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Official 2016 Oscar Predictions

When discussing 2015 and its ilk of Oscar wannabes, most rallied around a similar sentiment: what an odd and unpredictable year for awards. At one point or another, as many as five of the eight Best Picture nominees (The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, Room, Spotlight, The Revenant) could have been considered the front-runner with the vast majority of the race seemingly coming down to a Big Short vs. Spotlight showdown. Huge box office tolls and unprecedented last minute momentum moved The Revenant into the pole position at an opportune time, seemingly hucking Spotlight from the, ahem, spotlight. And right when it needed it most. These tectonic shifts have made pining down the Best Picture winner a particularly challenging game this year with an unlikely chronology of match-ups apparently leaving the battle to be waged between Adam McKay‘s financial meltdown dramedy and Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s survivorman epic.  That being said, one shouldn’t discount Tom McCarthy‘s Spotlight which could just pull a last minute KO. Now if only George Miller‘s supreme Mad Max: Fury Road had the same surprise comeback potential… Read More

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Your Official 2016 Oscar Nominees (And How My Predictions Stacked Up)

I feel like Denzel Washington at the Globes. I have a speech prepared but I forgot my reading glasses. I guess I’ll thank my family for giving me the courage to predict the Academy Award nominees. And, of course, I’d like to thank the Academy. But in all seriousness, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences unveiled their glorious Oscar nominees for 2016 and the results were staggeringly close to our predictions. Seriously, someone should employ me full-time to do this or something. There were some surprises in store, such as Carol being shut out of more than a few major categories, and some nice inclusions, like Tom Hardy getting tapped for his aces performance in The Revenant and Lenny Abrahamson for his truly superb direction in Room. I left the Spotlight team out of the spotlight and paid dearly for it as both Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams eeked their way into nods. Over on the script side, frequent favorites Quentin Tarantino and Aaron Sorkin found themselves shut out for The Hateful Eight and Steve Jobs respectively. In the end though, with The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road leading the nominees in terms of sheer volume, my two favorite films of 2015, I have to applaud the academy. You’ve done us right boys. Now take us home. Read More

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‘MAD MAX: FURY ROAD’ Sweeps the 2015 Seattle Film Awards

This morning, the Seattle Film Critics’ Survery unleashed their winners and it was Mad Max: Fury Road who took the proverbial cake and ate it too. Curated by Should I See It‘s Mike Ward, the full press release is included below:

George Miller’s post-apocalyptic epic Mad Max: Fury Road steamrolled the competition, and was named the Best Picture of 2015 by Seattle’s film community. The film nearly swept the competition, earning 10 out of a potential 11 award wins in the third annual Seattle Film Awards survey. Read More

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Silver Screen Riot’s Top 10 Films of 2015

Well well well. 2015 has finally reached its end. After 201 films, 25 interviews (including Robert Duvall,  Kevin Bacon, Jason Segel, Jason Schwartzman, Greta Gerwig,  Jemaine Clement, Alex Garland, and Nick Kroll to name just a few), three massive international film festivals and countless hours spend idly engaged in film banter with my always entertaining gang of colleagues and peers at various Seattle screening rooms, I can finally come to the conclusion that, for what it’s worth, 2015 was an odd duck for film. Read More

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MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Blu-Ray Review

Synopsis: “Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) leads the despot’s five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive, armored truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland.” Read More

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10 Best Movies of 2015 So Far

For the casual film-goer, 2015 has started off on relative slow footing. Dumping ground months January and February held few critical or commercial surprise hits – outside of one release featured on this rundown – with anything of worth reserved for festival-going audiences. Barring the outrageous international money-vacuum that is Furious 7, Summer 2015 has proved a touch disappointing with expected giants such as Avengers: Age of Ultron landing softer than anticipation (while still claiming the second biggest opening weekend ever) and big franchise resets like Terminator: Genisys and Jurassic World waiting in the wings with big question marks (and budgets) hanging over their heads. Read More