Tag: Jim Sheridan

Picking Winners at the 85th Annual Academy Awards

Jared Mobarak

Supporting Actress:Amy Adams: The MasterSally Field: LincolnAnne Hathaway: Les MisérablesHelen Hunt: The SessionsJacki Weaver: Silver Linings Playbook William Altreuter: It often seems to me that the Best Supporting categories are where the most interesting things are to be found in the Academy Award nominations, and this year is proving me right. What we often get—especially with Best Actress in a Supporting Role—are performances that really carry the movie, even though we tend not to notice. We also get actresses showing us what they can do against type, and that display of craft and professionalism is frequently rewarded. The…

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Posterized Propaganda September 2011: Misfires countered by fearlessness

Jared Mobarak

“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact that impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill seats. Oftentimes they fail miserably. September is the start of the film festival season. Unsurprisingly, while Toronto, Venice, and New York debut the flicks we’ve been waiting all year to see, the box office…

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REVIEW: Brødre [Brothers] [2004]

Jared Mobarak

“He had a little boy” I really don’t mind Hollywood remaking films, honestly. If a filmmaker really enjoyed something made overseas, I can’t blame him for wanting to expose America to what resonated so well personally to him. However, shouldn’t he then go the route of Tarantino or Scorsese and bring the actual movie over, helping audiences experience the original? Or have we become so self-righteous and elitist that subtitles cannot be bothered with? Are we really that lazy? To be fair, I haven’t seen the new remake Brothers, so…

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REVIEW: August Rush [2007]

Jared Mobarak

“The music is all around us; all you have to do is listen” I don’t know if August Rush shows the makings of success like her father Jim, but Kirsten Sheridan has crafted something beautiful. Credit the writers for sure, however, Sheridan has put it all together into a very nice package. This is a fairytale above anything else and one should overlook any eccentricities or impossibilities of real life, this is not meant to show truth. Instead we are shown a romantic tale of conquering all odds in order…

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Top 25 Films of 2003

Jared Mobarak

(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching 85 releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #25: American Splendor directed byShari Springer Berman& Robert Pulcini #24: The Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson. #23: Pieces of April directed by Peter Hedges.. #22: Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World directed by Peter Weir #21: Code 46 directed byMichael Winterbottom #20: Big Fish directed by Tim Burton. #19: Dirty Pretty Things directed…

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