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Review: The Voice of Hind Rajab

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Official Synopsis:  Red Crescent volunteers Omar (Motaz Malhees) and Rami (Saja Kilhani) receive an emergency call. A 6-year old girl is trapped in a car under IDF fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Director Kaouther Ben Hania showed us in her Oscar nominated documentary Four Daughters that she links to blend genres and techniques together. Here, she uses the actual audio record of Hind Rajab. We never see an actress portray her. She also uses actual cell phone footage of the real volunteers at times, breaking the fourth wall and reminding her audience that this was a very real tragedy that happened.  While this is technically a chamber piece, you never leave the Red Cross volunteer room where Rami and Omar are working like hell to get someone to her, you feel like you can easily picture what Hind is going through. The actual audio being used amplifies that. At one point, the co...
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2026 Actor Award Winners

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 Okay, I still can't get used to calling these The Actor Awards. I thought the show was kind of chaotic. They started off with a really great skit with the Abbott Elementary cast then, they followed it up with some of the most awkward presenting banter I've seen in a long time.  I actually welcomed the "ad breaks" Netflix had where they paid tribute to different genres of films. They did somewhat redeem themselves with Miles Caton singing after the In Memoriam segment, but it was all over the place. I went 7/13 with my picks, which is awful, but hey! I like surprises too.  What did you think of the show? Below is a list of the nominees and winners + my thoughts.  OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners Samuel L Jackson was so excited to announce this win lol. One Battle has Best Picture locked up, so it's nice to see Sinners get to shine here. I saw online that Ryan Coogler became the...
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2026 Blind Spot Series: Suddenly, Last Summer

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  I'm back with my completely inconsistent Blind Spot Series picks! I swear I'm still trying to look behind, instead of just looking ahead when it comes to movies. And I'm starting the year off with one that I've been meaning to watch for quiet some time. What I knew going in: That I keep mixing this up with Splendor in the Grass I have no idea why I was getting the plot of this movie mixed up with Splendor in the Grass, a film that has NOTHING to do with this, but either way, when I started this film with a lobotomy, then was treated with a grand elevator entrance from Katherine Hepburn, I knew I was in good hands.  Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor are chewing so much scenery in this. I loved every minute of their monologues. They were so good that poor Montgomery Cliff just didn't know what to do. He seemed stunned in every scene he had to interact with them. I found it unintentionally amusing how lost he looked. I know he was having some personal struggles around th...
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Review: Blue Moon

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Official synopsis:  Tells the story of Lorenz Hart's (Ethan Hawke) struggles with alcoholism and mental health as he tries to save face during the opening of his former working partner Richard Rogers' (Adam Scott) "Oklahoma!" All, I wanted to write this off as pretentious so badly. Just the first few sentences had it brewing under my skin. That and it "took" my beloved Sorry, Baby's Original Screenplay nomination at the Oscars. I was ready to hate this film, it wasn't deserved, but I was ready. Damn it, I loved this.  I was SO hooked by Hawke's performance. It really is HIS film. Everyone else, no matter how nice they are to see. Bobby Canavale as a bartender, Margaret Qualley has Lorenz's college student love interest, even Scott's small part as Richard Rogers are nice, but nothing quite stands up to the power house performance Hawke is laying down. They all compliment it, but it's a one man show. Lorenz Hart would have it no other ...
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2026 Actor Award Predictions

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I thought I was losing my mind looking for my "SAG" nomination post only to yet again forget they changed their name to the Actor Awards. After the mess of the BAFTA broadcast, let's hope this one goes smoothly. Below are my guesses for who will win, and in some cases, who should win.  OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE Frankenstein Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners Who will and should win: Sinners This is the one place I think Sinners will prevail over One Battle for a top price. Both casts are extremely impressively but I see this body going for Sinners.  OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Jessie Buckley – Hamnet Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue Chase Infinity – One Battle After Another Emma Stone – Bugonia Who will and should win: Jessie Buckley I think she's a lock for Best Actress at this point. Byrne could be the upset, but I don't see it happening.  OUTSTANDI...
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2026 BAFTA Winners

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Leave it to the BAFTAs to throw us some curveballs! Maybe not in the grand scheme of things in some cases, but it's different nonetheless. Below is a list of the nominees, with winners highlighted + my thoughts.  BEST FILM Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sentimental Value Sinners For those (me) still hoping for that Sinners upset...it's not happening.  OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM 28 Years Later The Ballad of Wallis Island Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Die My Love H Is for Hawk Hamnet I Swear Mr. Burton Pillion Steve I'm glad Hamnet is winning some of these Best Picture awards at least because it's so good.  OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER The Ceremony My Father’s Shadow Pillion A Want in Her Wasteman I've heard really good things about this film and can't wait to see it. CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM Arco Boong Lilo & Stitch Zootopia 2 I have no idea what this is, and what it's doing beating my beloved Zootopia 2....
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Review: Song Sung Blue

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Official synopsis:  Lightning (Hugh Jackman) and Thunder (Kate Hudson), a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together. This is a case of "the Oscars forced me to watch this." Nothing about this film interested me, but I just had to see for myself how Kate Hudson edged out amazing performances from Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Lawrence, and Chase Infiniti for a Best Actress Oscar nomination. And it truly is her best performance, though for me personally I think she just has more voting friends than the other women, but she's easily the best part of this film. And she feels a lot more natural in her role than Jackman, who is doing the absolute MOST does. There were so many baffling choices made here. Allowing your two leads to be on completely different wave lengths is one, but some of the timeline was downright confusing. Even if you haven't seen the documentary of the same na...
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