TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

It's been a hectic last few weeks, but just yesterday when coming up blank on ideas to post on this blog, I thought I was going to be attending a screening of "Evil Dead" with some friends, but that didn't pan out.  Not to fear, I looked at the calendar and realized that it was April 25th!  This date might not mean anything to you, but to me it's one of three very essential dates: my stab in the dark at what might be nominated for Best Picture come January.  I partake in this every 4/25, every 9/1 and every post-Golden Globes day.  It's stupid, but sometimes the little things are what keep you going in life! BEST PICTURE NOMINEES 2013: (I do it out of 10, even though the range could be 5-10 films nominated, though ever since this bizarre system came into fruition its been 9) The Great Gatsby (actually on the list last year, but it was delayed til summer '13) The Wolf of Wall Street ( a safe Scorsese bet) August: Osage County...

The announcement that "Finding Dory" was going to be released in late 2015 was, to say the least...polarizing.  Fans of "Finding Nemo" (and really who isn't that has a normal, functioning heart capable of love?) probably had two things entering the minds: "Dory's getting her own spin off! That's what I've been waiting for my whole life!" or "Dory's getting her own spin off? Wasn't "Nemo" mostly about Dory and Marlin's relationship anyway?" Personally I'm leaning towards the second reaction.  In my list of the five greatest Pixar characters , Dory came in as a strong runner-up to all-time favorites Woody and Buzz.  Voiced by the unbeatable, hysterical Ellen DeGeneres, audiences left "Nemo" with a bucketful of new, delightful characters like Bruce the devilish shark, Crash the perpetually relaxed turtle, and our amnesiac friend who provided much of the heart to the movie.  Regular viewers o...

It is not exactly great to be a movie critic right now.  Recent releases like "Olympus Has Fallen," "Admission" and "The Host" have all received to middling to brutally negative reviews, the latter falling more into that second category.  I love Morgan Freeman, Tina Fey and aliens equally (I'm just kidding Tina, I love you) but I'm avoiding all of the above films like the plague.  "Olympus" looks brainless, "Admission" looks lifeless and "Host" looks...awful.  Sorry Twihards.  So what's a critic to do when nothing's even passably decent in theaters? See it anyway, because they're professionals, but lo and behold I don't have that burden (yet.)  What I do is go back to the 2012 movie season, and see a film that got a little awards love, but surprisingly strong box office appreciation.  This, ladies and gentleman, is "Quartet." "Quartet," directed by directing newbie Dustin Hoffman, ...