23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards: The Winners

And the winners of the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are… Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: William H. Macy – Shameless Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Orange is the New Black Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Viola Davis – Fences Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor…

"23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards: The Winners"

A Dog’s Purpose: A Sentimental Tearjerker

A Dog’s Purpose is a sentimental tearjerker. It’s a film in which any animal lover will start to get emotional so be prepared by bringing some Kleenex tissues. If you don’t want to be seen crying in the theater, it would be wise to wait for the DVD. Many people have already decided to boycott the film based on a highly edited video. That’s their loss. They chose to ignore the facts. Lasse Hallström directs…

"A Dog’s Purpose: A Sentimental Tearjerker"

A Dog’s Purpose: To See Or Not To See The Movie

A Dog’s Purpose opens in theaters this Friday but I am still not sure whether or not I’ll be seeing the movie. Lasse Hallström directs from a screenplay written by W. Bruce Cameron & Cathryn Michon and Audrey Wells and Maya Forbes & Wally Wolodarsky. The script, in turn, was based on Cameron’s book. The movie, produced by Gavin Palone, stars Britt Robertson, KJ Apa, John Ortiz, with Dennis Quaid and Josh Gad. Cameron wrote…

"A Dog’s Purpose: To See Or Not To See The Movie"

89th Academy Awards: Oscar Nominations Announced

Nominations for the 89th Academy Awards were announced this morning. In a change from the press conference of prior years, a video package was put together and streamed live online. Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs was joined by former Oscar winners and nominees for the announcement. The 89th Oscar Ceremony will be held Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the ceremony will…

"89th Academy Awards: Oscar Nominations Announced"

The Founder: How the McDonald’s Franchise Took America

The Founder tells us the story of how Ray Kroc turned McDonald’s into a franchise and left the founding brothers out to dry. All of my life, I was led to believe that McDonald’s #1 in Des Plaines, Illinois, was the very first McDonald’s ever built in America. It wasn’t. It was the second. The first was owned and operated by the McDonald brothers. Kroc only discovered the brothers and the fully automated burger joint…

"The Founder: How the McDonald’s Franchise Took America"

EE British Academy Film Awards in 2017: Nominations

La La Land led the field with eleven nominations as the BAFTA nominations were announced this morning. Arrival and Nocturnal Animals were next with nine nominations. The EE British Academy Film Awards will be held on Sunday, February 12th at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Hosted by Stephen Fry, the awards show will air in the United States on BBC America. BEST FILM ARRIVAL Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, David Linde, Aaron Ryder I, DANIEL…

"EE British Academy Film Awards in 2017: Nominations"

2017 Producers Guild Awards: Theatrical Nominations

A few days after announcing the nominations for television categories and digital series, the Producers Guild of America announced the nominations for theatrical and animated motion pictures. The 28th annual awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. In addition to announcing the winners, the PGA will present honors to Tom Rothman (Milestone Award), James L. Brooks (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Irwin Winkler…

"2017 Producers Guild Awards: Theatrical Nominations"

The Solzy Awards for Film in 2016

Just as in prior years, all movies released that I have seen during the calendar year are eligible for the Solzy Awards. Thankfully, I am in Chicago now so films that otherwise would not have opened up in Kentucky until after the new year starts have been seen such as Hidden Figures. Movies going wide after the new year, such as Patriots Day, Silence, Paterson, and 20th Century Women are not eligible for consideration. In…

"The Solzy Awards for Film in 2016"

Lion: A Man’s Search for Home

Dev Patel stars as Saroo, a native of India who is adopted by an Australian couple after getting seperated by his family. Years later, he starts to look for his hometown. Based on a true story of Saroo Brierley and directed by Top of the Lake‘s Garth Davis, Lion stars Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, and Nicole Kidman. The cast also includes Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Priyanka Bose, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Deepti Naval, and introduces Sunny Pawar. Screenwriter…

"Lion: A Man’s Search for Home"

Fences: Strong Cast Reunites for the Big Screen

Based on the Tony-winning Broadway play of the same name, Fences is just as powerful on the big screen. Directed by Denzel Washington from a screenplay written by August Wilson and based on Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences stars Washington, Viola Davis, Jovan Adepo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, and Saniyya Sidney. Troy Maxon (Washington) works as a sanitation worker in Pittsburgh. He played baseball in the Negro League but was too old…

"Fences: Strong Cast Reunites for the Big Screen"