by haskellch
Having officially finished the Oscars Challenge for the 91st Academy Awards and having seen 130 films released in the year of 2018, there’s no better time then to finally release a list of my favorite films of the year. These are the films that captivated me more than any others. The ones that captured my imagination, made me feel something, or entertained me to … Read More Spotlight: 20 Best Films of 2018
by haskellch
Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) Broadcast News (1987) Brokeback Mountain (2005) Cinderella (1950) Days Of Wine And Roses (1962) Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition To Crow Agency Eve’s Bayou (1997) The Girl Without A Soul (1917) Hair Piece: A Film For Nappy-Headed People (1984) Hearts And Minds (1974) Hud (1963) The Informer (1935) Jurassic Park (1993) The Lady From Shanghai (1947) Leave Her To Heaven (1945) … Read More Spotlight: 2018 National Film Registry Entries
by haskellch
ACTING Best Actress, Comedy Pamela Adlon – “Better Things” (FX) Rachel Brosnahan – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video) Allison Janney – “Mom” (CBS) Issa Rae – “Insecure” (HBO) Tracee Ellis Ross – “black-ish” (ABC) Lily Tomlin – “Grace and Frankie” (Netflix) Best Actor, Comedy Anthony Anderson – “black-ish” (ABC) Ted Danson – “The Good Place” (NBC) Larry David – “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO) … Read More Spotlight: 70th Annual Emmy Awards Nominations
by haskellch
BBC Culture released a Top 100 list of the books that authors believe to be the most time-tested, world shaping stories. Read more at: BBC Culture. 1. The Odyssey (Homer, 8th Century BC) 2. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852) 3. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818) 4. Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell, 1949) 5. Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe, 1958) 6. One Thousand and One … Read More Spotlight: BBC Culture’s Top 100 World-Shaping Stories
by haskellch
Wondering if your favorite shows got renewed or were cancelled? Below is a compiled list of the all the series and the decisions that have been made about them. The list will be updated as more information becomes available. The biggest news this year was FOX letting go of some of their most talked about comedies including “Last Man On Earth” starring Will Forte … Read More Television Guide 2018: An Updating List of Renewals and Cancellations
by haskellch
$100,000 Pyramid (ABC) – Renewed 12 Monkeys (SyFy) – Canceled (after fourth season) 13 Reasons Why (Netflix) – Renewed 48 Hours (CBS) – Renewed 60 Days In (A&E) – Renewed 60 Minutes (CBS) – Renewed 9-1-1 (Fox) – Renewed A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix) – Canceled (after third and final season) Adventure Time (Cartoon Network) – Canceled (after final season) America’s Funniest Home … Read More Television Guide 2018: Renewed and Canceled
by haskellch
Christmas has come early for the comic book and superhero movie fans around the world, as Walt Disney has officially closed a $52 million merger with 20th Century Fox. With this deal comes all of Fox’s film properties including its Marvel brands like the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Deadpool. Other properties Disney will now envelop include the Die Hard franchise, both the Alien and … Read More Spotlight: Walt Disney & 20th Century Fox Merger
by haskellch
The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress have announced the twenty-five works selected this year to be preserved by the Washington institution. Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, the Librarian of Congress each year names to the registry 25 motion pictures that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and at least ten years old. “Ace in the Hole” (aka … Read More Spotlight: 2017 National Film Registry Entries
by haskellch
On one of the most recent issues, Scarlett Johansson joined her fellow cast members to don the cover of “Vanity Fair,” but interestingly enough, Johansson has donned the cover several other times, including a few special Hollywood Issue covers and a cover with Keira Knightley and Tom Ford, completely naked, at the age of 22. She would go on to fill more and more … Read More Spotlight: Scarlett Johansson in Vanity Fair
by haskellch
With the “Avengers: Infinity War” trailer now out, the discussion of where we’ve seen the infinity stones/gems last, how Thanos got a hold of them, and where the last one is will be the discussion among many as we patiently wait for the arrival of the film on May 4th, 2018. In the meantime, here’s a compilation of information from different sources to better … Read More Spotlight: Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet
by haskellch
300 (2007) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) The Abyss (1989) Alien (1979) Aliens (1986) An American Werewolf in London (1981) Apollo 13 (1995) Avatar (2009) Babe (1995) Back to the Future (1985) Blade Runner (1982) Citizen Kane (1941) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Darby O’Gill and the Little People … Read More Spotlight: Visual Effects Society Releases Top 70 List of the Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time
by haskellch
The Emmy Awards, hosted by Stephen Colbert, will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. PT. on CBS. Here’s the full nominations list. Drama Series “Better Call Saul” (AMC) “The Crown” (Netflix) “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu) “House of Cards” (Netflix) “Stranger Things” (Netflix) “This Is Us” (NBC) “Westworld” (HBO) Comedy Series “Atlanta” (FX) “Black-ish” (ABC) … Read More 69th Emmy Award Nominations
by haskellch
ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS || Assassin’s Creed Origins is the tenth major installment in the franchise and acts as a prequel to the rest of the franchise, supposedly showing the very first assassin. “Displaying the origins of the struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with liberty, and the Templars, who desire peace through order, the story is set in Ptolemaic Egypt and follows … Read More Game Watch: Assassin’s Creed Origins: E3 2017 Gameplay Trailer
by haskellch
MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN|| Not tied to any film or comic book, this standalone PlayStation 4 exclusive video game will be an open world format game set in New York City. “The game will cover both the Peter Parker and Spider-Man aspects of the character and will feature a more experienced Spider-Man” The trailer immediately starts throwing names around like the Demons and Fisk (referring to … Read More Game Watch: Marvel’s Spider-Man – PS4 Trailer
by haskellch
GOD OF WAR|| Scheduled to release in early 2018, the eighth installment in the God Of War series comes to the Playstation 4, exclusively. This time, Kratos, the main character throughout the franchise is with his son Atreus and must learn to control the rage that has powered him through seven other titles of fighting gods. The gameplay has apparently been built from the … Read More Game Watch: God of War – Be A Warrior: PS4 Gameplay Trailer
by haskellch
This weekend, Warner Bros. and the DC Extended Universe rolled out their first female directed, solo female superhero film, Wonder Woman. Directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster) and starring Gal Gadot (Fast Five), the film went on to make $103,251,471 domestically and easily put Jenkins atop the list of highest grossing weekends for a female director, beating out Sam Taylor-Johnson for 2015’s Fifty Shades of … Read More Spotlight: Patty Jenkins’ record-breaking “Wonder Woman”
by haskellch
Every year, television shows are on the chopping block. If they do not get high enough ratings, if viewership is down, or if the series have simply run their course, they are cut from the network’s line-up. Never before have there simply been this many television series at play. And with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu putting out their own content, it appears that there … Read More Television Guide 2017: Renewed and Canceled
by haskellch
CALL OF DUTY: WWII|| Having never been a huge fan of the Call Of Duty video games, I have to say, there’s something hugely appealing about heading into older wars, like WWII, in this particular game and fighting Nazis. Plus, this produced in a very cinematic way, even so far as to add voices and likenesses of Hollywood actors, including Josh Duhamel (Transformers), Jonathan … Read More Game Watch: Call Of Duty: WWII – Official Reveal Trailer
by haskellch
STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II || Coming off the success of Star Wars: Battlefront back in November 2015, which was only a multi-player reiteration of the original series by the same name, EA has released the full length trailer for the sequel, Star Wars: Battlefront II, which adds the single player story mode that all the fans and gamers were pining for. This time around … Read More Game Watch: Star Wars: Battlefront II – Reveal Trailer
by haskellch
The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress have announced the twenty-five works selected this year to be preserved by the Washington institution. Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, the Librarian of Congress each year names to the registry 25 motion pictures that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and at least ten years old. “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” … Read More Spotlight: 2016 National Film Registry Entries
by haskellch
As the year draws near an end, my sanity and patience is following suit. With a unyielding work load, a family life that is still getting into a routine, and attempts at getting some time to myself, I’ve fallen behind on my blogging and voice finding and thus have realized that my model for posting is officially broken. Instead of thinking I’ll be able … Read More All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy
by haskellch
AMY ADAMS || The first thing I ever remember seeing Amy Adams in was Cruel Intentions 2 (2000), taking on essentially the same role Sarah Michelle Gellar had inhabited in the original (I also saw her first role in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), but that was later). From there, her star would rise immeasurably. I remember my heart breaking for her as Brenda Strong … Read More Spotlight: Amy Adams
by haskellch
Prior to the days of having a newborn, Moviepass was possibly my best friend. As my absolutely favorite thing to do on the weekends was go see a movie or three, Moviepass allowed me to see one movie every day for, what at the time felt like, a small subscription fee. I do not recall exactly how I found out about the pass back … Read More Moviepass: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
by haskellch
Life happens. It “gets in the way” as they say. And I didn’t know the true meaning of that until these past two years. Where is this coming from and what does it have to do with movies? Let me explain. In 2009, I started this website. I was just about out of college (film school), I had begun seeing tons of films, in … Read More Starting (Certified) Fresh
by haskellch
Even though this was one of my busiest years yet, I still had time to see over 350 films, a third of which were released in 2014. I saw old classics that I had never seen before like “Amelie” and “Spirited Away” and new classics like “Birdman” and “Joe”. I completed my Oscar Challenge this past January-February, which was 46 days, 42 films, and … Read More Spotlight: Ten Favorite Films Of 2014
by haskellch
As the year draws to a close, the “best of” lists begin to surface, with the cinefiles putting the best and worst of 2013 behind them and getting ready for the onslaught of brand new movies to come in the new year. Having seen almost 400 films this year, it feels only fitting to compile a list of my favorites as well. I look … Read More Spotlight: Ten Favorite Films Of 2013
by haskellch
At the end of any given year, it is not unfamiliar to hear people say “this was the best year for movies”. I’ve never stated this myself, but I feel I hear it quite often. This year, however, I will state it, not only feeling that this was one of the best years in the film industry, but being able to have the numbers … Read More Spotlight: Top 12 Films Of 2012
by haskellch
Brit Marling’s first feature film was “Another Earth”, in which I loved her in. That was only last year. With several critics awards nominations and even a few wins, Marling had a slightly busier year this year with “Arbitrage” and “Sound Of My Voice”, both very different films. In “Arbitrage”, Marling plays Richard Gere’s daughter, Brooke Miller, who manages a hedge fund with her … Read More Double Feature: Brit Marling in “Arbitrage” and “Sound Of My Voice”
by haskellch
As far as seeing films, I had an epic summer. From May to August, I probably went to more films than I have in any other summer combined. But even racking up an impressive list of summer viewings, there were still a view films that fell through the cracks. Most of them were independent films that didn’t get a very long release or films … Read More Spotlight: Summer Through The Cracks
by haskellch
On September 11th, 2001, I was in eighth grade, just a little less than a month after my 14th birthday. I had gotten to school late that day and had barely sat down at my desk in Social Studies class when the English teacher from next door barged in and turned on the television. At 14, you can mildly understand what was happening but … Read More Spotlight: September 11th’s “Never Forget” List
by haskellch
Sight & Sound The Critics’ Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time 1. Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958) 2. Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941) 3. Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) 4. La Règle du jeu (Renoir, 1939) 5. Sunrise: a Song for Two Humans (Murnau, 1927) 6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) 7. The Searchers (Ford, 1956) 8. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) 9. … Read More Spotlight: Sight & Sound The Critics Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time
by haskellch
PASSION / You know Brian De Palma as the director of Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible (Snake Eyes is also a favorite), but De Palma’s latest venture is depicted above with Rachel McAdams (my favorite actress) kissing Noomi Rapace (an actress who I am astounded by). With two gorgeous and powerful women, I am excited to see what De Palma can do with … Read More Spotlight: Mid-May’s Poster Round-Up
by haskellch
28 Days Later (2002) The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) Alien (1979) An American Werewolf In London (1981) Angel Heart (1987) Audition (1999) The Beyond (1981) The Birds (1963) The Black Cat (1934) Black Christmas (1974) Black Sabbath (1963) Black Sunday (Mask Of Satan) (1960) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Braindead (1992) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Cannibal Holocaust (1980) Carnival of Souls (1962) Carrie (1976) … Read More Time Out London: Top 100 Horror Films
by haskellch
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN / It is difficult to get me any more pumped for this film’s release, however with the new poster, Sony has successfully peaked my interest even more, with some truly fine detail put into this promotional poster. A reboot of the franchise starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, this film will definitely one of my highlights of the summer, as Spider-Man … Read More Coming Attraction: The Amazing Spider-Man
by haskellch
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH / Despite the incident in Florida, Fox has decided to hold onto the title Neighborhood Watch, or so it seems as their new poster hit the web today. Revolving around a group of guys looking find a hometown killer, they uncover a much bigger threat in the form of extraterrestrials. With an amazingly talented group of guys (Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, and … Read More Coming Attraction: Neighborhood Watch
by haskellch
THE AVENGERS / Boy, has Scarlett Johansson found her niche. Having never really reflected the embodiment of the perfect actress in most of her prior roles, I can only assume that seeing her as the ass-kicking hottie is wildly accepted in the realm of guys (and girls for that matter). Don’t get me wrong, she’s always been a sex symbol, she’s just never really … Read More Spotlight: Scarlett Johansson Clip from The Avengers
by haskellch
CLASH OF THE TITANS / After watching the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans recently, I could not shake the feeling that Perseus, played by Harry Hamlin, is oddly reminiscent of the comedian, Michael Ian Black, known mostly for his comedy troupe, Stella. In such a resemblance, Clash of the Titans, which was already a perfectly laughable excuse for film-making was allowed a … Read More Uncanny: Perseus & Michael Ian Black
by haskellch
This was probably due a couple of weeks ago, but with a vacation over the new year and a car accident that took up all my free-time recently, I am just now able to sit down and put together my list of favorite films this past year. It was kind of a funny year, as I spent most of my time moving to California … Read More Spotlight: Top 12 Films Of 2011
by haskellch
In a prelude to my list of favorite films of 2011 (though there are a few films I have yet to see), I put together a list of fifteen cinematic moments that stuck out the most for me this past year and though many of these were my favorite films of the year, most of the moments come from a range of films that … Read More Spotlight: Top 15 Film Moments of 2011
by haskellch
The inaugural “A” of the Day goes to the marketing team behind the dismal theatrical new release this week “Shark Night 3D”. Before we jump into why the marketing team wins this week, here’s what this film has going against it from the get go. #1 – The film looks like Piranha 3D, which was basically a legitimized porno. Don’t believe me? I present … Read More Spotlight: “A” of the Day – Shark Night 3D Movie Poster
by haskellch
Since Netflix Instant has so graciously put back up the 007 films for the month of September, I have decided to watch them all by the end of the month. More of a personal challenge than anything, I have only seen a hand-full and will feel much better about myself as an avid movie-goer once I see them all. I will cross them off … Read More Spotlight: 007 September
by haskellch
A few months ago, I was glancing at the 1998 AFI’s list of Top 100 films in the last 100 years. Slowly, but surely, I have been crossing the films I have seen off that list and now I figured I would simply just add the list to the blog and track my progress. Starting off, I have only crossed off the films that … Read More Spotlight: AFI’s 100 Years Top 100 Movies List
by haskellch
Netflix Instant Picks #5 (July 4th-July 10th, 2011) 10 ) Four Rooms (1995) Divided between four directors, Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, tells four different stories about the same hotel. Having seen this a long time ago, I am looking forward to catching it again, with the cast consisting of Tim Roth, Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Bruce Willis. 9 … Read More Spotlight: Netflix Instant Picks – July 10th, 2011
by haskellch
NETFLIX INSTANT PICKS – WEEK #4 (June 27th – July 3nd, 2011) 10 ) Rain Fall (2009) All I know is that I will give just about anything with Gary Oldman in it a shot, and I have been on the brink of watching this for the last couple years so I should probably just buck up and watch it. … Read More Spotlight: Netflix Instant Picks – July 3rd, 2011
by haskellch
JEREMY PIVEN July 26, 1965 New York City, New York Actor AWARDS 2006, 2007, 2008 – EMMY for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 2008 – GOLDEN GLOBE for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television GREATEST PERFORMANCE Ari Gold, “Entourage” TOP 5 BEST PERFORMANCES 1. Buddy “Aces” Israel, “Smokin’ Aces” … Read More Spotlight: Jeremy Piven
by haskellch
NETFLIX INSTANT PICKS – WEEK #3 (June 19th – June 25th) Sticking to 10 picks this week because of the lack of good content being added. Next week’s picks should be better since Netflix Instant usually gets a ton of new content at the beginning of each month. 10 ) America’s Sweethearts (2001) Though not great in the realm of romantic comedies, a … Read More Spotlight: Netflix Instant Picks – June 25th, 2011
by haskellch
NETFLIX INSTANT PICKS – WEEK #2 (June 12th – June 18th) Cut down the list from 15 to 10, just because there was a lack of good content added this week. A few of these were simply rated well on the website, so I thought I would throw them in here. 10 ) Lost in America (1985) Having come across this while putting … Read More Spotlight: Netflix Instant Picks – June 18th, 2011
by haskellch
RYAN REYNOLDS October 23, 1976 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Actor) Film • Ordinary Magic (1993) • My Name Is Kate (1994) • Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995) • When Friendship Kills (1996) • Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) • In Cold Blood (1996) • The Alarmist (1997) • Tourist Trap (1998) • Coming Soon (1998) • Dick (1999) • Boltneck (Big … Read More Spotlight: Ryan Reynolds
by haskellch
Top 15 New Netflix Instant Picks (June 1st thru June 11th, 2011) Since I am starting this column a bit late in the month and since there were not fifteen “worthwhile” films that hit Netflix in the past week, I am going to include the first week of June in this post as well. 15 ) “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie” Relive your … Read More Spotlight: Netflix Instant Picks – June 12th, 2011
by haskellch
Perfect Couple of the Week (Week #1)
Each week I countdown the couples in the films that I saw that week.
by haskellch
After finally defeating the survival, space horror game “Dead Space” and in the wake of the sequel “Dead Space 2”, I am reminded of all the amazing science fiction space films that I have seen or heard of. Therefore, I will be working my way through the following list of films.
by haskellch
Every year, we come to expect them and every year, we want to beat them!
by haskellch
For as long as I can remember, I have been a complainer (or ranter if you will). Those who know me, know I often travel off conversation course into ramblings that end in either frustration or confusion. Perhaps I was allowed to watch Dennis Miller at too early of an age or perhaps I just think I have strong beliefs that are worth something. … Read More Spotlight: About Proof In The Picture
by haskellch
I thought I would weigh in on my favorite films of 2010. Unpopular or not, these are the ten films I absolutely adored this year starting with the ones I liked the most. There are then ten listed alphabetically that were close. I did not see a lot of films this year it seems that would have probably made my list including “The King’s … Read More Spotlight: Best Films of 2010
