The Great Wall is well-made enough to forgive its narrative flaws and lackluster performance by Matt Damon Going into The Great Wall, expectations were both high and terribly low. Besides the whitewashing scandal — more on that later — the trailer wasn't well cut enough to truly ratchet up any excitement. However, the names behind the project were.…
The Jungle Book has maintained its frontrunner status throughout the season for Best Visual Effects. But we think an upset is brewing. With incredible and groundbreaking photorealistic effects, The Jungle Book is the clear choice in Best Visual Effects. It would be a similar winner to Life of Pi. However, the biggest issue with it winning is that it the…
Best Original Screenplay is a tight race between Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) and Damien Chazelle (La La Land) Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) pulled off an upset at the WGA Awards. However, he is competing in the Adapted Screenplay race, which he should win. That leaves two movies to compete over Best Original Screenplay. From…
La La Land could continue its Oscar sweep in Best Cinematography, but Lion and Arrival have a chance at upsetting. Best Cinematography seemed like a shut category until Greg Fraiser (Lion) upset frontrunner Linus Sandgren (La La Land) at the American Society of Cinematographers Awards. Even though the group only predicts the Oscar winner about half of the time, it showed that La La Land isn't infallible.…
Best Director looks like a locked up category with Damien Chazelle becoming the youngest winner in history for La La Land. Best Director is probably the easier of the major categories to predict at the Oscars. Even if Best Picture is a surprise — Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan or Crash over Brokeback Mountain — Best Director always goes the way that…
Tower is one of the most innovative documentaries in recent memory by blending rotoscope animation with live-action footage to emotional results. Many times with documentaries, especially those covering historical events, it feels like you are being taught a piece of the past that stays in the past and belongs in the past. However, with Tower, Keith Maitland,…
Train to Busan is a heart-pounding, armrest-gripping, teeth clenching zombie flick that breathes new life into the genre. Just when the zombie genre seemed on its way out, then along rolls in Train to Busan. This South Korean production breathes a new life into the genre without straying too far out of its confines. The rules set in…
Krisha is an incredible debut film by Trey Edwards Schultz with an emotional powerhouse performance by Krisha Fairchild As I'm sitting here trying to write this review for Krisha, I'm finding that I don't even know where to start. The experience of the film is, for lack of a better term, emotionally devastating. Simply put, it's one of the…
The race for Adapted Screenplay is a low-key competitive category. However, I think it's also prime for an upset. Moonlight has to watch its back. Best Adapted Screenplay is a seemingly low-key category that is probably going to go the way we expect. However, I actually think it's among the most competitive of the night. I could…
Lion is one of the few inspirational true stories that translates beautifully on screen thanks to director Garth Davis and a strong performance by Dev Patel A Long Way Home, the book that the movie Lion is based on, is essentially devoid of emotion. That's not to fault the book's author and subject Saroo Brierley. He simply wasn't equipped with…
