TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

The importance of a film's opening scene can't be stressed enough. In my favorite film, which most people watch around this time in the holidays, It's a Wonderful Life , we see a slew of people in the wee town of Bedford Falls praying for the life of George Bailey. Immediately know something is wrong, that the film will tote a sentimental sentiment, and who is George and why does he need these prayers? A great opening scene should ask all of those questions...and in Nocturnal Animals  you will have a lot of questions, and it's not indicative of the movie you are about to watch. Please don't Google it, and, review spoiler alert, I liked this movie a lot, so I encourage you to go see it. I want to say Ford wanted to be sensationalistic but it doesn't fit with the theme. It must be experienced, with a crowd as full as many people as you can, so you can all collectively stew in the awkwardness. The movie actually revolves around Susan, played by Amy Adams, who rec...

Kicking off the feel-good movie of the year that is Denis Villeneuve's "Prisoners" is a scene where your typical blue-collar family (Hugh Jackman, with a perfect American accent and Maria Bello with their son and young daughter) visits another typical blue collar family (with Viola Davis and Terrence Howard as the parents) for Thanksgiving. After a walk where the two girls pick off icicles on a large white van, they excuse themselves from listening to Terrence Howard's horrendous trumpet playing to pick up a red whistle they left at Jackman's daughter's house. When the parents go back outside, poof, the children have disappeared. This remarkably grim, depressing and involving film is a surefire for the upcoming Oscars, and is one of the year's best thrillers by a landslide. With it's lengthy two and a half hour running time, one would expect there to be a significant amount of character study, and the actors, along with a labyrinthine script from Aar...