MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's YouTube Live Talking "Deadpool and Wolverine"

The Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons had the makings of a Fight Night this week with its livestream show for the hotly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine. The smash hit is the kind of thing that has been right up the alley of Ian’s dais of “Earth’s Mightiest Critics.” But, we didn’t account for Ian himself. For those of you who follow the show, Ian’s had a moratorium for comic book movies before and, even in returning to the genre, he has not been moved or impressed. I was there for the possible brawl alongside Annie Banks of We’ve Got This Covered, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, Cati Glidewell of The Blonde in Front, and Mark Krawczyk of Special Mark Productions. Could we slash and stab some sense into him?

MEDIA APPEARANCE: Guest on the Kicking the Seat's YouTube Live Talking "Inside Out 2"

The Kicking the Seat podcast and YouTube channel hosted by Ian Simmons returned from a contentious show last week with “Earth’s Mightiest Critics” on Godzilla: Minus One to a movie that is even more universally loved in a shorter amount of time. Celebrating all the feelings and emotions hopping around our noodles, the spotlight movie was Pixar’s instant smash Inside Out 2. Joining Ian and me were Annie Banks of We’ve Got This Covered, Mike Crowley of You’ll Probably Agree, and Cati Glidewell of The Blonde in Front.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2016: The minor film categories

Through several editorial features, here is my analysis to formulate my official Academy Award predictions. In this second post, we look at the obscure minor film categories that include foreign films, documentaries, animated films, and short films. Get the dartboard out, but stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

2016, Column, EditorialDon ShanahanFebruary 22, 20162016, 2016 Oscar Predictions, 2016 Oscars, 88th Oscars, 88th Academy Awards, Chris Rock, Academy Award nominee, Academy Award nominations, Academy Award winner, Academy Award, Academy Award nominees, Academy Awards, 2016 Academy Awards, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar nominations, Oscar bait, Oscar surprises, Oscar contenders, Oscar winners, Oscar snubs, Oscar Predictions, Oscars, Oscar, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Awards Tracker, Awards Predictions, Awards Talk, Award Prediction, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short Film, Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Short Subject, Best Documentary Feature, Best Documentary, Mustang, Son of Saul, Theeb, A War, Embrace of the Serpent, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep Movie, When Marnie Was There, Anomalisa, Boy and the World, Prologue, Sanjay's Super Team, We Can't Live Without Cosmos, World of Tomorrow, Bear Story, Amy, The Look of Silence, The Art of Killing, Cartel Land, What Happened Miss Simone?, Winter of Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, Body Team 12, Chau Behind Enemy Lines, Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, A Girl in the River, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Last Day of Freedom, Ava Maria, Day One, Everything Will Be Okay, Alles Wird Gut, Shok, StuttererComment

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2016: The music and sound categories

Through several editorial features, here is my analysis to formulate my official Academy Award predictions. In this first post, we look at the musical and sound categories that include original score, original song, sound editing, and sound mixing. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

2016, Column, EditorialDon ShanahanFebruary 22, 20162016, 2016 Oscars, 2016 Academy Awards, 88th Academy Awards, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar nominations, Oscar surprises, Oscar winners, Oscar bait, Oscar, Oscar Predictions, Oscar snubs, Oscars, Oscar contenders, 88th Oscars, 2016 Oscar Predictions, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Mad Max: Fury Road, Awards Predictions, Academy Award, Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee, Academy Award nominations, Academy Award nominees, Academy Award winner, Awards Talk, Awards Tracker, 2016 Awards Tracker, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Martian, The Revenant, Sicario, Creed, Inside Out, Spectre, Furious 7, See You Again, Lady Gaga, The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone, Stephen Rennicks, Room, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, John Williams, Thomas Newman, Junkie XL, Bridge of Spies, Johann Johannsson, Carter Burwell, Carol, Love and Mercy, Racing Extinction, Fifty Shades of Grey, Sam Smith, Simple Song #3, Youth, Til It Happens to You, The Hunting GroundComment

COLUMN: Five snubs and five surprises from the 88th Academy Award nominations

As with any year, there are hot topics being debated immediately stemming from snubs and surprises. Here are my reaction and takeaways, consisting of five snubs and five surprises, coming out of this morning's nominations announcements.

2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 14, 20162016, 2015 films, Oscar surprises, Oscar snubs, Oscar nominations, Oscar contenders, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar bait, Oscar Predictions, Oscar winners, Oscars, 88th Oscars, 88th Academy Awards, Academy Awards, Academy Award winner, 2016 Academy Awards, Academy Award, Academy Award nominations, Academy Award nominee, Academy Award nominees, film commentary, movie commentary, Awards Tracker, Awards Talk, Awards Predictions, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Picture, The race for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, Best Directing, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Minority performers, Michael B. Jordan, Creed, Mark Rylance, Sylvester Stallone, Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, The Revenant, The Big Short, Jacob Tremblay, Room, Benecio del Toro, Sicario, Paul Dano, Love and Mercy, Michael Shannon, 99 Homes, Michael Keaton, Spotlight, Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation, Inside Out, Anomalisa, Boy and the World, When Marnie Was There, The Good Dinosaur, The Peanuts Movie, Minions, Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth, Furious 7, See You Again, Lady Gaga, Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Titanic, Mad Max: Fury Road, Lenny Abrahamson, Todd Haynes, Carol, Ridley Scott, The Martian, Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, Straight Outta Compton, Bridge of Spies, Star Wars: The Force AwakensComment

COLUMN: Predicting the major 88th Academy Award nominations

The 88th Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, January 14, 2016, hot off of the weekend's 73rd Golden Globe awards. I've been following the full awards season over on my Awards Tracker page. Using that data as the tea leaves and a truckload of hunches, I'm going to attempt to closely predict the Oscar nominations for the "Big 8" categories for the third year in a row.

2015, 2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 13, 2016Best Picture, The race for Best Picture, Oscar Predictions, Oscar nominations, Oscar contenders, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar bait, 88th Academy Awards, 88th Oscars, Oscars, 2016, 2015, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Big 8, Oscar snubs, Oscar surprises, Spotlight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, The Big Short, Carol, Room, Brooklyn, The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Creed, Inside Out, Son of Saul, Straight Outta Compton, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, George Miller, Tom McCarthy, Todd Haynes, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Ridley Scott, Adam McKay, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Ryan Coogler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs, Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl, Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Trumbo, Johnny Depp, Black Mass, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Keaton, Brie Larson, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years, Jennifer Lawrence, Joy, Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back, Helen Mirren, Emily Blunt, Sicario, Sylvester Stallone, Mark Rylance, Michael Shannon, 99 Homes, Paul Dano, Love and Mercy, Jacob Tremblay, Benecio del Toro, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation, Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, Alex Garland, Rooney Mara, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria, Rachel McAdams, Josh Singer, Pete Docter, Meg LaFauvre, Josh Cooley, Oren Movermann, Michael Alan Lerner, Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen, Joel CoenComment

COLUMN: Who should win/will win the 2016 Golden Globes?

More and more each year, the Golden Globes have become more an a popularity contest than a true precursor to the Academy Awards. What you're watching on TV is a party thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and hosted by Ricky Gervais in an effort to be loved and share some love. To its credit, the awards show still garners legitimate attention and ratings. The winners do get a pretty positive rub and the marketers gain a few more "Winner of..." graphics to put in the newspapers next to their films.

2015, 2016, Editorial, Column, SPECIALDon ShanahanJanuary 8, 2016Best Original Score, Carter Burwell, Carol, Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs, Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl, Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, The Revenant, John Williams, Johann Johannsson, Creed, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fifty Shades of Grey, Furious 7, Elle Goulding, Wiz Khalifa, Brian Wilson, Love and Mercy, Writing's on the Wall, Sam Smith, Spectre, Simple Song #3, Sumi Jo, Youth, Mustang, Son of Saul, The Brand New Testament, The Club, The Fencer, Timbuktu, The Assassin, Best Foreign Language Film, Amour, The Artist, Best Animated Feature, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep, Shaun the Sheep Movie, The Good Dinosaur, The Peanuts Movie, Anomalisa, Charlie Kaufman, Disney/Pixar, Emma Donoghue, Room, Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight, Aaron Sorkin, Adam McKay, Charlie Randolph, The Big Short, Quentin Tarantino, Brooklyn, Michael Shannon, 99 Homes, Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation, Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies, Sylvester Stallone, Paul Dano, Mark Ruffalo, Benecio del Toro, Sicario, Jacob Tremblay, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Helen Mirren, Trumbo, Jane Fonda, Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria, Lily Tomlin, Grandma, Jennifer Lawrence, Joy, Melissa McCarthy, Spy, Maggie Smith, The Lady in the VAn, The Lady in the Van, Amy Schumer, Trainwreck, Teyonah Parris, Chi-Raq, Al Pacino, Danny Collins, Infinitely Polar Bear, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Matt Damon, The Martian, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Carey Mulligan, Suffragette, Far from the Madding Crowd, Will Smith, Concussion, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bryan Cranston, Michael Keaton, Michael B. Jordan, Tom Hanks, The Wolf of Wall Street, Todd Hayne, George Miller, Ridley Scott, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, 73rd Golden Globes, Golden Globe nominees, Golden Globe winners, who will win/should win, Awards Predictions, Awards Tracker, Awards Talk, 88th Academy Awards, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

COLUMN: The 10 Best Films of 2015

I prefer to be strict enough with my mind and my heart to rank the best and not just give some alphabetical list. This was a difficult list to settle on for an order. After 84 films this year, I think I've seen all I need to see to give out a complete and legitimate "10 Best" list. Here are my picks and, in the spirit of this site, each of the "10 Best" are paired with their best life lesson. Enjoy!

MOVIE REVIEW: The Good Dinosaur

As familiar and predictable as it turns out, by golly, "The Good Dinosaur" will still get you to smile greatly and tear up uncontrollably. Pixar consistently gets its emotion and resonance exactly right. This film achieves that signature Pixar punch effectively enough to be fitting holiday entertainment.

EDITORIAL: The Best of 2015 (so far)

The end of June marks the halfway point of 2015. This website makes it a point each year to measure the calendar year's offerings so far of what has been the best with the goal of building a year-end "10 Best" list. This is as good a place as any to honor the fine efforts that have graced the screen this half-year. Here are the "Top 5 (so far)."

MOVIE REVIEW: Inside Out

The prevailing feeling has been that the hallmark extra level of magic and poignancy that used to be Pixar's calling cards have been lost while they milked dollars from lackluster sequels and prequels like "Cars 2" and "Monsters University." We have missed the visual originality from "Monsters Inc." and "Cars." We have missed the sense of wonder from "Wall-E" and "Ratatouille." Most of all, we have sorely missed the strong familial dynamics of the "Up," the "Toy Story" series, and "Finding Nemo." "Inside Out" is exactly the redemptive return to form that Pixar desperately needed. The film rivals each of those prior greats in each of those areas. This is exactly what you loved and were missing while being something truly great that can stand on its own merits.

COLUMN: 2015 Early Summer Movie Preview

It's business time! The wait is over from the very slow winter and spring seasons! The massive movie slate of the summer of 2015 has been touted on this website for over a year. We knew these big hitters were coming and they are finally here. Let's see how many box office records fall. If you thought "Furious 7" was a big hit, then you've seen nothing yet. The summer is where the big boys play. To split the long season up, here is my complete preview for the early summer months of May and June and their prospective film releases. As always, dates change and shift all of the time. Here's what we have to look forward to! Enjoy!

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