Lights Camera Jackson

Reviews, News, and Views from Jackson Murphy

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TV REVIEW: ‘Genius: Picasso’

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Season One of the National Geographic Channel’s first-ever scripted series, “Genius”, focused on the life of Albert Einstein, with Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush playing the scientific mastermind in his later years and newcomer Johnny Flynn giving a breakthrough performance as Einstein in his younger days. The show averaged 2 million viewers per episode in Live […]
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Movie Titles Are Filled with ‘Wonder’

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Last year, it was a running joke: how many movies could be released with the word ‘Wonder’ in the title? First we had “Wonder Woman”, then “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”, followed by “Wonderstruck”, then “Wonder” and finally “Wonder Wheel”. Add Paramount’s “Wonder Park” to this growing list when the all-star animated film opens […]
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MGM Distributing Their Own Movies Again

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MGM, once a Hollywood studio titan and king of the movie musical, has recently been seen as a companion distribution studio with other big names, like Sony and Warner Bros. But 2018 marks a re-vamp for MGM, which is back to sole distribution on major movies. MGM’s “Death Wish”, the action remake starring Bruce Willis, opened […]
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The 10 People I’d Most Like to Meet

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Over the past 14 years, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the biggest names in entertainment. But there are still a number of people I’d like to meet. These are the “Top 10” that come to mind: JULIE ANDREWS “Mary Poppins” is one of my lifelong favorite films. BILLY CRYSTAL A quintessential host […]
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Best Dwayne Johnson Movies

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Dwayne Johnson is one of the busiest men in Hollywood. His first 2018 entry, “Rampage”, opens this weekend. Still to come this year: “Skyscraper” (July 13) and “Fighting with My Family” (Sept. 14). And also in the works: “Jungle Cruise” (Release Date TBA), the “Fast & Furious” spinoff with Jason Statham (July 26, 2019) and […]
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Ranking the ‘American Idol’ Judges

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Here’s my official ranking of every “American Idol” judge over the show’s 16-season history: 1. SIMON COWELL (2002-2010) Unapologetic. Brutally honest. Dry sense of humor. Quite the character. In “Idol”’s glory days, Cowell made it must-watch TV. You never knew if and when he was going to destroy someone’s singing performance, especially during the Auditions. […]
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‘Penguins of Madagascar’ Celebrity Puns Explained

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DreamWorks Animation’s “Penguins of Madagascar” movie opened in November 2014, but people are still referencing one of the film’s best running gags on social media: the celebrity name puns from Dave the Octopus (voiced by John Malkovich). I recently spoke with Brandon Sawyer, one of the co-writers on “Penguins” and the executive producer of Netflix’s […]
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Jason Reitman’s 2018 Double Feature

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Four-time Academy Award nominated writer/director Jason Reitman has two big movies on the way. The first is “Tully”, his third collaboration with Oscar winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”, “Young Adult”) and his second with Charlize Theron, who starred in “Adult”. Theron plays a mom of a three who receives a “night nanny” as a gift. […]
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Melissa McCarthy is a 2018 Quadruple Threat

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2018 looks like it will be Melissa McCarthy’s biggest year ever. Her comedy series “Nobodies” is returning for Season 2 this Thursday, March 29th, at 10pmET on the Paramount Network (formerly Spike TV). “Nobodies” Season 1 aired on TV Land. She co-produces the show with her husband Ben Falcone and occasionally guest stars as an […]
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Entertainment Studios on the Rise

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Comedian Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, which he founded in 1993, is making waves in the movie world. Their film division’s first release, last June’s “47 Meters Down”, was a surprise hit – largely thanks to the shark attack premise, summer timing and the popularity of star Mandy Moore (“This is Us”). It opened to $11.2 […]
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From a Fantastic Fox to an Isle of Dogs

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I attended a nighttime advance screening of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” back in 2009. Sitting to one side of me was a woman with a child. The woman, at a particular point, stated out loud how much she hated this movie. Clearly, that woman wasn’t into Wes Anderson fare, nor did she know that “Fox” really […]
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Why ‘Love, Simon’ Underwhelmed at the Box Office

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20th Century Fox’s high-profile gay teen romance “Love, Simon” opened to a distant 5th place at the weekend box office, with just $11.5 million. While the film’s budget was only $17 million, the studio must feel a little disappointed considering all the marketing they put into it. Here’s why it underwhelmed: HIGH NUMBER OF ADVANCE […]
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Cosmic Cinemas Invading Madison Theatre

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EXCLUSIVE: It’s Official! Upstart movie theater chain Cosmic Cinemas is moving into the former Madison Theatre on Madison Avenue in Albany. Madison Theatre owner Gunther Fishgold confirmed the sale exclusively to me this morning. He says the deal will be finalized in a week or so, at which time an official announcement will be made. […]
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The Real Mystery to ‘Sherlock Gnomes’

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“Sherlock Gnomes”, opening next weekend, is the follow-up to 2011’s “Gnomeo & Juliet”. Many of the characters from the original and their real-life counterparts are back: James McAvoy’s Gnomeo, Emily Blunt’s Juliet, as well as characters voiced by Michael Caine, Maggie Smith and Stephen Merchant. But the new, main focus this time around is on […]
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Emily Blunt’s Banner Year

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The next 12 months will be actress Emily Blunt’s biggest yet. Next Friday, March 23, she reprises her role as the voice of Juliet in “Gnomeo & Juliet” spinoff/sequel/follow-up “Sherlock Gnomes”. Fellow original castmates James McAvoy and Michael Caine return, joined by Johnny Depp as the voice of the title detective. “Gnomeo”, released by Disney […]
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The ‘Avengers Effect’

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Last Thursday, Marvel Studios and Robert Downey, Jr. announced on Twitter that they’re moving the U.S. release date of “Avengers: Infinity War” up a week, from May 4 to April 27. The highly-anticipated third title under the ‘Avengers’ name will now open the same weekend around the globe, rare these days for a Marvel movie. […]
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Why Matthew McConaughey Should Host the 2019 Oscars

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As I watched Michael Strahan interview Oscars presenter Matthew McConaughey on the red carpet Sunday Night, a thought crossed my mind: I think McConaughey would make a pretty good Oscar host. Here’s why: 1.) He’s a Previous Oscar Winner. He knows how Awards Season goes and how this specific show runs, following his win for […]
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2018 Oscar Predictions

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3/4 UPDATE: Correct Picks are Bolded. I got 20 out of 24 Right! “Get Out” Your Ballots! Here are My 2018 Oscar Predictions in All 24 Categories: Best Picture – “Get Out” Best Director – Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water” Best Actor – (TIE) Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” AND Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread” […]
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‘The Post’, ‘I, Tonya’ Lead 2018 LCJ Movie Awards

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Wth 4 wins each, two star-studded true-story films lead The 2018 LCJ Movie Awards. “The Post” earns top honors, with Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Best Drama and Best Original Screenplay, and “I, Tonya” is the recipient of Best Actress (Margot Robbie), Best Supporting Actress (Allison Janney), Best Comedy and Best Film Editing. Sci-fi sequel “Blade […]
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‘Get Out’: One Year Later

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Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ premiered in theaters one year ago this week (February 23, 2017 at 7pm ET). The first time I saw the trailer for “Get Out” was at a showing of “The Birth of a Nation” in Oct. 2016. I didn’t really know that Jordan Peele was writing and directing a movie – […]
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