Top 10 of 2014

As an avid movie watcher it is important to reflect on the year. What I've seen. What I liked and disliked. Keeping a running tally of what I'm watching as the year moves on week by week and month by month brings me pleasure. Logging not only what I've seen, but what stood out to me. By the end of the year I generally have a substantial list of standout films that will be narrowed down into a Top 20. This is a process I've done annually since...

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In Defense of, Adam Sandler

There's a lot of dislike for Adam Sandler. He's a polarizing comedian. Not because he's vulgar or crass. Not because he uses controversial material. Mainly because he's a buffoon and has stayed that way for twenty years. If you've seen one of his many movies, you know his comedy is not shooting for much higher than middle school mentality. One thing he has shown over the years is his ginormous heart, and that huge heart has made him into...

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Enthusiasm Awakens for the Force

In case you didn't know, a new Star Wars movie is coming out in 2015 titled "The Force Awakens" and JJ Abrams is directing it. For some people, this is a really big deal. For others, another Star Wars movie is coming out. The first trailer dropped (in a big way) and I feel it necessary to weigh in. Below I've included my thoughts on not only this new trailer, but a chronicling of my love/hate relationship with all things Star War...

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AFI FEST 2014: Day Five

AFI FEST 2014 is a wrap, 73 features and 45 shorts screened across eight (8) days. This year I highlighted 24 films I found to be a high priority, of those 24 films I caught 15 of them across five (5) days. In order to give a fair amount of coverage to the 15 films viewed, I've broke my festival coverage down by day(s) including a brief review of each featur...

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AFI FEST 2014: Day Four

AFI FEST 2014 is a wrap, 73 features and 45 shorts screened across eight (8) days. This year I highlighted 24 films I found to be a high priority, of those 24 films I caught 15 of them. In order to give a fair amount of coverage to the 15 films viewed across five (5) days, I've broke my festival coverage down by day(s) including a brief review of each featur...

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AFI FEST 2014: Day Three

AFI FEST 2014 is a wrap, 73 features and 45 shorts screened across eight (8) days. This year I highlighted 24 films I found to be a high priority, of those 24 films I caught 15 of them. In order to give a fair amount of coverage to the 15 films viewed across five (5) days, I've broke my festival coverage down by day(s) including a brief review of each featur...

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AFI FEST 2014: Day Two

AFI FEST 2014 is a wrap, 73 features and 45 shorts screened across eight (8) days. This year I highlighted 24 films I found to be a high priority, of those 24 films I caught 15 of them. In order to give a fair amount of coverage to the 15 films viewed across five (5) days, I've broke my festival coverage down by day(s) including a brief review of each featur...

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AFI FEST 2014: Day One

AFI FEST 2014 is a wrap, 73 features and 45 shorts screened across eight (8) days. This year I highlighted 24 films I found to be a high priority, of those 24 films I caught 15 of them. In order to give a fair amount of coverage to the 15 films viewed across five (5) days, I've broke my festival coverage down by day(s) including a brief review of each featur...

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AFI FEST 2014: Top Priority

AFI FEST 2014 kicks off tonight with "A Most Violent Year" directed by J.C. Chandor. The free film festival runs November 6-13, 2014. The Opening Night Gala will serve as the first of 118 films programmed representing 39 countries in this year's festival including (6) Galas/Tributes, (8) Special Screenings, (8) American Independents, (10) New Auteurs, (29) World Cinema, (4) Midnight, (4) Breakthrough, (4) Cinema's Legacy and (45) Short...

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Less Copycatting, More Innovating...

There's a lack of innovation going on at the movies. Not necessarily in the independent marketplace, but by major studios. 85% of what we see in multiplexes is borrowed, copied, or recycled. For the choosy movie goer you may have been lucky enough to not notice. Maybe you have noticed because you are choosy, and the wave of run-of-the-mill releases hasn't directly affected you, yet... For the rest of us who ride this general release wave of mediocrity...

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14 Anticipated in 2014

At the start of each year (and as the year progresses) I like to look at the calendar and see what movies are releasing. Basically find and track all the movies I want to see for whatever reason like a favorite actor or director, a concept or buzz from the festival circuit, just to see how good/bad it is. Being someone who can find an excuse to go to the movies almost every weekend, if not daily, this list can always balloon larger and larger....

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