TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

I'm doing 'em all this year! Bold indicates my personal preference, red is what I think will win. NOTE: I will only include my preference if I've seen at least 3 out of the 5 nominees. BEST PICTURE: It gets under my craw that some are complaining that nothing happens in Chloé Zhao's soon-to-be-Oscar-winning Nomadland . The film depicts nothing less than the journey of a spirit, the chronicling of grief and the experiencing of a shift of the American mindset. But sure, let's focus on Frances McDormand defecating in a bucket. Won't the haters feel like a poop-bucket when Nomadland makes a clean sweep of the BAFTA's, the Globes, the Critic's Choice, and now the Academy Awards.  The Father Judas and the Black Messiah Mank Minari Nomadland   Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 BEST DIRECTOR: Everyone is worthy. Fincher should've won a decade ago for Social Network (maybe we could've avoided that year's winner Tom Ho...

BEST ACTOR: Predicting this victory truly feels like the only 100% certain bet we've had so far this season. It would be a gargantuan upset if anyone other than the late Boseman took home the trophy. I think this win will age as well as Peter Finch's and Heath Ledger's Oscars, which is to say...tremendously. If you knew nothing about what Mr. Boseman was enduring from 2016 to 2020, you would still be floored away by his agonized, fame-hungry Levee we get to see onscreen. I think Minari hype has been peaking at just the right time, so expect to see Yeun get that coveted fifth slot, though I would be one happy boy if Delroy Lindo was able to sneak in as the Trump-trumpeting treasure hunter Paul in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods . Reactions to Mank have ranged from new classic to drag, but I was delighted by Oldman's sassy lush.  Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Anthony Hopkins, The Father Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Gary Oldman, Mank Steven Yeun, Minari BEST ACTR...

Why beat around the bush! Let's dive right in... BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: ( Call Me by Your Name , The Disaster Artist , Logan , Molly's Game , Mudbound ) I think Disaster Artist's nod here is more because it's a great concept, but the movie is pretty predictable as far as buddy pictures go. It's Franco who should've been up for playing Wiseau, but if the accusations against him are true, I'll feel a lot better letting this snub slide. All the nerds rejoiced when we heard Logan announced, but Call Me by Your Name is the clear winner here. It's slyly subtle dialogue hooks you in, and devastated you/makes you cheer in equal parts. Molly's Game is unbridled Sorkin goodness, and pretty underrated if you ask me, but CMBYN will walk away with the trophy. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: ( The Big Sick , Get Out , Lady Bird , The Shape of Water , Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ) These movies are being recognized for being outstanding, fresh exam...

The Oscar nominations are coming right around the corner! After a surprising Golden Globes, where The Revenant had a near sweep of three of the night's biggest awards, really anything could happen! Interestingly enough, Revenant isn't even up for a Best Cast nomination at the SAGs. No movie since the SAG's inception in 1995 ( Braveheart ) has won without a  Best Cast ensemble. Then again, eccentric choices like The Birdcage and The Full Monty have won, so it's anyone's guess. My choices for Best Picture are equally eccentric: you have fantastical blockbusters like Fury Road and Martian  here, along with solid indies ( Carol and Brooklyn ) and movies with big stars and small-ish budgets ( Spotlight and The Big Short ). I lost my bananas last year when The Lego Movie  only got a sole nomination for "Everything is Awesome!!!" I won't be that surprised if Inside Out doesn't make it with the big dogs, but I will lose what is left of my faith in the Osca...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: (Edward Norton, Ethan Hawke, J.K. Simmons, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Duvall) Should Win: J.K. Simmons or Edward Norton. Simmons, similar to his band teacher Fletcher, has been dominating this category since day one. It's his to lose, but I wouldn't be sad if Edward Norton pulled a huge upset. His Mike was an endlessly interesting actor with a massive ego. Will Win: J.K. Simmons. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: (Patricia Arquette, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Keira Knightley, Emma Stone), Should/Will Win: Patricia Arquette. Laura Dern was delightful in Wild , but Arquette had the strongest role out of all these ladies as a very human mother. When you can make the audiences sympathize with you after you refuse to see your kid off to college, you deserve an Academy Award. BEST ANIMATED MOVIE: ( Big Hero 6 , How to Train Your Dragon 2 ,   The Lego Movie ,  The Boxtrolls , Song of the Sea , The Tale of the Princess Kaguya ) Should Win: I've only seen How t...

This year's Academy Award nominations, which took place yesterday at- NO LEG MOVIE NO LEGO MOVIE NO LEGO MOVIE NO LEGO MOVIE NO LEGO MOVIE NO LEGO MOVIE. I had to get it out, I have to vent, because shouting at my television as it went from How to Train Your Dragon 2 to Song of the Sea . And I'm sure the latter film is very respectable, but at least until Oscar time people will be hating it, because it STOLE the coveted fifth spot from, I think it's safe to say, everyone's favorite animated movie of 2014. Enraged fans swept to Twitter, prompting the directors to make characteristically clever tweets, including co-director Phillip Lord showing a Lego Oscar. I'd rather win that than an actual one, though a regular Academy Award wouldn't hurt that much if I stepped on it. There were other snubs and surprises that occurred the other morning. They are not as important as The Lego Movie 's absence, but I will proceed regardless. A full list can be found HERE. ...

Well, take my predictions with a grain of salt, because I will be the first to admit that I had a hard time with Sunday's Golden Globes. Though it was called a night full of upsets, it was still depressing to read my scorecard of 10 out of 25 right, and I got four wrong alone in the movie category! Grand Budapest Hotel beating Birdman ?!? How to Train Your Dragon 2 defeating The Lego Movie ?!? It was a weird, weird night, but all that matters to me is that Boyhood came out on top, winning three awards for Patricia Arquette, director Richard Linklater and best picture!!! This leads me to believe exactly what I thought back in July... Boyhood will sweep the Oscars! Though I'm predicting Birdman will lead in nominations due to its innovative nature, probably at least 10. Theory and Imitation will do well technically since they're period pieces, then expect to see Boyhood with a respectable six or seven. Below I have my full listing of the nine major nominees, and little note...

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...

With the Oscars being tomorrow, there's no better time than to choose and decide which films will take home the gold, and which were unjustly snubbed! I choose the films that SHOULD win a miniature statue, and the ones that WILL, for better or worst, take the trophy. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: (Blue Jasmine, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, American Hustle)   Should Win: Nebraska. Her has the flashiest concept, and very well written, quirky dialogue coming out of a mousy Amy Adams and a mustachioed Joaquin Phoenix. But everything in Payne's Nebraska felt real to me, and his filmography deserves a third writing Oscar for Bob Nelson's genuinely rural sounding work. Will Win: Her. Spike Jonze is up for three awards; producing this film, writing "The Moon Song" and penning this script. This'll be the one he gets the Academy Award for. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: (12 Years a Slave, Philomena, The Wolf of Wall Street, Before Midnight, Captain Phillips) Should/W...

"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...

AAAAAHHHHH!  Call it sad if you like, but I was hyped all day for the Oscar nominations, and in between classes I printed out the list.  In no way was I disappointed....the nominees for this year (you can find the full list here ) have some of the best variety I've seen from the Oscars, though of course there were a few I just couldn't let go of.  Without any further ado, here are my personal surprises and snubs of the 7 major Oscar categories: PICTURE: Surprises:  HOLY MOLY AMOUR!  Where did this little film from Austria come from?  Not only did oldest nominee ever Emmanuelle Riva get a nod, but the film garnered 4 more nominations including Best Picture! This was on my radar for foreign film, but in no way could I have ever expected this!  Also, "Beasts of the Southern Wild!"  This tiny indie with an even tinier star we'll get to later on got 4 nods, all in big categories.  I couldn't be happier for both of these Davids...

Before I go into detail about the powerhouse musical that is "Les Miserables" (referred to as "Les Mis" in this review, though throughout awards season I've heard it referred to as at least 5 other titles.), let me exclaim my bias for musicals, as I have worked on several of my high school's musicals along the way.  At first guys never want to profess their interest for the movie musical, but after a "Grease" or "Sound of Music," their interests are usually turned for the best.  The truth is, despite the macho stereotype, there are decent, non-Disney musicals out there on the market for an audience, and "Les Mis" happens to be one of them. Well, I suppose you could go into a "Grease" or a "Seussical" with no prior musical background and still be pleasantly surprised.  "Les Mis" is strictly for musical lovers, as it's not so much a musical as it is an opera (think "Jesus Christ Superstar,...

 "Moneyball" is notable for a few reasons. It got robbed at the Oscars, 6 nominations with 0 wins. It was one of the last appearances of "Fat Jonah Hill." Fat Jonah Hill, known for his crude frat boy persona he developed in movies like "Superbad" and "Knocked Up," got an Oscar nomination.  Therefore he's now known as "Skinny Oscar-nominee Jonah Hill." One of Fat Jonah Hill's last appearances. Though none of those reasons adds up to why "Moneyball" was one of my favorite films of the year.  Once again I'll be perfectly honest, I don't really know why F.J.H. got the Oscar nomination, and a Golden Globe nomination to boot.  He was Brad Pitt's portly sidekick.  He was very smart, and came up with the whole concept for the moneyball formula, but he was still his portly sidekick. Brad Pitt on the other hand...he's incredible in this movie.  To see scribe Aaron Sorkin's (The Social Network) ...

It's been brought to my attention that recent Best Picture winners haven't been great.  Common winners that are cited that suck are: "The Greatest Show on Earth," (God was that long) "Chicago" (a satisfactory musical at the most) and "Around the World in 80 Days," which I've yet to see.  I omit one Best Picture winner that EVERYONE calls the worst because I sincerely enjoyed it, and that is 2005's "Crash."  People take a dump on "Crash" a lot, but I really liked it when I saw it on TV several months ago.  Was it the best movie ever?  No.  Was it the best movie of 2005?  I wouldn't even go that far.  I'd even go as far as to say there probably was homophobia among Oscar voters, and that's why "Crash" won over the favorited "Brokeback Mountain," because their Rotten Tomatoes scores are: Crash-76 Brokeback Mountain-87. That's a significant 11 points.  I've yet to see "Brokebac...

A wide variety of films are up for Best Picture this year, including one that got some pretty bad reviews, cough cough, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."  I take a look at what will win and (IMO) what should win: BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: (The Ides of March, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hugo, The Descendants, Moneyball) WILL WIN: While "TTSS" got this award at the BAFTAs, last year's winner Aaron Sorkin has got it again this year for "Moneyball." SHOULD WIN: Moneyball.  It deserves it because it made an odd topic like baseball statistics seem interesting, and the character development is top-notch. BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: (The Artist, Midnight in Paris, Margin Call, A Separation, Bridesmaids) WILL WIN: Midnight in Paris. SHOULD WIN:  Midnight in Paris.  It really doesn't get any more original from the mind of Woody Allen, who most likely won't even be there to accept it. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: (Christopher Plummer, Nick Nolte, ...