
The 2016 Oscars Winner List will be updated LIVE as they are presented and announced tonight from Dolby Theatre, hosted by Chris Rock. Continue reading
The 2016 Oscars Winner List will be updated LIVE as they are presented and announced tonight from Dolby Theatre, hosted by Chris Rock. Continue reading
The 2016 Academy Award winners will be announced tonight, February 28, but here are Tyler’s predictions as to who will walk away with Oscar gold. Continue reading
Brace your bank accounts, it’s time to see what’s Now Available to Own for the week of February 23, 2016. Every Tuesday we run down new movie and television releases that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home, as well as some slick deals that can help save you some coin. New on shelves this week are The Good Dinosaur, Spotlight, Fargo Season 2, Secret in their Eyes, and more.
The Good Dinosaur (Peter Sohn) Rated PG [93 min] – In a world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. Starring Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, and Maleah Nipay-Padilla
Two Pixar movies in one year, 2015 was certainly a great time to be alive. Or was it? After being pushed back from 2014, kinks the animation juggernaut tried hard to work out don’t seem too far removed in The Good Dinosaur. Visually stunning with the most breathtaking environments ever computer rendered, sadly great aesthetics don’t make up a good movie. Tonally, The Good Dinosaur is a bit all over the place, the direction linear, and unlike most of Pixar’s impressive catalog, the themes hit you over the head. We’re always one step ahead of the characters, making Arlo’s journey particularly uninteresting. The Good Dinosaur is like purchasing the latest iPhone and discovering it has Windows on it. It’s easily digestible and far from being terrible, but it’s kind of a let down based on the high quality we know the studio is capable of.
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Spotlight (2015) (Tom McCarthy) Rated R [128 min] – The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Brian d’Arcy James, and Gene Amoroso
Based on all of the rave reviews from critics I expected more from Spotlight. It’s a wonderfully directed story that is chock-full of shock and awe moments through brilliant acting, but there’s something about it that didn’t quite captivate me. Maybe I thought it would be more flashy and in your face when it came time to break the scandal wide open? Slow churning, Spotlight is deliberate in its storytelling, giving off a sense of accomplishment with every revelation for each reporter as they delve deeper into the truth. A incredible example of what the power of journalism can achieve. Spotlight rewards patience and never pulls any punches, but it feels like eating a delicious steak dinner without a cool beverage to wash it all down.
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Fargo – Season 2 (Noah Hawley) A drifter named Lorne Malvo arrives in small-town Minnesota and influences the population with his malice and violence, including put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson, Jeffrey Donovan, Kieran Culkin, and Brad Garrett
Believe the hype. What you may have heard about the first season rings true in the hilariously fascinating second season. Fargo is a textbook example of how this is the next golden age of television. All of the performances and absurd story arcs are so engaging and fresh that it’s hard to believe this is a show adapted from a film from the ’90s. Fargo is easily one of the most unique series on television right now and has the perfect balance of thrills and humor. What’s wild about the second season is how packed full of surprises it has without compromising story or character for the sake of shock value. Fargo is a true treasure.
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Secret in Their Eyes (Billy Ray) Rated PG-13 [111 min] – A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Dean Norris, and Alfred Molina
Once the climax makes its big reveal there is very little rewatch value. All of the well trained, stellar actors appear to be sleep walking through their performances with very little passion or glimmer of life behind their eyes. The movie is hollow and devoid of any redeeming qualities to make revisiting the mystery of it all worthwhile.
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Extraction (Steven C. Miller) Rated R [83 min] – A former CIA operative is kidnapped by a group of terrorists. When his son learns there is no plan for his father to be saved, he launches his own rescue operation. Starring Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz, and Gina Carano
Extraction is a grueling time waste. Granted, I more than assumed Kellen Lutz and Gina Carano would be their typical wooden selves, but I expected more from Bruce Willis. The dialogue is unbearable, the action is practically incomprehensible, and the story a contrived disaster. Despite the serious threat of nuclear warfare there is no sense of urgency or tension to really keep you engaged with the characters or the story. We know how this movie is going to end and there are little surprises to make it worth the effort. Woof.
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Pretty in Pink (John Hughes) Rated PG-13 [1h 36min] – A poor girl must choose between the affections of her doting childhood sweetheart and a rich but sensitive playboy. Starring Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts, James Spader, and Andrew McCarthy
I was offered the opportunity to review Pretty in Pink and figured why not? It’s been a long while since I had seen the film and I wanted to see how much my perspective of the characters have changed now that I’m a little older and wiser more seasoned from life. With 2016 marking the movie’s 30th anniversary, of course there are a lot of aspects that feel outdated: technology, human interaction, etc. But what makes John Hughe’s Pretty in Pink so spectacular after all these years is its honesty to its characters. In an age where we demand more female driven roles, Pretty in Pink was ahead of its time. Molly Ringwald’s performance is still sweet and absolutely genuine. They don’t make teen comedies like they use to.
I Smile Back (Adam Salky) Rated R [85 min] – Laney Brooks does bad things. Married with kids, she takes the drugs she wants, sleeps with the men she wants, disappears when she wants. Now, with the destruction of her family looming, and temptation everywhere, Laney makes one last desperate attempt at redemption. Starring Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Skylar Gaertner, and Shayne Coleman
When we see comedians known for their raunchy, absurdist behavior take on roles that are polar opposite to their regular gigs it can be a bit jarring. Like watching a dog walk on its hind legs. It can either be a thing of beauty or a complete disaster. Sarah Silverman is not a complete stranger to dramatic acting. She has appeared in multiple episodes of Showtime’s Masters of Sex and had a supporting role in Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz. But she’s never been the leading lady. I Smile Back is a no holds barred portrayal of addiction and the affects that it can have on others. Silverman earned herself a well-deserved SAG Award nomination for her role, but sadly the third act fails to completely make the character’s final decision seem believable. And being a fairly short film, the movie feels like a slog. The best takeaway we can gain from I Smile Back is that it would be in our best interest to bring more dramatic work to Sarah Silverman.
Special features include:
All prices from Amazon.com. Best Buy, Frys, and Target all price match online prices.
What will you be taking home this week? Tell us in the comments section below!
All plot synopses come courtesy of IMDb.com
The 2016 SAG Award winners include big firsts, including Idris Elba for two Actors as well as Leonardo DiCaprio’s winning his first Actor Continue reading
Coming Soon to Blu-Ray and DVD for the week of January 23, 2016 includes Brooklyn, Spotlight, The Good Dinosaur, Veep (Season 4), Silicon Valley (Season 2), and more Continue reading
Mad Max: Fury Road received top honors at the Critics’ Choice Awards, but it was another Oscars frontrunner that took home Best Picture Continue reading
The 2016 Academy Award nominees have been announced with 12 nods given to The Revenant and zero to anyone of color for the acting categories again. Continue reading
The 2016 Academy Award nominees will be announced on Thursday, January 14, and we have our own predictions of who will earn a nomination for the Oscars Continue reading
Movie awards season will officially kick off tonight and you’re invited to tune in with us as we live blog the 2016 Golden Globe Award winners as they are announced. Continue reading
After last week’s nominations were revealed for the 22nd Annual SAG Awards and 73rd Golden Globes, it feels like it could be anyone’s game at this point. This morning the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) and Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) announced their 21st Critics’ Choice Awards nominees with George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road leading the charge with 13 nods. Hosted by T.J. Miller, the winners will be revealed during a live broadcast from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica on A&E, Lifetime, and LMN on Sunday, January 17, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST.
Mad Max: Fury Road has undoubtedly become the underdog favorite of this awards season, as it has become one of the most revered features of the year by critics, myself included – my review. The big topic of conversation, aside from gaining Best Picture recognition, is Charlize Theron’s nods for both Best Actress and Best Actress In An Action Movie. Tom Hardy, of course, is nominated for Best Actor In An Action Movie, but it’s George Miller for Best Director that has really invested my interest into whether he could be a contender come Oscars. The film has also garnered nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Visual Effects, Best Action Movie, and Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie.
Trailing behind the whirlwind, critically acclaimed hit is Carol, The Martian, and The Revenant with nine nominations each. While this year’s big favorite, Spotlight, has earned itself eight nominations from critics, followed by The Big Short and The Hateful Eight with six each. Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, The Danish Girl, Jurassic World, and Sicario each earned five nominations and Room obtained four. Charlize Theron isn’t the only actress up for multiple Best Actress categories, as Jennifer Lawrence is up for three for her work in Joy and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, while Rachel McAdams is up for two awards for Spotlight and True Detective.
And while the film categories are all up in the air, the television categories prove that the increasing output of excellent programming continued this year with FX, ABC, and HBO both gaining 14 nominations each; FOX is close on their heels with 12 nods. The big standout series this year, as determined by critics, is FX’s Fargo with eight nominations. The Leftovers (HBO) and Transparent (Amazon) are not far behind with five nominations each; Black-ish (ABC), Mr. Robot (USA), and Penny Dreadful (Showtime) each earned four.
So what can we takeaway from this year’s 21st Critics’ Choice Awards nominees? For starters, no other awards group has seen more movies this year than the critics, assumably. It’s their jobs to assess the year in film. Who better has a sound voice of reasoning than those who sit in dark rooms and watch movies multiple times per week? In the long run, sure, all awards are practically meaningless gold statues, and the varying award categories the BFCA and BTJA have set have little influence when it comes to the Oscars, but if these voices of reason can help sway voters to at least make an earnest decision at the polls we can be safe in knowing we won’t have another year where a Shakespeare in Love wins against a Saving Private Ryan.
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