The Oscars 2020 Oscars On My Mind – To Worry About Them in This Age of Greater Anxiety The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony Dolby Theatre Los Angeles Feb. 9th, 2020 airs live on ABC starting at 8 pm Yes, I have been anguishing over the upcoming Oscars far more than I should in light of all the other news: bad apps, impeachment blues, state of the union traumas, but the Oscars have been occupying lots of space in my brain. I ask why… Why are movies any more relevant than they have

Parasite PARASITE (2019) Starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin, Lee Sun-kyun, Lee Jung-eun, Jeong Ji-so, Jung Hyeon-jun, Park Myung-hoon, Park Geun and Park Seo-joon. Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho & Han Jin-won. Directed by Bong Joon-ho. Distributed by Neon. 132 minutes. Rated R. Ever since its big win at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the buzz has been huge for Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, with many fans ca

La La Land LA LA LAND (2016) Starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons, Finn Wittrock, Meagan Fay, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Tom Everett Scott, Josh Pence, Valarie Ray Miller, Amiée Conn, Terry Walters, Thom Shelton, Cinda Adams, Claudine Claudio and Jason Fuchs. Screenplay by Damien Chazelle. Directed by Damien Chazelle. Distributed by Lionsgate.  128 minutes.  Rated PG-13. Even before it was released to theaters, La

CAROL (2015) Starring Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, Carrie Brownstein, Cory Michael Smith, John Magaro, Kevin Crowley, Nik Pajic, Trent Rowland, Sadie Heim, KK Heim, Amy Warner, Michael Haney, Wendy Lardin, Pamela Evans Haynes, Greg Violand and Michael Ward. Screenplay by Phyllis Nagy. Directed by Todd Haynes. Distributed by The Weinstein Company.  118 minutes.  Rated R. Todd Haynes’ latest movie Carol is the type of movie that is a bit

Creed CREED (2015) Starring Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Anthony Bellew, Ritchie Coster, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Graham McTavish, Malik Bazille, Ricardo “Padman” McGill, Gabriel Rosado, Wood Harris, Buddy Osborn, Rupal Pujara, Brian Anthony Wilson, Alex Henderson, Jim Lampley, Michael Buffer, Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser and the voice of Liev Schreiber. Screenplay by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington. Directed by Ryan Coo

Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane and Richard Linklater at the New York press day for “Boyhood.” Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane & Richard Linklater Boyhood Is About Growing Up by Brad Balfour Far too much of the buzz and ballyhoo about this season’s indie awards darling Boyhood has focused on the fact that the film was made in real time – sort of. Director Richard Linklater took his core ensemble – Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane an

Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey at the NY press day for “Selma.” Photo copyright 2015 Brad Balfour. Ava DuVernay Returns the Struggle for Civil Rights to Selma by Brad Balfour On the occasion of Martin Luther King Day, the film Selma is further in the spotlight because both director Ava DuVernay and lead actor David Oyelowo were not nominated for best director and actor Oscars respectively. Though the film was nominated for Best Picture, Selma‘s absence in a number of other ca

Chicago CHICAGO (2002) Starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore, Christine Baranski, Domenic West, Susan Misner, Deidre Goodwin, Denise Faye, Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, Chita Rivera and Mýa Harrison. Screenplay by Bill Condon. Directed by Rob Marshall. Distributed by Mirimax Pictures.  113  minutes.  Rated PG-13. A film version of Bob Fosse’s 1975 musical Chicago has been on the back burner in