REVIEW: The Good Lie [2014]
Posted by Jared Mobarak on October 14, 2014 · Leave a Comment
“I’m thinking about that chicken” It isn’t easy to write a film around a tragic hot-button issue such as the “Lost Boys of Sudan” without coming across as either exploitative or manipulative. Making the result human is an even loftier goal. I won’t say screenwriter Margaret Nagle and director Philippe Falardeau were flawless in their […]
Summer Fun Film Festivals in WNY
Posted by Jared Mobarak on July 18, 2014 · Leave a Comment
With the dwindling numbers of drive-in theaters across the country, independent theaters finding it difficult to compete with huge chains, and the ever-fluctuating national box office needing too many 3D films to turn a profit, certain cities somehow find a way to keep the medium alive. Buffalo is one of them and always has been […]
Category entertainment, essays · Tags A Fish Called Wanda, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Airplane!, Arthur, Back to the Future Part II, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Citizen Kane, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Crazy Stupid Love, Dumb and Dumber, Edge of Tomorrow, Frozen, Funny Girl, Godzilla, Good Will Hunting, Gremlins, Horton Hears a Who!, Jurassic Park, Les Misérables, Magic Mike, Maleficent, Man of Steel, Mary Poppins, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Moulin Rouge!, Mr. Mom, Neighbors, Noah, Old School, Pretty Woman, Pulp Fiction, Ratatouille, Rio 2, Silver Linings Playbook, Slumdog Millionaire, Snow Day, Something's Gotta Give, Stand By Me, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Big Lebowski, The Blind Side, The Blues Brothers, The Change-Up, The Dark Knight, The Goonies, The Jerk, The LEGO Movie, The Lost Boys, The Monuments Men, The Neverending Story, The Notebook, The Other Woman, The Phantom of the Opera, The Princess Bride, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Wiz, The Wizard of Oz, Thelma & Louise, Transcendence, Wayne's World, When Harry Met Sally, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
REVIEW: Saving Mr. Banks [2013]
Posted by Jared Mobarak on December 5, 2013 · Leave a Comment
“A leisurely stroll is a gift” If you thought Mary Poppins couldn’t get more uplifting in its journey towards giving two young children the love they always desired from their downtrodden dad, Saving Mr. Banks will prove you wrong. Utilizing a script by Kelly Marcel (a second credit was later added to Sue Smith) that […]
Category biography, comedy, drama, film reviews · Tags Annie Rose Buckley, B.J. Novak, Bradley Whitford, Colin Farrell, Emma Thompson, Jason Schwartzman, John Lee Hancock, Kelly Marcel, Mary Poppins, Paul Giamatti, Rachel Griffiths, Ruth Wilson, Saving Mr. Banks, Sue Smith, The Blind Side, Tom Hanks
Picking Winners at the 84th Annual Academy Awards
Posted by Jared Mobarak on February 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment
For the next week and a half, Spree contributor William C. Altreuter, our online film reviewer Jared Mobarak, and me will share our thoughts on who will take home the Oscars. Let’s kick things off with … Best Supporting Actress. —C. S. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Bérénice Bejo – The Artist as Peppy Miller Jessica Chastain – […]
Category essays, oscars · Tags 50/50, A Better Life, A Cry in the Dark, A Dangerous Method, A Separation, Aaron Sorkin, Albert Brooks, Albert Nobbs, Alexander Payne, Andy Serkis, Annie Hall, Annie Mumolo, Anthony Bourdain, Asghar Farhadi, Banksy, Beau Willimon, Beerfest, Beginners, Ben Affleck, Ben Kingsley, Bérénice Bejo, Bill Pohlad, Brad Pitt, Brian Selznick, Bridesmaids, Bridget O'Connor, Brunson Green, Bryce Dallas Howard, Bull Durham, Carey Mulligan, Che, Cher, Chris Columbus, Christopher Plummer, Community, Corey Stoll, Crash, Dangerous Liaisons, David Fincher, Dede Gardner, Demián Bichir, Doubt, Drive, Elena Anaya, Emma Stone, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Ezra Miller, Fatal Attraction, Gary Oldman, George Clooney, Gladiator, Glenn Close, Good Will Hunting, Graham King, Grant Heslov, Grant Hill, Hannah and Her Sisters, Harvey Weinstein, Helen Mirren, Hugo, Ironweed, J. Edgar, J.C. Chandor, Jamie Foxx, Janet McTeer, Jason Reitman, Javier Bardem, Jean Dujardin, Jessica Chastain, Jim Burke, Jim Rash, Jim Taylor, Jodie Foster, John Hawkes, John le Carré, John Logan, Jonah Hill, Jonathan Safran Foer, Kathleen Kennedy, Kaui Hart Hemmings, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kristen Wiig, Leonardo DiCaprio, Letty Aronson, Maggie Smith, Margin Call, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Matt Damon, Max von Sydow, Melissa McCarthy, Meryl Streep, Michael Barnathan, Michael De Luca, Michael Fassbender, Michael Lewis, Michael Shannon, Michel Hazanavicius, Michelle Williams, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, Moonstruck, My Week with Marilyn, Nat Faxon, Nick Nolte, Noomi Rapace, Octavia Spencer, Patton Oswalt, Peter O'Toole, Peter Straughan, Rachael Horovitz, Rampart, Ray, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Robert Forster, Roberto Benigni, Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Sarah Green, Sareh Bayat, Scott Rudin, Sexy Beast, Shailene Woodley, Shame, Sissy Spacek, Spike Lee, Stan Chervin, Stephen Tenenbaum, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg, Steven Zaillian, Stieg Larsson, Take Shelter, Terrence Malick, The Accused, The Artist, The Bicycle Thief, The Big Chill, The Blind Side, The China Syndrome, The Constant Gardener, The Descendents, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, The Ides of March, The Insider, The Iron Lady, The Last Station, The Natural, The Pride of the Yankees, The Queen, The Skin I Live In, The Tree of Life, The Way, The World According to Garp, Thomas Langmann, Tilda Swinton, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tom Hanks, Tom Hooper, Viggo Mortensen, Viola Davis, War Horse, Warrior, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Weeds, Woody Allen, Woody Harrelson, Young Adult
The 82nd Oscars recap through tweets …
Posted by Jared Mobarak on March 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment
@jaredmobarak • NPH in sequins … i guess that’s something … The 82nd Annual Oscars ceremony begins, yet the hosts are nowhere to be found. Have we gotten to the point now where we need a lead-in for the most assuredly lame/very PC stand-up routine? We need to get the ball rolling for the ball […]
Category essays, oscars · Tags A Serious Man, Academy Awards, Alec Baldwin, Anna Kendrick, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Avatar, Barbra Streisand, Ben Stiller, Benicio Del Toro, Bright Star, Carey Mulligan, Cars, Channing Tatum, Charlize Theron, Christoph Waltz, Christopher Plummer, Colin Firth, Dan Aykroyd, Demi Moore, District 9, Ed Asner, Farrah Fawcett, Fisher Stevens, Geoffrey Fletcher, George Clooney, Golden Globes, Hugh Jackman, Inglourious Basterds, James Cameron, James Taylor, Jason Reitman, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Lopez, John Hughes, John Lasseter, John Stewart, John Travolta, Judd Nelson, Kathryn Bigelow, Keanu Reeves, Linda Hamilton, Logorama, Lost, Macaulay Culkin, Markéta Irglová, Matthew Broderick, Michael Giacchino, Michael Haneke, Michael Jackson, Mickey Rourke, Modern Family, Morgan Freeman, Mo’Nique, Music by Prudence, Neil Patrick Harris, Oprah Winfrey, Oscars, Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire, Quentin Tarantino, Quincy Jones, Ricky Gervais, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Bingham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Sandy Powell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Penn, Sigourney Weaver, Star Trek, Steve Martin, Strange Days, Suzy Amis, T-Bone Burnett, The Blind Side, The Cove, The Hangover, The Hurt Locker, The Jerk, The Mask of Zorro, The Matrix, The New Tenants, The Secret in Their Eyes, The Temper Trap, The Wolfman, The Young Victoria, Tim Robbins, Tom Ford, Tom Hanks, Tyler Perry, Up, Up in the Air, West Bank Story, Zoë Saldana
REVIEW: The Blind Side [2009]
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 18, 2009 · 1 Comment
“With God All Things Are Possible” Everyone enjoys a feel good story, especially if it’s based on fact. When the main character of the true life tale is a young man saved from the squalor of gang life and an inevitable bullet to be loved, educated, and sent on his merry way towards a career […]
Category drama, film reviews, sports · Tags Deadwood, Jae Head, Kathy Bates, Kim Dickens, Michael Lewis, Quinton Aaron, Ray McKinnon, Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side, Tim McGraw
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