MOVIE REVIEW: War Dogs

You know the "Goodfellas" tropes: excessive narration, ordinary people getting rich or powerful doing extraordinary and often illegal activities played by colorful actors or actresses, dramatic license spinning a likely lesser true story, a kicking period soundtrack, pervasive drug use, freeze-frame shots to stamp moments, and a tidy epilogue of comeuppance. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also lazily standing on the shoulders of giants. That’s the impact and existence of Todd Phillips’s “War Dogs” in a gun… err… nutshell.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2014: The race for Best Picture

In this seventh and final post, we have come to the big finish. Here is my breakdown for the race for Best Picture. This is the big one and the cherry on top for my prediction series. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool. Let's go!

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2014: The male acting awards

It's time to make my formal predictions. In this sixth post, we are deep into the major award categories. Here are my picks for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool. Let's go!

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2014: The female acting awards

It's time to make my formal predictions. In this fifth post, we are deep into the major award categories. Here are my picks for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool. Let's go!

2014, Editorial, ColumnDon ShanahanFebruary 28, 2014Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine, Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle, Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave, Julia Roberts, August: Osage County, June Squibb, Nebraska, Scarlett Johansson, Her, Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, Actress, Supporting Actress, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Gravity, Judi Dench, Philomena, Meryl Streep, Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Brie Larson, Short Term 12, Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks, SAG Award, Golden Globe Awards, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Oscar nominations, Oscar Predictions, Oscars, 2014 Oscars, Awards Talk, Awards Predictions, Awards Tracker, Award Prediction, 86th Academy AwardsComment

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2014: The visual and artistic categories

It's time to make my formal predictions. In this post, we look at the visual and artistic technical categories that include cinematography, costumes, makeup, editing, visual effects, and editing. Let's go!

2014, Column, EditorialDon ShanahanFebruary 26, 2014Best Visual Effects, Visual Effects, Production Design, Art Direction, Set Design, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing, Film Editing, Editing, Cinematography, Best Cinematography, 2014 Oscars, 86th Academy Awards, Oscar Predictions, Oscar nominations, Oscars, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Column, Editorial, Awards Talk, Awards Tracker, Awards Predictions, The Grandmaster, Gravity, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Prisoners, Roger Deakins, Pheldon Papamichael, Bruno Delbonnel, Philippe Le Sourd, Emmanuel Lubeski, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Man of Steel, Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim, Star Trek Into Darkness, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years a Slave, The Great Gatsby, HerComment

MOVIE REVIEW: American Hustle

During the seemingly long Oscar season each year, studios save some of their best and brightest films for the end of the year so that voters with short memories will remember them most when its time to fill out a ballot for awards nominations. It's incredibly rare to see a Best Picture Academy Award winner from a month earlier than October. The term that gets used a great deal is "Oscar bait." This creates a very flooded market in December of memorable film after memorable film. These studios pull out all of the marketing stops and want that "Nominated for..." and "Winner of..." sound byte or graphic on their print advertisements, posters, trailers and TV spots. They long to be showered with praise and are cradled by the powers-that-be to grab that spotlight. They want you to pay your money and join in that praise, hence the term "Oscar bait."

2013, 3 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanDecember 23, 2013Chicago, IL, USAAmerican HustleComment