Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

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Since the First ‘Zombieland’…

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Since the First “Zombieland” was released 10 years ago (October 2009), here’s what has happened to the film’s stars: EMMA STONE won an Academy Award for “La La Land” and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards. Her resume include “Birdman”, “Irrational Man” and “The Amazing Spider-Man”, along with three Ryan Gosling collaborations. Total […]
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FOX Betting Big on Animation Domination 2.0

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“Animation Domination” kicked off on May 1, 2005 with popular and long-running FOX shows “The Simpsons”, “King of the Hill”, “Family Guy” and newbie “American Dad!”. (The latter aired its Pilot episode in February to big ratings.) But while all four programs were on the Sunday schedule, it wasn’t until Fall 2006 that FOX actually […]
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Mini-Review Roundup

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Here’s my mini-review roundup: Thoughts on four films I saw over the weekend. All are aiming for big awards season play: “CLEMENCY”
 Studio: Neon Release: Dec. 27 (Limited) Alfre Woodard stars as longtime Death Row prison warden Bernadine Williams. Aldis Hodge (“Brian Banks”) has served 15 years for a murder he still insists he didn’t […]
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The Acting “Glory” of Antonio Banderas

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4-time Golden Globe and 2-time Emmy nominee Antonio Banderas is getting Oscar buzz for his performance in the new drama “Pain and Glory” (opening in select theaters this weekend). Here are the biggest films and roles of his career to date: “PHILADELPHIA” (1993) Banderas played Miguel, opposite Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, in this powerful […]
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Drive-In Box Office Boost

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Drive-In movie theaters are still going strong – and not just for summertime. Films like “Joker” and “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” should benefit from outdoor audiences (as long as the weather is good). Studios tend to make package deals for drive-in owners: show our new movie as the first feature IF you play an older […]
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TV REVIEW: ‘The Unicorn’

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In an era where scripted streaming shows seem to attract the most television attention, network programs can still have an impact. Case in point: the new CBS comedy series “The Unicorn”. From co-creators and writers Bill Martin and Mike Schiff (“3rd Rock from the Sun”) comes a show about a widower looking to get back […]
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2019 Primetime Emmys Predictions

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The 2019 Primetime Emmys (No. 71) is this Sunday. Following what the Oscars did, there is no host – which means this show shouldn’t go long. But it probably still will because A TON of awards have to be given away, including these: COMEDY Outstanding Comedy Series My Pick: “Veep” Alternate: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” […]
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Vieira Back in the Daytime Game

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In 2002, “The View” moderator and “60 Minutes” journalist Meredith Vieira stepped into a pretty big position, becoming the host of the new daytime version of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?” After three years in primetime, ABC decided to shift the show to syndication in mornings and afternoons. Regis Philbin didn’t want to continue […]
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When Jay Went Early: A Decade Later

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This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the debut of “The Jay Leno Show”. That’s right, it’s been a decade since Jay Leno briefly went from Late Night to Primetime. The shake-up has been considered one of the biggest flaws in television history. In 2004, 12 years into Leno’s run, NBC announced that “Late […]
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G, I Never Thought of it That Way

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G ratings are rare these days for big studio releases. In fact, they’ve mostly been awarded to two categories of films: documentaries and Disney animated movies. So far in 2019, only three major releases have been given G ratings: “Toy Story 4”, the Disneynature doc “Penguins” and NEON’s “Apollo 11”. WB and IMAX’s nature doc […]
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Rolling the Dice on These Hopefuls

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The Fall Movie Season is, once again, providing dozens of potential awards hopefuls. But does this mean every film that came out in the first eight months of 2019 has absolutely no shot at the top prizes? Here are the best case scenarios for nominations: “AVENGERS: ENDGAME” Best Bet: Best Visual Effects Possibility: Best Supporting […]
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Comeback Doesn’t Always Equal Oscar

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As another awards season approaches, we could be seeing some major “comeback” performances that garner Oscar buzz. Some people say the nomination is the win, but I’ve got a feeling all seven of these men really wanted to win. BILL MURRAY After decades of comedies, Murray starred in a drama (which was still considered a […]
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Summer 2019 Box Office Takeaways

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Here are 7 takeaways from the Summer 2019 Box Office: DISNEY IS UNSTOPPABLE… SORTA “The Lion King” and “Toy Story 4” lead the box office, with “Aladdin” in 4th place overall. They are undeniable juggernauts under the Walt Disney Pictures brand. But Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox has proven to be a so-so one […]
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Oscar ‘Love’ for Sony Animation Again?

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In February, Sony Pictures Animation FINALLY won a Best Animated Feature Oscar for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”. The studio has produced so many great films since 2006, from “Open Season”, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, “Arthur Christmas” and “The Star” to the Academy Award nominated “Surf’s Up” and “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”. However, […]
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My Summer Fling

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I’ve been a lifelong Game Show Network viewer. I’ve seen the show change logos, slogans and content – incorporating classic programs and starting-up new ones. But a few years ago, I began to wonder why the number of reruns of older shows (from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and even the 2000s) was getting smaller. […]
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Be in the Know on ‘Jerry O”

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When the folks at “Live” were looking for someone to take over for Regis Philbin after his departure in 2011… (notice I use the words “take over” and “departure”, not “replace” and “retirement”)… a number of people auditioned. The frontrunners included Anderson Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, Seth Meyers and Jerry O’Connell. Ultimately, Michael Strahan got […]
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That Other Time She Was Mary Poppins

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Julie Andrews famously played the flying nanny Mary Poppins in Disney’s 1964 classic (which turns 55 this month). It’s a performance that earned Andrews her first (and only) Academy Award. Of course, Disney made a long-awaited sequel last year with a “practically perfect” Emily Blunt. Andrews herself didn’t want to make an appearance in “Mary […]
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The Boss and The Movies

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The new movie “Blinded by the Light” is inspired by the music of Bruce Springsteen. With its release next Friday (with early nationwide preview screenings on Monday night), here’s a look at the prior cinematic contributions of The Boss: “PHILADELPHIA” (1993) Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia” won him the Best Original Song Academy Award. “This is […]
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Blanchett at Her Best

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Two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett, who turned 50 earlier this year, is regarded as one of the best actresses of our time. She’s won two Oscars (her first for playing Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator”) and has been nominated five other times, including “I’m Not There”, “Notes on a Scandal”, “Elizabeth” and follow-up “Elizabeth: […]
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