Could two movies prove to be too much for some actors and studios as we approach Awards Season? Cate Blanchett is currently experiencing this problem, as the praise she’s receiving for her lead actress performance in “Carol” (opening in Limited Release Nov. 20) is overshadowing her work in “Truth”. The CBS News biopic with Blanchett […]

If you’re like me (and, if so, we’re in the minority), you stay to the end of the credits of every movie you see. Not only does this practice mean you occasionally get rewarded with a bonus scene (aka “Easter Egg”) that the moviegoers who leave early miss, but there are also traditional features in […]

For 11 of the past 12 years, an animated movie has opened on the first weekend of November. The streak continues this year with the highly-anticipated “The Peanuts Movie”, from 20th Century FOX and Blue Sky Studios, the makers of the “Ice Age” series. “Peanuts” has a HUGE built-in fanbase, from the original Charles Schulz […]

When movie studios are evaluated at the end of 2015, Universal (“Jurassic World”, “Furious 7”, “Minions”) and Disney (“Avengers”, “Inside Out”, “Star Wars”) will clearly receive top honors for having the greatest box office success. But, when it comes to Quality Films over the course of the year, the award will likely go small, independent […]

This year’s Oscar voters, particularly the nominating committee, will have a more difficult time than ever evaluating the many performances in the four acting categories and narrowing them down to just five. The same amount of frustration will surely go into Best Director, Best Animated Feature, Best Picture and several others. But I’ve got a […]

On December 18th, 2009, James Cameron’s “Avatar” opened. The Oscar-winning adventure about the tall and noisy blue people on Pandora became the highest-grossing domestic release of all-time and single-handedly forced every studio to either make or convert every upcoming big-budget action movie in or to 3D. This December 18th, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will […]

I am officially declaring this to be “The Awards Season of the Short Title”. In fact a majority of the major contenders can actually be summed-up in one word. So don’t be surprised if this year’s Best Picture lineup is thin – and by that I mean thin in letter-count. Bradley Cooper has two shots […]

ABC has the prestige of Kermit and Miss Piggy kicking-off their Tuesday night lineup. But with mixed reviews of the first few episodes of “The Muppets” (the “Pilot” was loaded with celebrity cameos, adult references and a quirky, off-putting tone) and a 35% viewership drop from Week 1 to Week 2, things aren’t looking so […]