Oscars On My Mind – To Worry About Them in This Age of Greater Anxiety The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony Dolby Theatre Los Angeles Feb. 9th, 2020 airs live on ABC starting at 8 pm Yes, I have been anguishing over the upcoming Oscars far more than I should in light of all the other … Continue reading
PARASITE (2019) Starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin, Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Jung-eun, Jeong Ji-so, Jung Hyeon-jun, Park Myung-hoon, Park Geun and Park Seo-joon. Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won. Directed by Bong Joon-ho. Distributed by Neon. 132 minutes. Rated R. Ever since its big win at last … Continue reading
LA LA LAND (2016) Starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons, Finn Wittrock, Meagan Fay, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Tom Everett Scott, Josh Pence, Valarie Ray Miller, Amiée Conn, Terry Walters, Thom Shelton, Cinda Adams, Claudine Claudio and Jason Fuchs. Screenplay by Damien Chazelle. Directed by Damien Chazelle. Distributed … Continue reading
CAROL (2015) Starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, Carrie Brownstein, Cory Michael Smith, John Magaro, Kevin Crowley, Nik Pajic, Trent Rowland, Sadie Heim, KK Heim, Amy Warner, Michael Haney, Wendy Lardin, Pamela Evans Haynes, Greg Violand and Michael Ward. Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy. Directed by Todd Haynes. Distributed by The … Continue reading
CREED (2015) Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Anthony Bellew, Ritchie Coster, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Graham McTavish, Malik Bazille, Ricardo “Padman” McGill, Gabriel Rosado, Wood Harris, Buddy Osborn, Rupal Pujara, Brian Anthony Wilson, Alex Henderson, Jim Lampley, Michael Buffer, Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser and the voice of Liev Schreiber. … Continue reading
Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane & Richard Linklater Boyhood Is About Growing Up by Brad Balfour Far too much of the buzz and ballyhoo about this season’s indie awards darling Boyhood has focused on the fact that the film was made in real time – sort of. Director Richard Linklater took his core ensemble … Continue reading
Ava DuVernay – Returns the Struggle for Civil Rights to Selma by Brad Balfour On the occasion of Martin Luther King Day, the film Selma is further in the spotlight because both director Ava DuVernay and lead actor David Oyelowo were not nominated for best director and actor Oscars respectively. Though the film was nominated … Continue reading
John G. Avildsen – Rocky Road To a Classic by Jay S. Jacobs In the summer of 1976, Philadelphia was the home of the American Bicentennial. However, it turned out that celebration was only the second biggest thing to come out of the City of Brotherly Love that year. A small movie about a ham-and-egg … Continue reading
Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks and Tom Hooper – Bringing a Broadway Classic to the Big Screen with Les Misérables by Brad Balfour Based on the legendary Victor Hugo novel – by way of the operatic stage musical created around it – the recently released cinematic version of Les Misérables spans 17 … Continue reading
Michael Haneke Makes A Loving Statement in Amour by Brad Balfour A cultivated couple in their 80s, retired music teachers Georges and Anne have a nice apartment in a fine Parisian neighborhood. One night, after seeing a former student perform, Anne blanks out at home, presaging the condition to come. Afterwards, surgery to correct her blocked … Continue reading
