The Next Barnes and Noble Criterion Sale
The question on every cinephile’s lips around the 15th of every month: “When is the next Barnes and Noble Criterion sale?” It’s true we’re spoiled twice a year, but that moment after you make your final, last-minute purchase is one of both satisfaction and disappointment. “Really, I’m not going to own another one of these […]
What Are the Best Movies of the Decade So Far?
It’s hard to imagine we’re five years removed from the myriad “Best Movies of the Decade” posts of 2009. That was fun, and each intervening year since has produced more than enough titles worthy of appearing on such lists. Of course, most of those titles won’t eventually make it when we get to the end […]
So, About Those 2015 Oscar Nominations…
What in the name of Dick Poop just happened?!?!?!? It was a wild morning that saw the announcement of the 2015 Oscar nominees, and I just can’t get past Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs’ all-time great mispronunciation of a name. Congratulations to Mr. Turner cinematographer Dick Pope on your Oscar nomination. I’m sorry you’ll live […]
The 20 Best Performances of 2014
It was a great year for acting, and I still haven’t seen some of the year’s most acclaimed performances. If David Oyelowo (Selma), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond the Lights), or anyone else bowls me over the way they have so […]
The Best Films of 2014
It seems you’re supposed to open your end-of-year favorite films list with an assessment of the movie year as a whole, but I’ve never really been interested in that. Good, bad, or somewhere in between—I have no idea what I’d say about 2014 other than I love the 20 films I’m writing about today and […]
Two Days, One Night Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Two Days, One Night might be the Dardenne brothers’ best film yet. That’s a big statement considering the filmography in quesiton: La Promesse, Rosetta, L’enfant, The Kid with a Bike—not a dud in the bunch. But it’s a complex, rich film that earns such a label. Anchored by a phenomenal turn by […]
The 2014 OFCS Nominations
Today, the Online Film Critics Society announced its nominees for its 18th annnual year-end awards. I had the privledge of voting as a member of the OFCS for a second year, and while these wouldn’t necessarily be my choices for best films/performances/craft achievements of 2014, I’m genuinely excited that my colleagues and I have selected […]
2015 Oscar Predictions: First Guesses Before Fall Fests
It’s 2015 Oscar predictions time, so let’s dig the prognosticator’s hat out of the attic, dust it off, and take a look at the landscape of the 2015 Oscar race. If I’m being honest, though, I almost didn’t want to get involved with 2015 Oscar predictions at all. Last year’s Oscar season and the nonsense […]
2014 Cannes Lineup Predictions
The recent (bizarre) series of announcements that led to Grace of Monaco being named the opening night film of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, as well as the selection of Jane Campion to head the 2014 Cannes jury, caused my mind to drift toward the Croisette. It hasn’t left since, and it won’t until Cannes […]
