Lights Camera Jackson

Movie Reviews, Entertainment News and Views from Lights Camera Jackson

Navigation

The Acting “Glory” of Antonio Banderas

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

Drive-In Box Office Boost

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

TV REVIEW: ‘The Unicorn’

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

2019 Primetime Emmys Predictions

By

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” […]
CONTINUE

Vieira Back in the Daytime Game

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

When Jay Went Early: A Decade Later

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

G, I Never Thought of it That Way

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

Rolling the Dice on These Hopefuls

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

Comeback Doesn’t Always Equal Oscar

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

Summer 2019 Box Office Takeaways

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

Oscar ‘Love’ for Sony Animation Again?

By

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, […]
CONTINUE

My Summer Fling

By

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. […]
CONTINUE

Be in the Know on ‘Jerry O”

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

That Other Time She Was Mary Poppins

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

The Boss and The Movies

By

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 […]
CONTINUE

Blanchett at Her Best

By

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: […]
CONTINUE

Orange You Glad There Are Nick Movies?

By

Next weekend’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” sees Paramount and Nickelodeon once again putting a spin one of their popular cartoons. This “Dora” is a live-action, CGI adventure – not hand-drawn animation like the TV series. There have been several Nick animated shows that have been adapted into theatrical features. In 1998, the […]
CONTINUE

A Sunny Day for ‘Racing in the Rain’

By

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is a new family drama starring Kevin Costner as the voice of Enzo the dog and Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried as his owners. It’s based on a best-selling 2008 novel from author Garth Stein. On my recent trip to LA, I attended an advance screening of “Art […]
CONTINUE

Hollywood is STILL Obsessed with Hollywood

By

In early 2016, I wrote a piece about Hollywood being obsessed with Hollywood. The industry released a host of films in the early 2010s chronicling stories of the film and TV industry: “The Artist”, “Hugo”, “Argo”, “Hitchcock”, “Saving Mr. Banks”, “Birdman”, “Trumbo”, “Youth” and “Hail, Caesar!” These added to the already plentiful entries in the […]
CONTINUE

Pin It on Pinterest