Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) & Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino)      Part of the sports fandom playbook is the power of positive thinking. For instance, here is a trajectory of things that I may or may not have said to my dad during [...]

Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. My family has a wonderful Christmas tradition. We love to go see a movie together during the week before Christmas. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy became a three year fixture of this tradition. So it was a given that the family planned [...]

Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik, 2012) My anticipation for Killing Them Softly–Dominik’s long-awaited followup to his excellent 2007 feature, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford–was admittedly high. I thought the latter a masterfully crafted, slow-burn thriller of a western. Reunited with [...]

Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln might be described as a brilliant portrait, a distinctive picture of a particular historical moment that gives us representative insight into a United States at Civil War. But, more than that, we’re treated to filmic portraits of a President who is able [...]

Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. Editor’s Note: There are some fairly minor *SPOILERS* here that you won’t be able to sneak around. “Orphans make the best agents,” M (Judi Dench) says in her characteristically matter-of-fact manner. The statement probably suggests something about the shadow that is cast over the [...]

Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. There’s a fun scene in the latter half of Wreck-it Ralph in which brutish “bad guy” Ralph is helping his little glitching, pixeled companion, Venellope von Schweetz, build a go-kart made of candy. The scene encapsulates the film’s brimming possibilities. The arcade characters build [...]

Each week in The Moviegoer, Nick Olson examines new and upcoming films. The film (and the story it’s based on) has been around, but just in case: Spoiler Alert! Bernie is available via Redbox and Netflix steaming. Widely considered unpleasantly cold by her town neighbors and even family members, Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine)–a recently widowed 81 [...]