The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on March 29, 2014

I wish I had found some camouflage maternity pants… I realize things have been pretty slow here since Oscar season, but not without good reason.  I only have a couple of weeks (or less!) left before my bundle of joy bursts out of me Alien style and into the world....   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on March 1, 2014

The big night is almost here!  So without much fluff, here are my official predictions for tomorrow night’s Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects Obviously Gravity. Best Production Design This is a toss-up, I can justify any of these films winning.  So why not American Hustle? Best Film Editing The wa   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on February 28, 2014

Based on a true story, Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) leads a fast and rough life.  He’s an electrician working in dangerous areas, a swindling gambler at the local rodeo, drinks heavily, snorts coke and has plenty of loose women.  When we first meet him, there is no denying his physical...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on February 25, 2014

I put off seeing Captain Phillips for a long time.  From the previews and commercials, I joked that Tom Hanks was just fishing for a new Oscar.  Even when the Oscar nominations came out, I was surprised and guessed the film depicting a recent big new story propelled it into...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on February 18, 2014

My parents are only in their fifties but I already worry about them aging.  I worry that they won’t be able to keep up with their home, their land and that one might get dementia and the other won’t be able to handle it.  For David (Will Forte) in Nebraska...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on February 14, 2014

As a mother-to-be, Philomena struck a deep emotional chord.  Lately, I take pride in every kick and jab I endure from the child growing inside me and the thought of ever losing this new life scares me more than I have ever known.  Seeing the story of a young mother...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on February 11, 2014

In Disney’s latest animated masterpiece, Elsa (Idina Mezel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) are sister princesses in the kingdom of Arendelle.  As little children they are thick as thieves, especially when Anna gets big sister Elsa to use her ice powers to play and build a snowman.  But when one late...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on February 6, 2014

As I watched the opening scene in Gravity, I was in awe.  Right away, just seeing these astronauts float around on a routine space walk, the film was beautiful and thrilling.  A few minutes in, a couple behind me in the theater remarked with a sneer, “Where are all the...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on January 30, 2014

Scorsese’s latest film, The Wolf of Wall Street is a three hour, fast paced wild ride through a lifestyle filled with gratuitous amounts of sex, drugs, and of course, money.  How lucky we are to be along for the ride!  It’s fun, hilarious and mixes well between all the very...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on January 24, 2014

As I write this, I am sitting in a local cafe, alone with my laptop, while others around me share long conversations over food or coffee.  Like many characters in Her, I am comfortable being alone in public, so long as I have some electronic device to keep me occupied...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on January 19, 2014

David O. Russell’s American Hustle is a con plot, wrapped in a couple love triangles and then further complicated by the mob.  Honestly, the whole point A to point B can get a little confusing, but the film easily keeps a captive audience on board every moment due to fantastic...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on January 16, 2014

The twelve years Solomon Northrup spent in slavery are depicted as years of pain, torment and constant uncertainty as to whether he will live to see the next day, let alone freedom again.  The weight and realism of this subject, based on Northrup’s autobiography, can make the film difficult to...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on January 3, 2014

Movies about the makings of other movies seem to be a growing trend.  Among these is Hitchcock, a story behind the master of suspense’s struggles while making his (in my humble opinion) greatest film.  In addition to the usual conflicts with studios and Hitch’s (Anthony Hopkins) odd obsession with h   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 19, 2013

I can’t really place why, but I’ve never been a fan of Japanese anime style animation.  Maybe it was because the first examples of it I was exposed to were Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z, both seemed like a silly excuse to sell toys to elementary school boys.  However, as...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 11, 2013

In Flight, Denzel Washington plays Whip, a pilot leading a life of addiction.  His routine seems to be booze and loose women at night, followed by cocaine like a rejuvenating chaser before he begins flying all day.  Somehow this works for him, and probably has for years, until a mechanical...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on December 1, 2013

In 1995, I was ten years old when Toy Story was first in released.  I remember seeing previews and scoffing, thinking a story about toys was so juvenile.  By ten, toys were out of my style, video games, bikes and Goosebumps books were my main source of home entertainment.  But...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on November 19, 2013

Happy November!  Yes, I realize this is now technically late November, but let me tell you all the exciting things that have been happening lately. First off, November has, for three years now, been my big break from writing about movies and venturing into dangerous territory.  I participate in Nati   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on October 31, 2013

This Halloween I am delighted to share a film that a reader, Hunter author of Soul of the Plot, suggested I see.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a brilliant German silent film from 1920.  It’s horror is felt through the uncanny story and eerie images throughout the film.  For film...   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on October 30, 2013

It seems that given enough time in our culture, you seem to know the story of Frankenstein before you see any of the movies or read Mary Shelley’s classic novel: mad scientist creates monster, horror ensues.  Between Halloween novelties, The Munsters and countless parodies, there seems to be an acce   read more

The Best Picture Project Posted by Alyson on October 24, 2013

I believe 1958’s The Blob was my introduction to two wonderful things: 1950’s monster movies and Steve McQueen.  The Blob was McQueen’s first lead role in a film and helped propel him to stardom.  Though he was twenty-seven during filming, he plays a teenager, doing all the things teens did...   read more