Articles by Eric M. Armstrong
740 articles
14 Awesome Plot Twists You Never Saw Coming (And Some You Did)
Sudden deaths, fabricated environments, false protagonists, and red herrings are all part of the same cinematic device–the plot twist. Used to shock audiences, maintain interest, or at it’s best to...
Feb 14, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongCoraline (2009)
In the age of super high-tech CGI and in a world dominated by Pixar, It’s wonder that a film like Coraline managed to even get made. Stop-motion animation is a painstaking, arthritis-inducing process...
Feb 14, 2009 / Eric M. Armstrong2010 to see release of ‘The People Vs. George Lucas’
Billed as a “unique feature documentary event,” The People VS. George Lucas is a new film slated to be released in 2010. George Lucas is indisputably one of cinema’s most polarizing figures and this...
Feb 14, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongJoaquin Phoenix’s Bizarre Letterman Appearance
Back in November we reported that movie star Joaquin Phoenix ( Gladiator, Walk the Line ) would be retiring from film to focus on an R&B music career. Apparently he forgot to mention that he would...
Feb 12, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongBenjamin Button, A.K.A. Forrest Gump
David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was recently released to wide acclaim garnering a staggering 13 Oscar nominations. When I saw this film I noticed, like many others, the...
Feb 3, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongSlumdog Millionaire (2008)
The general consensus is that Englishman Danny Boyle’s ( Trainspotting , Millions ) venture into Bollywood results in a stirring tale of adventure, romance, and redemption. These themes are...
Jan 30, 2009 / Eric M. Armstrong2009 SAG Winners: 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
The Screen Actors Guild prides itself on being the best indicator for the Academy Awards which are ever-so difficult to predict. We’ll get to see how accurate SAG Awards are next month. For now, take...
Jan 26, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongOscar Snubs 2009
Oscar Snubs 2009 Jan 23rd, 2009 | By Eric M. Armstrong | Category: FCS , Lists Choosing the best of the best from thousands of films, performances, scripts, directors, etc., can be a dizzying task....
Jan 23, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongOfficial 2009 Oscar Predictions: 81st Annual Academy Awards
We published an article a few days ago predicting 2009’s Oscar winners, but in light of the Academy releasing their official nominees today, we’re taking the liberty of revising our picks. You can...
Jan 22, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongSpike Lee on Will Smith, Barack Obama Project
We recently reported on Will Smith’s comments at the London premiere of Seven Pounds about his desires to play Barack Obama if a film were ever to be made about the President-Elect’s life and rise to...
Jan 18, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongWill Smith to play Barack Obama?
Back off high-profile, well-spoken, African-American Hollywood movie stars. Summer blockbuster hero, Will Smith, has already called dibs on playing President Elect Barack Obama in a biopic if it were...
Jan 17, 2009 / Eric M. Armstrong2009 Pre-Nom Oscar Predictions: The 81st Academy Awards
It’s that time of year again. All the major studios have released their three-hour epics, triumphant biopics, and flashy studies in over-acting throughout the past few months hoping to snatch a...
Jan 14, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Director David Fincher’s ( Fight Club, Se7en ) latest offering, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, curiously reminds me of Kevin Costner’s monumentally mediocre Waterworld (1995). Let me first make...
Jan 10, 2009 / Eric M. ArmstrongSneak PeaK: The Day the Earth Stood Still
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is 20th Century Fox’s contemporary reinvention of its 1951 classic. Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an alien whose arrival on our planet triggers a global upheaval. As...
Nov 26, 2008 / Eric M. ArmstrongKolya (1996)
The basic premise of Jan Sverak’s Kolya may conjure notions of banal, feathery frivolty for many film patrons: An aging, lonely, womanizing Czech has his world turned upside down when a young Russian...
Nov 25, 2008 / Eric M. ArmstrongRecent Articles
- Review: ‘A War’ explores war’s quiet, forgotten horrors
- TMA FilmCast #33 — Vera Chytilova and the Czech New Wave
- The fantasist: The comic art of Woody Allen
- Tribeca picks up North American rights to ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ at Sundance
- TMA FilmCast #32 — Alison Frank interviews Ana Geislerova
- ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ tops Online Film Critics Awards
- TMA FilmCast #31 — Alison Frank reports from 67th Locarno Film Fest
- 5 ½ hour film dominates awards at Locarno
- Shorts at #Locarno67: meditation vs testing the audience’s patience
- ‘The Fool’: A modern propaganda film
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