Best Picture: #58Original Release Date: December 20, 1985Rating: PGRuntime: 2 hours, 41 minutesDirector: Sydney Pollack Quick Impressions:Autobiographical writing is difficult to do well. I remember once having a conversation with my daughter in the park about which is true, fiction or non-fiction. I told her, “It really depends. Non-fiction can …
Best Picture: #57Original Release Date: September 19, 1984 (theatrical version)Rating: RRuntime: 3 hours (director’s cut)Writer: Peter ShafferDirector: Milos Forman Quick Impressions:Finally I can write about Amadeus! I’ve loved this movie since I first saw it when I was seven, and multiple people have now asked me if I’ll be watching …
Rating: PG-13Runtime: 2 hours, 23 minutesDirector: Jon M. Chu Quick Impressions:This review might be tricky to write because in the middle of the movie, I suddenly zoned out and started praying. Seriously, I found one particular sequence so moving and effective (not to mention affecting) that it had me mentally …
Best Picture: #56Original Release Date: December 9, 1983Rating: PGRuntime: 2 hours, 12 minutesDirector: James L. Brooks Quick Impressions:For her own capricious and mysterious reasons, my grandma could not stand Shirley MacLaine. (She had bafflingly strong feelings about actors. If it hadn’t been for Lauren Bacall, who miraculously escaped her wrath, …
Rating: PGRuntime: 1 hour, 53 minutesDirectors: Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe Quick Impressions:We’ve been meaning to watch The Mitchells vs the Machines for more than a month and finally found an opportunity this weekend. Both its directors, Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe worked as writers on Gravity Falls, one of the …
Best Picture #: 55Original Release Date: December 6, 1982Rating: PGRuntime: 3 hours, 11 minutesDirector: Richard Attenborough Quick Impressions:I’ve been meaning to write this review for over a week, but I’ve been totally consumed with watching the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, then writing about my experiences participating in it on the …
Rating: PG-13Runtime: 2 hours, 14 minutesDirector: Craig Gillespie Quick Impressions:I didn’t even plan to write about Cruella because the idea of Emma Stone playing Cruella de Vil (or DeVil, if you prefer) sounded so enticing that I was sure the film would disappoint me. But if how much my twelve-year-old …
Rating: RRuntime: 1 hour, 40 minutesDirector: Joe Wright Quick Impressions:I’ve been excited for this movie for a long time, despite the fact that for the past year internet chatter about it has grown increasingly dire by the mention. I always enjoy Amy Adams. She has such insightful line delivery that …
Rating: PGRuntime: 1 hour, 47 minutesDirector: Marilyn Agrelo Quick Impressions:Appearing on Jeopardy! has made me think a great deal about sincerity in television. By nature, I’m quite guarded, and early on, I was reluctant to reveal too much about myself. When I first auditioned, I didn’t want to give up …
Best Picture: #54Original Release Date: September 25, 1981Rating: PGRuntime: 2 hours, 5 minutesDirector: Hugh Hudson Quick Impressions:As we geared up to watch Chariots of Fire, I spent about two weeks humming the theme song to my daughter, convinced that she would eventually recognize it. After all, the catchy, inspiring music …
