Run All Night Passes

From Warner Bros. Pictures comes the action thriller Run All Night, starring Oscar nominee Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Oscar nominee Ed Harris, and Oscar winner Common, under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra. Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon (Neeson), once known as The Gravedigger, has seen better days. Lately, it seems Jimmy’s only solace can be found at the bottom of a whiskey glass. But when Jimmy’s estranged son, Mike (Kinnaman), becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago.

The screening will be held Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at AMC Waterfront 22, beginning promptly at 7:30 PM. Please comment below with favorite Liam Neeson moment. Without being too cliché, my favorite Liam Neeson moment was in the very first Taken (2008). Like a true confident thug, he uttered these words:

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you..”

Much Love,

Movie Scene Queen

February 26, 2015 175

MSQ’s 86th Annual Academy Awards Recap

Now that the dust has settled…

On Friday, February 28th, the New Pittsburgh Courier posted my Oscar predictions. This is the first time the MSQ covered the Oscars and publicly displayed any form of predictions. Some of MSQ’s most accurate predictions were Best Picture winner, 12 Years A Slave and Lupita Nyong’o for Best Supporting Actress. I was also 2 for 2 on Disney’s princess hit, Frozen; winning for Best Animated Picture and Best Original Song. (Sorry Pharrell!)

The diversity of the Academy Awards is not in the most ideal place, but it has evolved since inception in 1929. While Lee Daniels’ The Butler was catastrophically snubbed for not even being mentioned, 12 Years A Slave grabbed some big honors. And Lupita Nyong’o, fresh out of Yale’s School of Drama, had the biggest breakout role in decades. She effortlessly graces the red carpet with her fashioned presence and she’s become an iconic beauty.

I just recently had a debate with some colleagues about society associating her beauty with her success, assuming that no one would think she’s gorgeous if she didn’t have overwhelming success with 12 Years A Slave. To some extent, I agree. Yes, we idolize her because of her quick claim to fame, but her natural beauty magnifies our infatuation.

Jennifer Lawerence’s equilibrium is off balance because for two years in a row she has fallen at the award’s show. Get it together, Jenn!

“Precious” (Gabourey Sidibe), as I call her, let me down again with this red carpet appearance. Refusing to reward mediocrity, she has to find a stylist who will compliment her weight or she has to lose the weight. It’s pretty much black and white. She must fire her stylist and lose some weight.

Ellen DeGeneres is the most popular person in the World. She has literally become an American icon. She’s cute, funny, and culturally diverse. The award show’s ratings were the highest they have ever been. She broke a Twitter record, beating out the POTUS, for the most retweets ever! And anyone who can dress up in costumes, pass out delivery pizza, and mock her celebrity friends all in one taping is a pure genius.

The picture that landed Ellen DeGeneres the Twitter world record:

I have a confession…

I have never seen Blue Jasmine or Dallas Buyers Club. And it’s not really a confession, but if you’re an avid MSQ reader, you will notice that I have never written a review on either movie. Based off of their Oscar winnings last week, I will watch the movies as soon as possible.

For my very first Academy Awards’ coverage, I had a rewarding experience via satellite from Pittsburgh, PA. What did you think of this year’s Oscars?

March 10, 2014 0

Winter’s Tale Passes

Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, “Winter’s Tale” is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil. The film stars Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, and Oscar® winners Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint and Russell Crowe.

Winter’s Tale is in theatres on Valentine’s Day. For your chance to catch the movie before the rest of the world, comment below with your Oscar® Prediction…

Which film should win for Best Picture?
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Winners will be emailed the GOFOBO code on Friday, February 7, 2014. The screening will be held at the AMC Waterfront 22 at 7:30PM on Monday, February 10, 2014.

January 31, 2014 31

That Awkward Moment

“I did what I was supposed to do. I checked the boxes” – Mikey (Michael B. Jordan)

When three best friends find themselves in funky relationship scenarios, they make a pact to remain single in Focus Features’ latest film, “That Award Moment”. Mikey (Michael B. Jordan), a young doctor, faces martial problems, while his two single buddies, Jason (Zac Efron) and Daniel (Miles Teller) , are fighting their monogamous temptations.

I think most people expect pretty boy Zac Efron to be the star of the movie, but Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller are both equally amazing! “Fruitvale Station”, which I named the best film of 2013, was only a stepping stone for Jordan’s career. He’s like your best friend’s adorable little brother; at first he was young and goofy so you didn’t really pay him any attention like his role in “Pastor Brown” (2009), but, now, he is mature, attractive, and cleared to play ball.

Michael B. Jordan was great in the movie. Completely in sync with the other main characters as a hip, funny New York slinging bachelor, Jordan was a strategic addition to the predominantly White cast.

On the other hand, Miles Teller initially grabbed my attention in 2013’s small-time movie, “The Spectacular Now”. Teller always plays the sarcastic, savvy cool guy. And he was no different in this one; very charismatic, flirtatiously funny, and unstructured.

The Awkward Moment was the mainstream version of “The Wood” (1999) or the testosterone-filled version of “Sex and the City” (2008). The movie constantly reminds me of the tenderness yet intricacy of falling in love and how “awkward” that process can be. Also, the 94-minute flick gives women a keener sense of how crummy guys are when peer pressure is involved, and how the power of a woman’s affection can change any circumstance.

I am firmly disagreeing with other film critics by saying “That Awkward Moment” is the best movie of 2014 thus far. I know it is only weeks into the year, but I have a seen a handful of films such as “Her”, “The Nut Job”, and “Ride Along”. Of course, that bold statement can quickly be retracted when another great movie comes along.

Also, please keep in mind that most film critics thought 10-time Academy Award nominated “American Hustle” was brilliant, while I thought it was exaggerated and cheesy. So, cheers to the power of opinions!

“That Awkward Moment” is in theatres today. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it is certifiably a “first date” type of movie.

4 Manly “Bro-mantic” Stars

January 31, 2014 0

12 Years A Slave

I’ll never know what it means to be a slave, producing forced, free labor, in the United States prior to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. More definitively, I could not imagine what it would mean to be a legally free person and still be held captive for little over a decade.

To date, the story of Solomon Northup and his 1853 memoir’s adaption in Direct or Steven McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is the closest, realest slavery account ever captured in a theatrical form. The movie goes beyond the explicitness of Roots (1977), the unfairness of Amistad (1997), and the vulgarity of Django Unchained (2012). 12 Years a Slave posthumously pays tribute to Solomon Northup’s strength, perseverance, and survival techniques to overcome his unfortunate predicaments.

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor vividly and undoubtedly gets better with time. Keeping a low radar, Ejiofor has the makings to possess a seasoned career as Hollywood greats like Morgan Freeman or Sidney Poitier. As a legitimate Academy Award contender, Ejiofor has made leaps and bounds since his initial minimal roles like mean, ego-tripping drug lord, Victor Sweet, in Four Brothers (2005) (which is one of my favorite movies by the way).

Opposite of Ejiofor was a petite, frail African actress, Lupita Nyong’o, who made her American film debut as Patsey, bursting onto the Hollywood scene with a vengeance. Her first major role will most definitely be a memorable one. Patsey was delicate, calm, and graceful. On October 22nd, Nyong’o won the New Hollywood Award at the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards.

Brad Pitt’s role of a Canadian carpenter and abolitionist, Samuel Bass, was climax changing because Bass finally aided Northup to freedom. But Brad Pitt was microscopic compared to the entire scheme and progression of the movie. I expected for Brad Pitt to be in his usual picture perfection and he was just “eh.” (ok, borderline, mediocre)

You will lose yourself, forgetting that you are watching a movie but actually thinking you are trapped on the hot, cotton-infested Louisiana plantation with Solomon Northup.

In the theatre, I watched as people cringe in their seats, scream in visual agony, and even one woman, walked out of the theatre due to the movie’s intensity. These actions are only a testament to the movies life-like narratives of Solomon North’s 12-year longing to see freedom again.

5 Stars: There are some gruesome, harsh realities in 12 Years a Slave, officially making it the best movie I have seen all year and equally, the hardest movie to watch.

Locally, 12 Years a Slave opens at the AMC Waterfront, Cinemark Robinson Township, and Manor Theater Friday, November 1st.

November 4, 2013 2