TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

If you can hark back to the ancient days of Oscar season 2011, you'll remember that like this year, there were nine nominees, with one 9/11-themed movie as well: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."   "ELIC" was the odd man out of last year's nominees, with critics not so polarized as they were flat out displeased with it.  That movie dealt with post 9/11 trauma in a completely different way, but Thomas Horn's whiny protagonist and Jessica Chastain's B.A. spy do have one thing in common: they are completely and utterly obsessed with their subject; his finding his father's last message and her....bin Laden. Is there a 17 year old version of her? The movie opens, surprisingly not with the torture sequences you've been hearing so much about, but with 9/11 emergency calls made on that day.  It's a lividly intense few minutes, even if the screen is completely back, and you realize listening to that audio is all the evidence one needs...

You'd be surprised since I've only been around for 16 years and some change, but I've seen a lot of national tragedy.  I can vividly recall being pulled out of my kindergarten class on that Tuesday in September 2001, and hearing that both towers had collapsed when I arrived at a family member's house.  I can remember exactly where I was when word broke of the Connecticut massacre and the Aurora massacre.  My Virginia brethren probably know exactly where they were as well when that earthquake hit us back in late August...I was completely engrossed in my new Kanye West album when I thought the ground was opening up and I ran outside and into my neighbor's house.  The same applies to the Indian Ocean earthquake back in December, the day after Christmas (we Americans don't know this, but in other countries it's called Boxing Day).  I wasn't informed immediately, but the morning on the day I went back to school, I remember being in a Min...

AAAAAHHHHH!  Call it sad if you like, but I was hyped all day for the Oscar nominations, and in between classes I printed out the list.  In no way was I disappointed....the nominees for this year (you can find the full list here ) have some of the best variety I've seen from the Oscars, though of course there were a few I just couldn't let go of.  Without any further ado, here are my personal surprises and snubs of the 7 major Oscar categories: PICTURE: Surprises:  HOLY MOLY AMOUR!  Where did this little film from Austria come from?  Not only did oldest nominee ever Emmanuelle Riva get a nod, but the film garnered 4 more nominations including Best Picture! This was on my radar for foreign film, but in no way could I have ever expected this!  Also, "Beasts of the Southern Wild!"  This tiny indie with an even tinier star we'll get to later on got 4 nods, all in big categories.  I couldn't be happier for both of these Davids...

Here is the blessing and the curse of awards season: you see these extremely well received films you hear so much about, that are going to go down in film history possibly....and some of them disappoint you.  I had the problem with "War Horse" in 2011, with "True Grit" in 2010 (it was just like the original!) and "A Serious Man" in 2009.  All of those were up for Best Picture...and you know...they were OK.  You can't help it!  Going into these Oscar hopefuls, your expectations are insurmountably high, and when they don't deliver, boy, is it a letdown.  David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" doesn't have that problem, however. The film opens pleasantly enough in a mental hospital, where Pat (Bradley Cooper) is just being released from.  His friend Danny, (Chris Tucker, who retrospectively doesn't add much to the film besides diversity, but he's still funny!) hops a ride with him and his mom, Oscar nominee Jac...

It's 2013!  Hooray!  It's that time again for me to gather the films I've seen this year, and somehow sort them into a dignified list of the most quality films I've seen in 2012.  As noted already, in the history of cinema, 2012 has been one of its greatest years, financially or otherwise.  Bloated sequels and bland remakes still crowded the cinemas, but the majority of films managed to blow me away.  Keep in mind I'm not a professional critic, and only count movies released this year I've seen from 1/1/12-12/31/12.  On my wish list are "Zero Dark Thirty," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Impossible," but I welcome criticism.  Let's begin, and don't forget to see the ones that juuuuuuust missed the mark, and the ones that were, well.... un remarkable. 5. BERNIE I didn't review this or the following film on my list because I saw them way too late, but I caught it on DVD over winter break.  Jack's nomination fo...