On the one hand, you can see bad movies coming from miles away. After all, we’re just a month or so away from the start of the summer movie season, which consists of, if history is any kind of guide, of about 90% bad movies. Read More
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Despite a yard featuring a heavy crop of crocuses, a fine stand of snowdrops and the emerging green tops of every variety of spring flower, New Hampshire’s unusually stubborn winter continues to hold his chilly sway. But it can’t last. At least I think it can’t. Jeez, it’s never a good idea to insult winter in New Hampshire, where it has snowed in every month of the year except August. (Yes, that’s because of Mt. Washington, but it still counts.)Read More
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I can tell by that clock on the wall that February is running on fumes, that March is imminent, and that (with the Winter Olympics over) the Oscars will be popping up at high volume in every form of media known to humankind.
In other words: Heaven.
For me, watching Call Me By Your Name will represent a clean sweep of the nine films nominated for Best Picture. And I’ve got to say I’m intrigued. It’s not often that we get a gay summer romance film picking up nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor (Timothee Chalamet), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song. Well, not since Brokeback Mountain, anyway.Read More
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Okay, it’s time to cut the chatter and get serious. The Oscars will be broadcast on March 4 and some of you may have some homework to do to catch up with the nominees for Best Picture and such.
As usual, The Music Hall is here to help. On Tuesday night, we will be discussing Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, a film that boasts not only a Best Picture nomination, but also one for Lead Actress (Frances McDormand), two Supporting Actor noms (Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell), one for Best Original Screenplay, another for Film Editing and, just for variety, one for Original Score.Read More
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After four Tuesdays without a film discussion, my guess is that you’re ready to get back to The Music Hall for some cinematic nourishment.
But if something—January cold or post-holiday depression—is holding you back, I have three strong arguments to get your fruitcake-augmented backside back in the theater seat. (Sorry, that was insensitive. Pretend I didn’t say that. )Read More
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Maybe it’s the general tenor of the times, but I find myself surprisingly grumpy at the sound of Christmas music, especially those in heavy rotation like All I Want for Christmas (Is You) and Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime (which can induce Scrooge-like symptoms in the most seasonally well-adjusted among us).
Fortunately, I have the perfect antidote to Holiday Overload Syndrome in the form of a film called 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene. I’m a little worried that the overly descriptive title is a spoiler all by itself, but that can’t be helped.Read More
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I’m not always in the mood for a quiet movie in a beautiful setting with a positive message and appealing characters. After all, I rank Pulp Fiction and The Usual Suspects among my all-time favorites and I know the energy a good villain can bring to a story. But from the moment I heard about School Life, the movie we’re going to be discussing on Tuesday night in The Music Hall Loft, I found myself looking forward to it with real anticipation.Read More
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There are advantages to living in a part of the country that tourists want to come to during the summer. Let’s see, there’s the satisfaction of watching Sunday traffic on I95 southbound back up all the way to the York tolls on Sunday afternoons. That’s fun. And seeing the occasional Maserati tip-toeing around the potholes and granite curbs in New Hampshire towns is sort of pleasing. And who doesn’t enjoy listening to a loudmouth Masshole or New Yorkah at a local restaurant generously sharing his opinions with the whole room?Read More
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