Clik here to view.
Oscar Moment: “Crazy Heart”
Here’s a little Oscar story for you, told just like a fairy tale! Once upon a time, there was a studio called Fox Searchlight. This was a specialty studio, so their job was to release movies that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
F.I.L.M. of the Week (February 26, 2010)
I set a lofty goal to see every Academy Award-nominated performance of the ’00s by the final ceremony of the decade. I’m not going to reach this goal, but along the way, I have seen some great movies...
View ArticleClik here to view.
REVIEW: Crazy Heart
Whenever I wrote about “Crazy Heart” back in December in an Oscar Moment, I lampooned it for its obvious similarities to last year’s “The Wrestler.” Turns out, I was right. But “The Wrestler” was a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FEATURE: The Importance of the Speech
At the Screen Actors Guild Awards, they call it “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.” At the Golden Globe Awards, they call it “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture.” But at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2009: Best Actor
I’m wrapping up the in-depth analysis of this year’s Academy Awards with the Best Actor category. In a perfect world, I would have done the screenplays, director, and picture categories as well. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oscar Moment: “True Grit”
Unlike “The Fighter,” which seems Academy-appealing on premise, “True Grit” is appealing on pedigree. It comes courtesy of the Coen Brothers, who each have three statues thanks to their work...
View ArticleClik here to view.
SAVE YOURSELF from “Tron”
Disney has invested quite a bit of money into promoting “Tron: Legacy” – $150 million, to be exact. I’ve been watching as they’ve hyped this movie for the past three years with a fair bit of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Random Factoid #516
It looks like Halloween came early (or two months late). In Fort Smith, Arkansas, the setting of “True Grit,” 500 dedicated fans donned eye-patches like Rooster Cogburn, the character played by John...
View ArticleClik here to view.
REVIEW: Tron: Legacy
The so what factor looms large over “Tron: Legacy” as it thrills the eye but leaves the mind way in the dust. It provides a visual spectacle in an entirely digital world that’s dazzling enough to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
REVIEW: True Grit
I haven’t seen the 1969 John Wayne ”True Grit,” so I can’t really put the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit” into that context or perspective. What I can do, however, is look at it as just another one of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
REVIEW: The Giver
If there was any doubt that we’re reaching the point of supersaturation with dystopian YA adaptations, “The Giver” confirms that the tipping point has arrived. I get that life in post-recessional...
View ArticleClik here to view.
REVIEW: Hell or High Water
“3 tours in Iraq but no bailout for people like us,” reads an eerily accurate graffiti tag on a West Texas building in the opening shot of “Hell or High Water.” The scrawled phrase of anger provides a...
View Article
