A mother obsessed with finding justice in her town of Ebbing, Missouri and a detective on a quest in futuristic Los Angeles captured the imagination of the Hawaii Film Critics Society. Their Best of 2017 List bestowed five awards each for Denis Villeneuve’s visionary “Blade Runner 2049” and Martin McDonagh’s confrontational “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,…
The Hawaii Film Critics Society has cast their votes and nominated a wide range of films for their year’s end list. Dennis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049,” starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, led the charge with nine nominations, the most of any film on the list. “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo Del Toro’s acclaimed sci-fi/romance,…
Back before there were DVD screeners, or the Maui Film Festival’s FirstLight Academy Screenings, studios would set up special showings for critics to make such lists, in the course of million-dollar marketing campaigns for their Oscar contenders. Such campaigns were the forte of one particular pugnacious producer, whose fall from grace after decades of abusing…
In this age of nostalgia-driven entertainment, the best works explore the past rather than allow it distract us from the present. Too many bad sequels, prequels and remakes merely restaged an established story for a cynical cash-grab for those seeking easy escape or willing to accept their lowered expectation. On the other hand, some of…
It appears the Hawaii Film Critics Society has gone gah-gah for “La La.” Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” a romantic update of classical Hollywood musicals, earned six awards from the HFCS, including Best Film and Chazelle for Best Director. “Hell or High Water,” David Mackenzie’s neo-western, won three awards, including Best Overlooked Film, Best Supporting…
The Hawaii Film Critics Society has once again cast their votes and nominated a broad range of films for their year’s end list. Damien Chazelle’s beloved, Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone-starring musical “La La Land” led the charge with thirteen nominations, more than any other film (in fact, last year’s most nominated title, “Carol,” only received ten)….
10. “The Queen of Katwe” – A girl rises from a Uganda slum to become a chess master in this colorful true tale of challenge over impossible odds, propelled by actress Lupita N’yongo and director Mira Nair. 9. “Sully” – The “miracle on the Hudson” is only the beginning of the trials for steely pilot…
I look forward to summer movies every year the way I used to be madly giddy with excitement for Christmas Eve as a young boy. It holds true that, when it comes to movies, the early months of the year are “spring cleaning” for studios, the summer months are the fun rides at the cineplex…
My year began with attending the opening night of “The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death” and ended with “The Hateful Eight.” The former was instantly forgettable and sported a redundant title (we get it, she’s bad), while the latter put a bad taste in my mouth, though I’ll never forget it. In between,…
Rick’s Top Ten Best of 2015 List 1. The Big Short 2. The Martian 3. The Revenant 4. Youth 5. Inside Out 6. Spotlight 7. Room 8. Sicario 9. Carol 10. (Can’t decide between) McFarland USA, Mr. Holmes, Joy, Steve Jobs, Trainwreck, A Walk in the Woods … )