TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

What a strange mindset the MPAA must have. I think back to one of my favorite movies of last year, Nebraska , and think; how did that film get an R-rating when it had maybe a handful of HBO words...and how did Unbroken , Angelina Jolie's second directorial effort, get a PG-13, when it has nearly if not more than the amount of torture in last year's Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave ? Perhaps it's because you didn't see any blood gushing out, or any severe aftereffects like when Solomon Northup examined Patsy's slashed back, but please be warned parents to think twice before letting your 13 year old see this movie. I wouldn't be such a stickler about this issue, especially violence, which doesn't usually bother me in a non-horror film, because the trailer was rather deceptive. I don't know about the life of Louis Zamperini (played by Jack O'Connell), just the articles I have read about him and the large press the film has received, mostly because...

Meryl Streep in  Into the Woods Once again it's another round of ridiculously early predictions, this time for the year 2014! Last year I only got two right, The Wolf of Wall Street and Captain Phillips , both ending up on my top favorite movies of the year in 2013! I hope the same will be said about these next ten predictions, which have been getting early buzz. I almost included Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel , which has gotten probably the best reviews of any release this year, non-animated. And, since it's way too far a shot to include The Lego Movie as an Up -like Oscar story surprise, here are the films I think that might snag a nod for this year's Oscars! (Take into account I did choose both The Counselor and The Monuments Men  last year, both were critically reviled!) Interstellar (even though The Dark Knight Rises was shut out completely, Nolan's work is regularly recognized by the Academy, and with Matthew McConaughey in the starring role, ...