TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

I've been out of commission for a while now! I saw Frozen and The Winter Soldier , and liked both movies very much so, but along with a busy schedule to keep up with I didn't see the need to review them because I didn't feel like I could say much about those mega hits that people didn't already know/had read in previous reviews. So I figure since over Spring Break I saw a little movie not too many people are talking about yet, I'd review that: Jason Bateman's directorial debut Bad Words . From the trailer alone I knew this was not another Danny DoGood role for Mr. Bateman: no traces of Michael Bluth to be found here. I bought the concept, I bought the ticket and....uggggh. Bateman plays Guy Trilby, a very generic name for this somewhat generic, incredibly mean-spirited movie that I'm surprised appealed to Bateman to begin with. I get shedding your good guy persona, maybe take a more dramatic role...but to still be in a comedy but just as the world's bi...

It's been a busy past few weeks, but I've had time to check out one of my biggest misses from 2013's Oscar season, starring an Oscar in it, and that's the Coen brother's Inside Llewyn Davis . There was critical vocalization against this being snubbed in this month's ceremonies, only getting nods for its cinematography and sound mixing, losing both to that little outer space movie. Well, going inside Inside Llewyn Davis , I can see both sides of this heavily polarized film. First off, it's for sure a Coen brother's movie. It's quirky, has their signature wit, inspired music and John Goodman. All of those things are its strengths. The cinematography is initially infuriating: why have it so dimly lit you sometimes literally can't see what's going on at nighttime on the screen? But then it hit me: it was an intentional choice. The life of Mr. Davis can certainly not be interpreted as a positive one, to himself or to the nearly parasitic relatio...

With the snow that's currently pummeling Virginia, it's a relief to say I was able to sleep in and miss a day of school, giving me an additional day to reflect on last night's Oscars! First and foremost: my predictions were correct! Happy to say that all my major predictions were correct, but on the technical side, I underestimated the power of Gravity ! I'm not sure if I've written this anecdote before on this blog, but when I saw the very first sneak preview trailer of it in theaters, I rolled my eyes at Bullock's constant panting and was sure it'd be ridiculous. Pass the salt because I'm eating my words...$700 million and seven Oscars later,  Gravity has turned into a true phenomenon, and had 12 Years a Slave  been released this year it surely would've taken home it's eighth prize for Picture. Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey, both sporting an unorthodox white, took the trophies for Dallas Buyers Club , deserved entirely, which also picked...

With the Oscars being tomorrow, there's no better time than to choose and decide which films will take home the gold, and which were unjustly snubbed! I choose the films that SHOULD win a miniature statue, and the ones that WILL, for better or worst, take the trophy. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: (Blue Jasmine, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, American Hustle)   Should Win: Nebraska. Her has the flashiest concept, and very well written, quirky dialogue coming out of a mousy Amy Adams and a mustachioed Joaquin Phoenix. But everything in Payne's Nebraska felt real to me, and his filmography deserves a third writing Oscar for Bob Nelson's genuinely rural sounding work. Will Win: Her. Spike Jonze is up for three awards; producing this film, writing "The Moon Song" and penning this script. This'll be the one he gets the Academy Award for. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: (12 Years a Slave, Philomena, The Wolf of Wall Street, Before Midnight, Captain Phillips) Should/W...

The powers that be at the Academy have spoken, and these are the nine films they've chosen as the finest of the year. I have my beef with a couple picks, but I can't say there's a truly weak one in the bunch, unlike past years (here's looking at you Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  and War Horse ). To celebrate, I chose the best quotes from each of the films, a brief 6 word review on them, and their best scenes, no spoilers I assure you. Enjoy! 12 YEARS A SLAVE BEST QUOTE: Northup : I survive. I will not fall into despair! I will offer up my talents...I will keep myself hardy until freedom is opportune. SUMMARY: Heart wrenching because it actually happened. BEST SCENE: After a certain character attempts to hang Northup unsuccessfully, Solomon simply stands there, with no help whatsoever from anyone, dangling from a noose, trying to make his feet connect with the muddy ground. It's horrifying. AMERICAN HUSTLE BEST QUOTE: Irving : She was the Picasso of ...

Before I go any further, the BAFTAs were today, and I'd like to congratulate 12 Years a Slave on its wins for Best Actor and Best Film, surprise winner Barkhad Abdi winning for Best Supporting Actor for Captain Phillips , and Gravity on its impressive six wins, including Best Director! I'm enjoying the McConaissance as much as anyone, but this is a step in the right direction for Chiwetel Ejiofor to take home Oscar gold in two weeks! Now that I've got my awards season geeking out of the way, I must tell you something I'm sure you're already aware of: The Lego Movie  is astonishing. It mixes breathtaking visuals of what appear to be stop-motion Legos shifting, transforming and swiftly moving before your eyes, which made me wonder how they did it all. That is its first accomplishment: the art of mystery. Like Gravity , you felt high above in the clouds in outer space, peering down at Earth below like an enormous blue-green marble. Here you're sucked in to a wor...

The Super Bowl has come and gone. Besides being devoid of football enjoyment, especially so for a guy who's not big into football, the game also had a huge cloud hanging over it even before the slaughter began. Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the 21st century's finest character actors/actor in general overdosed on heroin at the age of 46. Media coverage of Hoffman's death has been intrusive to say the least, and I wanted it to die down a bit so I could get most of the news and think of something fitting to say in response to his death. In one of his lighter roles as Brandt It's ironic to say that I'm fortunate that I haven't seen Hoffman's finest work, which, reading from the tribute articles that have come out in droves this past week, include primarily the following five films: Capote, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Almost Famous, Doubt and Boogie Nights . They're at least the constantly reoccurring ones. I'm glad not to have seen the...