Mr. Brown Versus

Before I piss people off about my thoughts on American Sniper , let me first say that I have nothing but the highest respect for the men and women in our military. These are brave individuals who put their lives on the line so that that we may enjoy the freedoms that we take for granted every single day. This review is not  meant as an attack against those who have volunteered to put themselves in harm's way; rather, my point is to discuss my problems with the characterization of one Chris Kyle, how the filmmakers white washed most of his full self to sell this notion that he was an honorable, earnest, all-American kind of guy, and how it sells a pro-war message about a conflict that was absolutely unnecessary for the United States to engage in. Also, I do want to point out that Sniper  has a fantastic performance by Bradley Cooper as Kyle. He gets the drawl, the mannerisms, the look and the attitude down to the letter. There's a fantastic opening sequence in which he'...

What does Stephen Hawking, the godfather of computer science, a hotel manager breaking out from prison during the first World War, a young boy and his family growing up through 12 years and the battle of wills between a aspiring musician and his near-abusive professor have in common? On the surface, these are different films ranging in different subjects. But when you look at the people who stared, wrote and directed these various movies, A few patterns begin to emerge: 1. The cast is predominately white. 2. The story mostly centers on a male protagonist. 3. The filmmakers behind the project are white and male. And all of those films I've mentioned:  The Theory of Everything , The Imitation Game , The Grand Budapest Hotel , Boyhood  and Whiplash  - have all been nominated for Best Picture for this year's 87th annual Academy Awards. Before I go any further, I just want to say that this is not an attack on the films themselves. Most of the films mentioned I really...

It's a new year for yours truly, and what better way to kick things off...than to bring up Hollywood Elsewhere, again. This time I'm not talking about Jeff Wells or whatever dick head-ish thing that came out of his mouth, but rather an experience I've just encountered on the HE site. I make it no secret that I'm a bit of a fanboy. I love what Kevin Feige has done with Marvel superhero properties like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D. and have them connect in various ways in their movies, creating a shared universe. I'll be the first to see the latest endeavor by Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and David Fincher, among other respected and celebrated filmmakers because I love their work. I'm always excited for Oscar season as much as I'm excited to see the summer's slate of popcorn blockbusters. I have my individual tastes, and I hate it when a judgmental snob tells me that my taste sucks, or in this case, I'm l...