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 ...

"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...

I'm happy to report 2013 was another fantastic year for cinema, making the top five list and the honorable mentions a difficult but wonderful chore to select from. For me, it was not a strong year for superhero movies, (except "Man of Steel," which was underrated in my opinion) though with the likes of "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Avengers" last year, it is pretty hard to follow up.  On this list you'll find superheroes of a different sort, men and women undergoing hardships, tight situations and impossible circumstances, some rising, some falling. It was a great year for movies with characters against unthinkable adversity. Keep in mind I'm not a professional critic, and only count movies I've seen from 1/1/13-12/31/13. I'm still heavily anticipating seeing critical favorites like "Her," "August: Osage County," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Nebraska" and "Inside Llewyn Davis." Now tha...

Looking back on my 2012 predictions....I really didn't do too shabby! I'm taking my predictions now, the snowed-in Tuesday before the nominations announcement this Thursday, where last year I got all but three right more than a month before the announcements. Hurray for being increasingly less reliable and accurate! This really is one of the hardest awards shows to call....for comedy. There are literally 25 movies that could be eligible to be put into the five slots and I wouldn't be surprised at all. This Oscar race is riDICULOUS. So don't expect too many accurate picks in comedy...or even the overstuffed drama category. My money's actually only with animated film... Bale needs a Globe for this picture alone in "Hustle" BEST DRAMA: 12 Years a Slave (all right, this and the next movie will indeed be easy to predict. But the other three are literally interchangeable as the hours pass)  Gravity Captain Phillips (you can always bank on a Hanks movie...

I remember so clearly seeing the brief, hyperventilating trailer in the summer movie season of "Gravity," thinking very polarizing thoughts. Then I saw the full-length trailer, I warmed up a little to the idea of Bullock and Clooney in space. By the time this film came out, the buzz around it was deafening, not only from the critics singing it the best technical achievement since "Avatar," saying they should go ahead and just give it the Oscar come February, but from my peers, where the FAQ was "Have you seen 'Gravity' yet?" Let's start this out by saying "Gravity" is worth the hype, in some ways more than others. Will it get nominated for Best Picture? 100%. Will it win? Probably, though "12 Years a Slave" is eyeing the prize as well. "Gravity" is one of the more technically perfect movies I've seen in a very long time. The only movie to come out in recent years to match the accomplishments with 3D would hav...