Posts tagged Fruitvale Station
MOVIE REVIEW: Creed
MOVIE REVIEW: Creed

Take away every rooted piece of cheesy disconnect and disdain you have calcified in your hearts and minds for whatever bloated quality you remember or assigned to the six-film "Rocky" series and shelf it immediately.  The spin-off film "Creed" is a new tangent that gracefully and respectfully builds from the nostalgic anchor that comes with the "Rocky" territory,  but grows to never be bound by that history for a second.  Ryan Coogler's film successfully strives to be its own bold and rousing saga fitting of the shared connection.

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2015, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanAMC Cicero 14Creed, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Rocky, Rocky Balboa, Apollo Creed, Ludwig Goransson, Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler, Southpaw, Adrian, Tony Bellew, Wood Harris, Ritchie Coster, Mighty Mick's Gym, Philadelphia, Fruitvale Station, Chronicle, Adonis Creed, Adonis Johnson, Phylicia RashadComment
MOVIE REVIEW: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
MOVIE REVIEW: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

By tackling the subject of cancer and doing so in the guise of a quirky high school comedy, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" stands out as proof that a movie can be earnest and humorous at the same time.  It can be understated in one moment and then completely outgoing the next.  It is a film that can feel facetious and yet still be profound.  It takes the modern high school setting that is deliberately riddled with innate tropes, stereotypes, and cliches and masterfully steers around every single one of them to offer you something smart, touching, and, most of all, original.  That is no small feat and something to stand up and celebrate.

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2015, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMe and Earl and the Dying Girl, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Jesse Andrews, young adult fiction, Coming of Age films, Coming of Age movies, Argo, Precious, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Glee, Thomas Mann, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon, Pittsburgh, Mean Girls, Project X, Welcome to Me, Werner Herzog, Jon Bernthal, Olivia Cooke, Ronald Cyler II, meet cute, meet awkward, Movie review, movie review, film review, film commentary, life lessons from film, life lessons, life lessons from movies, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, 2015, 2015 Summer Movies, Sundance Film FestivalComment
OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2014: The race for Best Picture
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!

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2014, Column, EditorialDon ShanahanBest Picture, Best Motion Picture, Best Motion Picture of the Year, The race for Best Picture, Oscar Predictions, Oscar nominations, Oscars, 2014 Oscars, 86th Academy Awards, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Nebraska, Philomena, 12 Years a Slave, The Wolf of Wall Street, Fruitvale Station, Inside Llewyn Davis, Saving Mr. Banks, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, movie commentaryComment