TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

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...

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 ...

It's been established the Oscars love depressing topics. Last year's front runners involved topics like 9/11, slavery, a boy losing his entire family on a shipwreck, and bipolarity. Luckily this year's Oscars have changed that drag of a vibe, with topics like...slavery, AIDS, child abandonment and possible dementia. I'm gonna need a Prozac to get through next year's Academy Awards. Dallas Buyers Club  falls into that depressing subject category, but its risky subject completely pays off, especially considering it's the true story of Texas electrician Ron Woodroof's fight to live after being diagnosed with AIDS. It may not have the f-words of Wolf of Wall Street  (this film has about 104, compared to Wolf 's estimated 414, according to kids-in-mind.com) or the tenderness of Her , but this is absolutely one of the year's best films, and deserves its ranking among the other fine eight pictures. While watching the SAGs, Globes and Critics Choice Aw...

I've never seen so many people in my life in a movie theater lobby. Apparently the must-see movie of the year (and take in the year is less than 20 days old as of this publishing) is Ride Along , a buddy cop movie with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. As original as a funny guy getting teamed up with a serious cop going through a series of wacky antics sounds, I chose instead to catch up on my Oscar movies. I'm happy to report that "Nebraska" and "Her" are small, pleasant films for anyone looking to avoid the January movie dumping grounds, and are competing against each other for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. NEBRASKA: There isn't a single moment in Alexander Payne's latest family drama Nebraska that doesn't ring true. Growing up in a small, semi-rural town myself, the relatives of Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) are utterly authentic. You're probably familiar with the premise: Woody gets a notification claiming he needs to go to Lincoln, N...

"Bad Grandpa" and "Lone Ranger" Oscar nominees? Tom Hanks shutout of everything?!? There are nine nominees...AGAIN?!? This morning's Oscar nominations didn't exactly provide an abundance of surprises, mostly a lot of exclusions from already established award show favorites! Without further ado, here is a full list of the Oscar nominations , and here are buzzed about movies that got COMPLETELY shut out by the Academy: SHUTOUT: Rush, Fruitvale Station, Mud, Blue is the Warmest Color, Enough Said, The Butler PICTURE: SNUBS : Where to begin? And why don't they ever use the full 10 slots?! "Fruitvale," "Prisoners," "Mud," "Blue Jasmine," "Saving Mr. Banks," "Inside Llewyn Davis" to name a few. But I was very pleased with all but "Hustle's" astonishing 10 nominations, matching "Gravity" for the most nods. What are critics seeing that I'm not? SURPRISES : I love...