The first time I heard of The Skeleton Twins was right at the beginning of the year, when I discovered Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig made an indie comedy together. I thought it was too good to be true – after all, when people have such undeniable chemistry and brilliance together like Hader and Wiig…
Academy Award Nomination Predictions: Best Supporting Actor
Nominations for the 87th Academy Awards are going to be announced in less than a month, so I thought I’d offer up some thoughts on who I think will be nominated in the main categories. First up is one of my all-time favorite categories, Best Supporting Actor. It has supplied us with winners such as…
American Splendor (2003)
I always enjoy it when filmmakers find new, exciting ways to make biographical films about interesting people. Let’s face it, the same dreary drama is not for everyone, and some extraordinary subjects deserve extraordinary biopics. That is why when I watched American Splendor, the absolutely excellent film based on the life and works of comic…
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Coen Brothers are two of the most consistent directors working today, as they are able to take any subject and genre – comedy or drama – and turn it into a masterpiece. They have made some incredibly intense and grandiose films in the past – Fargo, No Country for Old Men and True Grit…
Interstellar (2014)
Every year, there seems to be one film that everyone and their grandmother sees, whether you are a fan of the genre or not is regardless. Such film events include Avatar, The Avengers and last year’s epic space masterpiece, Gravity. This year, we were given the very similarly space-bound drama Interstellar, a film with such…
Nebraska (2013)
I am a huge fan of Alexander Payne. I think there are very few directors who concentrate so meticulously on characters and performances quite like him. He is truly an actor’s director, and every single one of his films have been masterclasses in performances. People like Jack Nicholson, Laura Dern and Reese Witherspoon have career-highlight performances…
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
It is very likely that if you were born in the twentieth century, you grew up with Disney. The creator of what is the most iconic animation studio in history, Walt Disney, was a visionary – he was an incredible artist that stands amongst Picasso, Van Gogh and Turner, and a ruthless businessman, who took…
Tammy (2014)
Melissa McCarthy has become one of the most bankable leading ladies in movies today, and she is no longer a supporting funny lady, but instead a full-on, intense comedic force. Her film, Tammy, was a passion project for McCarthy – she and her husband, Ben Falcone, came up with the idea for the film and…
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
I can’t begin to even attempt to explain Synecdoche, New York. It is a layered, complex masterpiece that will elicit so many different responses from the audience – for those looking for a smart comedy-drama, this will probably be the most boring film you’ll ever see. For those looking for an existential crisis that will…
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)
I will be the very first to admit that I have never been very kind to young adult novel adaptations. I feel the incredible Harry Potter film series set the scene for every fantasy novel to be given the film treatment. This year alone we have had Divergent, The Giver and The Maze Runner. None…
The Postmodern Pelican 