Category Archives: Movie News

‘Escape Room’: Snapshot Review

ESCAPE ROOM                                              

2½ STARS OUT OF 4               1 hours 39 minutes

PLOT:A group of strangers meet for an escape room adventure, only to find that the stakes are life and death.

SCOOP:Like most modern horror films, the plotting is silly and predictable. Characters are slowly picked off, and their psyches unravel as they come to grips with the situation. Director Adam Robitel does a nice job with the pacing, making the movie a pleasant – if entirely derivative – distraction. This isn’t an inventive picture, nor is it one that you need to see, but there are certainly worse ways to pass a Friday night.

STARRING:

Taylor Russell – Zoey Davis

Logan Miller – Ben Miller

Jay Ellis – Jason Walker

Tyler Labine – Mike Nolan

Deborah Ann Woll – Amanda Harper

Nik Dodani – Danny Khan

DIRECTOR: Adam Robitel (“Insidious: The Last Key”)

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Critics’ Choice Award Winners

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Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

The 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards were doled out Sunday in Santa Monica. The awards are voted on by the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Forrest is a voting member) and Broadcast Television Journalists Association. Following is a complete list of winners.

FILM AWARDS

BEST PICTURE

“Roma” (Netflix)

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale – “Vice” (Annapurna)

BEST ACTRESS – TIE

Glenn Close – “The Wife” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Lady Gaga – “A Star Is Born” (Warner Bros.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Mahershala Ali – “Green Book” (Universal)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Regina King – “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Annapurna)

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS

Elsie Fisher – “Eighth Grade” (A24)

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE

“The Favourite” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuarón – “Roma” (Netflix)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Paul Schrader – “First Reformed” (A24)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Barry Jenkins – “If Beale Street Could Talk” (Annapurna)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Alfonso Cuarón – “Roma” (Netflix)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Hannah Beachler, Jay Hart – “Black Panther” (Disney)

BEST EDITING

Tom Cross – “First Man” (Universal)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Ruth Carter – “Black Panther” (Disney)

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP

“Vice” (Annapurna)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

“Black Panther” (Disney)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (Sony)

BEST ACTION MOVIE

“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” (Paramount)

BEST COMEDY

“Crazy Rich Asians” (Warner Bros.)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY

Christian Bale – “Vice” (Annapurna)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY

Olivia Colman – “The Favourite” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST SCI-FI OR HORROR MOVIE

“A Quiet Place” (Paramount)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“Roma” (Netflix)

BEST SONG

Shallow – “A Star Is Born” (Warner Bros.)

BEST SCORE

Justin Hurwitz – “First Man” (Universal)

 

TELEVISION AWARDS

BEST DRAMA SERIES

“The Americans” (FX Networks)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Matthew Rhys – “The Americans” (FX Networks)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Sandra Oh – “Killing Eve” (BBC America)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Noah Emmerich – “The Americans” (FX Networks)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Thandie Newton – “Westworld” (HBO)

BEST COMEDY SERIES

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Bill Hader – “Barry” (HBO)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Rachel Brosnahan – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Henry Winkler – “Barry” (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alex Borstein – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

BEST LIMITED SERIES

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX Networks)

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

“Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” (NBC)

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Darren Criss – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX Networks)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION – TIE

Amy Adams – “Sharp Objects” (HBO)

Patricia Arquette – “Escape at Dannemora” (Showtime)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Ben Whishaw – “A Very English Scandal” (Amazon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Patricia Clarkson – “Sharp Objects” (HBO)

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

“BoJack Horseman” (Netflix)

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Critics’ Choice Award Winners: 2016

WINNERS OF THE 22ND ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS

FILM:
BEST PICTURE – “La La Land”

BEST ACTOR – Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”

BEST ACTRESS – Natalie Portman, “Jackie”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Viola Davis, “Fences”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS – Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE – “Moonlight”

BEST DIRECTOR – Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – TIE: Damien Chazelle, “La La Land” and Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – Eric Heisserer, “Arrival”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Linus Sandgren, “La La Land”

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, “La La Land”

BEST EDITING – Tom Cross, “La La Land”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN – Madeline Fontaine, “Jackie”

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP – “Jackie”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – “The Jungle Book”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE – “Zootopia”

BEST ACTION MOVIE – “Hacksaw Ridge”

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE – Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE – Margot Robbie, “Suicide Squad”

BEST COMEDY – “Deadpool”

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY – Ryan Reynolds, “Deadpool”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY – Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE – “Arrival”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – “Elle”

BEST SONG – “City of Stars” from “La La Land”

BEST SCORE – Justin Hurwitz, “La La Land”

 

TELEVISION:

BEST COMEDY SERIES – Silicon Valley, HBO

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES – Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live, NBC

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES – Donald Glover, Atlanta, FX

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES – Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES – Louie Anderson, Baskets, FX

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES – Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live, NBC

BEST DRAMA SERIES – Game of Thrones, HBO

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES – Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld, HBO

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul, AMC

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES – Thandie Newton, Westworld, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – John Lithgow, The Crown, Netflix

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES – Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Walking Dead, AMC

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES – The People v. O.J. Simpson, FX

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES – Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson, FX

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES – Courtney B. Vance,The People 
v. O.J. Simpson, FX

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES – Regina King, American Crime, ABC

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES – Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson, FX

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES – The Voice, NBC

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES – Shark Tank, ABC

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES – Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, CNN

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST – Anthony Bourdain, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, CNN

BEST TALK SHOW – The Late Late Show with James Corden, CBS

BEST ANIMATED SERIES – BoJack Horseman, Netflix

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Winners of the 2016 Critics’ Choice Awards

The Critics’ Choice Awards were handed out Sunday in Santa Monica. Following is a full list of winners.

FILM

BEST PICTURE: Spotlight
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson – Room
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone – Creed
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Jacob Tremblay – Room
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE: Spotlight
BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
BEST EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out
BEST ACTION MOVIE: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST COMEDY: The Big Short
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Christian Bale – The Big Short
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: Ex Machina
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy
BEST SONG: Furious 7 – “See You Again”
BEST SCORE: The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone

 

TELEVISION

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Rami Malek – Mr. Robot
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Idris Elba – Luther
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Rachel Bloom – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Carrie Coon – The Leftovers
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Kirsten Dunst – Fargo
BEST COMEDY SERIES: Master of None
BEST DRAMA SERIES: Mr. Robot
BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Timothy Olyphant – The Grinder
BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Margo Martindale – The Good Wife
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Fargo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Christian Slater – Mr. Robot
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Jesse Plemons – Fargo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Constance Zimmer – UnREAL
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Jean Smart – Fargo
BEST ANIMATION SERIES: BoJack Horseman
BEST REALITY SHOW – COMPETITION: The Voice
BEST REALITY SHOW HOST: James Lipton – Inside the Actors Studio
BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SHOW: Shark Tank
BEST TALK SHOW: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SHOW: Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

 

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Critics’ Choice Nominees Announced

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Michael Keaton, left, and Mark Ruffalo in a scene from “Spotlight.” The movie was nominated for eight Critics’ Choice Awards, including best picture. Ruffalo was nominated for best supporting actor.
Photo courtesy of Kerry Hayes/Open Road Films

I am a longtime member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, a group representing more than 300 critics in the U.S. and Canada, and today the organization announced nominees for the 21st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. As usual, some of my personal favorites made the cut and others did not (I’m only one voter among hundreds). Regardless of my personal preferences, it’s a strong field of movies, and you can use the nominee list (below) to seek out the best in film. This year’s awards are slated for broadcast Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. (PT) on A&E, Lifetime and LMN. This event will be particularly special because — for the first time — the movie awards are being combined with honors doled out by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE 21st ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS

FILM

BEST PICTURE

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Sicario

Spotlight

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RiffTrax names the worst movies of the 1990s

The funny folks at RiffTrax have announced results of their fan poll for the worst movies of the 1990s. Among the 20 films that made the cut are “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” “Spice World,” “Bio-Dome” and “Battlefield Earth.” Check out the FULL LIST.

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Winners of the 20th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for best comedy.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” won the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for best comedy.

The 20th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards were handed out at the Hollywood Palladium Thursday, Jan. 15. The show was broadcast live on A&E, but as a longtime member of the presenting organization — The Broadcast Film Critics Association — I received a couple tickets. The life of an entertainment journalist (particularly one who spends much of his time teaching) is relatively low on glitz and glamour, but it’s nice to spend at least one night a year checking out the sights and sounds in Hollywood.

Traditionally, the Critics’ Choice Awards have been a good predictor of the movies and filmmakers who go on to win Oscars. Of course, that’s not always the case. For instance, “The Lego Movie” won the Critics’ Choice award for best animated feature Thursday, but did not receive an Oscar nomination.

Following is the full list of winners …

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Don’t Miss the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Tonight (Jan. 15)

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are broadcast live at 6 p.m. (PT) today (Jan. 15) on A&E. Be sure to tune in.

I am a long-time member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which presents the awards show, and it’s always fun. Also, winners of Critics’ Choice Awards often go on to win the Oscar.

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Nominees for the 87th Academy Awards

"Birdman" was nominated for nine Academy Awards.  Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

“Birdman” was nominated for nine Academy Awards.
Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Following is a list of all nominees for the 87th Academy Awards. The show will be held Feb. 22 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

BEST PICTURE
“AMERICAN SNIPER”
“BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)”
“BOYHOOD”
“THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL”
“THE IMITATION GAME”
“SELMA”
“THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING”
“WHIPLASH”

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
STEVE CARELL, “Foxcatcher”
BRADLEY COOPER, “American Sniper”
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, “The Imitation Game”
MICHAEL KEATON, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
EDDIE REDMAYNE, “The Theory of Everything”

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
MARION COTILLARD, “Two Days, One Night”
FELICITY JONES, “The Theory of Everything”
JULIANNE MOORE, “Still Alice”
ROSAMUND PIKE, “Gone Girl”
REESE WITHERSPOON, “Wild”

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RiffTrax names worst films of 2014

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2 made RiffTrax's worst films of 2014 list."  Photo courtesy of Sony

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2 made RiffTrax’s worst films of 2014 list.”
Photo courtesy of Sony

The votes are in, and the good folks at RiffTrax have unveiled results for their worst films of 2014 poll.

I agree that most of these movies are lousy, although I did like two. That just shows that I’m an independent thinker, right?

Following is the RiffTrax List. You can visit their site for the full commentary. Also, be sure to vote in the current “Worst Movies of the ’90s” poll.

 

RIFFTRAX’S WORST MOVIES OF 2014

10) “300: Rise of an Empire”

9) “Noah”

8) “Sex Tape”

7) “Quija”

6) “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” 

5) “Left Behind”

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