Hello Write Readers, This Oscar season, we’re seeing some repeats: biographies, controversial topics/minority subject representation, and Matthew McConaughey. In fact, Dallas Buyers Club manages to be all three at once! It combines a true story, HIV/AIDS, and you guessed it- Mr. McConaughey and his all-important costar, Matthew McConaughey’s facial hair. That mustache is just amazing….
Dear “Write” Readers, It’s that time again. A whole year has gone by, and the Academy Awards are upon us once more. As you might recall, last year I wrote an entire series on all of the 2013 nominees for Best Picture. Well here I am to do it all over again. What’s that, you…
Hello Friends, As WORLD WAR Z came to a close, as the credits began to roll and the theater lights illuminated, two things immediately came to mind: 1) It was absolutely nothing like the book, and 2) I didn’t really mind because it was actually a relatively decent zombie flick. Now settle down all you…
Hello Friends, One thing I’ve learned over the years is that humanity, as a whole, loves a good story. Even if books aren’t as popular as they were years ago, it hasn’t diminished the simple human need for a good yarn. Television and movies simply require less of the viewer, providing the images and the…
Hello Beautiful People, I have finally watched Won’t Back Down. I loved the character played by Viola Davis, Nona Alberts. I had a hard time liking the character of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jamie Fitzpatrick. Look, I’m all for parental involvement. But let me be frank, for every parent like Jamie Fitzpatrick, there’s about fifty that do…
Dear Friends, Ah, here we are! The last of the last…THE FINAL film review in the Best Picture nominee series. Let’s talk about Life of Pi. It was released in September, so it’s likely that you have already seen it, but if you haven’t, it’s being shown in theaters around NYC, I assume due to…
Dear Friends, When I saw that a film starring and directed by Ben Affleck was being nominated for Best Picture, I was dubious. I mean, the man has made some bad choices in the past, what with Gigli, and some other questionable choices. I mean, okay that was a long time ago, but you know…
Hello Friends, I have to say, if there were any film that desperately deserved to win Best Picture, but was likely doomed, it would be Amour. Let me explain. Only nine foreign-language films have ever been nominated for the Best Picture category, including Amour. There have also been three partially foreign-language films that have won…
Dear Friends, I am heartbroken. I left the theater completely heartbroken. Beasts of the Southern Wild was the most artistically fulfilling (for me) of all of the Oscar nominees that I have seen so far. It was absolutely thrilling to see a piece that seamlessly merged fantasy and reality the way Beasts of the Southern…
Dear Friends, Hear ye, hear ye, all yon musical theatre buffs. Your love and passion for Les Mis (as it is most often referred) has likely already had you to the theater and back again, to see the cinematic version of this most beloved classic. And so, I assume you don’t need any more encouragement…