We’ve finally reached the end of an excellent year of cinema…one of the decade’s finest! I saw so many fantastic movies that it’s difficult to narrow down which ones were my favorite, but I have painstakingly pared them down to just 25. What films made the cut? Which ones will be remembered long beyond the current awards cycle? Read on to find out! Continue reading “Top 25 Films of 2019”
The Two Popes (2019) was directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Anthony McCarten (who adapted it from his own 2017 stage play). It stars Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI as he welcomes Jonathan Pryce’s newly-elected Pope Francis into the Vatican. After a slow start to this awards season, it has since exploded into relevance after a big showing at the Golden Globes and a high-profile Netflix release. Will it break through to Oscar Sunday?
Continue reading ““The Two Popes” Film Review: To Err is Human”
Bombshell (2019) was directed by Jay Roach from a screenplay by Charles Randolph, one of the co-writers of the 2015 hit The Big Short. It stars Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow and others in the true story of the Fox News/Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal against female news pundits within the organization. It has drawn many comparisons to last year’s Vice and similarly threatens to compete in multiple acting races (and Best Picture). Is the hype well-earned?
Continue reading ““Bombshell” Film Review: The Quintessential #MeToo Movie”
As we draw near the end of the decade, I’ve been looking back at the past ten years of cinema and gathering my thoughts on each film released within each of them. In the leadup to my Best Films of the 2010’s list, I will also be sharing a Top 10 for every year this decade that I didn’t get a chance to before starting this blog. So here are my top 10 films of 2011!
This morning brought us the nominations for the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, and with them came plenty of surprises! What do they mean for the upcoming awards season? Who will be the next Roma and soar? Who will be the next First Man and stumble?
Believe it or not, we are right around the corner from the nominations announcement (Monday) for the upcoming 77th Golden Globe Awards! In such a strong year, what films and performances will be present at the ceremony, and which will be left in the cold?
Continue reading “2020 Golden Globes Nomination Predictions”
Dolemite Is My Name (2019) is a comedy-drama biopic about Rudy Ray Moore, a popular blaxploitation actor of the 1970’s. It stars Eddie Murphy as Moore, in a tale about how the man rose to popularity and created his famous Dolemite persona. It has drawn serious Oscar heat thus far, particularly for Murphy in the lead role. Is it worth the hype?
Continue reading ““Dolemite Is My Name” Film Review: If Beale Street Could Laugh”
The deadline for studios to submit their official Golden Globe classifications has passed, and we now know definitively which films will go Drama and which will go Comedy/Musical. Who made the right or wrong decisions? Who will be the final five in each category? Let’s take a closer look!
Continue reading “2020 Golden Globes: Best Picture Race Analysis & Predictions”
Burning (2018) is a South Korean mystery-thriller from Lee Chang-dong, who has been a mainstay of the European film circuit winning awards at the likes of Venice and Cannes Film Festivals. It stars Yoo Ah-in and Steven Yeun (of The Walking Dead fame) in a tale about a young man who falls for a girl that has taken a mysterious rich man as her lover. It has puzzled critics and audiences with its complex themes and ambiguous plot structure. What does the film have to say about life and the human condition?
Continue reading “Foreign Film Fridays: “Burning” (South Korea, 2018)”
Welcome back to my recurring series, where I examine the best foreign films of recent years! Today I’m catching up on a 2018 flick I wasn’t able to see in theaters: Shoplifters, a family-drama from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. It tells the story of an impoverished young family who must rely on shoplifting to survive. The film won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious film awards on the planet, and was nominated for a slew of Best Foreign Language Film awards. What elevates this simple story to such heights?
Continue reading “Foreign Film Fridays: “Shoplifters” (Japan, 2018)”
Scriptophile 