It’s a presidential election year once again. Democracy is an amazing process, despite some of the gridlock we have experienced lately. I’ve never missed a chance to vote and look forward to being able to cast another one this coming November. I do get annoyed with all the mudslinging and attack ads, but that seems [...]
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Film Review
December 27, 2011
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It took me until about the third reel to fully appreciate Rooney Mara’s acidic portrayal of Lisbeth Salander. Ms. Mara inhabits the character with fearsome angst, throwing herself into the darkness of Lisbeth’s world. Literally, she has peered into the precipice to manifest this character. I hope she comes back. Mara has mastered the physical [...]
Read moreHugo (3D) – Film Review
November 27, 2011
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I had given up hope that Martin Scorsese would ever make a picture aimed at all ages. With his love of film and unsurpassed knowledge of the art form, I felt he was a natural. But with New York as your muse, there are more serious matters to attend to. Turns out, Scorsese was hit [...]
Read moreMy Oscar Picks for 2011
February 25, 2011
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This Sunday, February 27, 2011 will be the 83rd annual Oscar awards presentation. An art form with a storied past, and I believe a bright future. Although India churns out many more pictures than the U.S. each year, the art of the film and the studio are uniquely American. I’m still getting used to having [...]
Read moreTrue Grit – Film Review
January 11, 2011
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The Coens open True Grit at night with a slow zoom in on a slain man lying just off a softly lit porch, being blanketed by snowfall. The voice-over is Mattie Ross, speaking to the audience from nearly three decades in the future. She describes how her father was shot by Tom Chaney and fled [...]
Read more2010 Academy Awards – Vote Your Favorites
February 21, 2010
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For years I ran an office pool on the Oscars and did very well. I’ve since dropped the gambling which was a smart move because over the last few years my predictions have not matched well with the Academy members. As we approach the March 7th awards show it’s worth noting a pretty big change. [...]
Read moreUp – Film Review
June 17, 2009
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What is the definition of story? My answer is “conflict.” Great stories unfold against a backdrop of tension and combine reality and fantasy. Pixar Animation Studios has mastered this formula for kids and grown-ups alike. Their latest work, Up, tracks the life of Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) from the time he was a little boy [...]
Read moreMy Oscar Picks – 2009
February 18, 2009
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I used to be much better at picking the winners than I am these days. I would see every film, some more than once, then sit down and agonize over who would win. Frankly I was pretty good at it in the ’90′s. One year I only missed four or five, and I used to [...]
Read moreThe Soundtrack Stands Alone
February 8, 2009
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Film composers are required to be extremely thoughtful and versatile artists. Strictly speaking films are two dimensional; vision + sound. The director has a lot of tools in the tool box when it comes to visuals; light, color, movement, pacing, costume, editing, etc. Sound has a much more limited palette; voice, sound effects and music. [...]
Read moreMovie Studios Try to Reinvent Themselves in 3D
January 13, 2009
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U.S. film studios enjoyed a lock on the moving picture experience for many years before television invited itself to the party. Movie moguls were afraid that television was replicating the movie house experience so they completely changed the format from a standard 4:3 aspect ratio screen to a much wider screen. This helped them differentiate [...]
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