Films That Matter
Obsessive Compulsive
If someone was told that a movie had earned almost 110 million in just over two weeks at the box office, most people would just shrug it off and say that isn’t all that special... but with this film being made for somewhere between 750,000 and 1 million dollars, that makes it a whole different thing. Utterly impressive in this day and age, the psychological horror film Obsession (released back at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025), written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker, is taking the cinema world by storm. Aptly titled, the rather timid, lonely, and lackluster Baron ‘Bear’ Bailey (Michael Johnston) is rather infatuated with coworker and longtime friend Nikki Freeman (Inde Navarrette). Working in the same music store along with co-friends Ian (a boisterous Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah Harper (Megan Lawless) – whose father Carter (Andy Richter – yes Conan O’Brien’s longtime sidekick) runs the store, it has become a sort of frustrating groundhog’s day for the man – who has long fretted over making his feelings known to the girl.
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The Nostalgia is Strong With This One
Star Wars: The Force AwakensJanuary 3, 2016Star Wars: The Force Awakens has taken the world by storm. Before I wrote this review, I wanted to watch the film for a second time in a theatre – this time, in 2D, yet it was sold out more than two weeks after its opening night.
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Wick Lights the Fuse
John WickDecember 21, 2015Every once in a while, an action movie comes out of nowhere and blows people away. John Wick is one of those movies.
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Russell Does the Hustle, American Style
American HustleMarch 23, 2014"Some of this actually happened." Released last week on Blu-Ray and DVD, David O. Russell’s 2013 hit American Hustle (which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards) out Scorsese’d Scorsese, as many critics put it. I will not go that far, but Russell creates a lively crime comedy/drama in the vain of past Scorsese classics such as Goodfellas, Casino and others – and it can compete on most levels.
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Hoffman a True Talent
CapoteFebruary 9, 2014In this second week of looking at some of the best Oscar winning movies and performances of all-time, I must once again begin an article with a melancholic note as another Hollywood great, Philip Seymour Hoffman, passed away last week at the age of forty-six. The talented character actor was able to bring forth complex, varied and nuanced performances throughout his career, with his Oscar winning role of Truman Capote, in the 2005 movie Capote, being a perfect depiction of his amazing talents.
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Silence is Golden
The ArtistMarch 4, 2013Last years big Oscar winner The Artist, which won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score, and Costume Design, is a film that harkens back to the golden age of cinema. I have heard that a lot of people feel indifferent about watching this film, as a silent black and white motion picture seems boring and dated, yet The Artist is a beautifully written story that is quite the opposite.