailer park boys, traitors, triple frontier, turn up charlie, unit, walk ride rodeo, where hands touch, widow, yoohoo to the rescue, your son | Comments Off

24
Feb

Oscar Re-Do: 1998

Now that I’m far enough away from the years when I was growing up (*gulp*), here’s a little bonus to go along with my annual column. Winners in bold, then we’ll break it down. BEST PICTURE Elizabeth Life Is Beautiful … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Reviews | Tagged american history x, elizabeth, out of sight, primary colors, saving private ryan, simple plan, thin red line, truman show | 1 Comment

23
Feb

My Dream Oscar Ballot 2019

This Oscar season has been crazy, and as I’ve covered before, there were a lot of egregious snubs this year. So here is how my nominations ballot would have looked. For the purposes of this, I’ve limited myself to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars | Tagged annihilation, at eternity's gate, avengers, ballad of buster scruggs, birds of passage, black panther, blindspotting, burning, can you ever forgive me, cold war, death of Stalin, eighth grade, favourite, first man, first reformed, free solo, game night, green book, hale county, hereditary, hulu, if beale street could talk, incredibles 2, infinity war, into the spider-verse, isle of dogs, leave no trace, mary queen of scots, minding the gap, mirai, mission impossible, netflix, prime, private war, quiet place, ralph breaks the internet, ready player one, roma, shoplifters, simple favor, solo, sorry to bother you, spider-man, star is born, star wars, Suspiria, three identical strangers, vice, widows, won't you be my neighbor, you were never really here | Comments Off

22
Feb

Oscar Guide 2019

If I was confused last year, this year I’m completely and utterly lost. The only things I’m sure about are “Shallow” winning Best Original Song and Roma winning Best Foreign Language Film. Any of this year’s other frontrunners losing to another nominee wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Previews | Tagged at eternity's gate, avengers, ballad of buster scruggs, black klansman, black panther, bohemian rhapsody, border, can you ever forgive me, capernaum, christopher robin, cold war, favourite, first man, free solo, green book, hale county, hulu, if beale street could talk, incredibles 2, infinity war, into the spider-verse, isle of dogs, mary poppins returns, mary queen of scots, minding the gap, mirai, netflix, never look away, of fathers and sons, quiet place, ralph breaks the internet, rbg, ready player one, roma, shoplifters, solo, spider-man, star is born, star wars, vice, wife | Comments Off

21
Feb

Oscar Re-Do: 2008

You know the drill: Winners in bold, then we break it down. BEST PICTURE The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Frost/Nixon Milk The Reader Slumdog Millionaire Should have won: No complaints here Not even nominated: The Dark Knight I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Reviews | Tagged dark knight, doubt, in bruges, rachel getting married, slumdog millionaire, wall-e, wrestler | Comments Off

1
Feb

Streaming Picks: February 2019

FILMS Top Picks Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot – Prime 2/8 The Sisters Brothers – Hulu 2/18 Velvet Buzzsaw – Netflix 2/1 High Flying Bird – Netflix 2/8 If you need more proof that Joaquin Phoenix is one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Previews, Television | Tagged abc murders, all square, archer, big family cooking showdown, bordertown, break, breaker uppers, captain underpants, chef's table, dangerous world of comedy, dating around, dear ex, death wish, dog days, don't worry he won't get far on foot, dragon prince, drug king, el arbol de la sangre, every day, false flag, firebrand, flavorful origins, free rein, generation wealth, giant beast that is the global economy, go, guilty, hasan minhaj, high flying bird, hillary, if you give a mouse a cookie, in plain sight, into the dark, jeopardy, just add magic, ken jeong, kevin hart, larry charles, legion, little women, lorena, nailed it, odd squad, one day at a time, paddleton, papillon, paris is us, party, patriot act, pen15, photographer of mauthausen, pick of the litter, promise, ray romano, rebellion, remastered, romance is a bonus book, russian doll, saints and sinners, school, siempre bruja, sisters brothers, stan against evil, suburra, three identical strangers, true, tumble leaf, tunnel, umbrella academy, unauthorized living, unforgettable, unsolved, velvet buzzsaw, what they had, white dragon, workin moms, yucatan, zac and mia | Comments Off

22
Jan

Reactions to the 2019 Oscar Nominations

Biggest Snubs (in order from most to least egregious) 1. First Reformed – Actor The one to get angry about. Hawke, who’s been nominated as Supporting Actor twice, is giving the best performance of his career here. The film barely … Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, Film, Oscars, Reviews | Tagged annihilation, blindspotting, burning, death of Stalin, eighth grade, first man, first reformed, free solo, game night, hereditary, if beale street could talk, leave no trace, mission impossible, private war, sorry to bother you, support the girls, Suspiria, three identical strangers, widows, won't you be my neighbor | Comments Off

18
Jan

Things I Wrote: Fall 2018

As per usual, I am terrible at updating and linking to the pieces I write. See those below: REVIEWS All About Nina (Fresh Fiction) Bohemian Rhapsody (College Movie Review) First Man (Central Track) Galveston (Fresh Fiction) Halloween (Central Track) The Hate … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged all about nina, bohemian rhapsody, first man, galveston, halloween, hate u give, into the spider-verse, liyana, love gilda, overlord, private war, simple favor, spiderman, unlovable, vice, welcome to marwen | Comments Off