Fandango’s Best Picture Movie Mashup
Posted on February 25, 2016 at 3:07 pm
You won’t see a better tribute to this year’s eight Best Picture nominees than this one, from Fandango. It made me want to watch all of them all over again.
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Read 2015’s Best Screenplays — For Free
Posted on January 24, 2016 at 3:33 pm
You can read some of the best screenplays of 2015 for free on the great Go Into the Story website. Even if I have seen the movie several times, I always learn more from reading the script, and especially enjoy the writers’ directions and commentary. It’s a fabulous selection, from “The Big Short” to “Danny Collins,” “Ex Machina,” “I Smile Back,” “Inside Out,” “Room,” to “The Hateful Eight.”
These wonderful videos from the New York Times series “Anatomy of a Scene” let the directors explain what they do to tell the story.
Movies in 2015 — Best, Worst, and Final Thoughts
Posted on December 30, 2015 at 3:02 pm
A final round-up on the movies of 2015
The best:
Tied For First: “The Big Short” and “Chi-raq,” both all the more ferocious for being as funny and purely entertaining as they are angry
Tied For Second:
“Brooklyn”
“Carol”
“Ex Machina”
“Inside Out”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens”
“Bridge of Spies”
Runners-up: “Diary of a Teenage Girl,” “Creed,” “Trumbo,’ “Spotlight,” “Son of Saul,” “Mustang,” “The Shaun the Sheep Movie,” “Mustang,” “Girlhood,” “Straight Outta Compton”
A good year for: movies by and about women: “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Miss You Already,” “Chi-Raq,” “Carol,” “Brooklyn,” “Inside Out,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Infinitely Polar Bear,” “Diary of a Teenage Girl,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” “Suffragette,” “Sisters”
Not such a good year for: romance, comedies, or romantic comedies
Popcorn pleasures: “Furious 7,” “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation,” “Magic Mike: XXL,” “What We Do in the Shadows”
Top five documentaries:
“Amy”
“The Look of Silence”
“Heart of a Dog”
“Iris”
“Best of Enemies”
“The Mind of Mark Defriest”
Breakthrough performers: Alicia Vikander (“Ex Machina,” “The Man from UNCLE,” “The Danish Girl,” “Testament of Youth,” and more, Teyonah Parris (“Chi-Raq”), Jake Lacy (“Carol,” “Love the Coopers”), Raffey Cassidy (“Tomorrowland,” , Brie Larson (“Room”), Amy Schumer (as star and screenwriter of “Trainwreck”), and John Cena, very funny in “Trainwreck,” “Sisters,” and “Daddy’s Home”
And the worst:
“The D Train”
“Mortdecai”
“Unfinished Business”
“The Gunman”
“Blackhat”
“Vacation”
“Pixels”
“Fantastic Four”
“Stonewall”
“Hitman: Agent 47”
Coming to Theaters December 2015
Posted on December 1, 2015 at 8:00 am
Some of what we’ll be seeing this month:
December 4, 2015
“The Letters” is the story of Mother Teresa, played by Juliet Stevenson, and based on the letters she sent about her life working with “the poorest of the poor.”
December 11, 2015
“In The Heart of the Sea,” directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, is the story of the real-life whaling ship that inspired “Moby Dick.”
“The Big Short,” based on the brilliant, hilarious, and excoriating book by Michael Lewis, which tells the story of the 2008 financial meltdown through the eyes of five people who saw it coming, bet against Wall Street and made fortunes. (in limited release — opening nationwide December 18)
December 18, 2015
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” — get your tickets now.
“Sisters” stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. What else do you need to know?
“Where to Invade Next” is Michael Moore’s latest documentary and it promises to be at least as controversial as his others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXVYiF5YiIIDecember 25, 2015
“The Hateful Eight” is Quentin Tarantino’s latest and it promises to be at least as violent as his others.
“The Revenant,” from director Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Birdman”) is a Western based on the true story of a man left for dead by his friends after he is mauled by a bear — he survives, and is determined to get his revenge. Leonardo diCaprio and Tom Hardy star.
“Joy” stars Jennifer Lawrence in a fact-based story of a woman industrialist, working again with her “Silver Linings Playbook” co-stars Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper and director David O. Russell.
“Point Break” is a remake of the Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze action film that certainly did not need to be remade. But the action scenes look crazy-good.
“Concussion” is the true story of the doctor who exposed the tragic history of NFL players with brain injuries from the game, with Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Alec Baldwin.
Trailer: The Big Short with Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Christian Bale
Posted on September 22, 2015 at 1:54 pm
There is no movie I am looking forward to this year more than “The Big Short,” based on the best book I read about the 2008 financial meltdown, written by Michael Lewis. It is directed by Adam McKay, who was so angry about the meltdown he put a powerpoint presentation about it over the credits of “The Other Guys,” and stars Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale. Plus, though it is not in the trailer, I’ve been told the boring financial reports are explained by Selena Gomez in a bikini standing under a waterfall.