If the recent slew of great movies at the marketplace wasn’t a big enough indication, let yesterday’s Independent Spirit Award nominations be your reminder that the 2012 awards season is officially kicking into hyper speed. With the end of the year nearly a month away, we’ve seen mostly all of the big Oscar power players, from Argo to The Master, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Flight, and more, and only 3 big December releases are left to cap off the year (Les Misérables, Zero Dark Thirty, and Django Unchained). What most people forget, however, is that the small independent films have just the same amount of momentum as the heavyweights, and the Independent Spirit Award nominations are a great way to sift through the year and figure out which small films could end up making big splashes on Oscar night. If the Spirit nominations are to be believed, than…
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After earning impressive reviews across the board (many top critics called it a visual masterpiece) and grossing $30 million over the lucrative 5-day Thanksgiving weekend, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi is shaping up to be one hell of an Oscar contender this awards season. Based off of the 2001 best selling novel by Yann Martel, Life of Pi is a highly ambitious family film (a la Martin Scorsese’s Hugo), one that many followers of the book believed would be unfilmmable given the book’s religious subject matter and the story’s focus on a boy and a tiger stuck on a boat for 227 days. Leave it to Ang Lee, however, to turn Pi into a marvelous feature film, 
Though I’m a fan of “Trailer Reactions” because they can begin to expose the potential strengths and weakness of a particular film, I ultimately respect them because, regardless of how the film turns out, they bring a movie’s title into the public eye, which, as a cinephile, is always a good thing. So, while the latest Zero Dark Thirty trailer may only be a :33 second TV spot, it deserves a reaction nonetheless since it goes without saying that Kathryn Bigelow’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker deserves more public attention as its limited December 19th release date draws closer (As for me, I could not be more excited, especially after putting it at 
When I first saw the trailer for Hitchcock, director Sacha Gervasi’s biopic about the acclaimed master of horror and his controversial attempt to bring Psycho to the big screen, I was in complete awe over what such a film could achieve. Like so many other cinephiles, I am a huge fan of the deranged Norman Bates and the doomed Marion Crane, but I’ve never really known much about the production behind Hollywood’s most infamous horror movie. Touted as a behind the scenes look, I was ready for Hitchcock to not only fill me in on all the juicy secrets behind Psycho’s production but to also pay homage to the famous director and his ingenious directorial skills. I mean, think about it, how amazing would a film be if it paid homage to Hitchcock while simultaneously changing our views about one of his most famous films? That would truly be…
People complain about movies often, and here at Reel Reactions we don’t exclude ourselves from that generalization, for we too get frustrated with Hollywood and their cinematic output and the never ending award buzz and anticipations. If anything, because we see so many movies and write so much about them, we wouldn’t be surprised if we get more annoyed with Hollywood than the average film watcher. But, why stay focused on all of the negatives that seep into yearly cinema when there is so much to still admire and be fond of? A slight step back allows for greater insight and, in the end, there are still a lot of things that we are all thankful for at the movies. Below, our writers Zack Sharf, Mike Murphy, Nick Franco pick 15 things that still allow them to love the world of filmmaking and moviegoing and makes them happily and eagerly…
As a cinephile, the 2012 Fall Movie Season was a surprising and jam-packed couple of months at the theater. While there was the usual mixed bag (Trouble With The Curve, anyone?), for the most part, the movies released this fall were simply outstanding, combining originality with tour-de-force performances that will live on throughout the next couple of months as we dive head first into the awards season. I mean, seriously, between Arbitrage, The Master, Seven Psychopaths, Cloud Atlas, Wreck-It Ralph, Flight, Skyfall, and even Dredd 3D, Fall proved originality is alive and thriving in Hollywood and that with the right material on the screen, audiences will come in the masses. With the leaves changing and snow fast approaching, this third weekend of November marks the start of the 2012 Holiday Movie Season. Despite being only sevens weeks over a month and half period, the Holiday Movie Season…
It may have gotten some of the best reviews of the franchise (it currently has a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and our own Mike Murphy gave it a perfect 10/10) and it may have shattered the box office with an $88 million debut, but I have a confession to make: I did not love Skyfall. Don’t get me wrong, the 23rd entry in the 50-year-old James Bond film franchise is a very good addition, one with startling action sequences (the opening chase across Turkey is truly edge-of-your-seat), gorgeous cinematography courtesy of Roger Deakins (Bond’s arrival at a Macau casino is utterly jaw-dropping), and truly impeccable performances from Judi Dench as M and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, arguably the best Bond villain to date and easily the best film antagonist since The Joker. And yet, I can’t help but feel that Skyfall drags in the one area that matters…
If it isn’t clear by now, let us just remind you: JAMES BOND IS BACK AND HE’S BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER! After earning some of the franchises best reviews (it currently holds a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and our own Mike Murphy gave it a perfect 10/10), Skyfall, the 23rd entry in the 50-year-old James Bond movie franchise, shattered the box office with a staggering $88 million debut, easily the biggest opening weekend ever for a 007-starring film. With over half a billion dollars grossed internationally in just the first two weeks of release, Skyfall is clearly the Fall blockbuster and the 007 movie the world has been waiting for, but is everyone truly a fan? In this exclusive podcast, our Reel Reactions critics – Zack Sharf, Mike Murphy, and James Hausman – sit down for an open discussion about Skyfall; is this really the best James…
This summer, Brad Pitt returns to his action roots in the post-apocalyptic horror thriller, World War Z. Directed by Marc Forster and starring Pitt alongside Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, and Matthew Fox, World War Z deals with one father’s attempt to save himself, his family, and the planet from a zombie attack that is killing the world’s population and destroying the globe. After much delays, budget increases, and month long reshoots, World War Z is finally coming to theaters in the summer and the first trailer, full of zombies, military units, and lots of Brad Pitt, was just released. While Paramount Pictures is probably hoping the craze over The Walking Dead carries over to increase this film’s appeal, the first trailer has me a bit skeptical about this hopeful blockbuster; watch the trailer and get our full reaction below:
Is there anything more thrilling than a neck-and-neck political race? After months of fervent campaigning, President Barack Obama and Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finally face off today in what is shaping up to be one close and nail biting race for the next President of the United States of America (as of last night, a CNN voter poll had the two dead even at 49%). While they can never match the real life nerves of an election, the movies have always done a tremendous job at depicting political races with the taunt suspense and high intellect they deserve. While comedic movie elections like Chris Rock’s Head of State and Jon Heder’s Napoleon Dynamite are great in their own right, a serious film approach to politics can be unlike anything you’ve ever seen – a film that simultaneously tells a white-knuckle race for political power while uncovering the systematic inner…
SHARF @ THE MOVIES 