Author Archives: LukeMiller

If they were in television… Zack Snyder

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Notable films: Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Watchmen.

Famous for: Comic book adaptations. Slow motion during fight scenes, multiple cuts, zoom-ins and close-ups during action sequences. Shooting films entirely in front of a green screen. Dark, grimy visuals with highly saturated colors. Rock and roll soundtracks. War allegories. Releasing movies in March.

Hypothetical title: The Break

Hypothetical premise: The stage is set in San Francisco only moments after the bombings of Pearl Harbor struck the nation. The city is in political chaos as city and government leaders prepare to handle the increasing population of Japanese Americans living amongst the diverse population. Allegories and criticism toward the reaction of 9/11 and modern terrorism can be made throughout the series. This is Snyder’s fictional re-envision of WWII on the west coast. Continue reading →

Five great bar scenes

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With the wonderful St. Patrick’s holiday upon us, we raise our glass and propose a toast, not to the douchebags, but to film. Last year, we celebrated with a post to five great movies that best captured the Irish spirit. Since we figured a list of five documentaries that best educate people on the green revolution would be a little lame, we went with five movies with memorable, wonderful bar scenes. Enjoy and happy holiday!

The Social Network- Mark Zuckerberg is now single.

It is the very first scene in the film. Sorkin, Fincher and Eisenberg waste no time portraying their rapid-fire speaking of the contemplative, unaware and kind of douchey Facebook creator. The dialogue is quick, sharp and hilarious, setting the tone and plot for the rest of the film to follow. Watching him get dumped and still diss on his former girlfriend through multiple layers of dialogue is beautiful. “You don’t have to study… Because you go to BU!” Continue reading →

Complete Oscar Coverage 2011

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With the inclusion of yet again ten nominees for best picture, this year covers a wide scope of films ready to be thrashed and cherished at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Nearly all ten nominees earn their spot to be nominated, and nearly the top five could be justified with a gold statue. However, this year lacked the golden winner who could tell the story of the times like Up in the Air or work magic with minimal cinematic innovation like The Hurt Locker or with maximum cinematic innovation like Avatar. Needless to say, something like The King’s Speech could walk away with a big win without stutter-stepping, but one shouldn’t close the browser on The Social Network, who did the best at merging great storytelling with veteran filmmaking.

Enjoy CyniCritics complete coverage of this years Oscar race. We have reviewed every film in our Best Picture Nominee series and ranked them below for a quick view for you. Included are our Oscar predictions in the main categories and some related links including our best picture poll for who should win and an essay on the frontrunners and their similar themes. The past year has been a fantastic year for film, and we are glad you share your readership and love for movies with us here at CyniCritics. Enjoy the show!

OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Matt’s Picks

Luke’s Picks

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES RANKED AND REVIEWED

Black Swan

Verdict: The duality of human nature, the endless fight between the light and the dark, is at the very core of this movie.  There is no denying the deep power it has, casting a hypnotic spell with its beautifully dark visuals and the volcanic performance at its center. Aronofsky transcends the familiarity in the stories he tells by burying it in his unique vision propelled by endless cinematic influence. Grade: A Read Full Review HERE. Continue reading →

Last Decade’s Best Picture Nominees Ranked by Year

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Which years had the best crop of best picture nominees? What films deserved nominations and what ones didn’t? See everything ranked here.

1. 2007– Certainly one of the greatest crop of films to have come across the laps of voters in the last decade, if not in the entire Academy’s history. There Will Be Blood is without a doubt a classic induction in American cinema and without blowing any smoke was CyniCritics rightful pick for the best film of the decade. Actual winner No Country for Old Men equally deserves striking gold and Atonement is highly overlooked for displaying an hour of completely flawless, beautiful cinematic glory. Juno won’t be forgotten and even Michael Clayton was a strong film. Nobody can really argue a film out of this list unless they make a case for made a case for an endless list of brilliant, best picture worthy films made in 2007 like The Lives of Others, Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd, Eastern Promises, The Assassination of Jesse James, or Zodiac. Now here is a year deserving of 10 nominees.

Nominees ranked:

  1. There Will Be Blood
  2. No Country for Old Men
  3. Atonement
  4. Juno
  5. Michael Clayton Continue reading →

And the winners should be… 2011 Oscar Predictions (Luke’s Picks)

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Best Picture

The Social Network
Black Swan
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
Winter’s Bone
The Kids Are All Right
Inception
Toy Story 3
The Fighter
True Grit

Should Win: This year has quite the list of great stories and well-made films. But this list lacks the crown jewel of 2010 that stands apart from the rest. Probably no film made in 2010 will end up on a best of the decade list in 2019. For this reason The Social Network should take it away for being more so relevant than The King’s Speech and more skillfully made than the rest of the list.

Will Win: It is between The King’s Speech and The Social Network. Does the Academy want to be hip and cool? Probably not, but The Social Network will have the most to gain from placing second and third place for voters who stray other ways from the royal snore.

Snubbed: This is a solid list, but a nomination for a solid, well-made genre film like The Ghost Writer or The Town would have been fantastic.


Best Director

Tom Hooper- The King’s Speech
Darren Aronofsky- Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen- True Grit
David Fincher- The Social Network
David O. Russell- The Fighter Continue reading →

BEST PICTURE NOMINEE: Winter’s Bone

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Winter’s Bone
Directed by: Debra Granik
Written by: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini (screenplay), Daniel Woodrell (novel)
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey

In the realm of regional specific tales of mortality, Winter’s Bone is endowed with the element that puts it in the caliber of every other movie in this subgenre: hollowness.

Just like the dryness in Frozen River or the arid feeling in No Country for Old Men, the film holds an empty feeling that results from holding itself to the conventions of convention-bucking indie cinema. The conventions rely on being as minimalistic and realistic as possible, which is indeed interesting and brave, but results in a complete lack of tension, which is key for a character based thriller.

Continue reading →

Quick Oscar Nomination Predictions 2011

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CyniCritics has complied its quick, yet bold list of predictions without a stutter for the 2011 Academy Award nominations which will be announced this Tuesday. It’s not our fault for playing things on the white swan side; it’s been quite a predictable season. Don’t expect a list of surprises or shockers when the nominees are revealed. Sure there will be a few slip ups and a few that incept themselves in, but with 10 slots and Pixar in the mix, this is no wild west of Oscar races. So go ahead, update your statuses, well unless you live in the Ozarks, in which case you probably shouldn’t talk about the Oscars… or have a Facebook.

Best Picture

The Social Network

The King’s Speech

Black Swan

The Kids Are All Right

Inception

The Fighter Continue reading →

The Best Movies of 2010

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Communication and identity were big themes in 2010 (and every other year), right alongside isolationism on top and kids (and their toys) growing up to mounting uncertainty.  The films, as they always do, reflect that.  The best ones had none of the problems that their characters often face, and though there are thousands of tireless idiosyncrasies among this year’s releases, it’s the bigger connections that are important, and we’ve left one out.  All of the films on this list are wonderful, if each in their own way.  So here’s a toast to the great, the weird, the insightful, the funny, and the heartbreaking, and here’s hoping Transformers 3 doesn’t prevent 2011 from being just as good if not better.

1. Black Swan- Taking lessons from classics like The Red Shoes and Repulsion and then adding in more frantic body horror, Darren Aronofsky has us follow Nina the ballerina on her nightmarish journey toward perfection in her preparation for the leads in Swan Lake. In this unlikely companion piece to 2008’s The Wrestler, we dive deeper into the depths of an athlete’s mind and body at war with itself while Nina tries to find her inner dark side to play the Black Swan.  The battle is projected onto the environment with hallucinations and onto Nina’s weary body in the form of scratches, bruises, and emerging feathers.  Aronofsky himself wages a successful battle between perfect technique and dark, brooding instinct.  He, along with a never-better Natalie Portman, creates a new masterpiece full of feverish dance sequences, controlling mothers, and fierce competition for his catalog.  Like his protagonist, he flies past the competition and lands atop the pile of 2010’s best films.  Read Full Review Continue reading →