La La Land is nominated for 14 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. (Courtesy of Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment) Owen Johnson Connector Staff Best Animated Film: My wish for Best Animated Film is the stop motion animated “Kubo and the Two Strings,” though I highly doubt it will win. My prediction is that “Zootopia” will win in this…
‘The Lego Batman Movie’ constructs its own success
“Lego Batman Movie” director Chris Mckay is best known for directing three seasons of the Adult Swim parody show “Robot Chicken.” (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) Owen Johnson Connector Staff Like “The LEGO Movie” from three years ago, “The LEGO Batman” movie is a celebration of the usage of LEGOs, in addition this time around…
Underrated classics: ‘V for Vendetta’
“V for Vendetta” graphic novelist, Alan Moore, denounced the film upon its release for its radical changes to source material. (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) Owen Johnson Connector Staff In memory of John Hurt, 1940 – 2017. Set in dystopian England in the late 2020s, the Norsefire party has turned the United Kingdom into a…
Split on “Split”
“Split” is the twelfth movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan since his debut in 1992. (Courtesy of Universal Pictures) Owen Johnson Connector Staff In terms of what kind of movie it is, “Split” is one of a kind. There are a lot of times when a movie turns out unintentionally hilarious, but this is one…
‘The Bye Bye Man’: A movie as terrible as its title
The plot of “The Bye Bye Man” was based on the short story “The Bridge to Body Island” by Robert Damon Schneck. (Photo Courtesy of The Weinstein Company) Owen Johnson Connector Staff After moving into a house with his girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas) and best friend John (Lucien Laviscount), college student Elliot (Douglas Smith) accidently…
‘Rogue One’: A story not worth telling
“Rogue One” is the eighth “Star Wars” film and was released on Dec. 10, 2016. (Courtesy of Disney) Owen Johnson Connector Staff “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is the first film in a lineup of standalone movies set in the Star Wars universe. As the entire premise of having stand alone movies in this…
Underrated Classics: ‘Gremlins’
This was filmed on the same set as “Back to the Future.” (Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) Owen Johnson Connector Staff Like last year’s “Krampus,” “Gremlins” is a strange mix between horror and comedy, as well as Christmas and Halloween themed movies that manage to blend together surprisingly well. For a Christmas present, Billy Peltzer (Zach…
Underrated Classic: “Galaxy Quest”
“Galaxy Quest” was first conceived as a science-fiction film called “Captain Starshine” back in 1997. (Courtesy of Dreamworks Pictures) Owen Johnson Connector Staff In the 1990s, after the outpour of parody films by people like Mel Brooks and the Zucker brothers had either come to an end or deteriorated in quality, “Galaxy Quest” came about to…
