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A Night of Reel Hope – “The Princess Bride” Benefitting HopeKids

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : September 22, 2019
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Category: Movie Reviews, Special Events

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THE PRINCESS BRIDE will be shown at Alamo Drafthouse Las Colinas on Sept. 26 along with dinner and drinks benefitting HopeKidsNorth Texas! 

HopeKids allow families who have a child with a life-threatening illness to escape the struggles for a moment and reconnect and recharge. Whether it’s the family screenings that Alamo Drafthouse hosts for HopeKids families each month, tickets to concerts, sporting events or a trip to the museum or the Stockyards, the list of partners they work with is impressive and helps to provide more than 300 events each year.

Click the link to purchase tickets and more information! https://www.hopekids.org/reelhope/

Movie Review: “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is a Musical Delight

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : July 20, 2018
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Category: Movie Reviews

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The whole Mamma Mia gang is back! But this time we’re looking back to see how it all started.

Ten years ago the first “Mamma Mia!” introduced us to Donna (Meryl Streep) and her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). At the time, Sophie was engaged to her then fiancée Sky (Dominic Cooper), and wanted to know her father was so that he could attend the wedding. Given that there were three possible candidates, she invited all three of her mother’s past lovers, Sam, Harry, and Bill (Pierce Brosnon, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard) to her wedding. After meeting the three men, they fall in love with Sophie and they all commit to being her father.

Now in “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” Sophie is pregnant and this sparks a stroll down memory lane. Flashbacks allow us to see when her mother met her fathers, and how it eventually led to her birth. Right after college, young Donna (Lily James) decides to take a European trip. Along the way she runs into a much younger Harry (Hugh Skinner), Bill (Josh Dylan), and Sam (Jeremy Irvine). All three newcomers do a fantastic job and leave lasting impressions.

But it’s Lily James who steals the show with her striking beauty and incredible voice. Who knew this girl could sing!? James’ energy and charisma leaps off the screen. However, she’s not the only one with popping vocals. Amanda Seyfried continues to sing with voice of a Disney Princess, and her on screen Grandma played by the one and only, Cher, brings down the whole house with her powerful vocals.

The only thing more stunning than the music was the setting in Greece. The crystal blue waters and landscape is eye candy to even someone who doesn’t care about what else is going on.

“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is a film that moves quickly. Since we are given brief moments in about a song length capacity with each man Donna meets, the film never lags. Although, I would not have minded seeing a longer storyline between young Donna and Sam. James’ and Irvine’s romantic chemistry makes us realize why the two characters immediately fall for each other again in the first film.

Though the plot is corny and the random bursts into song can be cheesy at times, it just doesn’t matter. Take “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” for what it is; and that’s a fun, toe-tapping musical that everyone can enjoy.

Rating: 3.5/5

“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” opens in theaters July 20.

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Interview: US Special Forces Mark Nutsch and Bob Pennington talk “12 Strong”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : January 17, 2018
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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To promote the “12 Strong” movie, two of the members of the real life U.S. Special Forces team (Mark Nutsch played by Chris Hemsworth and Bob Pennington played by Michael Shannon) went on tour. I enjoyed a remarkable interview with them as we discussed how they felt seeing their story brought to life, the importance of portraying the alliance with the Afghanistan Army and much more.

“12 Strong” hits theaters January 19.

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Interview: Power Rangers Cast Discuss New Film

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : March 21, 2017
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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I sat down with the stars (Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, RJ Cyler, Becky G., Ludi Lin) of the new Power Rangers movie to discuss their characters and what movie or show made them anticipate high school!

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23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : January 2, 2017
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Category: Special Events, Special Features

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FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Captain Fantastic
Fences
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Amy Adams, Arrival
Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Jason Bourne
Nocturnal Animals

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
The Crown
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Stranger Things
Westworld

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory
Blackish
Modern Family
Orange Is the New Black
Veep

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
John Lithgow, The Crown
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Claire Foy, The Crown
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Blackish
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
Sterling K. Brown, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
John Turturro, The Night Of
Courtney B. Vance, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Bryce Dallas Howard, Black Mirror
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Sarah Paulson, The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble
Game of Thrones
Daredevil
Luke Cage
The Walking Dead
Westworld

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Screen Actors Guild Annual Life Achievement Award
LILY TOMLIN

The Screen Actors Guild Awards will air Sunday, January 29 on TBS and TNT.

Interview: Jovan Adepo talks “Fences”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : December 23, 2016
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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Jovan Adepo portrays Corey in Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama, “Fences.” I got a chance to talk with Adepo about the new film. We discussed how much someone’s career can affect their personal life, daily movie references and more!

“Fences” opens in theaters December 24.

Click Here to Watch Jovan Adepo Interview

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74th Annual Golden Globe Nominations!

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : December 12, 2016
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Category: Special Events, Special Features

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Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

  • 20th Century Women
  • Deadpool
  • Florence Foster Jenkins
  • La La Land
  • Sing Street

 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

  • Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
  • Lily Collins – Rules Don’t Apply
  • Hailee Steinfeld – The Edge of Seventeen
  • Emma Stone – La La Land
  • Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

 

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

  • Colin Farrell – The Lobster
  • Ryan Gosling – La La Land
  • Hugh Grant – Florence Foster Jenkins
  • Jonah Hill – War Dogs
  • Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

 

Best Motion Picture, Drama

  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • Hell or High Water
  • Lion
  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Moonlight

 

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

  • Amy Adams – Arrival
  • Jessica Chastain – Miss Sloane
  • Isabelle Huppert – Elle
  • Ruth Negga – Loving
  • Natalie Portman – Jackie

 

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

  • Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
  • Joel Edgerton – Loving
  • Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
  • Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
  • Denzel Washington – Fences

 

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

  • Viola Davis – Fences
  • Naomie Harris – Moonlight
  • Nicole Kidman – Lion
  • Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
  • Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

 

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

  • Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
  • Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
  • Simon Helberg – Florence Foster Jenkins
  • Dev Patel – Lion
  • Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Nocturnal Animals

 

Best Director – Motion Picture

  • Damien Chazelle – La La Land
  • Tom Ford – Nocturnal Animals
  • Mel Gibson – Hacksaw Ridge
  • Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
  • Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea

 

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

  • La La Land
  • Nocturnal Animals
  • Moonlight
  • Manchester By The Sea
  • Hell or High Water

 

Best Animated Feature Film

  • Kubo and the Two Strings
  • Moana
  • My Life as a Zucchini
  • Sing
  • Trolls
  • Zootopia

 

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language

  • Divines
  • Elle
  • Neruda
  • The Salesman
  • Toni Erdmann

 

Best Original Score – Motion Picture

  • Moonlight
  • La La Land
  • Arrival
  • Lion
  • Hidden Figures

 

Best Original Song – Motion Picture

  • Cant Stop The Feeling – Trolls
  • City Of Stars – La La Land
  • Faith – Sing
  • Gold – Gold
  • How Far I’ll Go – Moana

Best TV Series, Comedy

  • Black-ish
  • Atlanta
  • Transparent
  • Mozart in the Jungle
  • Veep

 

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy

  • Rachel Bloom – Crazy Ex Girlfriend
  • Sarah Jessica Parker – Divorce
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep
  • Gina Rodriguez – Jane the Virgin
  • Issa Rae – Insecure
  • Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish

 

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy

  • Anthony Anderson – Black-ish
  • Gael Garcia Bernal – Mozart in the Jungle
  • Donald Glover – Atlanta
  • Nick Nolte – Graves
  • Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent

 

Best TV Series, Drama

  • The Crown
  • Game of Thrones
  • Stranger Things
  • This Is Us
  • Westworld

 

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama

  • Matthew Rhys – The Americans
  • Rami Malek – Mr. Robot
  • Billy Bob Thornton – Goliath
  • Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
  • Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan

 

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama

  • Caitriona Balfe – Outlander
  • Claire Foy – The Crown
  • Keri Russell – The Americans
  • Winona Ryder – Stranger Things
  • Evan Rachel Wood – Westworld

 

Best TV Movie or Limited-Series

  • American Crime
  • The Dresser
  • The Night Manager
  • The Night Of
  • The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

 

Best Actor in a Limited-Series or TV Movie

  • Riz Ahmed
  • Bryan Cranston
  • Tom Hiddleston
  • John Turturro
  • Courtney B. Vance

 

Best Actress in a Limited-Series or TV Movie

  • Felicity Huffman
  • Riley Keough
  • Sarah Paulson
  • Charlotte Rampling
  • Kerry Washington

 

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited-Series or TV Movie

  • Sterling K. Brown – The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
  • Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager
  • John Lithgow – The Crown
  • John Travolta – The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
  • Christian Slater – Mr. Robot

 

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited-Series or TV Movie

  • Olivia Colman
  • Lena Heady
  • Chrissy Metz
  • Mandy Moore
  • Thandie Newton

The 74th Annual Golden Globes will air on NBC January 8th, hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

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Movie Review: “The Girl on the Train” is a Messy, yet Intriguing Thrill Ride

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : October 7, 2016
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Category: Movie Reviews

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Emily Blunt isn’t the only one taking a ride in The Girl on the Train. The audience should be warned of the many back and forth jumps throughout this mystery thriller.

The film follows Rachel (Emily Blunt), a divorced alcoholic who spends everyday on a train ride that passes her old neighborhood. She watches a couple, Megan and Scott (Haley Bennett and Luke Evans), whom she views as “perfect” and almost lives vicariously through them. All the while she still tries to contact her ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux), who is now happily married and with a baby.

One day during Rachel’s usual stare at Megan and Scott’s house, she notices Megan kissing another man out on her balcony and freaks out! Completely wrecked by the fact that Megan would “throw it all away”, Rachel gets even more drunk and angry. When she stumbles off the train that night she sees a blur that looks like Megan. She wakes up the next morning in her place with a bloody head, and unaware of anything that happened the night before. Ironically, Megan has now gone missing, and Rachel is determined to find out what happened to her.

If you find reading that premise at all confusing, it’s even more of a mess watching it. To be fair, by the end everything ties together and there are no loose ends. But it might be a struggle getting there for some.

Yes, the plot might have been poorly executed, but that doesn’t make the story any less fun. From the moment the film began, I was on the edge of my seat trying to add up of every clue and anticipating the expected twist. Though the climax and the unveiling of surprises are far from Gone Girl standards, they were still satisfying none-the-less.

What’s certain is the subtle yet believable performance Emily Blunt gives as a functioning alcoholic. She stays committed the whole way through. So much so, that her character can be extremely frustrating at times.

The Girl on the Train may not please everyone. And yes, Tate Taylor’s direction is less than adequate as he struggles to give a steady flowing narrative. Luckily the mystery and story alone are enough to keep this ride interesting.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Girl on the Train opens in theaters October 7

“The Girl on the Train” Official Trailer HD

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Movie Review: “Bad Moms” is a Predictable, Laugh Out Loud Riot

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : July 29, 2016
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Category: Movie Reviews

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BAD MOMS

Usually too much predictability in a film can make it a flat out bore. However, if the predictability is overshadowed by a strong cast and hilarious, original jokes, it can actually make for a pretty fun comedy!

Aside from the all-star cast, I was hesitant going into “Bad Moms”. The track record for films beginning with “Bad”, hasn’t been so hot. “Bad Santa”, “Bad Teacher”, “Bad Words”, etc. Though all these films provide plenty of laughs, they lack heart and contentment. “Bad Moms” breaks the trend and goes for a more relatable and heartwarming plot.

“Bad Moms” is a movie for all those moms who are out there trying their hardest to balance work, love lives, kids, and the many extracurricular activities that come with kids. In this film, that role is portrayed by Amy (Mila Kunis), an overburdened mother of two kids, who gets almost no help from her lazy, creep of a husband (David Walton). The film opens with Amy unloading all of her problems on our shoulders, we come to find she has no life/work balance at all. Then we meet the other two moms who are #TeamAmy, Kiki (Kristen Bell), a stay-at-home-mom raising four kids, which has prevented her from having any real social life. According to her husband, the kids shouldn’t be baby sat by anyone else EVER because it is ONLY Kiki’s job to watch the kids. And finally, there’s Carla (Kathryn Hahn), the crude, horny single mother who has no filter.

Soon enough these three women become best friends when they join together to take down the worst kind of moms: PTA leaders.  These are the moms who make you feel like crap because they seem to never even break a sweat when it comes to raising their children and balancing all their daily responsibilities. And in this film, PTA president, Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) has no problem rubbing all of your failures and her successes in your face.

After a series of bad luck in her personal life and intolerable PTA requests, Amy becomes fed up with Gwendolyn’s ridiculous demands and decides to run against her for PTA president. Thus, the war of “Bad Moms” VS “Perfect Moms” begins, leading to a numerous amount of gut-busting comedy.

“Bad Moms” is not the best film of the year. Heck, it’s not even the best comedy, but, it certainly still charms. It is a film catered for any hardworking mom who struggles to stay afloat at times. Though there are a many outlandish scenes, that doesn’t make “Bad Moms” any less enjoyable to watch. And the end credits with the actresses talking with their real life moms about motherhood, just about had me in tears.

Rating: 3.5/5

“Bad Moms” opens in theaters July 29.

“Bad Moms” Official Trailer HD

Interview: Key and Peele Talk and Sing “Keanu”

Posted by :Susan Kamyab On : April 28, 2016
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Category: Interviews, Movie Reviews

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I sat down with Keeagan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele to discuss their new film, “Keanu”. We talked about loss and recovery, pets, break-ups, funk, and an improvised Keanu song! Bonus tip: watch for my un-credited special guest.

“Keanu” opens in theaters April 29.

“Keanu” Interview with Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele

key and peele