TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

What a lovely day to be a film buff. In fact, what a lovely year to be a sci-fi nerd of any kind. When there's big fare like George Miller's return to the "Mad Max" franchise in three decades with Fury Road , blockbusters like Age of Ultron and indie side dishes like Ex Machina , a nerd's palate is sure to be quenched. Of course, these are just appetizers until the mother of all science fiction franchises releases its long awaited film near Christmas, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip . Until that sure to be Oscar winner is released, Fury Road will be a fine placeholder, and a perfect shot of adrenaline for movie buffs familiar with Max or not. I binge-watched the two sequels leading up to this movie, The Road Warrior and  Beyond Thunderdome . Both were enormous servings of adrenaline and creativity, especially the latter, which might've been my favorite until I walked into the theater, anxiously awaiting the start of this film, as EIGHT TRAILERS pass...

I know I'm late reviewing this but I have a pretty big awards weekend coming up.  Over this the three day weekend I'm going to be watching "The Iron Lady" and the Critic's Choice Award for Best Picture-winning film   "The Artist."  I'm slowly accepting even though I'd like "The Descendants" to take home the big prize on Oscar night "Artist" will be the victor.  Another awards-season movie you must make time to see this January is Jason Reitman's "Young Adult." Unlike Reitman's previous two films ("Juno" and "Up in the Air") this movie's gotten literally no Best Picture buzz at all.  This is very understandable.  The film is an awkward, uncomfortable and nearly scathing look at a life gone bad after high school.  I've yet to know what that feels like, and I pray it's nothing like the "Young Adult" world.  Charlize Theron, in a sure-to-be Oscar-nominated performance...