TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

If I'm not in college, I'm home, and if I'm home, I try to at least watch a movie a day. I definitely have some OCD tendencies, and one of them is keeping track of how many movies I've seen in my life. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea was #1332. I'm giving you all these facts to point to the reality that I watch many a movie a year, and they don't always stick with me the next day. Not that I forget about them, but sometimes they're just okay , and then it's on to the next one. Last year, I had images of George Miller's Fury Road burnt into my brain, and this year, I'm very pleased to say two films have been playing in my mind's theater over and over; Barry Jenkins's Moonlight , and now, number thirteen-hundred thirty-two, what will be a tough competitor for my favorite film of 2016, Manchester by the Sea . Casey Affleck stars, and I can't emphasize stars enough, as Massachusetts handyman Lee, going through the motions ...

It's been a while since we've seen old James Franco in something big.  I tried to think back....and flashbacks of the Oscars, ones that I've tried to suppress for going on three years now.  After a bit of crying and some warm milk I felt better and thought of what movies he'd been in; "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."  He and the girl from "Slumdog Millionaire" were perfectly fine in that...but they were both completely upstaged by the main ape that ignited the revolution: Andy Serkis as Caesar.  I'm sad to report, ladies and gentleman, that James Franco has once again been upstaged by a motion-capture monkey, this time voiced by Zach Braff. Franco better realize this trend before he signs up to do a "King Kong" remake, and perhaps take some lessons on how to be less of a stiff when the cameras roll.  We all can recall the charismatic showman who appeared behind the curtain at the end of the 1939's "The Wizard of Oz."  H...

When I was vacationing in Myrtle Beach for winter vacation, I saw a slew of critically acclaimed movies: "Young Adult" ( http://tito-ito.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-young-adult-r.html ), "War Horse," "The Muppets" and this film, "My Week with Marilyn."  It follows just what it promises: a third assistant director on "The Prince and I"'s week with the legendary Marilyn Monroe. People like Lindsay Lohan can say they're channeling Monroe when they pose naked with blonde hair all they want, Michelle Williams sincerely looks like it's the late actress on the screen again.  Totally by coincidence, I had watched with my family "Don't Bother to Knock," a thriller starring Monroe as a psycho babysitter.  After viewing the film, and watching "Some Like It Hot" a few months later, there is absolutely no denying Monroe's keen acting ability, or immense beauty.  Williams conveys all of that into her version ...

Host Ricky Gervais proved tamer and even funnier this time around with the 69th Golden Globes held last night!  The night had a few surprises, but at the end here's what I really got: George Clooney, Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer are definitely winning Oscars this year after victories at both the Globes and the Critic's Choice Awards.  Also "The Artist," which I just saw, will most likely be taking home Best Picture.  Really the only wild card is Best Actress.  Meryl Streep won best actress in a drama last night for her outstanding role in "The Iron Lady" and Viola Davis won Best Actress for "The Help" on Critic's Choice Awards night.  Two very deserving ladies, I can't wait to see how it'll end up. THE COMPLETE LIST: DRAMA FILM: The Descendants (though I'd like to think this might win, "The Artist" pretty much has Best Picture on lock) ACTRESS: Meryl Streep- The Iron Lady ACTOR: George Clooney- T...

It's that time of year again, when critics announce their ten favorite films of the year!  I'm unfortunately at a disadvantage, for the year of 2011 I only saw about 20 movies in the theaters, where pro-critics see about 80-90 movies.  2011 was a GREAT year for cinema, truly marking some of the best movies I've seen a while.  You got movies about Marilyn Monroe, a man trying to find his coma-stricken wife's lover and a whole lot of movies about Paris.  Go figure.  Here are my top five films of the year, some others that didn't quite make the cut, and some movies I wished I just hadn't seen.  I plan on seeing other 2011 films before Oscar season, like "The Artist," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and "The Iron Lady," but since I'll be seeing them in 2012 they won't necessarily count for this list. 5.   MONEYBALL Just like with last year's "The Social Network" Aaron Sorkin writes another incredible scr...