Short Term 12

The 5 Best Leading Female Performances of 2013

The 5 Best Leading Female Performances of 2013

Click here to check out my 5 favorite leading male performances of 2013. On to the leading ladies! One could plausibly argue 2013 was as strong a year at the top for leading women as it was for leading men, and one couldn’t plausibly argue that most other years. It was a great year for […]

Final 2014 Oscar Nominations Predictions

Final 2014 Oscar Nominations Predictions

No intro; this rundown is long enough. I’m really excited to see how things shake out tomorrow. Here are my best guesses. Best Picture American Hustle Captain Phillips Dallas Buyers Club Gravity Her Nebraska Saving Mr. Banks 12 Years a Slave The Wolf of Wall Street Hustle, Phillips, Gravity, Nebraska, 12 Years are your locks. […]

The Best Movies of 2013

The Best Movies of 2013

Outstanding. That’s the simplest but most appropriate way to sum up the year in movies that was 2013. Outstanding. A more interesting way would be to discuss the year in movie themes. The American dream, in one way or another, was a noticeable theme in seven of my top ten movies movies this year. It […]

The 2013 OFCS Nominations

The 2013 OFCS Nominations

The Online Film Critics Society announced the nominees for its 17th annual year-end awards. I had the privilege of voting as a member of the group for the first time, and I’m quite pleased with our eclectic list of nominees. You’ll see Johnnie To’s Drug War and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises—two films I’ll have […]

2013 Movies You Should Watch Right Now

2013 Movies You Should Watch Right Now

December is top-10 list month, which means most bloggers and journos will be spending the next few weeks catching up with some of the year’s smaller titles that are now available on DVD and streaming outlets. I’ve highlighted 20 movies that are worth your time and attention. 5…on Netflix Instant Three great docs and two […]

Short Term 12 Review

Short Term 12 Review

RATING: (4 STARS) There’s a moment in Short Term 12, about an hour in, that feels so wildly out of place it will take your breath away. It’s a scene out of any number of movies—a slasher flick, a gangster movie, the Jennifer Lopez vehicle Enough—but certainly not this tender-hearted drama about struggling teenagers and […]