Tag: Alexander Payne

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Election: 25th Anniversary

John Stark

Election: 25th Anniversary- A Timely Look Back On High School Politics Quick Take: Election didn’t work for me when I was 16. It came out when I was being bombarded by teen movies in 1999. It wasn’t until later, when I realized how good Alexander Payne was, that I revisited it, and understood all the nuance. It works more as an adult, and revisiting it this year with audio description was fun. I think because of Tracy Fleck, the movie has held the test of time thus far, and people still are exploring Alexander Payne’s body of work. For more, … Continue reading Election: 25th Anniversary

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The Holdovers

John Stark

Where I Watched it: Peacock English Audio Description?: Yes Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’vine Joy Randolph, and Carrie Preston. Written By: David Hemingson Directed By Alexander Payne What would be fun would be to start each year, try and find some grand master list of all the projected titles for the year, and predict my top 10. if I had done that, I would have predicted The Holdovers. It feels like something that was made for me. Not that films like this don’t disappoint me, or that I’ve been let down before, but ever since i heard about The … Continue reading The Holdovers

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Downsizing

John Stark

Where I Watched It: Amazon English Audio Description?: Yes I missed this one when it came out. It’s a perfect example of a good on paper Oscar contender that ends up not really materializing into anything. For a while, as the campaign stripped away, it looked like hong Chou might get a supporting nomination, but that never panned out. Years later, and I’m finally watching Alexander Payne’s odd social commentary…with audio description! And, human audio description on Amazon! There are miracles. They do happen. Matt Damon leads an ensemble cast in a quirky comedy about a future where we have … Continue reading Downsizing

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Golden Globe Nominations (Film Categories)

John Stark

The Golden Globes SHUT OUT The Butler. Wow. Another surprise was no nomination for James Gandolfini, but they nominated Julia Louis Dreyfus anyway for Enough Said. Greta Gerwig snuck in a nomination. Idris Elba finally gets some recognition for Mandela. Best Drama 12 Years A Slave Captain Phillips Philomena Gravity Rush Best Comedy or Musical American Hustle Her Inside Llewyn Davis Nebraska The Wolf Of Wall Street Best Director Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave) Alexander Payne (Nebraska) David O’Russell (American Hustle) Best Actor In A Drama Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) … Continue reading Golden Globe Nominations (Film Categories)

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The Contenders: A Look At 5 Upcoming Oscar Hopefuls

John Stark

1) Nebraska Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways) returns with a film that was a huge hit at Cannes this year. Lead actor Bruce Dern even won an award there. With Will Forte in the cast, might he get a surprising Best Supporting Actor nomination? Or is Macgruber too much of a long shot? Nebraska features an aging alcoholic making a road trip with his son to claim a million dollar prize. Basically, the pundits agree that it is a strong contender for a Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay nomination. The wildcard here is Forte. 2) American Hustle Every once … Continue reading The Contenders: A Look At 5 Upcoming Oscar Hopefuls