Legitimate Theater: Cry-Baby (2008)

Cry-Baby

Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Into the Woods" (2014)

Scene from Into the Woods (2014)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Composing Greatness: #3. Rachel Portman - "Chocolat" (2000)

Scene from Chocolat

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

A24 A-to-Z: #13. "Tusk" (2014)

Justin Long in Tusk

In case you didn't know, A24 is one of the great purveyors of modern cinema. Since 2013, the studio has found a way to innovate independent cinema by turning each release into an event. As a result, A24 A-to-Z will be an ongoing series that looks at every release from the studio by analyzing its production history, release, criticisms, and any awards attention that it might've received. Join me on a quest to explore the modern heroes of cinema by exploring every hit and miss that comes with that magnificent logo. They may not all be great, but they more than make A24 what it is and what it will hopefully continue to be for ears to come.

Theory Thursday: Javier Bardem is the Best Villain Actor Working Today

Scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Black Mass" (2015)

Johnny Depp

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Check Out an Excerpt From My New Essay on Tim Burton

This past Tuesday, I released a long gestating project called "From Pee-wee to Peregrine: Why Tim Burton Still Matters." This essay was created as a personal challenge for me to create a full length analysis of one filmmaker. Considering that his most recent film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is currently playing in theaters, I felt that it would be appropriate to look at the eclectic work of Tim Burton, who I maintain is one of the most visually singular directors of the late 20th century. It is currently available on Amazon and Smashwords for $1.99. For those still curious, I have provided an excerpt from the essay called "What is Burton-esque?" Please check it out and feel free to check out the essay's other chapters on his cultural impact and why he continues to resonate. 

Theory Thursday: "The Lone Ranger" (2013) is Underrated

Scene from The Lone Ranger

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Johnny Depp Reportedly Doesn't Want to Win an Oscar

Johnny Depp in The Pirates of the Caribbean

By now, you likely have your own opinions on Johnny Depp as an actor. You either buy into his ability to camouflage into character at the drop of the hat, or find that he often chews scenery a little too heavily. For whatever it's worth, he remains an impeccable presence, and one that was destined for a comeback with Black Mass, in which he plays mob boss Whitey Bulger. Some are even questioning if an Oscar nomination for his role is in there near future (I'm not) since it is a return to form. I hate to break it to you prognosticators, but Depp is the latest actor to come public on not caring about having an Oscar. It's not entirely for the reasons you'd think.

Review: "Black Mass" is a Cliche Gangster Film with Squandered Potential By All

Johnny Depp

There is one notion that I have that has flickered in recent years: Johnny Depp is a great actor. Not in the sense that his every film he makes is a masterpiece, but that he brings something authentic to each role. Where I've seen a handful of beloveds unable to immerse themselves in a role, it is rarely true with Depp. He can be eccentric or menacing when the role calls for it. With director Scott Cooper's Black Mass, I was hoping that audiences would get to pick up on that, especially after a long stretch of clunkers best immortalized with this year's Mortdecai. However, it is only fuel for their fire. While it isn't entirely his fault, a lot of the blame for why Black Mass is an abysmal, cliche-ridden movie falls on his shoulders. He crumbles underneath with one of his least inspired performances to date.

The "Black Mass" Trailer Looks Like Depp is Trying to Impress Us Again

Johnny Depp

Here is a fact that many likely will find odd: Johnny Depp has earned three Oscar nominations - all between 2004 and 2008. For modern audiences, it is probably hard to believe that the actor behind critically panned movies like Mortdecai and Transcendence used to be one of the most interesting and rebellious mainstream actors out there. He even got an acting nomination for The Pirates of the Caribbean as Captain Jack Sparrow. While I don't feel his passion is entirely gone, there is a need for us, as well as him, to reassess his current acting career. With director Scott Cooper's Black Mass, it looks like if nothing else, he is back to giving a role that shows the edgier and more interesting side of Depp. The only question is if it will be enough.

The Story Behind "Birdman's" Original, Better Ending

Michael Keaton

With the Oscars less than 20 days away, everyone is catching up on seeing all of the nominees. Among the more prominent ones in discussion is director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman, which is neck and neck with Boyhood to win Best Picture. For those that have seen it, there's plenty of discussion surrounding the film's ending. However, writer Alexander Dinelaris had a different ending in mind and one that would have played more into the film's meta commentary of an artist in peril. 

New "Into the Woods" Trailer Offers a Better Look at the Curious Spectacle and Whimsical Music

Meryl Streep

As the Oscar season starts heating up and the big films come out, there's a need to not lose focus on the potential upsets. There is bound to be a few films that will enter the race after an unassuming start. My personal money has long been riding on director Rob Marshall's Into the Woods for many reasons. Beyond the fact that it is a very musical year that has already featured Jersey Boys and Get On Up as well as the upcoming Annie, it is opening in prime real estate for Oscar voters: Christmas Day. The last musical to open on this day (Les Miserables) did pretty well for itself with a Best Picture nomination and a few other slots. That is why I believe that it's time to start taking Into the Woods a little bit more seriously. Also, the trailer is actually pretty good.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: Chocolat (2000)

Left to right: Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.