Titanic (1997)
Over the course of his career, James Cameron has directed a total of 8 feature films thus far. The most successful of these was his last one, Avatar, which was for a time both the most expensive movie ever…
Tagged: Best Picture Nominees
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
The Oscars are almost here again, which is why I’m looking at Quentin Tarantino’s latest opus, which is nominated for a few Academy Awards this year and has already gotten Golden Globes for his screenplay and Brad Pitt’s performance. For…
All the President's Men vs. The Post
With Donald Trump now officially the third US president to be impeached, here’s a look at two movies that focused on events which came close to making him the fourth. Both of these films involve journalists from the Washington Post…
Battle of the Departed Lover Movies: Always (1989) vs. Ghost (1990)
Here now is a comparison between two romantic ghost stories that came out within a year of each other. Both stories involve the dearly departed still present in a spiritual form to assist their still-earthbound sweetheart in the aftermath of…
Movies that Predicted Trump: Citizen Kane (1941)
As of this writing, we here at the Agony Booth have covered 16 films and TV episodes in our Movies that Predicted Trump series. Sixteen films and episodes that have, in various ways, been spookily prescient about the election of…
Pulp Masterpieces, Part 3: The Maltese Falcon (1941)
There was a pulp magazine published in the ’20s and ’30s called Black Mask. With a name like that, you might be thinking it was a “saucy pulp” delivering racy content, but in reality when it first got started,…
Movies that Predicted Trump: All the King’s Men (1949)
History time, kids! Once upon a time, in a magical land of wealth and opportunity commonly known as the US of A lived a humble country lawyer named Huey P. Long. The nation had just emerged as one of the victors of a bloody World War and was going through an exciting period of technological progress and prosperity, blissfully unaware of the looming Wall Street crash and the ensuing Great Depression.
VIDEO: Is Beauty and the Beast about puberty?
Is one of the movie's biggest plot holes an intentional metaphor for that uncomfortable time for boys and girls?
The Theory of Everything (2014)
“Unlike A Beautiful Mind, at least The Theory of Everything can admit that the husband and wife at the center of its story eventually got a divorce.”
Boyhood (2014)
“While a lot of people will see it due to all the awards and accolades it received in the last year, this is primarily a film made by a cinephile for cinephiles.”
Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
“Birdman may not be everything it’s been hyped to be, and it may not even be remembered as groundbreaking cinema—mostly because it’s not.”
Notes on the Star Wars trilogy, part 1: A New Hope
“Yeah, he might look cute. But while fighting for the people of Grpnlp at the Battle of Plorvox 12, he racked up a body count that would make Rambo shit himself!”
American Sniper is not the real Chris Kyle, and that’s okay
“I kind of hate that people are assuming that the film is trying to sanctify Chris Kyle by portraying him not as he was, but as, well, Bradley Cooper trying to finally win an Oscar. ”
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
“We expect Benjamin to have interesting things happen to him, but no, he’s just a boring man with an odd condition.”
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
“It’s hard to fault a film for not being what you want it to be, but one can’t help but wonder what would happen if Tarantino treated his material with a little more maturity or respect.”
Silver Linings Playbook (2012): Bipolar disorder as cute rom-com quirk
“Take away the bipolar disorder, OCD, and neuroses, and you’ve basically got yourself a typical romantic comedy.”
Inception (2010): The joyless dream of Christopher Nolan
“It tells you what it’s going to show you, then it shows you what it just told you. Understanding this movie doesn’t require intelligence, but rather rote memorization.”
Django Unchained (2012)
“Will people look back on Django Unchained as Tarantino's masterwork? Most likely not, as Pulp Fiction is so culturally ingrained, and Inglourious Basterds is much more daring. However, Django is that rare film that just works on every level.”
District 9 (2009)
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: no one does borderline psychotic military commanders quite like the South Africans.”
The Social Network (2010)
“After watching The Social Network, I’m more inspired to unplug my computer than I am to create the next online sensation, especially if it means meeting one of these characters.”
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