Month: February 2018

Countdowns

Top 10 Modern Oscar Upsets

By jasonbleau on

Even though the Academy Awards and Golden Globes may seem to be interchangeable they are two very different shows that just happen to honor the same works of art. Sometimes they agree, but many times they do not and that makes for some great unexpected upsets during award season. While the Golden Globes usually sets the stage, the Oscars are considered the bigger and more lucrative awards to receive. So when the time comes for the Academy to make its picks it’s not uncommon to see a few unexpected surprises come about. As the big show approaches this year I looked at some of the biggest surprise wins in the modern history of the Oscars, ones that occurred from the year 2001 (celebrating the best of the year 2000) to the 2017 show. These are my picks for the Top 10 Modern Oscar Upsets.

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Movie Reviews

REVIEW: “Every Day”

By jasonbleau on

Continuing the trend of young adult novels being adapted into small-budget films the latest offering in this increasingly crowded subgenre is “Every Day”, a big screen adaptation of Michael Sucsy’s 2012 novel of the same name. Exploring numerous different themes including love, existentialism, identity and the power of a personal connection over physical attraction “Every Day” is just creative and wonderous enough to avoid being lost in the shuffle of teen romance stories. But, how good is it as a film on its own? Let’s take a closer look in my review of “Every Day”.

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REVIEW: “Game Night”

By jasonbleau on

If you couldn’t tell by reading my blog I’m not the biggest fan of shameless comedy films. To be bluntly honest I feel they’re the cheapest form of entertainment pandering to the lowest common denominator of movie fans out there. But, that doesn’t mean that formula can’t work even for a cynic like me. Once in a while a gem comes along that can balance smart humor and entertainment properly and thus we get 2018’s first true comedy offering, “Game Night”. Sporting a charismatic cast and a fun story with abundant plot twists and self-referential humor “Game Night” balances pandering and quality quite well making for a well-rounded experience. So, what makes this movie so fun compared to other comedies? I’ll tell you. This is my review of “Game Night”.

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REVIEW: “Annihilation”

By jasonbleau on

Over the years Alex Garland has become a staple in the science fiction genre penning films like “Dredd”, “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine”. He also penned and directed “Ex Machina”, one of the best films of 2015 and a modern sci-fi classic. Now, three years later, Garland returns to the directors chair with his most ambitious and spectacular film to date, and I do mean spectacular in every sense of the word. “Annihilation”, very loosely based on the Jeff VanderMeer novel of the same name, packs incredible visuals, memorable characters and well-paced storytelling to produce what promises to be one of the greatest science fiction projects of the year. Just how great is this film though? It’s my job to let you know what I think so here we go. This is my review of “Annihilation”.

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Countdowns

Top 10 Iconic Black Actors

By jasonbleau on

Continuing my celebration of Black History Month, I am examining the most iconic African American actors and actresses from today and yesterday and after exploring the women earlier this week, it’s time to give the men their due. Many black actors have graced the big screen and not all of them have been awards season gods. Some have earned their keep as consistent big screen stars, others have become philanthropists and more artistic performers but regardless this list focuses on the most iconic and memorable of them all to date. If you’d like to read my list of iconic black actresses you can click here, but for now this is my list of the Top 10 Iconic Black Actors.

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Countdowns

Top 10 Iconic Black Actresses

By jasonbleau on

February is Black History Month and since everyone else is doing lists to tribute the “Black Panther” film, the first Marvel film with a predominantly black cast and the MCU’s first film focusing specifically on a black hero, I decided to take a different road and pay homage to the most iconic black actors and actresses of all time. To be fair I decided to split my list into two, the top ten men and the top ten women. As is proper, ladies are first and this was not an easy list to narrow down. So without further ado, here is my list of the Top 10 Iconic Black Actresses. Look for the men later this week.

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Movie Reviews

REVIEW: “Early Man”

By jasonbleau on

Stop motion animation is among the most fascinating filmmaking approaches in my personal opinion and one of the masters in this art is Aardman Animations who released a new film called “Early Man” over the weekend. Sporting a top-notch cast and some great detailed animation “Early Man” is a pretty decent animated movie. It’s not perfect, but it brings charm and some goofy fun to the big screen even if its story is so predictable you can see it’s conclusion from a mile away. So, is it worth a look? Well here’s my review of “Early Man”.

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REVIEW: “Black Panther”

By jasonbleau on

The Marvel Cinematic Universe celebrates its tenth year in 2018 and to kick it off they released possibly their most anticipated solo effort to date, “Black Panther”. By now it’s a cliché that Marvel movies are critical darlings, and if you’re looking for a film to buck that trend keep looking. Sporting an amazing and committed cast, game changing visuals and story elements and one of Marvel’s most layered villains to date “Black Panther” is the superhero movie we deserve at this point in the MCU’s lifespan. But is it truly among Marvel’s absolute best? Is this film a true gem that rises above the novelty of being Marvel’s first black superhero film? Here is my review of “Black Panther”.

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REVIEW: “The 15:17 to Paris”

By jasonbleau on

There are a lot of bad movies out there and I’ve sat through quite a few of them. I mean I did a whole top 10 on horrible movies from 2017 alone. But even those movies never made me rub the bridge of my nose and wonder what I’m doing with my life within the first 15 minutes. That’s exactly what happened when I saw “The 15:17 to Paris”. A film utilizing gimmick casting, this Clint Eastwood directed project had the best intentions in mind, but it sports no charm, no charisma, horrendous acting even by actual actors, and was a painful hour-and-a-half to sit through, and I haven’t even gotten to the review yet…so here it is. This is my review of “The 15:17 to Paris”.

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Countdowns

Top 10 Stop-Motion Animated Movies

By jasonbleau on

Stop-motion is a brilliantly beautiful form of animation that is underappreciated today in favor of computer generated films. However, thankfully, 2018 has not one but TWO stop-motion films coming out, “Early Man’ this weekend and “Isle of Dogs” next month. I was so excited about seeing this film style make a comeback I couldn’t help myself but to look at more of my favorites from the animation sub-genre and put together a list of my personal recommendations as two promising projects come around. These are my picks for the Top 10 Stop Motion Animated Movies.

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Movie Reviews

REVIEW: “Peter Rabbit”

By jasonbleau on

Growing up I was heavily exposed to the story of Peter Rabbit. In fact, it was probably one of the most notable children’s stories of my childhood. I knew one day the popular character would get the cinematic treatment, but when I saw the commercial for the new film I couldn’t help but shutter. This didn’t look like the Peter Rabbit I grew up with. This looked stupid. But it was either this or “Fifty Shades Freed” this weekend and…well I wasn’t going to the later. So, I walked in to the theater ready for disappointment and to my surprise I was wrong. It was funny, it had heart. It wasn’t perfect, but it was entertaining and memorable. Let’s dive a little deeper down the rabbit hole and see just how fun this film really is. This is my review of “Peter Rabbit”.

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Top 10 Iconic Movie Rabbits

By jasonbleau on

In the world of pandering movie posts this has got to be the worst sin I personally have ever committed, but I wanted to find something related to the new “Peter Rabbit” adaptation this weekend and this is what I cooked up. Now Peter Rabbit isn’t the first big eared mammal to hit the big screen, and he won’t be the last. Cinema has certainly given us some highlight characters to enjoy, whether they’re anthropomorphic rabbits or something a little creepier. So to celebrate the release of the cinematic take on the classic children’s story character Peter Rabbit I took a look at some of the most iconic of his fellow rabbits and bunnies in movies. These are my picks for the Top 10 Iconic Movie Rabbits…yup I’m doing this.

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